All Time Premier League Fantasy Draft: Final - MJJ/Crappy vs Skizzo/Pat | Skizzo/Pat win!

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.....................Team MJJ/Crappy........................................Team Skizzo/Pat......................

Spoiler: Original Line-Up

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.....................Team MJJ/Crappy........................................Team Skizzo/Pat......................

TEAM MJJ/CRAPPY

Match Tactics -

Formation : A fusion of 4411/4231 ala United 2006/7

The engine of the team will be the pairing of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes circa 06-09.

• Roy Keane is by far the best CM in this draft, no one comes close to the influence he can exert on the pitch for his team in terms of his actual footballing ability, leadership and sheer determination.
• We have gone with latter day version of Scholes since it affords more stability to our midfield. Arguably that was the best version of Scholes, who would get to dictate the play from deep and at times also make those runs into the box. If that Scholes could run our MF with someone like Carrick, imagine what he will do alongside a peak Keane.

• On the wings you have a mismatch between Bridge and Overmars. This is Overmars tormenting Maldini ......... Bridge does not even has one tenth of the defensive nous of Maldini and has got little chance of taking on Overmars here.

• On the left, Ginola will keep Gallas on his toes, cutting in to charge at goal. It will be tough for his full back to provide any kind of support to attack going forward.

• Up front , we have the one of the best goal scorers to play in PL in Shearer who can score all kinds of goals. Here is a preview of what he can do and also watch out for goal number 5 here where he shrugs off Dessaily.

• He will be linking up with the play maker supreme in Bergkamp. One of the best number 10 to play in PL. He is playing with absolutely the right players to create chances in final third. An out and out goal scorer in Shearer in front of him, pace of Overmars on the right to exploit and Ginola as someone to link up with on the left.

• Defense composes of 2 best full backs of PL era in Pearce and Ivanovic along side Mcgrath, who won the first PFA player of the season award of PL era, and Southgate, a seasoned PL defender who made over 50 appearances for England.

Overall we will be looking to play somewhat similar to United 2006/7 team, a team not looking to dominate possession and relying more on breaking forward fast from their own half with pace and precision. It is not a camp in your own half, defend with 10 men and then counter attack strategy. With Keane andScholes in the midfield we will not only be participating in midfield battle but winning it. Thereafter both Scholes and Bergkamp are capable of quickly releasing either of wingers or set up someone like Shearer directly. Overall aim is to score more than the opposition.


Key Points against the opposition

- Neither side have the defense to keep the other out. Overall our MF duo combined with Bergkamp will give us more chances to execute our strategy of releasing out wingers and shearer to bomb the opposing defense with pace, power and guile.

- I do not believe that the opposing team can play any set up that will get the best out of all 3 of Suarez, Henry and Ronaldo. All 3 of them at their very peak in the PL saw significant amount of ball and that simply won't be possible here. A Madrid era Ronaldo is more suited to play alongside Henry than a United one, especially the one that played on the right.

- Viera played with a defensive partner in petit, dont think alonso is the right kind of player to partner him since alonso at his peak(in epl) always had mascherano to do the dirty work for him. Ditto with vieria. Playing a 4-4-2 with silva on the wings, leaves his midfield exposed since silva wont help out a lot in defense while henry never played on the wings either so cant play a 4-3-3.

 

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TEAM SKIZZO/PAT

Formation: 4-4-1-1

Tactics: Possession/Quick transitions

After the last reinforcement round, we added Patrick Vieira to our already strong spine, and now boast a formidable defensive shield to our already unstoppable attack.

MJJ/Crappy's strength lies in their midfield duo of Keane and Scholes. Previously they were able to argue they would boss the midfield, and create enough chances to outscore the teams they played against, despite having a weak defence. Unfortunately, they now lack a clear midfield advantage, and therefore won't control proceedings quite like they would hope.

Vieira and Keane have had some epic battles throughout the years, and another one can be expected here. Scholes and Alonso can bring different things to each side. Scholes with his box to box role, and his passing...and Alonso with his passing from deep and link up play with Silva and our forwards.

While in previous games we were forced to stay on the back foot, and soak up pressure before countering, here we wouldn't need to be on the back foot all game. We now have a competitive midfield, as well as boasting a better defence, and a far better attacking threat. While Bergkamp behind Shearer is a fantastic unit, their match up with Campbell and Desailly is more reliant on moments of brilliance than Henry, Suarez, and Ronaldo looking to attack a defensive partnership of McGrath and Southgate.

Like most 442 match ups, it could be an open match with end to end, but we have a key component here to swing the match in our favour.

In the last game David Silva was given a lesser role out wide to avoid coming up against Makelele. It limited his influence, while still allowing him to link with our forwards. Here, he will look to constantly drift in to the space behind the midfield of MJJ/Crappy, and will feed our attacking players and run the game from there. Having him drift in to that space gives Alonso and Vieira an outball to bypass the midfield, and gives us an advantage centrally to negate their threat. Ginola, while a great attacking player, wouldn't offer much defensively, and certainly won't be following Silva as he moves centrally, leaving him open to work his magic. David Silva is a master at finding space between the lines, and unlocking tight defences. Here, we see a lot of space he will be able to exploit, and a defence that, to put it quite bluntly, is weak to be in a final of a draft.

With Silva more being centrally throughout the game, it will give Henry the opportunity to attack the left channel as he often did to such devastating effect


Keys to Victory:


Our Attack: Its simply too good, too fast and too multi-faceted to contain. In their most prolific seasons, Ronaldo claimed 31 goals and 7 assists, Suarez 31 and 12, Henry 24 and 20, and David Silva 6 and 15. Ronaldo vs Pearce is the starkest mismatch on the pitch, and while Ivanovic was a solid defender, he faces a horrible assignment in this match, with Henry and David Silva reprising, and arguably upgrading, the brilliant Henry/Pires partnership.

As good as McGrath was at his peak, his best years were arguably before the Premier League. While he still put in good performances, picking up individual awards, he wasn't the same player he was prior. With a less than stellar partner in Southgate, it will be far too much to expect them to keep out the Henry/Suarez threat, especially with Silva supplying them, and Ronaldo pulling Pearce all over on the other side. Both defenders could be in for a rough ride here, and they just don't have enough about them to keep out our attacking threat.

Last thoughts:

While Keane-Scholes was a fantastic midfield pairing, probably the best available in this draft, they are a particularly offensive pair. With the McGrath-Southgate partnership behind them, they don't have the usual solid defense that is needed for this particular 442 to work. Another key component that is missing is the hardworking, grafting wingers (in the mold of Beckham or Giggs) that would help ease the burden on the defence. So while the midfield is a strong unit, and a fantastic one even beyond the restrictions of this draft, they would struggle here against a setup that would exploit its weaknesses.

 

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@Rado_N

Could you please help to put up a poll? Thanks

With players at peaks in the teams indicated, who will win?
MJJ/Crappy
Skizzo/Pat

votes visible without voting
votes can be changed
24 hours

 

[green_smiley]

Good luck @MJJ @crappycraperson @Skizzo @Pat_Mustard

 

[Rado_N]

Boom.

 

[Physiocrat]

Well played MJJ/Crappy excellent use of Scholes. Didn't see that coming. Much closer because of it. Will have to think about this more

 

[Marty1968]

Henry, Suarez, Silva and Ronaldo against Shay Given!!!?!?!?!?!

Keane & Scholes vs Alonso & Vieira would be one tasty midfield battle.

 

[Varun]

Superb attacks and midfields but team skizzo/pat have the better defence to cope with the opposition imo.

 

[Theon]

Bergkamp feeding Shearer is just ridiculous

 

[Theon]

Superb attacks and midfields but team skizzo/pat have the better defence to cope with the opposition imo.

Probably disagree with that actually, for me the quality is pretty similar between the two.

Southgate was never great but Wayne Bridge is still the weakest defender on the park.

Campbell and McGrath were both excellent and are the two top tier defenders - possibly the edge to McGrath on peak form.

I'd have Ivanovic over Gallas and obviously Pearce over Bridge. It's really Southgate that lets that defence down.

 

[RoadTrip]

They are both great teams. But one just about edges it for me.

 

[Varun]

Probably disagree with that actually, for me the quality is pretty similar between the two.

Southgate was never great but Wayne Bridge is still the weakest defender on the park.

Campbell and McGrath were both excellent and are the two top tier defenders - possibly the edge to McGrath on peak form.

I'd have Ivanovic over Gallas and obviously Pearce over Bridge. It's really Southgate that lets that defence down.

Yes, the full backs are evenly divided, each team has one better than the other. It's the CBs I was referring to. I'd trust desailly-campbell to do better than their counterparts vs the strikers they are up against. I'l admit to have never watched mcgrath but most of what I read about him has always been that he wasn't really as good in the PL era. Correct me if I'm wrong. Southgate was bang average and him against Henry and Suarez would be funny.

 

[crappycraperson]

Henry, Suarez, Silva and Ronaldo against Shay Given!!!?!?!?!?!

Keane & Scholes vs Alonso & Vieira would be one tasty midfield battle.

He has Hart in goal. At their very peak I would take Given any day. Both suffer from similar kind of weaknesses that they can not command their area.

 

[crappycraperson]

Yes, the full backs are evenly divided, each team has one better than the other. It's the CBs I was referring to. I'd trust desailly-campbell to do better than their counterparts vs the strikers they are up against. I'l admit to have never watched mcgrath but most of what I read about him has always been that he wasn't really as good in the PL era. Correct me if I'm wrong. Southgate was bang average and him against Henry and Suarez would be funny.

We have conceeded that our defense can't keep him out. But his back four is not going to keep out the quartet of Shearer, Bergkamp, Overmars and Ginola, supplied by Scholes.

I don't agree with full backs divided part.
Pearce >> Bridge
Ivanovic > Gallas as a right back

Theon is right that Southgate is a weak link but as is Bridge for him. Regardless it is sort of a moot point sine any defensive duo will have trouble against his forwards

 

[Theon]

Yes, the full backs are evenly divided, each team has one better than the other. It's the CBs I was referring to. I'd trust desailly-campbell to do better than their counterparts vs the strikers they are up against. I'l admit to have never watched mcgrath but most of what I read about him has always been that he wasn't really as good in the PL era. Correct me if I'm wrong. Southgate was bang average and him against Henry and Suarez would be funny.

I actually meant that I prefer both of MJJ's fullbacks - for me Ivanovic is better than Gallas and then clearly Pearce is better than Bridge.

Disagree on McGrath - he won the PFA Player of the Year in a Premiership era season and it was 1994 when he played magnificently in the World Cup - keeping out eventual World Cup finalists Italy led by Roberto Baggio.

Tried to find a clip of just his performance in that game but this is the best I can find.

 

[bleezy]

I'm quite a big fan of MJJ's side. It reminds me quite a lot of an actual team we'd see in the Premier League, and one that would work very well together. Bergkamp behind Shearer with quality wingers and Keane and Scholes in midfield is brilliant. The only real weakness probably comes with Southgate in defence, as I think the other three are very solid and would give a good account of themselves. Unfortunately, Skizzo's clear strength is his attack which has the individuals to create a few moments of individual genius that nobody can really stop.

I do fancy Overmars and Ivanovic to have some joy on their wing, though. Silva will drift in a lot as it says in the write up and I think Bridge might be a bit too exposed there. Depending on which season Ronaldo is being played, you could possibly say the same about the other wing too, but to a much lesser degree. Keane/Scholes vs. Vieira/Alonso is pretty close. Silva coming inside to play as the tip of that midfield would cause some problems in picking him up, but then if a ball is played out wide, the pressure is back on Bridge to keep his position and handle Overmars' pace.

 

[Gio]

Yes, the full backs are evenly divided, each team has one better than the other. It's the CBs I was referring to. I'd trust desailly-campbell to do better than their counterparts vs the strikers they are up against. I'l admit to have never watched mcgrath but most of what I read about him has always been that he wasn't really as good in the PL era. Correct me if I'm wrong. Southgate was bang average and him against Henry and Suarez would be funny.

McGrath's got a Player of the Year award to his name in the Premiership era. Bit like Desailly - he was past his peak but still produced enough stellar performances to merit a place here. Southgate is the weakest of the four, but he's got 57 caps for England despite facing competition from the likes of Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Sol Campbell. Looking at some of these comments, he is clearly getting under-rated, and stylistically is a nice foil for the more blood-and-thunder types. Pearce and Ivanovic are obviously a better set of full-backs.

 

[Varun]

We have conceeded that our defense can't keep him out. But his back four is not going to keep out the quartet of Shearer, Bergkamp, Overmars and Ginola, supplied by Scholes.

I don't agree with full backs divided part.
Pearce >> Bridge
Ivanovic > Gallas as a right back

Theon is right that Southgate is a weak link but as is Bridge for him. Regardless it is sort of a moot point sine any defensive duo will have trouble against his forwards

Yup, neither defence is going to keep the other attack at bay. I'm making the call based on defence A vs attack B and defence B vs attack A and I feel Skizzo's team has the edge there.

I actually meant that I prefer both of MJJ's fullbacks - for me Ivanovic is better than Gallas and then clearly Pearce is better than Bridge.

Disagree on McGrath - he won the PFA Player of the Year in a Premiership era season and it was 1994 when he played magnificently in the World Cup - keeping out eventual World Cup finalists Italy led by Roberto Baggio.

Tried to find a clip of just his performance in that game but this is the best I can find.

McGrath's got a Player of the Year award to his name in the Premiership era. Bit like Desailly - he was past his peak but still produced enough stellar performances to merit a place here. Southgate is the weakest of the four, but he's got 57 caps for England despite facing competition from the likes of Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Sol Campbell. Looking at some of these comments, he is clearly getting under-rated, and stylistically is a nice foil for the more blood-and-thunder types. Pearce and Ivanovic are obviously a better set of full-backs.

Didn't know he had a player of the year award guys, thanks for that. Just read things about him as I said, never seen him play and it was all about how great he was earlier but a player in decline during the PL era.

Pearce is up against Ronaldo though while bridge is up against overmars, big difference in quality especially when the CB helping them out is Southgate.

 

[crappycraperson]

Yup, neither defence is going to keep the other attack at bay. I'm making the call based on defence A vs attack B and defence B vs attack A and I feel Skizzo's team has the edge there.

Fair enough though odd that you are not taking MF into account at all. Keane and Scholes are number 1 and number 2 MFs on the pitch and have a proven partnership.

 

[crappycraperson]

First vote !

 

[Varun]

Fair enough though odd that you are not taking MF into account at all. Keane and Scholes are number 1 and number 2 MFs on the pitch and have a proven partnership.

I am crappy, your middle 2 edges his. I think the game would be a high scoring one with plenty of goals but his front 4 would get just 1 more against your defence.

 

[MJJ]

Yes, the full backs are evenly divided, each team has one better than the other. It's the CBs I was referring to. I'd trust desailly-campbell to do better than their counterparts vs the strikers they are up against. I'l admit to have never watched mcgrath but most of what I read about him has always been that he wasn't really as good in the PL era. Correct me if I'm wrong. Southgate was bang average and him against Henry and Suarez would be funny.

Mcgrath won player of the year in his current villa incarnation. So not fair to say he wasnt really as good in the PL era.

Edit- Saw thats its already been mentioned.

 

[MJJ]

The attacks are on par, his wingers are better but that is countered by us having better centre midfielders. Strikers I would put both around the same level. His fullbacks are poorer than ours while his central defense is better but the difference at fullbacks is greater than the difference in central area.

We also have a more options to score, with shearer's height, scholes ability to find wingers and a well timed cross from the outside.

 

[Donaldo]

The attacks are not on par, and I say this as someone who regards Dennis as the second best foreign import in the Premier League's history.

Three geniuses in Suarez, Henry and Ronaldo, each capable of destroying a defence single-handedly...who let them build such a team

 

[MJJ]

The attacks are not on par, and I say this as someone who regards Dennis as the second best foreign import in the Premier League's history.

Three geniuses in Suarez, Henry and Ronaldo, each capable of destroying a defence single-handedly...who let them build such a team

Ronaldo,Zidane, Figo, Raul, Beckham. All geniuses capable of destroying a defense single-handedly and we all know how that turned out.

 

[Donaldo]

Are you being deliberately obtuse? Might as well have not played a draft then :S

 

[MJJ]

Are you being deliberately obtuse? Might as well have not played a draft then :S

Not really, just pointing out that having three world class players doesnt always work out. You have to consider how the team will gel as well. Our players have designated roles where everyone knows what he is doing. Henry, Suarez and Ronaldo were all star players in their respective sides, SAF gave Ronaldo freedom to do whatever he wanted, ditto Rodgers with Suarez and Wenger with Henry.

Three players focused on attack who will drift right,left and centre will cause issues for us defensively but it will also totally destroy his shape when defending whereas our players will defend from shearer onwards.

Not to mention both silva and ronaldo will leave his fullbacks completely exposed.

 

[Mani]

Two well constructed team considering the criteria.Looking at both team's i find Skizzo's defense is better equipped to deal with Shearer here and his attack got better variety, MF looks even battle but MJJ lucky to have proven pair.

 

[MJJ]

Two well constructed team considering the criteria.Looking at both team's i find Skizzo's defense is better equipped to deal with Shearer here and his attack got better variety, MF looks even battle but MJJ lucky to have proven pair.

How does his attack has more variety? Suarez,Henry are similar-ish players in terms of how they attack. Ronaldo,Silva has as much variety as Ginola, Overmars. Compare that to our attack where every single player offers something different.

Another point to note is that both vieira and alonso played alongside a dedicated DM during their time in the PL. Something that is obviously not happening here. His formation is more a 4-2-2-2 than a 4-4-2 imo.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Bridge in a final!

 

[MJJ]

Would also like to point out given eaps comment above that overmars is going to roast bridge time and time again. Which in turn will force Campbell out wide leaving more space through the middle. All of us remember the impact Valencia as a rb had on smelling and the space we left behind. Expect something similar to happen here.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

We also have a more options to score, with shearer's height, scholes ability to find wingers and a well timed cross from the outside.

Disagree. The vast majority of your goalscoring threat is funnelled through Shearer. Scholes scored 9 league goals across three seasons from 2006-09. Bergkamp only broke the one goal in 2 games barrier in one season in his PL career, scoring 87 goals in 315 league games overall. Ginola's best ever tally 6 goals in 34 games. Overmars hit double figures once in a Premier League season, scoring 12 goals in 32 games in 1997-98, coincidentally the exact same record as David Silva's last season.

Now Shearer's playing in a very good set up for him, no arguments there, but we've got the greater range of goal threats.

 

[Mani]

How does his attack has more variety? Suarez,Henry are similar-ish players in terms of how they attack. Ronaldo,Silva has as much variety as Ginola, Overmars. Compare that to our attack where every single player offers something different.

Another point to note is that both vieira and alonso played alongside a dedicated DM during their time in the PL. Something that is obviously not happening here. His formation is more a 4-2-2-2 than a 4-4-2 imo.

By variety i mean, comfortable interchange of position between them self in natural course of play and i don't think Suarez and Henry are similar,Henry mostly started from left or lead the attack from top,on other hand Suarez got more work rate and involves other into play which could be handy when he plays alongside Ronaldo. Silva again he never going to occupy one position to control the game.

 

[sajeev]

so many defenders who don't deserve being in a final - Ivanovic, Southgate, Bridge, Desailly (in the Premier League).

And Shay Given vs Joe Hart

 

[Pat_Mustard]

How does his attack has more variety? Suarez,Henry are similar-ish players in terms of how they attack. Ronaldo,Silva has as much variety as Ginola, Overmars. Compare that to our attack where every single player offers something different.

That's just untrue. Ronaldo is a much better goalscorer and far better in the air than either Ginola or Overmars, and David Silva is the better passer and playmaker by a wide margin. We have much more pace in our attack overall too.

 

[MJJ]

That's just untrue. Ronaldo is a much better goalscorer and far better in the air than either Ginola or Overmars, and David Silva is the better passer and playmaker by a wide margin. We have much more pace in our attack overall too.

Which version of ronaldo are you playing? 06-07 or 07-08?

 

[MJJ]

so many defenders who don't deserve being in a final - Ivanovic, Southgate, Bridge, Desailly (in the Premier League).

And Shay Given vs Joe Hart

Ivanovic has been the best Rb in the premier league(with zabaleta as his competition) over the past seven, eight years. How does he not deserve to start?

Given had a better peak then hart as well.

 

[crappycraperson]

so many defenders who don't deserve being in a final - Ivanovic, Southgate, Bridge, Desailly (in the Premier League).

And Shay Given vs Joe Hart

You are being harsh on Ivanovic. Which PL era right backs will you rate ahead of him? Neville and Dixon, Zabaleta perhaps but it is close. For first two you will have to sacrifice a United/Arsenal spot.

 

[crappycraperson]

That's just untrue. Ronaldo is a much better goalscorer and far better in the air than either Ginola or Overmars, and David Silva is the better passer and playmaker by a wide margin. We have much more pace in our attack overall too.

I don't believe Silva is a better playmaker than Bergkamp at all, neither is he a better passer than Scholes; though you might be comparing wingers which is fair enough.

 

[MJJ]

By variety i mean, comfortable interchange of position between them self in natural course of play and i don't think Suarez and Henry are similar,Henry mostly started from left or lead the attack from top,on other hand Suarez got more work rate and involves other into play which could be handy when he plays alongside Ronaldo. Silva again he never going to occupy one position to control the game.

Which as I pointed out is going to harm him defensively. Neither of his wingers will track back a lot(its worse than our wingers). Suarez might have more work rate but they will occupy similar channels, make similar runs, neither is a target man. Take silva coming inside and ditto with 07/08 ronaldo and it all makes a very congested middle for team skipat.