Behind the Curtain draft (Eastern Europe) | Final| Skizzo vs Gio 18:15

[Skizzo]

Sorry, been out most of the morning, but i should be back around for the remaining. Since this draft was to highlight certain generations and areas, i'll try and do a bit of a better job with some profiles and info for people since I know some people have questions, and I know some players aren't as well known. I'll expand on some of the more well known ones too, since they still deserve to be highlighted in a draft that's geared towards letting them shine.

I'll start with our main goal threat

 

[Gio]

I think a lot hinges on what Oleg Blokhin can bring to the game. On one hand, he has the work rate and intelligence to help balance the attacking unit. As @Raees put it, without necessarily being Beckham in a 4231 or Zagallo to Garrincha in Brazil's 442, he does have that tactical understanding of where to position himself as part of the overall unit. He certainly did a lot of that in the 1980s for Kiev and the USSR when the likes of Zavarov and Belanov emerged - often dropping deep to allow them and others like Yakovenko to push on beyond him. I fancy him having the intelligence and graft to make that work here with the likes of Puskas and Stoichkov.

Tactical set-up in the 1985 European Cup Winners Cup Final win over Atletico:

On the other hand, we have that sheer penetration, pace and punch down the left. I think this is the only match compilation I could find of him, against England in 1973. But it shows how seriously dangerous he was and how exceptional his close control was at top speed, which is a very rare gift. In this game he should have a regular advantage over Urbanczyk and is probably not the sort of player Vidic would fancy facing, especially if Skizzo's possession-based approach brings the defence high up the park.

 

[Skizzo]

His pace, movement, and ability on the ball is what we see causing the most issues for the central defensive partnership, as I don't see Khurtsilava or Weber being comfortable with his runs in behind, with or without the ball. The fact that he's dangerous in the air as well as on the ground just keeps our options open and stops us being too one dimensional.

In celebration of Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine’s great hero

“People continued to go to work and go about their business. There was no panic. For days the press and television would not say exactly what had happened, how serious it was,” Andriy Shevchenko recounts. He’s not reliving a loss in a big game or a crucial missed chance. He’s recalling his memories of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. “We knew something was going on because my father was in the Army, but mostly it was just rumors.”

The Chernobyl disaster affected hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. Betrayed by the lackadaisical safety regulations of the Soviet era, many were exposed to nuclear particles and to this day childhood thyroid cancer, among other illnesses, are common in the region.

By the time of the accident, a nine-year-old Shevchenko had already started his football career, having been signed by Dynamo Kyiv’s youth team four weeks earlier. His father was initially sceptical of his son’s sporting ambitions but was soon won over by his ability.

At the age of 14, Shevchenko set about making a name for himself away from his home country as his Dynamo team won the Ian Rush Cup in Wales in 1990. Shevchenko was the top scorer, his prize a pair of boots personally handed to him by one of his idols, Rush.

The youngster was slowly building a fearsome reputation in his home country. As a military child he was always smartly presented and polite, two things that helped him charm his way into the hearts of nation in later years. At 15, his reputation was further enhanced when he scored two goals on national television in a 2-2 draw between the youth teams of Ukraine and Holland.

It wasn’t long before a fresh-faced Sheva made his debut for Dynamo’s first team as an 18-year-old. The two could not have come together at a better time as the capital powerhouse were enjoying the most successful period in their history, winning five league titles on the spin and three cups under the management of the great Valeriy Lobanovskyi.

Shevchenko contributed 92 goals over those five seasons but it was by no means a one-man charge. Lobanovskyi not only realised he had a gem on his hands in Shevchenko, but he knew that in Serhiy Rebrov he had a partner with whom Shevchenko could form a deadly attacking duo and with whom Dynamo could do great things at home and abroad.

The two fuelled the team’s belief that they could beat anyone in the Champions League, and that’s exactly what they did, humiliating Barcelona 4-0 at the Camp Nou in 1997. Shevchenko became the first Ukrainian to score a hat-trick in the tournament’s history with the first three in that very game, while Rebrov added the fourth from a tight angle. “It was the night I was discovered, after that there was no hiding,” he would later say. Dynamo topped their group that season but were eventually knocked out by Juventus in the quarter-finals.

Both the club’s and Shevchenko’s most successful season would follow in 1998-99. Dynamo made serious inroads in Europe’s top tier of competition and he was there every step of the way. Goals against Lens and a penalty against Arsenal helped Dynamo finish top of their group before the real fun started in the knockout stages.


In the quarter-final against Real Madrid, a game Dynamo entered as huge underdogs, he showed no mercy for his illustrious opponents and scored all three goals in a 3-1 aggregate win. In the semi-final he added another two to his tally against Bayern Munich, but Dynamo fell cruelly short and lost 4-3 on aggregate. Shevchenko finished as the tournament’s joint top scorer with eight strikes and, with his reputation solidified, moved to AC Milan for the princely sum of £26 million, being hailed by Lobanovskyi as “the white Ronaldo” in doing so.

AC Milan had, in hindsight, conducted a shrewd bit of business. It had been four years since the club’s most iconic forward, Marco van Basten, had been forced to retire because of injury, and in Shevchenko the fans saw a striker who had already proven his ability at the very highest level. Predictably, it didn’t take long for them to label him as the new van Basten as Sheva bedded in immediately with a goal on debut and 23 more to follow. In finishing top scorer he became only the sixth foreigner to do so in his maiden season, and he would repeat the tally by scoring another 24 goals the season after.


So far everything had been rosy for him in Milan. He had met his future wife in the city, learnt a new language and was scoring regularly. The 2002-03 season was very different, however. Up to that point in his career Shevchenko had been relatively lucky with injuries, but a succession of them ruined his season. He only managed to score five goals in 24 league appearance and four in 11 in the Champions League, but still managed to become the first Ukrainian to win the competition. After having a goal ruled out early on against Juventus at Old Trafford he had a quite game – as did everyone else – in what was one of the more forgettable finals, the match eventually going to penalties.

After Alessandro Del Piero had kept Juventus in the tie with his converted kick, the task of wining the tournament would fall to a Milan player. Of course, that player would be Shevchenko. After a long run up he sent Buffon the wrong way with a tremendously composed penalty and wheeled away in celebration, looking overwhelmed with emotion as he galloped towards Dida.

In the days after the final Sheva would take the trophy to the grave of Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who had died a year earlier. Overcome with emotion, Shevchenko hailed Lobanovskyi for the impact he had on his career: “It was my way of thanking him for what he gave me. Without doubt he was the coach that changed me most. He taught me the need to be patient, he instilled the culture of work in me and the importance of respecting your adversary. He laid the foundations on which my career is based.”

https://donetskway.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/lobashevacltrophy.jpg

The following season would see him get back to his best as he grabbed the winner against Porto in the European Super Cup and netted 24 goals in 32 league matches on the way to Milan’s first Scudetto for five years. Shevchenko also scooped that year’s Ballon d’Or to cap 2004 as his best year in the game.

Away from football, however, life was complicated. As a national hero in Ukraine, his fame came with the luxury of widespread adulation, something that others increasingly looked to exploit for their own gains. In late 2004 he was caught up in the nation’s presidential elections, in which the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych faced the pro-Western Victor Yushchenko in a contest that was rife with corruption and voter intimidation.

In the run up to the elections Shevchenko appeared on Ukrainian television and sombrely read a pre-written statement endorsing Yanukovich. Ukraine’s talisman didn’t look at all enthusiastic to be in the situation as he glumly read out what was in front of him before quickly departing.

Back on the pitch things were not as straightforward as they previously were, with competition for places at Milan hotting up. A broken cheekbone meant that he missed a raft of games in the 2004-05 season but, despite this, he still managed to return a more than respectable total of 26 goals in 40 games as Milan made their way to that year’s Champions league final in Istanbul.

Shevcheko had played well and grabbed an assist for the second goal as Milan took a commanding 3-0 lead, the Ukrainian well on his way to winning a second title in three years. The rest of normal time is indeed history as the Reds plundered Milan’s defence to draw level.

In the second period of extra time, one of the defining moments of an already definitive final would be played out, with Shevchenko playing a starring role. As a fantastic cross was whipped in from the left hand side, Sheva lost his marker and connected powerfully with a downward header from just outside the six-yard box. Jerzy Dudek, the Liverpool goalkeeper, pulled off a good reaction save but palmed the ball back into the path of Shevchenko. With Dudek still on the ground after his save, Shevchenko’s eyes bulged as he strode forward and smashed the ball at goal only to see Dudek stick a hand out – in hope more than anything – and somehow keep it out. Shevchenko’s facial expression was one of shock and confusion. As he stared aimlessly into the night with his hands on his head he must have started wondering if this was going to be Liverpool’s night.

Not long after, the game went to penalties and Milan seemed resigned to their fate. After missing two of their attempts it fell to Shevchenko to keep the game alive. Walking up as the fifth penalty taker yet again, he knew if he missed the game was over. After everything that happened in 120 minutes of enthralling action, what followed was cruel. Striding up to the ball with less purpose than his winning penalty two years earlier, he prodded his shot tamely down the middle and Dudek kept it out with relative ease. Milan had blown it and Liverpool were champions.

Emotionally exhausted, Sheva and Milan had no option but to accept the defeat and go again. Dignified to the end, he drew on the teachings of Lobanovskyi that life has both its ups and downs, and reflected: “This was an important moment to face. Life is not made up just of victories, but also losses. When you are down, you rise up and go ahead. This was a beautiful moment; I would never change it. Even if we lost, we also learnt.”

Shevchenko spent that summer collecting his thoughts while holidaying on the Black Sea with his family, a place where he had spent many summers as a carefree youngster all those years ago. Chelsea were batting their eyelids heavily in his direction and Roman Abramovich was more than ready to spend a world record fee to get his man – but Shevchenko didn’t feel the time was right and discarded any thoughts he had of moving to London for the time being.

The 2005-06 season would yield no trophies for Milan, nor would it yield any individual awards for Shevchenko. Still heavily favoured in the Champions League, Shevchenko scored a last minute winner against Lyon to set up a semi-final with Barcelona. Many saw it as the final before the final as the two strongest teams faced off.

A Ludovic Giuly goal gave Barcelona a priceless 1-0 victory in the first leg at San Siro, meaning Milan headed to the Nou Camp walking on a tightrope. The trademark pressing game Barcelona deployed kept Milan at bay until controversy ensued in the 69th minute.

After a ball was played over the top Carles Puyol seemed to innocuously fall down, but taking no notice Shevchenko guided a brilliantly angled header into the far corner and wheeled away in celebration. The referee didn’t share that same enthusiasm, ruling the goal out and awarding Barcelona a free-kick in the thought that Shevchenko had pushed Puyol before scoring. Replays would show that Puyol slipped and Shevchenko had played no part in his downfall. For Shevchenko, it represented the closest he would come to winning the Champions League again.

With the season all but over in Milan, his eyes began to cast glances north, towards Germany. After coming agonisingly close to qualifying for the World Cup on the previous two occasions, Ukraine had finally managed to book their place at the 2006 finals, helped by six goals in qualifying from Shevchenko.

He captained his team throughout the tournament and scored in a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the group stage, the nation’s first win at a major tournament. He then converted a penalty against Tunisia to seal a 1-0 victory and put his country through to the last-16, where they would meet Switzerland.

In a goalless game, which eventually went to penalties, Shevchenko missed his attempt but would stand and watch as the rest of his team’s chosen takers converted their spot kicks and Ukraine went through to the quarters. For all the glory he had achieved at club level, this was one of his most enduring moments. As captain, he had led his country to the quarter-finals in their debut tournament. Although they lost 3-0 to eventual champions Italy in the last eight, they returned to a rapturous welcome in Kyiv.


Shevchenko would also be returning to a new start at club level. After years of flirting with Chelsea, the time was finally right to make the move to London, and Chelsea were only too happy to pay £30 million to get their man.

Everybody knew Abramovich had longed to see Shevchenko – a close friend – in a Chelsea shirt for many years. What happened to be less clear was his manager’s stance on the transfer. Rumours of José Mourinho’s reluctance at signing Shevchenko abounded before and after he was purchased, with many believing that he had been overruled by Abramovich and told to accept the deal. With a blatant lack of enthusiam, Mourinho welcomed his new striker by telling the press: “Today is a day when the dream became reality. Andriy has always been my first choice for Chelsea since I arrived. He has great qualities, ambition, discipline, tactical awareness and of course he is a great goalscorer.”

On a personal level, things got off to a good start for Sheva. He opened his account with a goal against rivals Liverpool in that season’s Community Shield and scored his first league goal against Middlesbrough a few days later.

The euphoria of his goalscoring start faded away soon after, however, with his form falling way short of a former Ballon d’Or winner. It seemed as if Shevchenko had quickly regressed, lacking composure in front of goal and the electric five-yard burst to beat defenders. He was starting games but was rarely on the score sheet, and was soon being ridiculed in the same way Fernando Torres would be for Chelsea some years later. Despite Didier Drogba providing ample competition, things never improved and his season was eventually cut short by a hernia operation, finishing with an average return of 14 goals from 51 appearances.

The following season was no better. In and out of the team due to injuries, his performances were lacklustre in the main, finishing with eight goals from 25 appearances.

After Luiz Felipe Scolari had been appointed at the start of the 2008-09 season, Shevchenko’s time at Chelsea was up. It was plain to see he was struggling to get going in England and he duly jumped at the chance of returning to Milan on loan and working under Carlo Ancelotti again. However, if his failure at Chelsea was mystifying, it was plainly evident that age was catching up to Sheva during his second spell in Italy. He didn’t manage to score a single league goal and only bagged two in 26 appearances. The old Sheva, full of grace and finesse, had gone, replaced by an aging stalwart.

He seemed to accept this when, not long after returning to Chelsea, he agreed a move back home to Dynamo Kyiv, where he would see out the rest of his career at club level. He had long set his sights on playing at Euro 2012, of which Ukraine was a co-host, and saw his return to Dynamo as the perfect way to not only end his club career but to also build up to the Euros, after which he would retire. He had some success, being named in the Ukrainian Premier League’s Team of the Year in 2009, but his days were numbered. Age catches up to everyone, and the great Andriy Shevchenko was no exception.

When the Euros did eventually come to town, Shevchenko was fired up. Motivated by pride to perform in front of his countrymen, he got off to a dream start in the tournament by scoring both goals in Ukraine’s 2-1 win over Sweden. The celebration for his second goal was particularly poignant as he wheeled away towards the corner flag with tears in his eyes. But, despite everything he had given football, and being more deserving than most, Lady Luck was nowhere to be found and Sheva was unable to play again because of yet another injury. Immediately after Ukraine’s elimination he announced his retirement from football.

Since then he has kept busy by playing in various golf tournaments around the world and has also welcomed two more sons to his family. He was offered the chance of becoming the manager of Ukraine in 2012 but quickly declined, citing his inexperience for the role and a desire to take some time away from football.

Despite a less than glorious ending, the beginning and middle of Shevchenko’s career saw some of the best striking moments in European football history – and some of the finest goals along the way. Rarely will we see a striker who combined so many attributes – pace, power, technique, movement and intelligence – into one deadly package again, and rarely will his name not be mentioned among the greats of Eastern European football.

From a child deeply affected by Chernobyl, Andriy Shevchenko overcame the odds, defied his father, lifted a nation, and became AC Milan’s first great striker since Marco van Basten. Valeriy Lobanovskyi would have been proud.

 

[Skizzo]

especially if Skizzo's possession-based approach brings the defence high up the park.

The same surely holds true for Khurtsilava and your full backs. If Khurtsilava carries the ball out of defense, it leaves a gap back there for Shevchenko and for Dzajic to cut inside. Part of the benefit of having so many players who press hard from the front means we improve our chances of getting turnovers high up the field and can exploit that before the defense gets a chance to recover.

 

[Gio]

The same surely holds true for Khurtsilava and your full backs. If Khurtsilava carries the ball out of defense, it leaves a gap back there for Shevchenko and for Dzajic to cut inside. Part of the benefit of having so many players who press hard from the front means we improve our chances of getting turnovers high up the field and can exploit that before the defense gets a chance to recover.

I think we've got more pace in our defence, particularly at full-back, while Weber was very quick and dynamic. Similarly, we've got a bit more pace in attack. Kocsis was rapid - look at the GIF against Uruguay I shared - while Blokhin was of Olympic stock and could run the 100m in 10.7s.

 

[Theon]

My issue is the chemistry of that front 4 in relation to the balance of a side as a whole.. it is definitely a 4-2-4, uber-attacking side..

A big criticism I have have Skizzo's side is his full backs, I don't rate as good enough to keep your widemen quite.

Cheers for providing an explanation. Agree with the first comment to an extent, but that's why we went with a duo of Pluskal / Voronin (we left space to try and grab Puskas throughout the upgrade rounds) who are a much more defensively robust pairing than Netto / Jugovic and imo provide enough stability to make that work.

The second part is where I thought we would win the game as IMO both Stochkov and Blokhin have advantages in those areas - obviously others have judged those battles slightly differently.

 

[antohan]

Trying to read up but all I can think of is how crap the manager-AM combos are. All I'm reading is skizzo tied up with Theon barking at each other while Gio waltzes around minding his own agenda.

 

[Theon]

Trying to read up but all I can think of is how crap the manager-AM combos are. All I'm reading is skizzo tied up with Theon barking at each other while Gio waltzes around minding his own agenda.

Not sure that's quite what happened.

 

[antohan]

Not sure that's quite what happened.

Dunno, I can hardly spend any time on here these days. But it does look like you are playing the attack dog role and getting skizzo tied up in futile interactions while Gio can focus on wooing the voters.

It's an effective setup and I gather it has worked well before, just not my cup of tea.

 

[Theon]

Dunno, I can hardly spend any time on here these days. But it does look like you are playing the attack dog role and getting skizzo tied up in futile interactions while Gio can focus on wooing the voters.

It's an effective setup and I gather it has worked well before, just not my cup of tea.

Eh? How have you read that from that interaction - seriously read it again, because you're well off.

I made a post (responding to Annah) where I said I thought we had an advantage in the individual battles at LW, AM, RW and ST - Skizzo said he disagreed and the next three posts were me trying to get something of substance out of him explaining what he disagreed with.

And as for going on the attack not being your cup of tea, I hope that's a joke!

 

[antohan]

Eh? How have you read that from that interaction - seriously read it again, because you're well off.

I made a post (responding to Annah) where I said I thought we had an advantage in the individual battles at LW, AM, RW and ST - Skizzo said he disagreed and the next three posts were me trying to get something of substance out of him explaining what he disagreed with.

And as for going on the attack not being your cup of tea, I hope that's a joke!

The tandem isn't. And you just described people getting tied up in pointless arguments.

 

[Theon]

The tandem isn't. And you just described people getting tied up in pointless arguments.

The tandem doesn't exist.

And thats not what was described - asking someone to substantiate their view isn't pointless. It's largely the purpose of the match threads.

 

[Gio]

Dunno, I can hardly spend any time on here these days. But it does look like you are playing the attack dog role and getting skizzo tied up in futile interactions while Gio can focus on wooing the voters.

It's an effective setup and I gather it has worked well before, just not my cup of tea.

I don't think we've ever had a deliberate ploy to have a good cop / bad cop role. In this case what you're seeing was more a reflection of the scoreline at that point. At the time of Theon and Skizzo disagreeing, we were 6-0 down without a single post explaining who, what, where or why. As you've said before more vocally than most, it's frustrating when lots of people vote but few offer some sort of insight into it.

 

[antohan]

I don't think we've ever had a deliberate ploy to have a good cop / bad cop role. In this case what you're seeing was more a reflection of the scoreline at that point. At the time of Theon and Skizzo disagreeing, we were 6-0 down without a single post explaining who, what, where or why. As you've said before more vocally than most, it's frustrating when lots of people vote but few offer some sort of insight into it.

Just an observation. If you re-read it there's two parallel exchanges, one about the game, how excellent X or Y is and a little bitchfest on the sideline. I would have to agree with Skizzo that bringing up the scoreline was sneaky.

Page 2 gets better though and I don't see anything that changes my mind. You may lack a bit in the linkman department but his trio is a tad weaker/less imposing. However much I love Nedved and Zibi, when in doubt I'd go with Puskas.

 

[Annahnomoss]

Great job all three of you. It is Skizzos team through and through so well done mate. Was an informative draft and I've tried to learn what I had time for and hopefully we see some more of these players become draft regulars. Started off a bit messy with so many unknowns but for every round it became easier. Awesome admin job and idea for this @harms.

 

[antohan]

Oh crap, it finished? Need to catch up on the games as @harms commissioned an Awards Ceremony. Congrats @Skizzo

 

[Gio]

Anyway, congratulations to @Skizzo and @Annahnomoss.

Impressive performance in squad building and nice to see Jugovic and Nedved in a central role get their dues. Despite the final result, really happy with the team we put together.

Theon, Lovchev (or should that be Lovcheb) and I are off to drown our sorrows at the strip bar.

 

[Skizzo]

Good game @Gio @Theon as usual you build a ridiculously good team, but I don't think anyone expected any less.

Thanks to @harms for putting on the draft, and giving a platform for a lot of lesser known players.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

congrats @Skizzo and @Annahnomoss , that central core of yours is epic

 

[Annahnomoss]

congrats @Skizzo and @Annahnomoss , that central core of yours is epic

Cheers mate.

 

[Annahnomoss]

Anyway, congratulations to @Skizzo and @Annahnomoss.

Impressive performance in squad building and nice to see Jugovic and Nedved in a central role get their dues. Despite the final result, really happy with the team we put together.

Theon, Lovchev (or should that be Lovcheb) and I are off to drown our sorrows at the strip bar.

Thanks good cop mate. Must admit we were terrified in the reinforcements for you lot to pick up Puskas. Blokhin-Puskas-Stoichkov seemed too tasty too soon for anybody else to recover.

 

[Skizzo]

congrats @Skizzo and @Annahnomoss , that central core of yours is epic

Cheers mate. Was a bit of a shame to bench Deyna as he really deserved to appear, but made a bit of a tactical gamble sliding Nedved in his spot to try and tweak things in our favour against that midfield we were up against, and fortunately it seems to have panned out.

 

[antohan]

Cheers mate. Was a bit of a shame to bench Deyna as he really deserved to appear, but made a bit of a tactical gamble sliding Nedved in his spot to try and tweak things in our favour against that midfield we were up against, and fortunately it seems to have panned out.

It was a shame alright, but agree it probably won you the game.

 

[Skizzo]

It was a shame alright, but agree it probably won you the game.

You can take some of the credit for the inspiration after your last shadowwanker performance with him behind Ruud.

 

[Raees]

Hmm was very tempted to change my vote but got home late. Looks like Skizzo would have nicked it regardless.

@Gio @Theon well played guys, it was a very uncharacteristic side for you lot in that it was a really gung ho side but you deserve credit for producing some entertaining lineups for each game.

@Skizzo had you down as my winner from the outset and was hoping to avoid you throughout - well deserved after some near misses.

 

[Skizzo]

@Skizzo had you down as my winner from the outset and was hoping to avoid you throughout - well deserved after some near misses.

Cheers mate. Was quite happy with the team, although never quite got the chance to upgrade the defense as we would have liked to, so focused on trying to find a balance elsewhere.

Surprised we were a favourite though of yours though, thought we were slipping under the radar

 

[harms]

@Skizzo @Annahnomoss congratulations! Really liked the balance in your team - with Dzajic doing his magic and Shevchenko-Nedved-Boniek (plus Netto to an extent) forming an all-conquering machine; very much in the spirit of the draft, blending the opposites - a free Yugoslavian spirit with Lobanovsky-esque football's constructivism.

@Gio @Theon hard luck - especially after eliminating the draft's favorite in the previous round. The more I think about your attack, the better can I envision it working.

By the way, Puskas lost 3 games in a row - and someone wanted to ban him beforehand

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Congrats to the winners, and well done @harms for running an excellent draft!

 

[Joga Bonito]

Congrats @Skizzo @Annahnomoss . Really loved the Nedved as the AM manoeuvre and Dzajic-Boniek would have been a real nuisance on the flank with Sheva being the ideal forward up top and Dzajic-Sheva have probably just about given you guys the win here, in addition to Vidic-Popluhar squaring up fairly well with Kocsis.

Had to give my vote to Gio and Theon because I wasn't really a fan of the Jugovic-Netto pairing and I could see Puskas having a good game here, whilst their wing duo would have had some joy against the opposition's full-back duo (at least relatively more than the other way round). Mind, I'm by no means an expert on Netto but imo both were excellent all-rounders but both were primarily renowned for their skills on their ball as opposed to their defensive games (which was at a good level as fairly all-round midfielders but I didn't see it being enough against Puskas). Tbf, playing Nedved as the AM was a masterstroke as it significantly made the midfield much stronger and more complete as an unit. Whilst Gio/Theon's side was more offensive with essentially 4 forwards on show, I saw no issues with complementarity or any balance issues with a rock solid midfield duo supporting them (arguably two of the best defensively astute midfielders in the draft). Didn't quite buy the lack of a playmaker argument which was put forth too, as it essentially was a direct side with a 'midfield pivot' featuring a good all-round ball-playing midfielder and a resolute holding midfielder, two direct inside forwards (hardly an anomaly these days), with a really intelligent and incisive second-striker with excellent link-up play and 2 buccaneering wing-backs. Seems like a fairly modern side with a fairly direct and universal approach with plenty of creativity from the likes of Blokhin, Stoichkov, Voronin and Khurtsilava from the back. Voronin obviously had a critical role to play here as the glue of the side but he was definitely capable of fulfilling such a role and I didn't really see him being nullified here to such an extent that the side needed a specialist playmaker further forward.

Btw, great draft @harms . One of the most informative drafts with plenty of new names getting a run in.

 

[Skizzo]

Congrats to the winners, and well done @harms for running an excellent draft!

Cheers Chester. Shame I didn't see you involved more, always look forward to your input. Alcohol-fueled or otherwise.

 

[Skizzo]

Thanks @Joga Bonito cant find fault with your reasoning for your vote. I'd be lying if I said I felt confident going in against a Puskas-Kocsis axis flanked by Stoichkov-Blokhin.

The Nedved move was the only thing I felt would give us a chance, so glad it paid off. We were lucky our defense held up without reinforcement though, not sure how we managed to only add Vidic and not be harpooned for it.

 

[Raees]

@harms your best XI of the draft?

 

[Andeva]

Obviously appreciate that Aldo and Enigma have shared their reasons for their votes, but it would be helpful if at least a handful of the other 14/15 or so on the opposition side could offer up some reasoning. Not that I'm saying who you vote for is wrong, or that everyone has to provide a long-winded justification - but it's hard to invest time in the match thread if next to none of those voters are participating in the discussion and giving the likes of Skizzo and I something to work with. Any insights from @Salwan @Jerzol78 @Anders Emil Våge @Janson @Red Star One @Raees @Mani @2mufc0 @SirScholes etc would be gratefully received.

I'll get back to you as soon as I've got the time. Working 24/7 till march 6th, with no real time to reply, just an occasional drop in, so have me excused until then.

 

[Joga Bonito]

We were lucky our defense held up without reinforcement though, not sure how we managed to only add Vidic and not be harpooned for it.

Tbf, Vidic-Popluhar is an absolutely cracking pairing and a draft-winning worthy duo at that imo. The full-backs were unremarkable but it was a good thing that they were of a solid make as opposed to being purely attacking wing-backs and the industrious nature of Boniek supporting the right flank definitely helped too.

 

[Skizzo]

Tbf, Vidic-Popluhar is an absolutely cracking pairing and a draft-winning worthy duo at that imo. The full-backs were unremarkable but it was a good thing that they were of a solid make as opposed to being purely attacking wing-backs and the industrious nature of Boniek supporting the right flank definitely helped too.

Aye I was happy to bring Vidic in, and was happy that they were fairly complementary in their setup. The full backs are what I thought would be our undoing, mainly due to their unknown quality in comparison to others on show. As you say, part of the reason we prioritized the reinforcements we did was because they added that duality of being able to defend, so we would limit any one on one moments to a minimum hopefully.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Cheers Chester. Shame I didn't see you involved more, always look forward to your input. Alcohol-fueled or otherwise.

Been working like a slave lately, at all sorts of odd hours at that. Hopefully entering a more relaxed period now.

Still, while I haven't had much time or energy to participate in the discussions, I've enjoyed reading the write-ups and player profiles – some excellent work has been done there, so thanks both to you and to all the others who have taken the time to assemble all that info and present it so well.

 

[antohan]

You can take some of the credit for the inspiration after your last shadowwanker performance with him behind Ruud.

Good to hear that ended up being more than just a shadow wank. It certainly deserved better

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Congrats @Skizzo , great tournament @Gio

For me I kept seeing this Blokhin-Puskas combination down the left scoring the matchwinner but worthy winner of this excellent draft. Well done @harms

 

[Ecstatic]

As usual, when I delay my decision, always too late when I'm ready to vote.

After some new thoughts, I would have voted for Gio/Theon because of the mismatch between his front 4 and the opposing 4 defenders, especially on the wings.

Cosmetic change but I would have opted for something like that in order to avoid pointless debates about the role of Puskas who is generally described as 'an inside-left forward'

 

[Ecstatic]

Congrats to everybody.