I don't see McTominay's passing being any more of an issue that Fred's or any of the other in vogue midfielders people talk about. His long range passing needs a bit of work maybe, and I'd have questions about him switching off in defensive situations sometimes, but his regular passing is pretty decent.
Did they sit comfortably higher up the pitch against teams who transition play quickly with quick players in attack? Any CB can play high up the pitch if there's no threat in return.
So we’ve finally caught up with the famed Everton data science backed transfer approach!
And the rest like Leicester, Liverpool and City, who we fell miles behind with a outdated approach.So we’ve finally caught up with the famed Everton data science backed transfer approach!
I think it's fair to say City, Chelsea and Spurs all have quick players who transition defence to attack quickly yeah. Villa & Leeds were heralded all season for their fast paced attacking too.
I agree. Basically any team who got any consistent value for money over the last ten years has clearly been utilising data and picking players based on what the team is lacking from that standpoint. With our big budget and draw for almost any player this will be a beautiful thing when it all finally clicks into place on the pitch. Much better than just going out buying names.
It's absolutely fair and City and Leeds under Guardiola and Bielsa have consistently played a higher line both on the ball and off the ball to compress the pitch which also helps when it comes to pressing high/counter pressing.
I don't think you've understood my point at all. I'm fully aware of the benefits of it which is why I strongly advocate one of our goalkeepers over the other.
It's not just a sweeping issue if your CBs can't defend the channels in 1v1s high up the pitch. It's the reason we play reactive football with the space between the backline, double pivot and the forwards being too vast.
I literally gave 5 examples of games against teams with fast attackers who transition quickly where we were bold, went 1v1 high up the pitch at times and defended well. We can do it and playing deep was a bigger reflection on the goalkeeper than the centre backs. That's not to say we shouldn't improve on Lindelof because we should but my point is if we sign Varane but play DDG we'll end up defending deep again whereas if we sign Varane and play Henderson we will continue with the higher line and pressing onto teams more.
Did we maintain a high line off the ball? The only game I remember where we did that was against Leeds at home, where we could've scored 8 or 9, but could've conceded 4 or 5 easily too. It's why Solskjaer is reported to want a CB who can dominate the wide spaces solo, without midfield/fullback assistance.
In those games? Mostly yes, we were a good 10-15 yards further up the pitch than we had been previously and taking more risks in and out possession, pressing considerably better and winning the ball higher up the pitch. There were spells, notably last 25 minutes or so at City where we dropped back but that was pretty natural in the circumstances.
Absolutely. When Ajax started playing "total football", one of the most important aspects in defending was the keeper being able to"sweep" and the ability to play with his feet. They didn't have extremely good keepers as such. Obviously with the rules being more strict with the back pass( not able to handle it) it's more important to have a keeper who is good in commanding not only the area but also good outside it.
Ajax played a possession based style which required players to be strong at recycling the ball and dominant in both defensive and offensive zones with a heavy emphasis on positional play. The battle was to create space by unhinging opposition defensive lines which would then open up space to exploit.
Murtough is not data scientist, he’s a football director right? We see the organisation chart that was posted here, the one Judge reports to is Murtough not Ed. So Judge is working directly with Murtough. Murtough can recommend or give instruction to Judge. That means Ed has nothing to do with our transfer football strategy anymore since he only gives Murtough the budget and sign in paper that Murtough sends to him.
Yeah, that's about right. Judge deals with the player contracts and Woodward signs it off
The Athletic is making inconsistent statements now because the organisation chart I was referring to was coming from The Athletic. Based on organisation chart that they posted, Ed shouldn’t be involved with our football transfer strategy department.
Makes sense considering he was there talking with them last year and presumably all throughout the season.
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I have yet to see we use that for the main Team. We are still targeting the most obvious players where other big teams are also targeting.
Honestly I can start to some kind of plan and profile. Even kind of with the older heads getting deals that none of us love. It’s all placeholding for the right younger players to be signed or to come through the academy without just firing them straight in. In regard to our recent transfer work…
Come to think of it, you do make sense with our signings during Ole's. Although I thought the system has been there even during Mou's tenure.
We seem to be in for Kamaldeen the Ghanaian winger and he’s one to develop for around 10 million. I’m sure we are cooking up some more under the radar signings even though I’m not sure how Brexit is going to affect that with players supposedly needing international caps to qualify for permits?
Love the idea that Ed was sorting it via WhatsApp.
I am not of the Ajax of today. I am talking of the Ajax of the late 70s. I have seen Ajax live in the 70s plenty of times. They play a very high line with Stuy sweeping up from goal.
"wazza mate, you want pick up in the morning? - Woody"
Of course they played a high line in 70s, which is well documented under Rinus Michels who laid the foundations for that team with his total football concept, hence the keeper was heavily involved in the build up phase.
Actually no. He was more rigid like LVG. It was under Stefan Kovacs they played their best football after Michels left.
Michels laid the foundations for the Ajax team in 70s, and his team's played a very fluid brand of football which had heavy emphasis on positional play. Stefan Kovac's brought more freedom to Michels's work but the concept remained the same. He enjoyed his best moments at Ajax after the foundation was laid by Michels but couldn't replicate that success anywhere else. Him giving the team more freedom was also said to be the destruction of that team.
Fred actually looks pretty good here. Wtf.I don't see McTominay's passing being any more of an issue that Fred's or any of the other in vogue midfielders people talk about. His long range passing needs a bit of work maybe, and I'd have questions about him switching off in defensive situations sometimes, but his regular passing is pretty decent.
Because he's a good player.
That's why it's hard to like stats. Fred looks better than Kante is just criminal.
I'm not seeing anywhere in those links where it outright states he's a data scientist a-la what @dinostar77 posted:
Again, an administrator/executive can head up efforts "focused on developing United's data science strategy..."
A administrator/executive can head up efforts but can't lead in the actual process hence Murtough being described as a 'innovator' in the field.
