Sjor Harmsopoly SF - Jim Beam vs Sjor Bepo

[Pat_Mustard]

JIM BEAM:


SJOR BEPO:

JIM TACTICS:

"Win at all cost (secondary)... entertain, first and foremost (primary)"

The formation changes to 3-4-3 but the Beam mantra remains intact. He's added even more flair and unpredictability with Sammer and Best entering the team. Sammer, plucked from his vanquished and sexy opponent in the previous round, reprises his 'libero in front of defense' peak role, with the rugged Campbell and Bergomi duo affording him the freedom to do his thing, and Cerezo's ability to sit in and screen the defence offering another small layer of pragmatism to this free-flowing team.

MSN-era Messi is surrounded with probably an even stronger supporting cast than that incredible attack had. Best is perfect as a Neymar upgrade and is a very similar profile of player IMO: God-tier dribbler, great with both feet, underrated off-the-ball movement to get on the end of passes, while Benzema's status as the consummate glue player at CF is cast in stone at this point.

Last but not least, this glorious bastard pulls the strings in midfield against his biggest advocate:



SJOR TACTICS:

Different shape, same shit. From a magic square to a modern diamond to counter Beams strength.
Why not Maldini on Messi? Because to counter Messi both centerbacks are more important then a "direct" counter position which is Bossis who is most likely mostly play against Amoros. Messi will drift inside where he faces a triangle of Maldini, Stam and most importantly Voronin who was the main reason for the formation change. Same applies for Best who tbf will spend a bit more in a direct duel against fullback but again will drift inside where Voronin will play a crucial role.
Where our strength lies is our midfield, specially compared to his....i just dont rate Neeskens outside of a high pressing system as he was easily avoidable even for non press resistant players. On the ball i also find him meh. Cerezo would have way too much work to do, Prosinecki is more then fine at this level but the quality gap is a bit to big in this match up considering Don Andres is lining in my midfield.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

@Šjor Bepo @Jim Beam

 

[Synco]

Oh, wow!

 

[Šjor Bepo]

as careless whisper isnt here i wont comment much, will only respond to direct questions.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Wow, this is tough. Both great teams and seem to counter each other perfectly!

 

[Physiocrat]

@Šjor Bepo Do you think Prosenicki is suited to this role in this midfield 2/ kind of 3? With another dedicated midfielder I'd have no question at all but it kind of looks like of midfield 2.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

@Šjor Bepo Do you think Prosenicki is suited to this role in this midfield 2/ kind of 3? With another dedicated midfielder I'd have no question at all but it kind of looks like of midfield 2.

tbh i never understood the sammer role, is he a midfielder, is he a defender? how does dynamic work, where he plays in different stages etc.

ignoring that, looking at his side as a back 3 i think prosinecki would be fine....in this specific game it could be tricky considering the quality of my "diamond" or if you want to look just at the mid three.

 

[Michaelf7777777]

Voted for @Šjor Bepo because of the central midfield battle

 

[prolifik]

Voted for @Šjor Bepo because of the central midfield battle

Love both teams but I agree. Against most teams it wouldn't matter, but it's hard to overcome that diamond playing at a numerical disadvantage in the middle of the park.

 

[harms]

Yeah, I just see how Sjor’s team functions more clearly. If only Jim had a little bit more quality in that front three () it could’ve turned the game around.

Still, going with Sjor by a fine margin even though a team with Messi & Best supported by Benzema on their day can beat pretty much anyone.

 

[Demyanenko_square_jaw]

Cerezo and Prosinecki are a combination that I think would be best with a more defensive third midfielder and/or a more aggressive, defensively able iron lung wingback/winger in place of Evra. As Bepo said, as a duo, they'll have a lot of work to do, which will hamper Prosinecki's creativity. Cerezo was a great player, but I thought his strengths were more on the ball than in his defensive work, which was good but a bit "polite" and passive at times...more Xabi Alonso than Mauro Silva or Dunga.

On the other hand i'm not sure about Stoichkov. Not as big a fan of him as the other forwards. He had a reputation as an incredibly tenacious, never-say-die, winning mentality player, with great dribbling and finishing. But what i saw was an arsehole who often struggled to control his temper and poise in bigger games when things were on a knife-edge. It was a coinflip if this anger would channel into producing a strong performance or start fragmenting his technique for long periods; for instance, i don't think i've watched more than one or two consistently good performances against Real Madrid in his entire time at Barca, though he fared better in knockout European games without the domestic rivalry aspect whipping him up. I wouldn't argue too much about the finishing, but his dribbling against good defenders was usually just using his strong acceleration and pace to dive or draw fouls. He was a huge diver, very effective at it, and while that can be a great tool against weaker teams sitting in during a league campaign, here i think it'll just slow down and disrupt attacks.

Of course, he's still a great player that can decide things with a moment of class, but if any forward on the two teams is likely to have a poor overall game...i think it's his red-faced, vein-popping, teammate -berating, ref-ranting nature going up against a craftily dirty and calm master of the dark arts like Bergomi.

 

[Jim Beam]

Voted for Mustard, he did fecked it up but it least he made it happen

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Sjor's midfield edges this for him.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Voting OG Zico over 21st century Zico

 

[Physiocrat]

Going Sjor by a whisker due to his better quality defence.

 

[Synco]

Two wonderful teams, just mentioning two details:

I think Sammer is perfectly integrated, will help defending the DM zone and also give Prosinecky freedom to push up into more attacking positions.
I really like Law at the RFW position & the general flexible setup of Sjor's front three.

Would absolutely love to vote Beam [edit - or apparently Pat, whatever], for the unbelievable front three & the whole thing. But then I look at Sjor's side, and nah, has to be a draw for me.

 

[Synco]

@harms rewatched your Law compilation on this occasion, that kind of day-to-day footage is priceless. And a great portrait of the player.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

my favorite team in the draft @Jim Beam , even if mustard the bastard ruined it with Sammer.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

Cerezo and Prosinecki are a combination that I think would be best with a more defensive third midfielder and/or a more aggressive, defensively able iron lung wingback/winger in place of Evra. As Bepo said, as a duo, they'll have a lot of work to do, which will hamper Prosinecki's creativity. Cerezo was a great player, but I thought his strengths were more on the ball than in his defensive work, which was good but a bit "polite" and passive at times...more Xabi Alonso than Mauro Silva or Dunga.

On the other hand i'm not sure about Stoichkov. Not as big a fan of him as the other forwards. He had a reputation as an incredibly tenacious, never-say-die, winning mentality player, with great dribbling and finishing. But what i saw was an arsehole who often struggled to control his temper and poise in bigger games when things were on a knife-edge. It was a coinflip if this anger would channel into producing a strong performance or start fragmenting his technique for long periods; for instance, i don't think i've watched more than one or two consistently good performances against Real Madrid in his entire time at Barca, though he fared better in knockout European games without the domestic rivalry aspect whipping him up. I wouldn't argue too much about the finishing, but his dribbling against good defenders was usually just using his strong acceleration and pace to dive or draw fouls. He was a huge diver, very effective at it, and while that can be a great tool against weaker teams sitting in during a league campaign, here i think it'll just slow down and disrupt attacks.

Of course, he's still a great player that can decide things with a moment of class, but if any forward on the two teams is likely to have a poor overall game...i think it's his red-faced, vein-popping, teammate -berating, ref-ranting nature going up against a craftily dirty and calm master of the dark arts like Bergomi.

damn, first time seeing you post about a player like that
no idea, i absolutely adore Hristo as he is exactly my type of forward and whenever i watched him play(and i watch mostly just big games) he was 9 out of 10 times the standout player on the pitch even when shared the pitch with some greats that are more loved by regular fans - Romario, Laudrup etc.

 

[Demyanenko_square_jaw]

tbf, i still consider him a great player...just possibly the most unlikeable one of his era, and most importantly, not quite as reliable to give a good 90 minutes in the big tense games compared to the level of the other forwards here. That said, a lot of games that form my opinion of him (the classicos of that era, european games, NT stuff) had been watched a long time ago now, and weren't usually done with the intent of focusing on him like you would for a comp, so i'm always willing to reassess some things.

He was definitely a diving arsehole though.

 

[Jim Beam]

my favorite team in the draft @Jim Beam , even if mustard the bastard ruined it with Sammer.

<3 hik

 

[Jim Beam]

On the other hand i'm not sure about Stoichkov. Not as big a fan of him as the other forwards. He had a reputation as an incredibly tenacious, never-say-die, winning mentality player, with great dribbling and finishing. But what i saw was an arsehole who often struggled to control his temper and poise in bigger games when things were on a knife-edge. It was a coinflip if this anger would channel into producing a strong performance or start fragmenting his technique for long periods; for instance, i don't think i've watched more than one or two consistently good performances against Real Madrid in his entire time at Barca, though he fared better in knockout European games without the domestic rivalry aspect whipping him up. I wouldn't argue too much about the finishing, but his dribbling against good defenders was usually just using his strong acceleration and pace to dive or draw fouls. He was a huge diver, very effective at it, and while that can be a great tool against weaker teams sitting in during a league campaign, here i think it'll just slow down and disrupt attacks.

Of course, he's still a great player that can decide things with a moment of class, but if any forward on the two teams is likely to have a poor overall game...i think it's his red-faced, vein-popping, teammate -berating, ref-ranting nature going up against a craftily dirty and calm master of the dark arts like Bergomi.

love your posts