Synth Draft SF - Moby vs EAP/RT

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

.................................................. TEAM MOBY ..................................................

vs

.......................................TEAM EAP/RT ...........................................


TEAM MOBY

The old school 3-2-5 formation that perfectly suits this set of players who bring all round attributes to the pitch and are well played to adhere to the multifunctional design of this formation.

Watertight defensive line led by the defensive general Gaetano Scirea bringing in tremendous presence at the back and organising the defense with his leadership skills and providing that touch of genius in defense, a man absolutely crucial for that defense to be at their best. Combined with the ruthless defensive marking and blocking ability of Berti Vogts and the all action defensive juggernaut Paul McGrath.

Two absolute powerhouses ahead of them marshalling the midfield area in Graeme Souness and Frank Rijkaard - the two are absolutely tactically astute, tremendously hard working midfield generals with both having the class and ability on the ball to flip the action in seconds.

Two flying wingers out wide - the sensational skillful dribbler with electric pace in Paulo Futre and the industrious flying Argentine in René Houseman. Both will be constantly stretching the play creating space and isolating their opponents to make use of their unstoppable dribbling.

Last but not the least - The Brazilian Trio!

The mouthwatering combination of the creative genius of Zico, the technical mastery of Tostao and the explosive goalscorer Romario. All three pack an elite level of technique, skill, flair, dribbling and goalscoring - all three have bucket loads of goals in their careers both at the club and national levels and it will be a mammoth task to outscore that unit!

Key Points:

• A combative defensive line that will get stuck in and provide a massive guard for the goalie.
• A powerful midfield unit making it a massive back 5 to break up. Rijkaard's ability to drop into defense particularly useful here.
• Two class wingers to stretch play and create space.
• An all time great orchestrator at the heart of the game.
• Two great forwards leading the attack complimenting each other perfectly with Tostao playing off Romario.
• The sheer amount of goal tally in that attack and the Brazilian chemistry that would elevate the entire performance even further.

TEAM EAP / RT

Formation:

5-4-1 with attacking wingbacks

Tactics:

Defend through the middle, attack through flanks.

Dynamics - Defence:

Countering Romario - A 3 man defensive line led by Figueroa and flanked by two of the best stopper side backs in this draft in Forster and Bergomi will form a water tight defensive line.

Countering Zico - Between Cerezo and Roth, I have the perfect blend of intelligence and physicality and workrate to deny Zico time and space on the ball.

Countering Wingers - Bergomi and Forster have excelled in side CB roles and are world class in their respective positions. They also have the support of Branco and Demyanenko which should be more than enough to shut down anything Futre/Houseman can throw from the flanks.

The space in front of my defence will be crowded and an onrushing Souness/Rijkaard will not add much value to Moby's team when they attack.

Dynamics - Attack:

Lack of support for opponent's fullbacks

(-) For all their defensive solidity, Rijkaard and Souness are central players and only have limited value drifting wide.
(-) Both Houseman and Futre are pure wingers and neither are particularly known for their defensive contributions.

His fullbacks, Pearce particularly are open to be exploited.

Exploiting Pearce - Demyanenko has the responsibility to exploit Pearce with his workrate and attacking output. As mentioned above, with no support from Futre, Pearce will lack support out wide. Between a drifting Bettega (who was classy in stretching play) and onrushing Demyanenko..Pearce will have a terrible time holding down the fort and I will exploit this vulnerability.

Cruyff has his usual free role upfront and will roam as he deems fit. With Bettega stretching play, Cruyff will move to middle and run the game. Between him and Bettega, they have the workrate,movement and ability to take the game from my opponent.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@Moby You going all EAP on me? I was on about exploiting Pearce and I see him sulking on the bench

All the best!

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@Physiocrat Game on.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

I think this formation is suicidal at this stage of the draft. I have strength in numbers to defend against your attack, but when I get the ball, none of your players (bar Vogts) are capable of defending out wide. Demyanenko and Branco will have free reign.

 

[Moby]

His fullbacks, Pearce particularly are open to be exploited.

Exploiting Pearce - Demyanenko has the responsibility to exploit Pearce with his workrate and attacking output. As mentioned above, with no support from Futre, Pearce will lack support out wide. Between a drifting Bettega (who was classy in stretching play) and onrushing Demyanenko..Pearce will have a terrible time holding down the fort and I will exploit this vulnerability.

Players prepared and trained for the wrong tactic. Completely taken by surprise. Game will end in the first 20 minutes. /anto

 

[Moby]

@Moby You going all EAP on me?

The formation makes sense with the players available.

That front three with those two wingers will completely pin you down and kill whatever width you had to offer. There's no way you can instruct your wingbacks to attack and risk my entire attack against your central defenders.

Vogts being against Cruyff works in my favour, evidently. That's the main man of your attack.

 

[Moby]

Also, Rijkaard and Souness is a comfortably better midfield than Cerezo and Roth. That's a massive match up in my favour.

 

[Theon]

Why is Laudrup not playing?

 

[Moby]

My front three is clearly my wild card here.

You cannot hope to defend all three of Zico, Tostao and Romario with three men, given their insane movement, exploiting the spaces between the lines and behind the defense, absolutely elite 1v1 dribbling (all three are explosive off the turn and have quality close control) and they can easily be through on goal if defended 1v1.

The three together will be far greater than the sum of the parts given their shared philosophy and combined flair and technique. You'd need a lot of support to even contemplate dealing with that trio. It's bound to create inroads and chances throughout the game and I have by far the superior goal threat between the two teams. Romario will bury those chances and Zico and Tostao arent gonna be shy themselves, having quality records at the biggest stages.

Given my advantage in midfield and the outball from the back, I will constantly be on the front foot and get a lot of chances on goal, and with that attack I fancy them to score a few here.

 

[Ecstatic]

Why is Laudrup not playing?

My propaganda in the last 2 drafts doesn't work

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

That front three with those two wingers will completely pin you down and kill whatever width you had to offer. There's no way you can instruct your wingbacks to attack and risk my entire attack against your central defenders.

Not really.

.....Cerezo........Roth.........
Forster...Figueroa...Bergomi

will be equal to the task. Branco/Demyanenko will add more solidity defensively and you have absolutely no counter to the their attacking runs when I get the ball.

Vogts being against Cruyff works in my favour, evidently. That's the main man of your attack.

With Branco backing him Cruyff will have upper hand.
Demyanenko and Bettega will own that flank. No offence to McGrath, but he has no chance here.

Why is Laudrup not playing?

Moby has lot of solidity centrally (Rijkaard, Souness, McGrath, Scirea...all central players), so dropped Laudrup here to go for wingback options. Between Souness and Rijkaard, not really sure if Laudrup will get traction.

 

[Balu]

My front three is clearly my wild card here.

That's a wonderful combination, truely love those three together.

 

[Moby]

With Branco backing him Cruyff will have upper hand.

There won't be a lot of chances he will get on the ball on the first place, given my midfield dominance and Scirea's orchestration from the back.

During those few times my back 5 is instructed to drop back and defend all the channels that your fairly central attack can exploit. The one player in your attack who would have good out wide is marshalled by Vogts.

You may score once here but there is no chance you will match the goal threat of my attack on the other side and they will easily score more, which is what it is all about anyway.

 

[Moby]

That's a wonderful combination, truely love those three together.

Thanks Balu.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

There won't be a lot of chances he will get on the ball on the first place

Oh, really. Who is going to track when my full backs move the ball up?

Getting the ball to Cruyff/Bettega will probably be quite easy with you having ZERO defensive ability on both flanks.

 

[Moby]

@Edgar Allan Pillow Honestly you still instructing your wingbacks to attack is absolutely mind boggling. You obviously didn't anticipate my formation so it being in the write up is one thing but now, you can't seriously expect them to attack and also contain my front 5 supported by THAT midfield at the same time.

Especially with someone like Scirea at the back who can catch you on counter within milliseconds. What happens with Damyenenko/Branco are busy going forward and the ball is played behind them with me having THOSE 5 players charging forward?

You have to keep your wingbacks at the back to have any chance whatsoever to contain my attack, else it will be totally eviscerated.

 

[Theon]

Moby has lot of solidity centrally (Rijkaard, Souness, McGrath, Scirea...all central players), so dropped Laudrup here to go for wingback options. Between Souness and Rijkaard, not really sure if Laudrup will get traction.

Fair enough, I feel that's a mistake personally but I can get the logic.

Laudrup could play out wide and I think he would be great in that floating #10/wide right role that you have Cruyff playing on the left.

 

[Ecstatic]

Nice game with 2 surprising teams.

 

[Moby]

Who is going to track when my full backs move the ball up?

The entire central area will be crowded with all your key players marked.

Who is going to put the ball into the back of the net? Your attack cannot match mine in terms of goal scoring, nor the support that is provided to them. Your wingbacks can attack, but it will be a far bigger risk that you can afford given more often than not I'll stuff the danger in the middle and attack you with devastating speed.

Having your wingbacks attack will not end well for you here, sorry. Either ways, it works for me.

 

[Ecstatic]

Fair enough, I feel that's a mistake personally but I can get the logic.

Laudrup could play out wide and I think he would be great in that floating #10/wide right role that you have Cruyff playing on the left.

I think the same.

 

[Ecstatic]

I know what I will do to understand the game dynamics

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

Not really.

.....Cerezo........Roth.........
Forster...Figueroa...Bergomi

will be equal to the task.

Why will Cerezo and Roth drop back but Souness and Rijkaard won't?

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@Edgar Allan Pillow Honestly you still instructing your wingbacks to attack is absolutely mind boggling.

Why not? They have nobody stopping them! It's a freebie for them to move the ball. They'd have a blast of a game during attack imo.

Fair enough, I feel that's a mistake personally but I can get the logic.

Laudrup could play out wide and I think he would be great in that floating #10/wide right role that you have Cruyff playing on the left.

That was my initial thought, but I preferred Bettega due to a greater goal threat.

Don't think it a mistake, given Moby has no defensive ability out wide. My fullbacks can move the ball up vertically out wide more easily than Laudrup centrally imo.

Why will Cerezo and Roth drop back but Souness and Rijkaard won't?

Sorry don't get you here. Ofc given all 4 are DMs, I expect Souness and Rijkaard also to drop back defensively, same as Cerezo and Roth. What was your query here?

 

[Enigma_87]

@Moby I think I've seen McGrath play as a full back but wasn't he on the right?

Your left side I think is your biggest concern as Futre won't provide much help and I'm sure Souness will be pretty busy covering the center of the pitch.

In essence the question is if Bettega and Demyanenko can hurt you against McGrath with Souness covering occasionally. Think you would've been much better with a wingback on that side instead of winger/wing forward.

 

[Enigma_87]

Fair enough, I feel that's a mistake personally but I can get the logic.

Laudrup could play out wide and I think he would be great in that floating #10/wide right role that you have Cruyff playing on the left.

I think it is personally. Big Laudrup fan and I really can't see what Bettega can do better in that zone, especially with a wingback providing width.

Moby will win the midfield as Rijkaard and Souness have advantage over Roth/Cerezo. Sure Figueroa can provide support, but he'll be pretty occupied with Zico anyway.

Moby's side is pretty well suited for possession football and will see most of the ball. Going by initial look they seem to have tactical advantage here apart from that left flank.

 

[Moby]

They have nobody stopping them!

They have people to defend though, who given my central threat cannot be mitigated to any other player in your team.

That was a big reason of going with this formation. I knew your attack will be fairly central and I used my wingers to pin back your wingbacks unless they risk your team getting massively outnumbered time and time again against some of the greatest players and goalscorers ever.

Given my central defense and the passing from Scirea and the midfield dominance (Cerezo at this stage against the likes of Rijkaard and Souness will massively struggle and got bullied), there will be a plethora of chances for my front 5 and you are just making the situation worse by having your defenders leave their post when they are already fighting a losing battle. Whatever they can provide going forward (its not Best and Garrincha you know) is nowhere near worth the risk of getting completely slaughtered at the back.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@Moby I think I've seen McGrath play as a full back but wasn't he on the right?

Your left side I think is your biggest concern as Futre won't provide much help and I'm sure Souness will be pretty busy covering the center of the pitch.

In essence the question is if Bettega and Demyanenko can hurt you against McGrath with Souness covering occasionally. Think you would've been much better with a wingback on that side instead of winger/wing forward.

McGrath is a class act, but a left side back is not using him to his best. I doubt you'll see a peak/dominant McGrath here.

Both Futre and Houseman are pacy dribblers. I doubt you'll get any defensive workrate from either of them.

He essentially has no defense in flanks.

 

[Moby]

@Moby I think I've seen McGrath play as a full back but wasn't he on the right?

Your left side I think is your biggest concern as Futre won't provide much help and I'm sure Souness will be pretty busy covering the center of the pitch.

In essence the question is if Bettega and Demyanenko can hurt you against McGrath with Souness covering occasionally. Think you would've been much better with a wingback on that side instead of winger/wing forward.

See my post above.

I have not allowed his wingback the license to attack my two wingers pinning them back and the central defenders already being occupied (and overloaded) by my front three. They'd actually need constant support from those wingbacks instead of them leaving their posts and having any freedom to attack.

Given the quality of my central players and especially the midfield advantage, I will get a lot more shots at his defense and I won't say Demyanenko attacking a few times down that side with the central players all well covered will hurt me as much as to what it will provide me on the other side.

There's no scenario where he outscores me really, the wingbacks attacks just makes it easier for me.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Big Laudrup fan and I really can't see what Bettega can do better in that zone, especially with a wingback providing width.

I have winbacks ahead running at his defenders. I needed someone upfront to get behind his defence. With Demyaneko ahead and Branco behind, I have more threat than both wingback and AM playing in front of his defence. Ability to get behind Moby's defence is what Bettega offers more than Laudrup.

 

[Moby]

He essentially has no defense in flanks.

And you have no threat out wide. At least not without the risk of exposing your team against THAT attack and being at 6s and 7s. Take your pick.

 

[idmanager]

Haven't thought about the game too much really yet, but EAP's lineup on paper looks like a R1 lineup. Some massive feck ups if you have Robson and Laudrup on the bench.

Cant get to count it as a tactical drop, but rather bad planning. Of course, shouldn't have any bearing on the game and vote as such.

 

[Moby]

I have winbacks ahead running at his defenders.

Futre, Houseman, Zico, Tostao and Romario against 3 defenders.

 

[idmanager]

Like most of what Moby has to offer but I am still not sold on Futre on the left. Maybe because I have just seen youtube footage, but in a 5 man attack, I see him as an overkill. Looked to me like someone who liked to have lots of space to roam. Looks a bit too crowded for him.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Futre, Houseman, Zico, Tostao and Romario against 3 defenders.

And everyone of them is going to have the ball?

Moby's side is pretty well suited for possession football and will see most of the ball. Going by initial look they seem to have tactical advantage here apart from that left flank.

They will have possession but playing in a packed midfield in front of my defence. I have the numbers to defend.

Out wide, he has nothing to stop me.

 

[Moby]

The gulf in quality in players in crucial positions has to be considered.

Souness and Rijkaard are facing Cerezo and Roth here, no slight on the latter but they wouldn't be able to restrict my duo dominating the midfield in both phases, stifling his build up, slowing it down, often cutting it down at the start and winning the ball back frequently supplying that outstanding attack ahead of them.

The transition doesn't come near mine, where Scirea is primed to have a great influence in playing the ball from the back, with two world class CMs carrying it forward and Zico getting a lot of time and space to hurt the opposition.

Who is stopping Zico here? He is right at the heart of the game against a midfield of Cerezo and Roth? He'd be murderous.

On the other hand EAP's best player is facing his biggest nemesis who marked him out in a world cup final with Rijkaard to take care of him if he drops deep.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Some massive feck ups if you have Robson and Laudrup on the bench.

Cant get to count it as a tactical drop, but rather bad planning. Of course, shouldn't have any bearing on the game and vote as such.

Robson was the only goof-up. Laudrup was a planned drop and I still don't see it as a mistake. As I posted before the intention was for Demyanenko to get ahead and Bettega to get behind his defence. Laudrup is a better player, but Bettega is a better tactical fit.

 

[idmanager]

Robson was the only goof-up. Laudrup was a planned drop and I still don't see it as a mistake. As I posted before the intention was for Demyanenko to get ahead and Bettega to get behind his defence. Laudrup is a better player, but Bettega is a better tactical fit.

Just to clarify, I am not saying you didn't drop him tactically. I am just saying its very tough for me to digest you would have the guts to do it while planning. I know I wouldn't have. Kudos for that.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

The gulf in quality in players in crucial positions has to be considered.

If I move the ball through left flank - The biggest mismatch is Bettega/Demyanenko vs McGrath. Played out of position, he'll have no chance of stopping my attack.

If I move the ball through right flank - Vogts needs to step out to counter Branco and Cruyff will have ample space to exploit....unless you plan to leave my fullback undefended.

 

[Moby]

Like most of what Moby has to offer but I am still not sold on Futre on the left. Maybe because I have just seen youtube footage, but in a 5 man attack, I see him as an overkill. Looked to me like someone who liked to have lots of space to roam. Looks a bit too crowded for him.

His primary role is to take Demyanenko out of the game and not allow him to support the central defenders against my attack. There's no way you can defend my front three with a 1v1 strategy, not the three of them together, and I wanted someone to occupy Demyanenko to put the final nail in the coffin. With Futre there, the Soviet man has to constantly look after him, reducing his offensive output as well as his defensive influence in the area where I am going to hurt the most.

I get that he will get a few runs on that side but that is nowhere enough to compensate the differential in the entire rest of the game especially with his key central players all being completely covered. It's not like I'm allowing Garrincha to have free runs at me here lol.

The tactical astuteness of my defense and midfield combined will constantly cut out all spaces for a wingback to exploit, a few crosses into a crowded area is something I can live with, especially as it leaves my winger completely open who is also devastatingly quick and has people in my team who can easily just pass him the ball after winning it in the middle.

Realistically, there's no way his wingbacks can afford to attack given what they are dealing with.

 

[Moby]

If I move the ball through right flank - Vogts needs to step out to counter Branco and Cruyff will have ample space to exploit....unless you plan to leave my fullback undefended.

Argentina 1978 was a Menotti team. Everyone defended there and Houseman will obviously track Branco.

Or not, as just the other side I'd love to have him completely open runs with Branco committed in attack and trust me my wingers in open space will do far more damage than your wingbacks.