WWII Draft QF - Michael vs Pat Mustard

Who will win the match?


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Pat_Mustard

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A never-nude? I thought he just liked cut-offs.
MICHAEL:



MUSTARD:



MICHAEL TACTICS:


My team will play a 4-2-3-1 formation with Heynckes as an inside forward from the right (in front of the more attacking fullback Okudera) and Littbarski as a winger on the left (behind the more defensive fullback Carboni). I will now detail some of the less well known members of my team before discussing some of the strengths of my team/advantages that I feel my team has in this match.

My right back is Yasuhiko Okudera. After starting his career in Japan, Okudera moved to Germany in 1977 signing for Cologne where he won a league and cup double in his first season mainly playing on the left wing for them. After 3 years at Koln and a year at 2nd division Hertha Berlin, Otto Rehhagel signed him for newly promoted Bundesliga team Werder Bremen where he was moved to an attacking fullback on the right. Okudera appeared in most league games for Werder Bremen as they finished 5th, 2nd, 5th, 2nd and 2nd in Okudera's 5 seasons at the club missing out to both Hamburg in 82/83 (the same year Hamburg won the European Cup) and Bayern in 85/86 on goal difference. In December 1983, Kicker picked him in a hypothetical best foreign players in the Bundesliga XI. Okudera then moved back to Japan and retired a couple of years later. Okudera was known for his pace and left footed shots. At Koln he was nicknamed the Oriental Computer for his ability, while not being technically excellent, to be precise and consistent.

My left back is the 33+ version of Amedeo Carboni which covers most of his Valencia spell (barring the 1st season) during which time he reached two champions league finals; won two La Liga's, a Copa del Rey, and a UEFA Cup; and was included as part of the IFFHS World Team of the Year in 2004 (when he was 39 years old).

My attacking midfielder is Kazimierz Deyna who finished 6th in the Ballon d'Or in 1972 and 1973 and 3rd in the Ballon d'Or in 1974 (behind Beckenbauer and Cruyff). At the 1974 World Cup he created the second most chances of anyone at a single world cup from 1966 onwards with 30 in 7 games (behind only Cruyff in 1974 and level with Xavi in 2010 although Xavi played slightly more minutes although of the top 10 Pele in 1970 and Hassler in 1994 also created chances more frequently although they played less matches than Deyna in 1974). After the 1974 World Cup, top clubs including AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Monaco, Real Madrid and Saint Etienne tried to sign Deyna although this did not happen as Deyna was an officer in the Polish army and was thus not allowed to move to a NATO country (although he was eventually able to sign for Manchester City in 1978). Deyna was also a capable goal scorer winning the golden boot at the 1972 Olympics (which were won by Poland) and scoring 41 goals in 97 games for Poland and 141 goals in 389 games for Legia Warsaw.

Strengths/Advantages

  • Goalscoring - In addition to Romario's goalscoring threat whom I see the opposition having problems dealing with, Romario was, according to this profile at Pythagoras in Boots, also had the vision and technical ability to be brilliant at creating chances for others. This will help my team because in addition to Deyna's goalscoring ability mentioned earlier, Heynckes 3 season peak for goalscoring between the 72/73 and 74/75 seasons was immense scoring 47 goals in 53 games; 40 goals in 43 games; and 42 goals in 43 games for Borussia Monchengladbach in those 3 seasons.
  • While my opponent has a strong midfield as well, I still feel that midfield is a strength of my team and I'd rate its chances highly in a battle against any other midfield.
  • I feel as a central defensive partner to Rio Ferdinand that Marcel Desailly is an upgrade on Nemanja Vidic.

MUSTARD TACTICS:

Formation/Style of Play:

A modern-style 4-3-3 that can alternate between cultured possession-play and lethally quick transitions.

  • A modern GK in Courtois - no Neuer with the ball at his feet but nonetheless a keeper who has become one of the world's best in a modern, proactive team.
  • A strong seam of ability in possession in the backline. Facchetti and Kimmich are both genuine difference-makers in the attacking phase, and more on Mackay to follow.
  • A balanced midfield compromising a first-rate ball-winner and defensive shield in Edwards, the metronomic deeper playmaker Scholes, and the supreme needle-player Modric, who has not only maintained a world-class level but actually managed to elevate his historical standing yet higher aged 33+.
  • Benzema has few peers historically in terms of his technique, creativity and selflessness from the CF position, and he's about as proven as it gets as a foil to maximise the output of a goal-hungry wide attacker. Not that he'll have to sacrifice himself to that degree here, with both Rensenbrink and Robben being more collective-orientated than he who will not be named.

Mackay at CB:

After mulling over the merits of Beckham and Dalglish in the penultimate round of drafting, I opted instead for Dave Mackay due to the options he gave me. Firstly, I could have played a Mackay-Scholes-Edwards midfield and used the final round to pick the best available CB to partner Billy Wright. After landing Edwards and Scholes though, I had my heart set on partnering them with a dribbling-maestro needle player, and so when Modric became available I couldn't pass that up. If I'd faced a team with a hulking aerial threat in attack I'd have considered reluctantly moving the taller Edwards back to CB, but as luck would have it I'm able to play Mackay there, who has the much broader portfolio of performances at CB to call on.

A box-to-box midfield colossus for most of his career, Mackay enjoyed a late-career renaissance at CB under Brian Clough at Derby. He won the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year award as Derby ran away with the Second Division title, then continued to captain the side for another two seasons as they firmly ensconced themselves in the top half of the table in the top flight. He was a main man to the very end too, appearing in all 42 league matches in his final season. Clough raved about Mackay:

"When I look back across all the many and varied signings during my time in management...Dave Mackay has to be the best. Not only did he have everything as a player, but he was the ideal skipper: a supreme example to everybody else at the football club."

I'll share another nice passage from Clough that provides a more specific illustration of what he brings to our team. Billy Wright was an excellent pure defender but no virtuoso with the ball at his feet, so we clearly needed to partner him with a ball-player if we were going to have the requisite playing out from the back ability for a possession team.

"Looking back now, I can isolate two little incidents, perhaps insignificant in themselves, which signalled the beginning and the end of the empire on which Taylor and I had set our hearts and our ambitions. First was the moment when Dave Mackay, the truly great Dave Mackay, put his foot on the ball under the most intense pressure in his own six-yard area and then calmly and deliberately played us out of trouble with a pass that immediately switched defence to attack...When Mackay stopped the ball somebody else in the dug-out was yelling; 'Kick it, shift it, get rid.' Taylor whipped round and shouted: 'That's what we bought him for. That's what we want him to do - put his foot on it. They'll all be doing it from now on. We're on our way.' And we were. Confidence swept from one player to another and the successful Derby era was born."

Our Right Flank:

There's several partnerships and units in this team that I'm chuffed with, but I particularly wanted to highlight our right wing. Kimmich and Robben played together 81 times for Bayern, notching a combined 35 goals and 43 assists in those matches. Impressive numbers, and more so when you consider that the appearance number includes many short substitute cameos from both of them. And this was, increasingly, a post-peak Robben! Factor in the ball-retention and creativity of Modric on that side and that wing looks like an offensive juggernaut. Carboni was a great pick by Mike as a player that truly retained his level at 33+, but he has his work cut out here.
 

Pat_Mustard

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A never-nude? I thought he just liked cut-offs.
Trying to do some due diligence on Okudera, who I know nothing about. Firstly, he seems to have been extremely versatile, with transfermarkt listing him with appearances in every outfield position. He seems to have been a frequently used utility player at a strong Koln team, but not a staple in the first XI (67 starts in his 3 full seasons, unsure if he suffered any injuries), and then had a strange mid-season transfer to 2nd division Hertha Berlin a few months into his fourth season in Germany. He looks to have really hit his stride when he joined Bremen, starting 153 of 170 possible league matches in his five seasons there, with a further 6 substitute appearances.

As regards his level, as Michael notes Bremen were clearly a top Bundesliga side throughout his tenure there and he was a first-team regular, so I'd assume he was a competent top-level pro. Beyond that I can't find much: he has one 'broad circle' rating in Kicker Magazine's twice-yearly ratings of the best Bundesliga players, which is the third rung behind 'world class' and 'international class'. To put it into perspective, a contemporary of his as a foreigner in the 1980s Bundesliga, who also played 9 seasons in Germany, named Anders Giske, achieved 1 'international class' and 6 'broad circle' ratings, and he doesn't seem to have been a particularly celebrated player. Regarding Kicker mentioning him as an inclusion in a hypothetical best foreign XI, here's the quote I found on that:

The idea is forcing itself on us when we browse over the list of high quality foreign players in the Bundesliga: what would it look like if a selection of the best German Bundesliga players would face a selection of the best foreign Bundesliga players? The team: Pfaff - Krauss, Pezzey, Herlovsen, Okudera - Keser, Sigurvinsson, Lerby - Cha, Nilsson, Corneliusson. They wouldn't be fighting a lost cause against any German team. Beating this team wouldn't be easy!
It's a good testament to his ability, but at the same time it's not mind blowingly strong company he finds himself in there.

I'm also unclear whether RB was his best or regular position. Transfermarkt's positional data can't be taken as gospel of course, but they list him as having made 49 appearances for Bremen at RB. I had a very quick scan of his 4 full matches on footballia and he didn't play RB in any of them. He also made 140 of his 206 appearances for Werder Bremen alongside a Thomas Schaaf, who does appear to have been a specialist RB.

I didn't intend to go full hatchet-job here, and I'm fully open to correction if anyone knows more about him and thinks I'm underrating him, but I don't fancy his chances of dealing with a Facchetti/Rensenbrink wing based on this quick research.
 

Pat_Mustard

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A never-nude? I thought he just liked cut-offs.
A short video I made of Mackay going about his work in the centre of defence for Derby against an aging Utd Trinity. It's not particularly instructive as it was made from around 40 minutes of highlights rather than the full match so there's very few defensive actions to judge him off. Also, Utd were poor, and it was some short-lived pre-season tournament, albeit amusingly feisty on the pitch. It was interesting seeing him channel his inner Koeman from set pieces, and to hear the near-reverence with which the commentators speak about him.


While Wright was by all accounts brilliant in the air, we're still fortunate to come up against a not particularly aerially imposing attack, given that we're fielding two short-arses as a partnership. Their low centres of gravity should actually be useful in defending against the nippy Romario, although Mackay, well into his thirties by this point of his career and having had to recover from two broken legs, will clearly feel his age at times.
 

Physiocrat

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@Pat_Mustard

What was thinking of Edward's at DM and Scholes at LCM? I would have thought you would have had Edwards in his B2B position with Scholes in front of the back four.
 

Gio

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Like Pat's team, all typically clean and cohesive. Nice use of Mackay.

Aside from the right-back, Michael looks great too. Romario feels dangerous and should forge a Laudrup-esque partnership with Deyna. Like the Carboni pick, very true to the spirit of that round as a player who arguably peaked at that stage in his career. He always seemed solid against the best right wingers of his generation (Figo/Joaquin/etc).
 

Pat_Mustard

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A never-nude? I thought he just liked cut-offs.
@Pat_Mustard

What was thinking of Edward's at DM and Scholes at LCM? I would have thought you would have had Edwards in his B2B position with Scholes in front of the back four.
I suppose I was partly basing the midfield shape and design along the lines of Real's Casemiro/Kroos/Modric unit. Also, I was mindful that Michael was going to play a properly creative #10 here in Deyna, and given that, the general quality of his midfield, and the attacking nature of my FBs, we'll want Edwards rationing his bursts forward. Not that he can't make them at all, but he'll play relatively conservatively.
 

Physiocrat

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I suppose I was partly basing the midfield shape and design along the lines of Real's Casemiro/Kroos/Modric unit. Also, I was mindful that Michael was going to play a properly creative #10 here in Deyna, and given that, the general quality of his midfield, and the attacking nature of my FBs, we'll want Edwards rationing his bursts forward. Not that he can't make them at all, but he'll play relatively conservatively.
Fair enough. Edwards on Deyna makes sense.
 

Michaelf7777777

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I'm also unclear whether RB was his best or regular position. Transfermarkt's positional data can't be taken as gospel of course, but they list him as having made 49 appearances for Bremen at RB. I had a very quick scan of his 4 full matches on footballia and he didn't play RB in any of them. He also made 140 of his 206 appearances for Werder Bremen alongside a Thomas Schaaf, who does appear to have been a specialist RB.
The transfermarkt data shows that this was his most common position at Werder although the data is incomplete (49 games at RB compared to 26 at DM and also 12 games at LB and 8 at RM) particularly in his first couple of seasons at Werder (in 81/82 Bundesliga 28 at RB, 2 at RM; in 82/83 Bundesliga 16 of 34 Bundesliga starts at RB but in no other position more than 7 times including 2 at LB and 2 at RM).

Also the following quote from this article on the Werder Bremen website shows that Rehhagel signed him as a RB:

"I was thrilled with the contract offer from Bremen," recalled Okudera about his time in Bremen, where he changed his game to become a defender. "I saw myself as a midfielder but Rehhagel told me that he planned to use me as a right back." That wasn't the only thing the Japanese would learn in Bremen under "King Otto". "And Rehhagel told me that we would be playing zone defence. I never in my life imagined I would have to learn that because everyone always played man-to-man defence," said Okudera.
Source
 

Enigma_87

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oof, this is a tough one. Pat's left wing can inflict some serious damage while on the other side Mike’s spine is the best in the draft.
 

Šjor Bepo

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Given this to Mike for that spine. Rensenbrink vs that Japanese dude is a mismatch, but the Desailly and Voronin there should help greatly.
same can be said for Romario vs Mackay.
Think michael missed a trick by swapping sides of his wingers, Litt could destroy Facchetti who has a history with dribbling wingers.
Leaning towards Mustard because midfield and attack is a thing of beauty.
 

Pat_Mustard

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A never-nude? I thought he just liked cut-offs.
Given this to Mike for that spine. Rensenbrink vs that Japanese dude is a mismatch, but the Desailly and Voronin there should help greatly.
There's no better way to disrupt a strong spine than pulling them out of position to fight fires on the wings. Particularly with midfielders of Scholes and Modric's ability who can then switch the angle of attack in the blink of an eye. Rio has raved about Benzema's ability to occupy both CBs - Desailly getting dragged out wide to support Okudera will give him all sorts of headaches.

And the potency of those wings shouldn't be underestimated. On the right Kimmich (6 goals and 17 assists in 47 appearances in 2017/18, 2 goals and 19 assists in 48 matches in 2018/19) partnered with one of the most irrepressible 1v1 threats ever in Robben, who had a fantastic end product to go along with it: 21 goals and 17 assists in 45 matches in 2013/14 for instance. Not to mention Modric as a wonderful support act from the wide channels, and his trophy-laden connection with our CF Benzema:


On the left, against the possibly dodgy Okudera, Facchetti who trailblazed his way to 12 goals in 37 matches in 1965/66, and another elite dribbler in Rensenbrink, whose 40 goals in 66 matches in continental club competition is testament to his own lethal cutting edge.
 

Pat_Mustard

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A never-nude? I thought he just liked cut-offs.
Pat, what's the thought behind Schools and Modric positioning? Aren't they better swapped? I think Scholes in an advanced role would have more impact and Modric is better defensively than Scholes.
The deeper playmaker version of Scholes was him at his best and most influential imo, and he's an ideal foil for Modric in that role. Modric is positioned a few yards higher up the park to signify his ball-carrying, line-breaking role. He's still very much part of a midfield three and his defensive abilities will still be much needed here vs Voronin and Matthaus.

Not sure what others think but I see no merit in swapping them personally.
 

Physiocrat

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Pat, what's the thought behind Schools and Modric positioning? Aren't they better swapped? I think Scholes in an advanced role would have more impact and Modric is better defensively than Scholes.
The underrating of Scholes' defensive game is criminal. He was very good defensively as Sjor's old comp vs Barca aptly demonstrates.