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2017 Whitecaps
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Why an attacking formation, on the road, with 2 hour time change, against a team lead by Schweinstager, with 2/4 of your starting fullbacks missing? Robo is clueless to tactics. 4-5-1, plug the middle, take away their forward movement, muck it up.
I think formations are over-rated & often misunderstood.
In all of the teams that I have coached, I have only worried about how we line up & how we intend to play.
I think it shows that you're afraid of the team, when you change the way you play, & its sending a message to you're players that you think they are second best.
You have to have a base to the way you play, when you have the ball.
All players need to know where & when to support any player that is in possession for your team. That means they are constantly moving to support the ball, wherever it is on the field, giving more options for the player in possession.
The opposition have to adapt to your formation, or the way that you are planning to get forward to create a chance to score, that is their problem to solve.
On the other side of the game, when the opposition get possession, my team would have instructions on what their roles were, as to how to defend.
By just shouting out info as to what formation you want them to set-up in just confuses them, unless you have done the work in training to make sure that every player knows his responsibility.
That is the problem.
Formations don't win or lose games, it's players who do that, either by being disciplined enough to do their job defensively or not.
My info to players when we lost possession was to make it as simple as possible, so that there could be no misunderstandings in their respective roles & they would be held accountable by the coaching staff & the other players.
Every player had to get goal-side of an opposing player & be responsible to close down that player, if the ball was passed to them.
That includes the forwards who have a reputation of just leaving any defending responsibilities to the rest of the team.
I would have 1 player, usually a full back who is on the opposite side to where the ball is to be a "covering player" & not have to mark tight, but be aware of where your man is, in case the play switches, Then pick-up & opposite full back becomes "covering player".
If that simple philosophy is followed, then we are playing whatever formation it takes to match up to the opposition. It doesn't matter what formation numbers you call out.
The points that have to be highlighted are: that one of the central defenders might have to push int mid-field to pick-up & the forward or forwards have to become active in getting goal-side.
Then everyone is responsible to defend in a proper manner, by not diving in, or letting players run past you.
Everyone has to be held accountable.
When regaining possession, get back to playing the basic way that you have set-up to play out & create chances.
The problem I see with players these days is that they are lazy when the ball changes hands, or they are too slow to react, when they have lost possession.
I've always stated that the best defenders on the team should be the forwards. That's where you start to win the ball back.
But, how many times do you see forwards just putting in a "token effort"?
The concentration level has to be high to be able to limit oppositions chances by working hard for the team, not just yourself.
In hot climates,or altitude, there may be a change in the set-up, by dropping off 30 yards, then engaging the pressure, to save running & wearing yourselves out, or, in some cases, drop to half way & then pressure.
Either way, my point is: Formations are not the issue, it's players & their willingness to put the effort in to get the performance & the result.
Looking at the game tonight, I thought that the effort was not there from all of the players, not enough to get a result anyway.
Sorry for the long post.
My finger is now hurting.
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Great long post, but sometimes it's ok to look at what is in front of you, available to you, and adjust tactics.
Watson at the back has been a fearsome beast. Williams has been a revelation at RB with excellent defense and great timing going forward. Up against time change and a great, high scoring team on the road. Adjust the game day responsibilities to give your undermanned squad a chance.
We've all been there done that and had success doing so. Part of being an intelligent footballer is knowing how to adjust your game and responsibilities with the intention of getting a result.
Watson at the back has been a fearsome beast. Williams has been a revelation at RB with excellent defense and great timing going forward. Up against time change and a great, high scoring team on the road. Adjust the game day responsibilities to give your undermanned squad a chance.
We've all been there done that and had success doing so. Part of being an intelligent footballer is knowing how to adjust your game and responsibilities with the intention of getting a result.
I agree, but not only have you got to be able to pick out who is playing well for you. You also need to identify & demand that the players who are not putting in the effort needed to get results at this level are held accountable.
I can give you a few names from the games this season who have just done enough to get by without being noticed.
I've noticed.
How many goals against this season have we seen opposing players in front of goal with a Whitecaps player not goal-side?
How many times have we seen mid field players let their man go?
Too many imho.
That's what needs to be fixed.
I don't think they are working hard enough.
It's funny, the harder the team works, the easier it seems to get good results.
Chicago worked harder than the Whitecaps tonight, again imho.
In all sports it is the same.
When the team is winning & playing well, "they are a good team".
When a team is losing & not playing well, "they fire the coach".
It's the Coaches job to get them winning & playing well.
Part of his job is to identify what is going well & what needs to be fixed.
There's a lot more to it than that, also responsible for signing the right players that fit into the club.
How many players over the years have turned out to be "poor signings"?
They've signed some poor players in the past imho.
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Not only have they signed some bad players over the years, they've also appointed some poor Coaches.
Tommy Sohn was a disaster.
Martin Rennie was in way above his head.
Even Robbo wasn't first choice. Bob Bradley turned them down, so did Frank Yallop.
If they really want success, they have to get a seasoned coach with a track record.
It would probably be the most important signing that the club could make.
Only then will you get the right players & the right philosophy.
Nobody cares about the 2nd. Team, or the academy, it's the first team that needs to be right before you can have the other teams copy how they play.
If the first team is playing poorly, or in some people's opinions "the wrong way" you won't get success in the programs below, if they copy a losing philosophy.
It would have made more sense for either Toronto or Montreal host another Canadian team, as they get better crowds than Vancouver.
But, I agree, they slipped up on not having 2 Canadian teams playing each other on Canada's 150th. Birthday.
You could be right. I was looking at it from more of an event stand point. Our track record here speaks for itself. Although I have no confidence in the Caps marketing team to pull something like that off. So Then I guess you probably are right.
Many years ago New York Cosmos signed a German player named Franz Beckenbauer, he wasn't a bad player, but played as a sweeper. One of the Cosmos Directors asked why he didn't score many goals for the price they paid for him.
When I look at Chicagos roster I see 4-6 players better then any WhiteCap player. Bastian, De Leeuw, McCarthy, nicolic. They actually play small ball with confidence. The caps are garbage, no composure, every 2nd or 3rd pass is a long hopeful ball. Sure Robbo can improve with the tactics but we need better players. We are fixated on South America, every guy I've seen is OK at best. Get some fcuking cornerstones of the franchise. Where is the talent, who pulls the strings?
cascadesoccer
Well-Known Member
Can you get players that good in the clearance section, where we seem to buy everyone else? I heard Bobby met a 24 year Argentinian Barista at Starbucks, who leads his FIFA 17 team in scoring. So we signed him for 1 year at 300K.
Schweinsteiger*31
Member
@Dude: So predictable and naive to just blame the manager for the lack of results and inconsistent performances. He is doing a decent job with what is available to him...which is not much. Not to mention that his philosophy and style that he wants his team to play is a lot more fun to watch (when it is actually executed properly) as a fan/supporter than many coaches in this league. It's the management above him that has to get him the better players to be able to compete with the better teams.
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