I don't have too much problem with Mourinho's intentions yesterday, or the notion of taking a pragmatic approach to a game like that, it was just his application of it that disappointed me. We didn't really do a good enough job stifling them, and the selections and structure meant we offered virtually no counter threat at all.
You can be pragmatic, reactive, whilst also offering a bit more threat.
Even if he wanted a 3CB system, why not play Aurier at RWB, and have two alternating wide outlets for the midfield. Why play two slow CB's, why not have Tanganga as a CB instead of TA or JV.
That 541, with effectively 5 CB's strung across the back, offered the midfield absolutely nowhere to go ahead or wide of them. It never became a 352 or 343 with the ball, as Tanganga and Davies offered nothing offensively. This is the touchmap from yesterday for Tanganga and Davies up to the 50th minute, which shows they barely got out of our half:
Then for the first hour or so we had the one up top, with Bergwijn and Moura occasionally rotating, very occasionally both together, very similar types of zippy player, but neither of these are good at holding things up and bringing others in, Moura repeatedly turns towards traffic.
I would have much preferred to see Alli up there, offering a bit of presence, I know he bumbles too, but he's still less easy to knock off the ball and more likely to play another player in when holding up than Bergwijn or Moura.
And then, at 2-0 down, just when we were getting a foothold in the game, he subs off Ndombele, leaving 4 CB's on the pitch. Whatever you think of Ndombele, he's far more likely to help us create something than any of those CB's are. It was an astoundingly poor bit of in game management.
You can be pragmatic, reactive, whilst also offering a bit more threat.
Even if he wanted a 3CB system, why not play Aurier at RWB, and have two alternating wide outlets for the midfield. Why play two slow CB's, why not have Tanganga as a CB instead of TA or JV.
That 541, with effectively 5 CB's strung across the back, offered the midfield absolutely nowhere to go ahead or wide of them. It never became a 352 or 343 with the ball, as Tanganga and Davies offered nothing offensively. This is the touchmap from yesterday for Tanganga and Davies up to the 50th minute, which shows they barely got out of our half:
Then for the first hour or so we had the one up top, with Bergwijn and Moura occasionally rotating, very occasionally both together, very similar types of zippy player, but neither of these are good at holding things up and bringing others in, Moura repeatedly turns towards traffic.
I would have much preferred to see Alli up there, offering a bit of presence, I know he bumbles too, but he's still less easy to knock off the ball and more likely to play another player in when holding up than Bergwijn or Moura.
And then, at 2-0 down, just when we were getting a foothold in the game, he subs off Ndombele, leaving 4 CB's on the pitch. Whatever you think of Ndombele, he's far more likely to help us create something than any of those CB's are. It was an astoundingly poor bit of in game management.
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