Pressing in own half with a rigid defense isn't a bad tactic by itself. It's the basics of most successful counter-attacking teams like Mourinho ones.
The problem is pressing in own half when you have no fast wide men able to carry the ball past the opposition or sprint to offer attack options, and no strikers very good at controlling high hoofed balls and holding them (it's why Babel had some good games recently, he is probably our most suited player for this style).
If we continue with this tactic, we need to replace Kuyt and Maxi with faster players but still good at defensive tasks (a like of Bale not a like of N'Zogbia... perhaps GJ moved to right midfielder can do the trick on this side, but we need someone for the left), and buy a striker being both a big target man and technical enough to keep a ball waiting for support (the Eto'o or Ibrahimovic model, not that common ; Dzeko perhaps...). And even with these better partners I'm not sure Torres would shine in this system.
Out of wanting a more interesting football to watch, I think it's the main reason to revert to full pressing : we already have a team built for that, and wouldn't need a lot of expensive recruits to make it work. A player like Kuyt is aggressive enough to gain balls high on the pitch and exploit them ; but too slow he is struggling if he has to replace to form a rigid defensive line then sprint back to offer something in attack. A striker like Torres is a world beater with players close to him allowing him to make or feint instant passes, not if he has to keep the ball 30 sec before having a partneer in range with a goalkeeper being sure his only option is to shoot. Etc...
In this case, I think we just need a better left back (as full back are more exposed with wide men doing high pressing, Konch must absolutely be replaced, and I don't think Aurelio is reliable enough considering his health) and some secondary players to give depth and more options to adapt to the opposition (ie : some true attacking wingers allowing to play wide against teams having weak full backs ; eventually a striker good in the air but not needing to be world class). Nothing hard to find or overpriced.
« Last Edit: Dec 21, 2010 05:11:46 pm by TonioLerouge »
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