New Tactics for 2010/2011?

Has anyone worked out what Roy's tactics are yet?

I think it's a very rigid 4-4-2, but have seen it explained as 4-2-2-2 as the two wide midfielders do not contribute any width.

The fact that the team do not push up is a Hodgson thing.  I am fairly sure, Rafa played a high line and bought Reina specifically as he was so quick off his line to act as 'sweeper' if need be.  Roy obviously prefers central defenders to stay near the 18 yard line which creates big gaps in the team.  And poor old 'Nando feeding off aimless long balls.

I think most of the time, it's more like 4-4---------------------2.

Very depressing seeing him get us to play like this.  He is turning us into Fulham.  Inconsistent and grateful for a good performance once a month.

Has anyone worked out what Roy's tactics are yet?

I think it's a very rigid 4-4-2, but have seen it explained as 4-2-2-2 as the two wide midfielders do not contribute any width.

The fact that the team do not push up is a Hodgson thing.  I am fairly sure, Rafa played a high line and bought Reina specifically as he was so quick off his line to act as 'sweeper' if need be.  Roy obviously prefers central defenders to stay near the 18 yard line which creates big gaps in the team.  And poor old 'Nando feeding off aimless long balls.

I think most of the time, it's more like 4-4---------------------2.

Very depressing seeing him get us to play like this.  He is turning us into Fulham.  Inconsistent and grateful for a good performance once a month.

Defensively he plays what would be known in Basketball as a Half Court Press (if I remember rightly). It was evident against Utrecht that the youngsters had been drilled into doing the same thing. If we lose possession, we withdraw to the halfway line and form 2 defensive banks. If we're lucky, a lone striker might stay in the opposition half in anticipation of a 'hoof' forward. This means that even when we do win possession back, we have 2 options, a) hoof the ball over their midfield to our striker or b) try to pass our way past their entire team.
It's truly horrible to watch.
Rafa employed more of a Full Court Press where the opposition didn't get a seconds peace anywhere on the pitch. It's not a perfect system because you can overcommit but it was far better to watch!

Defensively he plays what would be known in Basketball as a Half Court Press (if I remember rightly). It was evident against Utrecht that the youngsters had been drilled into doing the same thing. If we lose possession, we withdraw to the halfway line and form 2 defensive banks. If we're lucky, a lone striker might stay in the opposition half in anticipation of a 'hoof' forward. This means that even when we do win possession back, we have 2 options, a) hoof the ball over their midfield to our striker or b) try to pass our way past their entire team.
It's truly horrible to watch.
Rafa employed more of a Full Court Press where the opposition didn't get a seconds peace anywhere on the pitch. It's not a perfect system because you can overcommit but it was far better to watch!

Definitely agreed on it being far better to watch.  And I would say, generally more effective too.  I hate us sitting back and trying to absorb pressure.  It's proving to be very ineffective.

I am sure Roy has the same approach adopted by Houllier in his final couple of seasons, which was to sit deep and counter.  The trouble is, teams sussed us out and we had no plan b......

Sounds eerily familiar.

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.