UEFA Cup/Europa League Draft Final

[Lee909]

Pick one team

 

aRdja

 

 

 

John102

 

 

 

Elite

 

 

 

No2

 

 

Bjornebye

 

 

Alex_k

 

 

[Bjornebye]

Didn't think I'd made the final. 

 

My side is just the best, just. But I can't vote for me so its a toss up between No2 and John. 

 

No2... just. That front 4 could have One Direction behind them and still win most games. 

[John102]

Did everyone make the final?

 

I've gone Alex.

[Lee909]

2 teams in each group where tied for second place

[Bjornebye]

You haven't made the voters name public.

 

Amateur hour. 

[Lee909]

Oh well

 

Not changing it now. 

Just have to post who you vote for aswell

 

John got my vote

[Guest Alex_K]

Final should be smaller than semi final ;)

Voted John, who should win this one

[Bjornebye]

No2 got my vote. 

[Bjornebye]

Just now, Alex_K said:

Final should be smaller than semi final ;)

Voted John, who should win this one

 

 

[Lee909]

14 minutes ago, Alex_K said:

Final should be smaller than semi final ;)

Voted John, who should win this one

Well it would have been 4 teams had you not all voted for a tie in second place on the groups

[aRdja]

No 2, on the basis that they’re setup properly. Stig would’ve got my vote with better full backs. I like his whole setup in front of the defence. I often use 4-4-2 diamond in these drafts because it’s kind of like cheating; allows you to pick three awesome ‘roaming’ central midfielders in front of the DM, so it’s easier to setup than say a 4-5-1 where the requirements are more specific.

[Remmie]

No 2, has some fucking class in there

[Elite]

No2, that attack is sensational, just pips Alex K whose midfield is immense.

[lifetime fan]

I’ve ignored how he’s set the side up and gone with No2. 

[No2]

Seeing at the vote isn't public I'm fairly certain Diego would want me to vote for my own side.

[Guest Alex_K]

I liked the verve of No 2 side a lot - but does that team get the ball against any decent side? Probably not. Basically 4-2-4 with a journeyman from Atletico Madrid as one of the 2 and Simeone who - while very good - was certainly not world class as the other. Pretty fundamental flaw

[aRdja]

Narrow 4-4-2 / 4-2-2-2 isn’t too dissimilar to Arsenal under Wenger IMO. Brazil also have had some success playing a similar formation with Rivaldo and Leonardo as the ams. You’d setup your team to play ‘vertical‘ football, as opposed to possession-based. Brilliant call picking Henry as his striker as he would be the first striker you’d pick in a counter-attacking side.

[Guest Alex_K]

6 minutes ago, aRdja said:

Narrow 4-4-2 / 4-2-2-2 isn’t too dissimilar to Arsenal under Wenger IMO. Brazil also have had some success playing a similar formation with Rivaldo and Leonardo as the ams. You’d setup your team to play ‘vertical‘ football, as opposed to possession-based.

Leonardo wasn’t that attacking though (he frequently played as a left back for example) - he wasn’t a striker. So it isn’t really equivalent. And that Brazil side, when it came up against France in the 98 final for example, was pretty comprehensively beaten by structure. When Brazil did win in 02 it was with a far more conservative team. Like way more.

 

None of the top Wenger sides played with 4 equivalent strikers. I actually can’t think of any super-successful team who played that attacking. Johns team grinds that No 2 side out pretty comprehensively I think. 

[aRdja]

5 minutes ago, Alex_K said:

Leonardo wasn’t that attacking though (he frequently played as a left back for example) - he wasn’t a striker. So it isn’t really equivalent. And that Brazil side, when it came up against France in the 98 final for example, was pretty comprehensively beaten by structure. When Brazil did win in 02 it was with a far more conservative team. Like way more.

 

None of the top Wenger sides played with 4 equivalent strikers. I actually can’t think of any super-successful team who played that attacking

Hagi and Maradona were AMs / no 10s as opposed to strikers no? Diego was a bit before my time, but I did watch some Hagi for Romania and Galatasaray in early 00s and I don’t remember him as a striker as such. Perhaps the older posters could help verify.

 

In saying that I do agree re Brazil 02 > 98...The 3-5-2 setup really suited Cafu and R. Carlos.

[Guest Alex_K]

2 minutes ago, aRdja said:

Hagi and Maradona were AMs / no 10s as opposed to strikers no?

Maybe in the way Rivaldo was an AM, but certainly not in the way Leonardo was. Hagi and Maradonna are both on the pretty extreme attacking end of the spectrum. And structurally I don’t think there has been a team that attacking which has been world-level success (Brazil had to temper how attacking they were to win in 02); even teams like Barca for example that would attack 90 min a game had 3 man central midfields.

[Lee909]

Hagi is one of the most overrated players of the last 30 years imo. 

 

Always hear people thinking he was great. Yet played must of his career at B level leagues or clubs. Starred when the level was lower or he was the big fish in the small pond. Didn't cut it at either Real or Barcelona.

[Tony Moanero]

As I said previously, I couldn’t vote for No2. It’s not just about personnel, formation is important, too. Some great players but it looks like he just threw half of his team on the pitch at random.

 

 

 

 

[John102]

I echo both Tony and Lee.

[aRdja]

30 minutes ago, Lee909 said:

Hagi is one of the most overrated players of the last 30 years imo. 

 

Always hear people thinking he was great. Yet played must of his career at B level leagues or clubs. Starred when the level was lower or he was the big fish in the small pond. Didn't cut it at either Real or Barcelona.

I think he is properly rated. Enigmatic but very talented AM/SS...plenty of those around; Prosinecki, Gascoigne, Balakov, Riquelme, Eric Cantona, Rui Costa, Effenberg...

[Lee909]

11 minutes ago, aRdja said:

I think he is properly rated. Enigmatic but very talented AM/SS...plenty of those around; Prosinecki, Gascoigne, Balakov, Riquelme, Eric Cantona, Rui Costa, Effenberg...

The difference is most of them performed at the top level. Hagi best performance come in Romania and Turkey. He stepped up at times for Romania but he was far to often a lazy bastard you got over praised because a few of his long range shits went in. It's like everyone calling Roberto Carlos a good freekick taker cause he scored the odd one 

 

Comparing Hagi and Cantona, Rui Costa, Effenburg is nuts. They all regularly performed. Even Riquelme and Gazza stepped up far more