Season kicked off this past weekend and we had Karim in the studios where we did Top 6 predictions and relegation predictions along with the effect of VAR on the game:
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Welcome to extraordinary footie fans
Season kicked off this past weekend and we had Karim in the studios where we did Top 6 predictions and relegation predictions along with the effect of VAR on the game:
Like, subscribe, follow and share our content
The term sweeper keeper is now known to every casual football fan and is one of the recent tactical innovations in modern football. Sweeper keepers have been effectively in action since 1970’s with the Dutch deploying the usage of selection of a GK who was perhaps better on the ball than his shot keeping. Still traditional keepers were the norm and it was not until the rule change in back pass in the early 1990’s , that football world truly started realizing the importance of having a keeper who is also comfortable on the ball. The La Liga and Bundesliga were already making strides in this respect with especially in La Liga where it has been a long tradition of the GK taking part in the team buildups and rondos to hone the ball playing skills.
[Read more…] about Gyula Grosics : the first sweeper keeper and its tactical demonstration
Barcelona made quite a few eyebrows to raise with their January acquisition of Kevin Prince Boetang on loan from Sassuolo. Barca bringing Murrilo on loan was understandable due to their problem in RCB depth. But letting go of Munir in January, and then flirting with Piaztek, Stuani, Lopez etc and suddenly finishing up with Boetang was quite a shock.
[Read more…] about How Barcelona’s gamble on Boetang is failing spectacularly
Managers or sometimes as they are called, Head Coaches, are extremely important in football and always has been, for they directly play a part in not only the success of the team, but also other non footballing aspects too, like the recruitment policy, the soft image of the club, the foundation for the style of play etc etc..
[Read more…] about Tactical Nous vs Man Management : which one reigns supreme?
The entire footballing world is today ripe about two upcoming prospects from Ajax, Frankie De Jong and Matthis De Ligt with top teams all in race to sign these two starlets. Naturally , Barcelona were also in the market as both De Jong and De Ligt looks like generational talents and Barca are in look for long term replacements of both Sergio Buesqets and Gerard Pique. Barca were in recent days said to be front runner for De Ligt, since Pique is approaching his twilight fast and Barcelona require a talented and competent CB to fill in the big shoes which Pique will leave behind and De Ligt fits the bill perfectly. At only 19 years old, he already have appeared in an European Final (UEL 2017) , is mainstay at the heart of defence for a renowned team like Ajax and already has captained the side. A strong and technical player, he has great composure and abilities on the ball, is deceptively fast, has exceptional leadership qualities and great reading of the game, in short he has all that takes to be one of the best in world in upcoming years. Naturally both him and De Jong are hot commodities today with multiple clubs lining up and both of them will cost a premium. Barca were pursuing them with every bit of effort and news was there that there was positive signs and intent from Ajax too and recent news was reporting that Barca have made De Ligt a priority ahead of De Jong since their premium price means Barca can’t afford them both and CB situation being precarious for Barca. Also teams like PSG,City etc pursuing (Pep is said to be hell bent on bringing De Jong at City) means Barca are forced to concentrate on their more pressing need at present moment since Buesqets can still slog in for a few more years. Naturally Barca were in poll position to sign De Ligt. But the situation has changed suddenly.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer started his tenure as the caretaker manager with a thumping 5-1 victory over Cardiff City and brought a breath of fresh air after recent times of doom and gloom. Though the sample size is too small and there are many more challenges to be faced, let us take a look at how Ole put up his side. We should keep in mind that Ole got just a few days to train this side and with time we shall see more of his ideas coming forth. We shall see how he copes with tactical battles when opposition will try to exploit United’s weak points. But that is a discussion to be had in future. Let us take a look at the match and basic changes implemented and try to take snippets from it in line of how Ole might line up United in coming days.
[Read more…] about Manchester United vs Cardiff: Analysis of Ole Gunnar’s style
Footballing world has recently seen an influx of young talents sone of whom promises to be generational talents.. Whilst young players like Mbappe, Asensio, Dembele etc are already established or are in way of becoming crucial cogs in footballing behemoths, there are waves of other young talents who are highly coveted by big clubs of tip leagues, Frankie De Jong and De Ligt are prime examples. In upcoming articles, we shall discuss about three new talents coming outside of La Masia, who are doing the right things and are receiving high praises. We shall analyse their strengths and weaknesses and shall evaluate whether they have the correct traits to make it in the long run. We shall start with the most underrated among them, Oriol Buesqets, ironically the name sake of Sergio Buesqets, who despite being one of the greatest pivots to grace the football field, has been criminally underrated for a long time. [Read more…] about Oriol Buesqets : is he good enough?
Our new podcast episode features David – Chelsea fan & Adnan and we did a preview of the Chelsea V City recorded on 12/8 before the game kicked off:
We would like to hear your views about our new customized introduction and also your Chelsea V city combined 11.
Yesterday was the day when a fabulous derby took place between Arsenal and Tottenham. Arsenal came out victorious with a 4-2 margin, but it simply was a fabulous match. First 20-25 minutes belonged to Arsenal when they simply were dominant and took the lead via an Aubameyang penalty. This made Spurs woke up from the slumber and they dominated rest of the half when they took a 2-1 lead via Dier and Kane. Emery made quick tactical changes and substitutions which immediately paid dividends when Arsenal leveled via Aubameyang again in 56th minute. Arsenal were in control since then and injury to Mustafi made Emery change tactics again. Pochettino responded with his own tactical change which simply backfired and Arsenal quickly scored two more goals and finished the match. Both Emery and Pochettino are good tacticians and have their own philosophies, it was a great tactical chess game between the two young managers, where ultimately Emery came out on top. Let’s take a glimpse on the tactics.
[Read more…] about Arsenal vs Tottenham : tactical analysis, how it happened
Group C is finely poised after yesterday’s night of UCL and any two among PSG, Liverpool or Napoli can progress into next round. It already was interestingly poised and PSG’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool have further made the water murky. Let us take a look at what happened on field when two German masterminds collided on field with their sides. Both PSG and Liverpool have great three pronged attack which are arguably the two best three men attacks in the World at the moment, which one is better is anybody’s pick. The playing style of both the teams suggested that they were wary of the opposition front three.