Wisdom from Tufty

[Pinchy]

Watch Barcelona. Watch Bayern Munich. Fine margins of victory at that level, you need players who do certain jobs, that's how games are won and loss.

Champions league football is like a game of chess. Really not difficult to understand.

I've known about football for over 50 years kid, You're a novice. Why not pause and listen? You might learn something. Where's my fly-swatter?

 

[St Annington]

Watch Barcelona. Watch Bayern Munich. Fine margins of victory at that level, you need players who do certain jobs, that's how games are won and loss.

Champions league football is like a game of chess. Really not difficult to understand.

Ferguson once said the difference between top teams and lower teams is that top teams have a game plan AND they stick to it whether it is the 1st minute or the 92nd minute, cos they know that that is their best chance of beating the opposition.

I believe that this is where Weir and Clough are fundamentally flawed in managing lower league teams (or maybe just SUFC!!!). Having been top (international) players for top teams they believe that having identified THE way to beat your opposition you stick with it 100% no matter what.

 

[Cyprus Blade]

Pinchy's favorite Manager with Basham and Scougs

I agree - we do need a CM .

 

[Chali 2na]

Yeah, not going to go on about this cos it is very subjective but if I was personally talking about Kante he'd be a defensive midfielder.
Would you class Busquets as anything other than a defensive midfielder, out of interest? Or Alonso?

Busquets I would define as a defensive midfielder in fairness, but I would point out however that he is an exceptional talent in a world class team and when he is required to carry the ball or find an incisive pass he does it better than 99% of other professional footballers.

Alonso is more static and defensive these days at 34, but like Busquets was once an all round midfielder who specialised in the defensive area, but had enough ability to help out going forward. Hence why he had such a fantastic career, at the highest level.

 

[SwissBlade]

Further recruitment needed then Swiss, because that will be nowhere near good enough. We've seen nothing from either Reed or Whiteman to indicate that they are yet ready to feature in a team with realistic aspirations of promotion.

Possibly, I think reed is a tidy player and with the right coaching he can work on his composure, especially when passing and shooting under pressure. There's definitely a footballer in there and with his tenacity I think he has a very good base. How old is he -19/20?

Whiteman I haven't seen anywhere near enough of so can't comment, but I don't see him as a regular this season unless basham gets injured, I'd expect wilder to go with experience.

We really need a deli Ali find... Or James Wallace to get and stay fit!

 

[The Crab]

They are also examples of £50m+ players - who, I imagine, could play any role in a League 1 team better than anyone else in the division. Goalkeeper included!

Messi would be rubbish in goal, too small

 

[BushBlade]

Messi would be rubbish in goal, too small

Probably better than Simmo though.

 

[The Crab]

Probably better than Simmo though.

Fair point well made.

 

[RMBlade]

I would probably agree but having not seen him in the flesh I can't really compare him to Makelele, hopefully we play him in the cup next season and I can see just how good he is, not just through a lens. He's just turned down a 100k a week contract at Leicester though! He's off to Chelsea I think.

I saw this morning that they have offered him 140k a week and he is now 6/5 to stay at Leicester... Seems silly when Man U and Real are talking 100m for Pogba when you could get Kante for 20m and less wages

 

[Slim Man]

I've known about football for over 50 years kid, You're a novice. Why not pause and listen? You might learn something. Where's my fly-swatter?

Very naive, considering you apparently are the font of all knowledge.

 

[Slim Man]

I saw this morning that they have offered him 140k a week and he is now 6/5 to stay at Leicester... Seems silly when Man U and Real are talking 100m for Pogba when you could get Kante for 20m and less wages

Very true, but they're buying the latest 'name'.

I'd rather have Kroos and Kante, you'd probably still have change to spare for what they're paying for Pogba.

 

[Slim Man]

Busquets I would define as a defensive midfielder in fairness, but I would point out however that he is an exceptional talent in a world class team and when he is required to carry the ball or find an incisive pass he does it better than 99% of other professional footballers.

Alonso is more static and defensive these days at 34, but like Busquets was once an all round midfielder who specialised in the defensive area, but had enough ability to help out going forward. Hence why he had such a fantastic career, at the highest level.

I'd agree with the Alonso of the past, brilliant all rounder now a more defensive minded.
Like I said I think at the top level it matters - lower down players should be well versed at everything. We don't have any players good enough to be a 'specialist' in any midfield area, they have to be all rounders.

 

[Finn Keane o' Balmaqueen]

Probably better than Simmo though.

Simmo or
Goalie-Wag

Simmo or
The Invisible Man

Simmo or
A green Wheelie-Bin

 

[Tyler Durden]

I've known about football for over 50 years kid

So you're just impersonating somebody who hasn't got the first clue then? Strange hobby......

 

[sitwell]

Very true - you do make me laugh Pinchy ! The one that annoys me is when a player misses or a pass goes awry and they say "it was his wrong foot" ffs! You get paid thousands of pounds a week, perhaps instead of playing golf or wasting your wages in the bookies, spend some time training to kick with both feet. Watched Woody on the brilliant footage that WalthamstowBlade has posted smashing goals from outside the box with either foot.

Maradonna ,arguably the best footballer of all time only had one foot. It was a bloody good one though.

 

[I should coco]

Maradonna ,arguably the best footballer of all time only had one foot.

He made up for that with a pretty good left hand.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Maradonna ,arguably the best footballer of all time only had one foot. It was a bloody good one though.

His hand weren't bad either!

 

[coaxingstar71]

He made up for that with a pretty good left hand.

Damn you! Beat me to it

 

[stannyblade]

Messi would be rubbish in goal, too small

They did both miss the last penalty they both took. So similar players it's uncanny

 

[Blade56]

Must be boiling in la manga little Louis and scougs have a reyt tan

mistaken identity, they're to tall

 

[Pinchy]

Very true - you do make me laugh Pinchy perhaps instead of playing golf or wasting your wages in the bookies....

Steady on, mate....

 

[Swanseablade]

It's like having our very own Mr Chumley Warner ain't it!?

Or Will from The Inbetweeners

 

[coaxingstar71]

Steady on, mate....

Ha ha! Sorry Pinchy, I didn't realise you were living the footballer dream. Have you inquired when your local will have a VIP section?

 

[Rodley]

“It does my head in when people talk about sitting midfield players, attacking midfield players and all of that. Most of it doesn’t mean anything at all.

“Do you know what? Just be a midfield player. Tackle, get on the ball, pass it and get forward. Simple.

“Seriously, I hear a lot of nonsense spoken about what people have got to do in there. Really, all a midfielder should be focusing on is doing what a midfielder is supposed to do. Including those four things for a start.”

Perhaps one or two of our contributors will read, digest and learn?....

I originally read that and thought of Pinchy

 

[HoodedClaw]

Why limit it to Midfielders though?

Shouldn't forwards be abe to tackle, pass, head and hold up the ball?

The only specialist position is Goalkeeper, so to follow some logic through the rest should all be able to play everywhere, shouldn't they?

Pinchy likes the idea that there should be no such thing as DM, CM or AM they are just "Midfielders" and shouldn't be labelled anything else, but isn't "Midfielder" just a label? aren't they footballers?

IMO it's all a balancing act to get the team to be greater than the sum of it's constituent parts, if that means a midfielder's job is to provide cover/protection to the back four (a DM) and this allows another midfielder to be more expressive/creative further up the pitch (an AM) then surely that is better than just saying go out and play football you're midfielders aren't you?

 

[PeteBlade]

Can't believe anyone is accepting any smug criticism about good football managers from the guy who proudly boasted that "Weir heading for automatic promotion".

 

[alcoblade]

“It does my head in when people talk about sitting midfield players, attacking midfield players and all of that. Most of it doesn’t mean anything at all.

“Do you know what? Just be a midfield player. Tackle, get on the ball, pass it and get forward. Simple.

“Seriously, I hear a lot of nonsense spoken about what people have got to do in there. Really, all a midfielder should be focusing on is doing what a midfielder is supposed to do. Including those four things for a start.”

Perhaps one or two of our contributors will read, digest and learn?....

I've always argued for this, another plus for Wilder. But failing this, at least be exceptional at something, like workrate, tackling, pressing - Hence your Monty's.

Avoid excelling at absolutely nothing, like your Coutts's.

Hopefully some will read on, and digest Pinchy


UTB

 

[Bergen Blade]

There has to be a vocabulary in place to differentiate and describe what Kante does and what Özil does, whatever Wilder says in this specific quote.

Personally I think he's been asked by people and journalists regarding his preferred system 4-2-3-1, where some people may have described the two central midfielders as "holding" or "sitting" midfielders, which he's possibly thought underestimates the attacking contributions of the players he has found and selected in those two positions. I think O'Toole scored quite a few for him last season from that position and it would be unfair to say he was "sitting" or whatever, as he clearly got into the box quite regularly.

In the end it's all about finding the right type of balance. Some managers will find themselves with two central midfielders who are all-rounders and form a good partnership, both being decent offensively and defensively. Nothing wrong with that. At other times a manager will find that it can work by having one player who holds back more, allowing other players to go forward more, our classic 02/03 combination of McCall and Brown showed that it can work as well.

Some people would describe McCall as the holding midfielder and Brown as the box to box midfielder, maybe Wilder would just say they were a couple of midfielders, but I think we all saw that it was something that worked well. Hopefully Wilder will also find a midfield combination that works well, whatever term he wants to use.

 

[Snowman]

As far as I am concerned they are wing halfs and inside forwards and that big kid up top that jumps like a gazelle and runs through walls is not a striker he is a centre forward. As for yer keeper he is "the custodian". Flaming 20th century. waste of time.

 

[Pinchy]

Nice wriggly, side-stepping sophistry from Bergen Blade.

Your pseudo-technical appellations do the manager's head in, mate. Plain and simple; no room for doubt. A bit like proper football, played the right way and stripped of all the claptrap.

The great Brian Clough would have applauded Tufty's unequivocal words.