Criticism Moyes Strategy

[J. A. Adji]

Beberapa gambar Everton under moyes. Cuma pembanding sih. Gak jauh beda juga dengan yang ada di United hari ini

Jadi inget gambar apa ya pas liat wasit di tengah gini? hahahaha...

eh si wasit di tengah lagi

dari dulu sampai hari ini tengah emang kosong ya?

[fredrian.seven]

Berkat mas bro @J. A. Adji; jadi makin terpacu belajar tentang taktik United khususnya era Moyes. dulu...

Dari browsing2 akhirnya dapet website yang membahas taktik United khususnya era Moyes yaitu www.livelifeunited.com .Untuk menghormati yang punya blog monggo langsung kesana. Aku copas beberapa link artikelnya aja plus kutipan isi yang paling menarik.

• DAVID MOYES SURELY IS NOT AN IDIOT BUT WHY?
  29 Maret 2014
  
  Ironically, when David Moyes was uttering those words,- "I think we’ve played a very good side and it’s the sort of standard and level we need to try and aspire to get ourselves to at this moment in time" - did it ever occur to him that United was used to be at that level if not better and he was the one who dragged down the standard with his outdated and simplistic tactics which was at the opposite end of spectrum of the football being played by City. While City was playing fluently with their passing and movement through the pockets of spaces which sliced through United’s defence, Moyes still persisting with his “space covering” philosophy which resulted a stretched team shape and rigidity of play.
  
  As a result, United were unable to provide any answers to City pressing early on as United struggled to keep possession even in the buildup phase as the players pushing high up the pitch without providing any support to progress the play. Thus, United’s players had to play speculative forward passes or send it wide to delivered forceful and aimless crosses into the box as there was no one providing the support to progress the play especially through the middle. United’s play was disjointed and lacked of any real fluency & continuity which was the last you want against City as written in my last piece.
  
  
• JUAN MATA & SHINJI KAGAWA : HOW THEY CHANGED THE WHOLE DYNAMIC OF UNITED PLAY
  24 Maret 2014
  
  With both of them starting in the 2-0 win against West Ham, finally they were able to play their natural game and looked at ease exchanging passes with each other, picking up each other in the pocket of space and playing pass & move football. The most important thing in this match was how both of them able to change the whole dynamic of play with them having the freedom to roam around. They were able to transform United from playing a direct football with a stretched team shape to a short passing game with the players closely linked to each other creating all those triangles. Even though both of them liked to drift infield to occupy the centre areas but they did not make it congested due to their positional intelligence and good understanding of the game. They combined well together with both of them playing pass and move football, providing all those clear angle passing lanes to each other and good movement as at when one dropped deep, the other will push higher up. It was just refreshing to watch their intelligent movement, positioning and passing.
  
  
• FALSE OPTIMISM : MOYES’ TACTICAL SYSTEM IS STILL UNITED’S BIGGEST THREAT
  22 Maret 2014
  
  This is the main reason why United struggled under Moyes so far this season due to his simplistic tactics. In the 3-0 win against Olympiakos, the flaws and the shortcomings of the play which has been repeatedly documented in my previous pieces were still there. If you analyse the 3 goals being scored by United, percentage of play was heavily involved in which on other days, it might not work to their favour.
  
  
• TACTICAL COMPARISON : BRENDAN RODGERS VS DAVID MOYES
  18 Maret 2014
  
  In the match against Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers’ side was much more superior than United in every single ways as they played with speed and purpose while United’s play was slow, predictable and lacked of ideas. The qualities of United’s players were as good as Liverpool if not better but the difference maker in this match was the tactical system set-up by both managers.
  
  
• WILL MOYES COME GOOD GIVEN TIME?
  15 Maret 2014
  
  To conclude on this, below was the conclusion from Mike L.Goodman in his piece on Moyes 2012/13 tactical review :
  
  “Moyes constructed a team that plays a somewhat inefficient brand of football, but executes it extremely well. Physicality and hold up play, combined with overlaps on the wings and crosses.”
  
  This tactics might be good for a mid table team but for an elite team, Moyes needs to do much more better than this. Anything can happen in the future but for as for now, the future doesn’t look bright under Moyes even United managed to bring in 5 world class footballers in the summer.
  
  
• DISSECTING MOYES’ TACTICS TO DEMYSTIFY THE MYTHS
  7 Maret 2014
  
  Demystifying the Myths
  
  There has been a lot of theories on the reasons behind United’s woes this season but with the understanding above, let’s bust a few myths here :
  
  Myth 1 : United’s players are not good enough.
  
  Myth 2 : Tom Cleverley is an awful player.
  
  Myth 3 : United’s midfielders were weak.
  
  Myth 4 : Rooney is better than Kagawa.
  
  Myth 5 : Valencia & Young started most of the matches due to lack of options.
  
  Myth 6 : United will improve if they able to bring in better players.
  
  In conclusion, there is no good or bad tactics, if the tactics worked on the pitch then it is the right tactics. Clearly, Moyes’ philosophies are not working right now. It is hard to predict whether his philosophies will become good given time but at the same time, it is difficult to imagine how can it works with the modern football right now as today’s defences are more compact and denser. This explained why majority of the top teams today employed short passing and quick combination play to penetrate the limited spaces of today’s defences. In order to do so, the players need to be closely linked, a lot of movement and fluidity in order to penetrate a much more organised defences of modern football.
  
  
• THE IRONY OF CARLOS QUEIROZ & DAVID MOYES
  2 Maret 2014
  
  To understand why Queiroz had been given such a prominent role by Fergie whose management philosophies were about “power” and “control”, then the tactical evolution that took place in the turn of century was the main catalyst for this. Even though United had won 2 more successive Premier League titles in the aftermath of the treble winning year in 1999, United were found out short in the European competition and with the emergence of the Arsenal “Invincible” team, Fergie recognised the needs to make the necessary adjustment to his side tactically in response to the changing landscape of football.
  
  
• ANALYSING THE DIFFERENCES OF UNITED UNDER FERGUSON & MOYES (PART 1)
  16 Februari 2014
  
  People said that Ferguson’s philosophy was all about wing play, it was just a convenient way to describe his tactical system. No doubt, United’s wing play was one of their biggest strength but it was just a one of many varieties of United’ attacking play. The reason United were so successful under Fergie because of their tactical variation as they can play it short or direct;play through the middle or using the width; absorbing pressure and launch counter attack. Hence, it was difficult for the oppositions to guard against United due to their varieties of play.
  
  
• ANALYSING THE DIFFERENCES OF UNITED UNDER FERGUSON & MOYES (PART 2)
  17 Februari 2014
  
  The current woes of United are not because of losing Fergie Factor or players are not good enough but simply because of the shape of the team is not good enough which affected the cohesion and performance of the players. Hence, the key is in Moyes hand now as will he able to correct the current problems in his tactical set-up. You will be hoping that Moyes will be working with the players on team shape in Dubai and turn the season around.
  
  
• ILLUSTRATION ON WHY MOYES’ TACTICS IS FROM STONE AGE
  11 Februari 2014
  
  There is a saying “tactics and players come hand in hand”. A team can have 11 world class players on the field but without the right tactics from the coach, it still won’t able to yield the desirable results on the pitch. This explained why United won the league by 11 points last season under Alex Ferguson but now they are struggling at 7th place under Moyes even with the same group of players.
  
  

Sampe nggak nonton dengan lengkap pertandingan vs Munchen gara2 mbaca artikel2 itu. Kesimpulannya, Moyes oh Moyes... Klo Moyes dipecat akan jadi awal baru buat United, sedangkan klo masih tetap maka akan banyak PR buat Moyes. Jawaban sih udah ada di Mata dan Kagawa, entah Moyes akan menyempurnakan “space covering” andalannya atau melakukan revolusi seperti yang Fergie lakukan saat merekrut Queiroz. Waktu yang bisa menjawab, fans silahkan berdoa

Kredit buat mas Adit...

[J. A. Adji]

Originally Posted by fredrian.seven

Berkat mas bro @J. A. Adji; jadi makin terpacu belajar tentang taktik United khususnya era Moyes. dulu...

Dari browsing2 akhirnya dapet website yang membahas taktik United khususnya era Moyes yaitu www.livelifeunited.com .Untuk menghormati yang punya blog monggo langsung kesana. Aku copas beberapa link artikelnya aja plus kutipan isi yang paling menarik.

• DAVID MOYES SURELY IS NOT AN IDIOT BUT WHY?
  29 Maret 2014
  
  Ironically, when David Moyes was uttering those words,- "I think we’ve played a very good side and it’s the sort of standard and level we need to try and aspire to get ourselves to at this moment in time" - did it ever occur to him that United was used to be at that level if not better and he was the one who dragged down the standard with his outdated and simplistic tactics which was at the opposite end of spectrum of the football being played by City. While City was playing fluently with their passing and movement through the pockets of spaces which sliced through United’s defence, Moyes still persisting with his “space covering” philosophy which resulted a stretched team shape and rigidity of play.
  
  As a result, United were unable to provide any answers to City pressing early on as United struggled to keep possession even in the buildup phase as the players pushing high up the pitch without providing any support to progress the play. Thus, United’s players had to play speculative forward passes or send it wide to delivered forceful and aimless crosses into the box as there was no one providing the support to progress the play especially through the middle. United’s play was disjointed and lacked of any real fluency & continuity which was the last you want against City as written in my last piece.
  
  
• JUAN MATA & SHINJI KAGAWA : HOW THEY CHANGED THE WHOLE DYNAMIC OF UNITED PLAY
  24 Maret 2014
  
  With both of them starting in the 2-0 win against West Ham, finally they were able to play their natural game and looked at ease exchanging passes with each other, picking up each other in the pocket of space and playing pass & move football. The most important thing in this match was how both of them able to change the whole dynamic of play with them having the freedom to roam around. They were able to transform United from playing a direct football with a stretched team shape to a short passing game with the players closely linked to each other creating all those triangles. Even though both of them liked to drift infield to occupy the centre areas but they did not make it congested due to their positional intelligence and good understanding of the game. They combined well together with both of them playing pass and move football, providing all those clear angle passing lanes to each other and good movement as at when one dropped deep, the other will push higher up. It was just refreshing to watch their intelligent movement, positioning and passing.
  
  
• FALSE OPTIMISM : MOYES’ TACTICAL SYSTEM IS STILL UNITED’S BIGGEST THREAT
  22 Maret 2014
  
  This is the main reason why United struggled under Moyes so far this season due to his simplistic tactics. In the 3-0 win against Olympiakos, the flaws and the shortcomings of the play which has been repeatedly documented in my previous pieces were still there. If you analyse the 3 goals being scored by United, percentage of play was heavily involved in which on other days, it might not work to their favour.
  
  
• TACTICAL COMPARISON : BRENDAN RODGERS VS DAVID MOYES
  18 Maret 2014
  
  In the match against Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers’ side was much more superior than United in every single ways as they played with speed and purpose while United’s play was slow, predictable and lacked of ideas. The qualities of United’s players were as good as Liverpool if not better but the difference maker in this match was the tactical system set-up by both managers.
  
  
• WILL MOYES COME GOOD GIVEN TIME?
  15 Maret 2014
  
  To conclude on this, below was the conclusion from Mike L.Goodman in his piece on Moyes 2012/13 tactical review :
  
  “Moyes constructed a team that plays a somewhat inefficient brand of football, but executes it extremely well. Physicality and hold up play, combined with overlaps on the wings and crosses.”
  
  This tactics might be good for a mid table team but for an elite team, Moyes needs to do much more better than this. Anything can happen in the future but for as for now, the future doesn’t look bright under Moyes even United managed to bring in 5 world class footballers in the summer.
  
  
• DISSECTING MOYES’ TACTICS TO DEMYSTIFY THE MYTHS
  7 Maret 2014
  
  Demystifying the Myths
  
  There has been a lot of theories on the reasons behind United’s woes this season but with the understanding above, let’s bust a few myths here :
  
  Myth 1 : United’s players are not good enough.
  
  Myth 2 : Tom Cleverley is an awful player.
  
  Myth 3 : United’s midfielders were weak.
  
  Myth 4 : Rooney is better than Kagawa.
  
  Myth 5 : Valencia & Young started most of the matches due to lack of options.
  
  Myth 6 : United will improve if they able to bring in better players.
  
  In conclusion, there is no good or bad tactics, if the tactics worked on the pitch then it is the right tactics. Clearly, Moyes’ philosophies are not working right now. It is hard to predict whether his philosophies will become good given time but at the same time, it is difficult to imagine how can it works with the modern football right now as today’s defences are more compact and denser. This explained why majority of the top teams today employed short passing and quick combination play to penetrate the limited spaces of today’s defences. In order to do so, the players need to be closely linked, a lot of movement and fluidity in order to penetrate a much more organised defences of modern football.
  
  
• THE IRONY OF CARLOS QUEIROZ & DAVID MOYES
  2 Maret 2014
  
  To understand why Queiroz had been given such a prominent role by Fergie whose management philosophies were about “power” and “control”, then the tactical evolution that took place in the turn of century was the main catalyst for this. Even though United had won 2 more successive Premier League titles in the aftermath of the treble winning year in 1999, United were found out short in the European competition and with the emergence of the Arsenal “Invincible” team, Fergie recognised the needs to make the necessary adjustment to his side tactically in response to the changing landscape of football.
  
  
• ANALYSING THE DIFFERENCES OF UNITED UNDER FERGUSON & MOYES (PART 1)
  16 Februari 2014
  
  People said that Ferguson’s philosophy was all about wing play, it was just a convenient way to describe his tactical system. No doubt, United’s wing play was one of their biggest strength but it was just a one of many varieties of United’ attacking play. The reason United were so successful under Fergie because of their tactical variation as they can play it short or direct;play through the middle or using the width; absorbing pressure and launch counter attack. Hence, it was difficult for the oppositions to guard against United due to their varieties of play.
  
  
• ANALYSING THE DIFFERENCES OF UNITED UNDER FERGUSON & MOYES (PART 2)
  17 Februari 2014
  
  The current woes of United are not because of losing Fergie Factor or players are not good enough but simply because of the shape of the team is not good enough which affected the cohesion and performance of the players. Hence, the key is in Moyes hand now as will he able to correct the current problems in his tactical set-up. You will be hoping that Moyes will be working with the players on team shape in Dubai and turn the season around.
  
  
• ILLUSTRATION ON WHY MOYES’ TACTICS IS FROM STONE AGE
  11 Februari 2014
  
  There is a saying “tactics and players come hand in hand”. A team can have 11 world class players on the field but without the right tactics from the coach, it still won’t able to yield the desirable results on the pitch. This explained why United won the league by 11 points last season under Alex Ferguson but now they are struggling at 7th place under Moyes even with the same group of players.
  
  

Sampe nggak nonton dengan lengkap pertandingan vs Munchen gara2 mbaca artikel2 itu. Kesimpulannya, Moyes oh Moyes... Klo Moyes dipecat akan jadi awal baru buat United, sedangkan klo masih tetap maka akan banyak PR buat Moyes. Jawaban sih udah ada di Mata dan Kagawa, entah Moyes akan menyempurnakan “space covering” andalannya atau melakukan revolusi seperti yang Fergie lakukan saat merekrut Queiroz. Waktu yang bisa menjawab, fans silahkan berdoa

Kredit buat mas Adit...

Klo ane sih harus dipecat, karena taktik dan formasi Moyes selama 12 tahun terakhir ini terbukti ampuh untuk menjadikan tim apapun menjadi tim papan tengah.

Klo meniru kata mas TOD, apa alasan logis untuk meyakini bahwa Moyes dapat melakukan lebih dari yang sudah dilakukannya 11 tahun di Everton dan 1 musim di MU?

Klo Moyes mau melakukan revolusi pada taktik, harusnya sudah dilakukan 3-4 tahun lalu di Everton. Tapi dia tetap getol dengan taktik yang sama selama 12 tahun. Dan setelah pertandingan melawan Fulham, dengan sangat yakin dan tegas Moyes mengatakan tidak akan pernah merubah taktiknya.

Seperti yang sering ane bilang, klo secara fakta dan berpikir logis, Moyes itu bukan manajer tim papan bawah jadi jangan diremehkan, Moyes itu manajer tim papan tengah. Dan bukan juga manajer tim papan atas. Ane bicara menghayal? Gak tuh, yang ane bicarakan hanya fakta bukan khayalan dan ane gak sedang membandingkan Moyes dengan Ferguson. Ane hanya mencoba membandingkan Moyes dengan dirinya sendiri.

Ingin moyes tetap bertahan? Apa alasan yang logis yang membuat anda yakin orang yang selama 12 tahun yakin taktiknya adalah taktik terbaik akan berpikir merubah taktiknya di tahun ke 13? (pertanyaan ini bukan untuk mas @fredrian.seven)

[troy andreas]

Originally Posted by J. A. Adji

Beberapa gambar Everton under moyes. Cuma pembanding sih. Gak jauh beda juga dengan yang ada di United hari ini

Jadi inget gambar apa ya pas liat wasit di tengah gini? hahahaha...

eh si wasit di tengah lagi

dari dulu sampai hari ini tengah emang kosong ya?

Hmmm ini ada kaitannya dengan postingan cak Guffi yah?

Originally Posted by goodfron

kalo' pengin contoh tim yang gak pernah berubah taktiknya siapapun lawannya silahkan contoh Arsenal.. dan tau sendiri hasilnya.

Ehh tapi di match UCL semalam strategy-nya beda loh.

[fredrian.seven]

Originally Posted by J. A. Adji

Klo ane sih harus dipecat, karena taktik dan formasi Moyes selama 12 tahun terakhir ini terbukti ampuh untuk menjadikan tim apapun menjadi tim papan tengah.

Klo meniru kata mas TOD, apa alasan logis untuk meyakini bahwa Moyes dapat melakukan lebih dari yang sudah dilakukannya 11 tahun di Everton dan 1 musim di MU?

Klo Moyes mau melakukan revolusi pada taktik, harusnya sudah dilakukan 3-4 tahun lalu di Everton. Tapi dia tetap getol dengan taktik yang sama selama 12 tahun. Dan setelah pertandingan melawan Fulham, dengan sangat yakin dan tegas Moyes mengatakan tidak akan pernah merubah taktiknya.

Seperti yang sering ane bilang, klo secara fakta dan berpikir logis, Moyes itu bukan manajer tim papan bawah jadi jangan diremehkan, Moyes itu manajer tim papan tengah. Dan bukan juga manajer tim papan atas. Ane bicara menghayal? Gak tuh, yang ane bicarakan hanya fakta bukan khayalan dan ane gak sedang membandingkan Moyes dengan Ferguson. Ane hanya mencoba membandingkan Moyes dengan dirinya sendiri.

Ingin moyes tetap bertahan? Apa alasan yang logis yang membuat anda yakin orang yang selama 12 tahun yakin taktiknya adalah taktik terbaik akan berpikir merubah taktiknya di tahun ke 13? (pertanyaan ini bukan untuk mas @fredrian.seven)

Bukannya Moyes udah dikit berubah. Contoh ya vs West Ham dan Villa. Tapi ya blom teruji konsistensi dan vs klub besar.

[J. A. Adji]

Originally Posted by troy andreas

Hmmm ini ada kaitannya dengan postingan cak Guffi yah?




Ehh tapi di match UCL semalam strategy-nya beda loh.

Coba tanya cak guffi, kenapa harus arsenal yang dicontoh?
Kenapa gak liat Everton dari 2002-2013? Nah keliatan kan hasilnya? Siapa coba pelatihnya?

Originally Posted by fredrian.seven

Bukannya Moyes udah dikit berubah. Contoh ya vs West Ham dan Villa. Tapi ya blom teruji konsistensi dan vs klub besar.

Klo ane sih bilang permainan MU waktu menang lawan Cardiff, WBA, West Ham, Villa ya begitu2 aja dan selama 12 tahun terbukti selalu gagal menang di kandang Arsenal, Chelesea dan Liverpool. Bukan cuma ane yang bilang, tuh Ross Barkley yang pernah dilatih Moyes aja ngaku, Moyes miskin strategi.
Makanya sekalipun Moyes sapu bersih di sisa BPL, ane tetap bilang #MoyesOut karena waktu di Everton sisa2 lawan United ini pernah dikalahkan. Artinya taktiknya Moyes itu taktik tim papan tengah, bukan taktik tim papan bawah, tapi bukan juga taktik tim juara. Ini ada penjelasan logisnya loh.

[fredrian.seven]

Originally Posted by J. A. Adji

Klo ane sih bilang permainan MU waktu menang lawan Cardiff, WBA, West Ham, Villa ya begitu2 aja dan selama 12 tahun terbukti selalu gagal menang di kandang Arsenal, Chelesea dan Liverpool. Bukan cuma ane yang bilang, tuh Ross Barkley yang pernah dilatih Moyes aja ngaku, Moyes miskin strategi.
Makanya sekalipun Moyes sapu bersih di sisa BPL, ane tetap bilang #MoyesOut karena waktu di Everton sisa2 lawan United ini pernah dikalahkan. Artinya taktiknya Moyes itu taktik tim papan tengah, bukan taktik tim papan bawah, tapi bukan juga taktik tim juara. Ini ada penjelasan logisnya loh.

Emang Barkley bilang Moyes miskin strategi? Klo aku baca sih " 'But Martinez is more tactical. We do a lot more tactical work which is good for me because I’m young and still learning.' plus itu jawaban atas pertanyaan metode latihan, bukan taktik. CMIIW

Selalu kalah di kandang klub besar, ya itu fakta. Ya wes...

Aku percaya kok apapun hasil United nggak akan berpengaruh ke pendapat mas bro. Aku sih nggak ingin membicarakan hal itu. Thread ini kan judulnya "Criticism Moyes Strategy", udah jelas yang dibahas strategi Moyes. Dan dari tulisan di livelifeunited.com jadi punya gambaran gimana taktik Moyes sebenarnya.

Taktik Moyes "covering space" di United emang layak dikritik terlepas faktor pemaen blom padu atau emang nggak pas di United. Tapi klo aku bilang sih ada sedikit perubahan dan terlihat pas vs Fulham dan vs Aston Villa.

vs

Dari gambar di atas aja beda. Faktor yang buat beda adalah keberadaan Mata dan Kagawa. Kelihatan klo nggak sepertu yang sering terjadi sejak awal musim kan. Klo aku bilang sih nggak Moyes banget taktiknya.

Tapi ya aku bilang sebelumnya. taktik "nggak Moyes banget" blom teruji konsistensi (dipakainya) dan juga blom teruji lawan klub besar.

IMO

[zudomiriku]

Film Focus: Manchester United Dominate Set Pieces, Defend in Concert vs. Bayern



It wasn’t that long ago that Manchester United manager David Moyes was bemoaning his side’s inability to defend set pieces.

“The first goal took a deflection,” he remarked following a 3-1 loss to Chelsea in January, as per ESPN FC. “But the other two, set pieces...terrible defending.”

He was similarly distraught when Cardiff City nicked a late equaliser from a free-kick in late November.

But last month against West Ham the Red Devils suddenly displayed some competence in this area and when they went up against Bayern Munich on Tuesday it proved to be their saving grace.

Defending Set Pieces


Bayern won six corners at Old Trafford in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against United. And from none of them did they create a meaningful attempt at goal.



Perhaps Moyes’ frustration had boiled over in the form of helpful instruction, because on this night his players not only acquitted themselves nicely on corners and free kicks—they thrived on them.

It was a situation they first faced in the 13th minute, when Arjen Robben won a corner off Nemanja Vidic.



As Toni Kroos prepared to make his delivery his teammates were being conscientiously eyed up by their Premier League opponents, who had positioned themselves to both watch the players they were defending and, crucially, see the ball as it was floated in.

Their close marking prevented the sort of run-ups that would later burn the Bavarian giants, and Danny Welbeck was also left in more advanced space—an important tweak from previous corner-kick setups under Moyes.

Attacking Set Pieces


At the opposite end of the pitch, United took their chance from a set-piece situation when it came.



With only three players inside the 18-yard box—two of them occupying four Bayern defenders—Vidic was able to make the sort of run he had helped prevent earlier.

Peeling off Philipp Lahm, the Serbia defender raced into the goalmouth, where Phil Jones was busily holding off the two opponents who had mysteriously converged on him.



By mid-run he was completely unmarked, although his headed effort still required expert technique to beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the far corner.

For a side that so prides itself on technical elements such as passing, movement and conversion, Bayern’s defense of Wayne Rooney’s corner-kick was shocking and no doubt it’s something they’ll be looking to work on between now and next week’s return fixture at the Allianz Arena.

Defending in Concert


In endeavouring to sustain pressure with two banks of defense and the timely, concentrated use of brief pressure when stepping forward from their lines, United’s setup in their own third of the park looked similar to that employed by Roberto Di Matteo when his Chelsea side eliminated current Bayern manager Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona outfit back in 2012.



From the get-go it was clear the Bundesliga champions would be enjoying well near three-quarters of possession and to combat it, United arranged themselves like one big sponge in front of goal.

The game-plan: to soak up pressure before wringing it out on the counter-attack.

In accomplishing it, Moyes’ men delivered a highly-attentive display of defensive fundamentals.



Concentrating on defense of the target alone, United conceded those spaces and channels that didn’t represent a direct route to goal (they defended the goal—not the outside areas).

They also managed to keep Bayern’s buildup play in front of them through much of the encounter, and they left enough space between themselves and their opponents so as to prevent the sort of breakthroughs Robben and Franck Ribery are famous for.

Squawka Football ✔
@Squawka
Nemanja Vidic game in numbers: 1 goals, 13 clearances, 100% headers & 2 tackles won, 94% pass accuracy. Clearances:

Finally, they cleared the ball quickly and indiscriminately whenever it was loose in front of goalkeeper David De Gea and in doing so they avoided the sort of careless mistakes that often lead to penalties.

It’s an approach that worked to perfection until Mario Mandzukic was introduced as a target-man for the Bayern attack, and it also helped spring Welbeck for a chance that should have resulted in a goal.



Marouane Fellaini—much maligned for his performance—was one of two United players who came occasionally out of the first bank of defense to put his body in the way of a passing triangle. Rooney was the other and in the 40th minute the England man was able to release Welbeck, who shook off Javi Martinez before scuffing his final effort in front of Neuer.

It’s a strategy the hosts put to more frequent use after the restart, which is largely why United found themselves in slightly more possession in the second half.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2014199-film-focus-manchester-united-dominate-set-pieces-defend-in-concert-vs-bayern

[troy andreas]

Leighton Baines says Everton more positive under Roberto Martinez




Leighton Baines says Everton's success this season is down to the positivity brought to the club by Roberto Martinez.

The Toffees have positioned themselves in UEFA Champions League contention this term, with a top-four finish still very much on the cards with four fixtures remaining.

Belief is high within the Goodison Park camp that a seat at European football's top table can be secured, with Martinez drilling into his players that they are capable of anything.

Baines claims that is a welcome change of philosophy from the previous managerial regime on Merseyside.

David Moyes - who left Everton for Manchester United last summer - spent his 11-year tenure favouring a more cautious approach, with his side often set-up to contain opponents rather than take the game to them.

Baines told The Guardian on the contrasting styles of Everton bosses past and present: "The two managers are totally different, in every way.

"They both have things they are really good at but with the current manager, he's ultra-positive. He takes the positive from every single scenario.

"That's been the big thing for me: the difference in the style of play, committing to that and not feeling like we have to adapt to the opposition.

"The new manager has that confidence and belief in himself, in his own blueprint. And then in us. He tells us we're not going to change, we're just going to improve constantly and keep practising until we get to the level where we want to be. Stick to it, don't compromise, get better at it.

"He also spoke about the Champions League from the start. He didn't shy away from it. He came in and straight away he set the bar high.

"We might have got away with a fairly ordinary season - the changeover with the new manager, the first season, a transitional season - but he didn't want to accept that. He wanted to improve on what we'd done before, and we've done that."

While Everton have flourished this season, Moyes has endured a difficult debut campaign as 'The Chosen One' at Old Trafford.

Baines believes the Scot will have been fully aware of the size of the challenge he was taking on as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor and is convinced that, ahead of a reunion at Goodison on Sunday, he will get things right in time.

The England international added: "He's a fighter. He'll never give up on anything because it's not in his nature. And he has said he will get it right in the end. It's just that every time United have started to get a bit of wind in their sails, it's been taken away again. They needed to get a run going to lift their confidence and they have never quite managed it.

"A lot of the coaching staff went over there with him and it's tough seeing them all having a difficult time. But I also think they knew it was going to be tough. Maybe it's been tougher than even they expected. They knew they needed to strengthen and they couldn't quite do it."

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/9272894?

[troy andreas]

Pelajaran juga untuk fans, pertanyaannya kalau pemain gak boleh di kritik eh baliknya entar ke siapa yah?

Moyes can't blame United squad - Martinez

David Moyes' argument that his Manchester United squad is not good enough holds no weight (<--- komentar sebagian fans United juga, rentan disinggung kalau bilang mereka skuad juara musim lalu), according to Everton manager Roberto Martinez.

United travel to Everton on Sunday as Moyes gets set to return to Goodison Park for the first time since leaving for Old Trafford last summer.

Whereas Martinez's side are fighting it out for the fourth and final Champions League spot with Arsenal, United's best hope appears to be earning a Europa League berth - which sources have told ESPN that club owners the Glazer family are demanding of Moyes.

While Moyes has blamed the quality of his squad on United's rapid decline this season from being champions last term, Martinez insists they should in fact be better off following the £27.5 million capture of Marouane Fellaini - from Everton, no less - and £37.1 million January signing Juan Mata.

"They are still the league champions and they haven't lost anyone," said Martinez. "It's the opposite. They have two players on top.

"United's squad is bigger and better than people are trying to make out."

Moyes has previously suggested his predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson left an ageing group behind, however Martinez has pointed to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea as proof that United manager can have no excuses.

He added: "Who are these United veterans? Rio Ferdinand? How many games has Rio played? Not many and Ryan Giggs hasn't played many, either.

"You could look at Chelsea and say they are more of an ageing squad. In football, not everything is straightforward - there's no black and white.

"An ageing squad if you win becomes an experienced squad with knowhow. If you lose, it becomes the players have no legs. It's something in between those extremes.

"You look at Chelsea, title contenders, but squad-wise worse than United."

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/300951.html#rKR50pUWf6mxK614.99