Staying up

Interesting debate with both sides of the coin being favoured.  I wonder if MJ would like to comment on this subject?

I like leaving 1 man up, who should be an out ball and then 2 men on the posts. I don’t know why managers differ from this strategy. How mang times do you see keepers making saves and there being a simple tap in because there’s nobody on the line or posts to clear it? Leaving one man up can relieve pressure as everyone back just means the ball will come straight back of it’s cleared and you end up pinning yourself in your own box.

If people want a man on each post, that only increases the chances that you'll need to bring everybody back. As that's 2 players you don't have in the box to do any marking/zonal jobs.

I don't particularly think MJ should need to come out and explain his plan for defending set plays. Where do you draw the line with that? Should he need to come out and justify every small tactical decision? Not for me. It's just his way of doing it. It's not the same as everyone else's ideal, just like his choice of line-up every week won't be the same as what some people would've chosen. But that's football.

Well if I was a referee no one would score from a corner,

I would either give a free kick for the forward holding,

Or a pen for the defender holding.

Scoring from the pen does not count as scoring from the corner.

Quoted from drbell

The point is you pack the box so noone has space for a free run or header. Easiest way to defend. Your point becomes a negative, leaving 1 man up removes at least 2 from the box making more space.

Not saying I'm a fan, but chances of conceding with more space are probably higher than chance of scoring on a break.

Fair point.  But as an attacker, the more packed the box is the more options you have to cut your defender off, see his defensive run blocked etc.  Works both ways but if an attacker is blocked off, he doesn't score and the ball is cleared.  If a defender is blocked off, the attacker gets a free run on goal.   Also with more space in the box, the expectation should be that the 'keeper can come and collect the ball easier....unless the ball is delivered very deep, which should be easier to defend against.

It doesn't address the issue of the second passage of play either. That's what I dislike about it more than anything.

Quoted from diehardmariner

It doesn't address the issue of the second passage of play either. That's what I dislike about it more than anything.

And I'm with you, someone outside the box to pick up half clearances, and potentially someone further down the field with real pace.


The point made about men on the post kind of demonstrates another issue - its really easy to point out the times that a man on the post might have stopped a goal. However, its not easy to say when a goal was prevented by the presence of that same player in the box, defending, getting in the way etc. Modern managers (like MJ) will have their own stats and their own interpretation of those stats.

On a slightly different note, I thought that Southgate's use of Walker as a centre back, and as the last defender when England were attacking, was absolute genius. Out and out pace gets you out of so many problems, and kills any attempt to just break past the last man on the counter.

Quoted from drbell

On a slightly different note, I thought that Southgate's use of Walker as a centre back, and as the last defender when England were attacking, was absolute genius. Out and out pace gets you out of so many problems, and kills any attempt to just break past the last man on the counter.

Totally agree.  It was hardly something to boast about at the time but Peter Bore's pace got us out of numerous situations when he played right-back for us.  One of the reasons he stood out was because his pace allowed him to cover others when they didn't have the legs.    I always think you need at least one player with genuine pace in your back-line.

Quoted from Civvy at last

As someone who endured R S’s presentation, it did cover the second phase as well. What it didn’t cover is how many goals the defending side scores in phases 1 and 2 when you don’t have everyone back and then break from a clearance  !!

Yes you and I both pretty sure it will make our top 10 nights to remember