World Cup 2010: New system 4-2-3-1

This World Cup has seen the birth of a new system which is coming to dominate the game. Although it has been used by some teams for years previously this is the first time it has dominated the world scene. I would guess that over half of the competing nations used this system. So how does it work?

-----------------------Striker

-Left Winger---------Forward--------Right Winger

------------Defensive Mid--Defensive Mid

--Left back---Centre Half--Centre Half---Right back

The main exponents of the system have been Brazil and Holland, and to a lesser extent Germany and Spain.

The defence sees a standard back four layout. In front are two sitting midfielders. They are there to protect the defence from counter-attacks. They provide cover for overlapping full backs and generally make it difficult to play through a team. Examples would be Melo and Silva for Brazil, De Jong and van Bommell for Holland and Schweinsteiger and Khedeira for Germany.

Further forward you have two wide men who can either be out and out wingers or inside forwards. Wide men are used to stretch the play, occupying the opposition full backs and also stretching play. Examples would be Robben for Holland, Podolski for Germany. Inside forwards tend to play 10-15 yards in field. They try to link up with the forward in the hole and create space for overlapping full backs to provide width. Brazil and Spain played with inside forwards - Iniesta, Robinho, Villa and Elano.

The forward plays off the striker and provides a link between midfield and attack. Oezil of Germany has probably been the standout player in this system at the World Cup.

The advantages of the system seem to be the defensive solidity it gives by having two sitting midfielders making it very difficult to play through the centre of a team. England were far too open and could have benefitted from playing in this style. From an attacking point of view it gives scope for four attacking players with little defensive responsibility to play in a fluid motion encouraging movement.

One disadvantage is that you only have one central striker and it can result in a lack of bodies in the box. This is especially an issue when you have six defensive minded players in the team. It has given rise to some dour games in the World Cup with many coaches favouring not losing over the gamble of trying to win.

Will we see it in the Premier League? Well we've seen fads before with the 5-3-2 system becoming very popular about 15 years ago but eventually dieing out in favour of the standard 4-4-2. I don't think 4-2-3-1 will die out as it seems to be a natural evolution from 4-4-2. I think it could be a few years before we see it in the Premier League - we could well see it in the Champions League first.

World Cup 2010: Suarez Handball

Are the rules wrong?

A lot has been written regarding Luis Suarez's hand ball in the last minute against Ghana. This handed his team a reprieve from certain elimination and ended with them the victors in the penalty shoot-out, sending them through to a semi-final. Heartbreak for Ghana but are the rules correct? Suggestions have been made for a "penalty-goal". But under what circumstance?

My take
Suarez did the right thing. I would've done the same thing in the situation. Although I'm pretty sure he could've headed it off the line looking at the replay.

The rules are flawed in this area though. The ball is going in. We should give the goal. That would then deter the would-be cheat since handballing it would have no positive consequence (unless you get away with it).

In no other circumstance than the direct prevention of a certain goal should you give such a goal though.

I would go further and change the rule regarding professional fouls. Currently if someone is sent clean through but 40 yards from goal and is then hauled down, the offending player is sent from the pitch. The attacking team are not presented with a goalscoring opportunity. Instead they are given a free-kick and a man advantage.

This too is wrong. I believe you should be presented again with a strike on goal - namely a penalty kick. So, if clean through - anywhere in the opposition half, any professional foul results in a penalty kick. That gives the attacking team the same free strike at goal that they would have had if the defending team had not cheated.

In both cases handball on the line or clean through and chopped down, the defending team very often has the man sent off, put 10 men behind the ball and sneak a 0-0. It ruins the game as a spectacle and fans who've spent good money to see a contest are left short-changed.

Red cards should only be dished out for violence and double yellow cards. They ruin the game. And they don't always dish out the justice that is deserved. That is what happened to Ghana.

World Cup 2010: England fail to deliver

England fail to deliver

England did not enjoy a good campaign. This blog has already discussed their failings in the opening game. Sadly we faired no better against Algeria. Capello to his credit did make some positive changes for the Slovenia game with Milner and to a lesser extent Defoe coming out with some credit. Sadly an over-reliance on 4-4-2 and players seemingly unwilling or unable to pass a football saw us humbled by Germany.

A brief look at the Germany game shows that we struggled to live with their system. The Germans appear to have adopted the in vogue 4-2-3-1 system with Oezil in a free-role behind Klose and Podolski and Mueller either side of him. Schweinsteiger and Khedeira sit and protect the defence.

Although Oezil looked to be the man causing problems Schweinsteiger was actually the free man. When we pushed someone up to press him it freed up Oezil who would run beyond Barry. The centre-halves were all over the shop. Instead of sitting in a line and marking zonally they began following players. Klose, Mueller, Podolski and Oezil pulled them all over the place. If we'd stuck to zones then we could've picked them up. Instead they picked us off at will.

The way to counter-act that was to either have dropped Rooney off the front and on to Schweinsteiger - its better to allow the German back four possession rather than Schweinsteiger. Alternatively drop Rooney wide left and tuck Gerrard in one. We are then matched up formation-wise and can push one of our midfielders on to Schweinsteiger with Barry covering Oezil. Barry then communincates with Terry/Upson to pass him on when he moves into their zones.
Unfortunately none of the above happened, Barry and Lampard were somewhat over-run in midfield. Gerrard tucked in to compensate and we were left with a rather ragged shape.

Selecting Matthew Upson when Ledley King had returned to full fitness proved to be a huge error of judgement from Capello, sadly not the only one. The sight of Emile Heskey coming on for Jermain Defoe was baffling. The side could also have benefitted from much needed pace - Aaron Lennon, although not in his best form after injury could definitely have been used more effectively.

A number of questions were raised about Capello's position but it appears he is now confirmed for the next two years.

Where do we go from here?

I'm agnostic towards Capello He made some major mistakes, tactically and selection-wise. However believe me, there is no way Capello would have people running out of position in the way England did against Germany. He was ranting and raving on the touchline. There is talk about preparation etc. I don't buy it. These players have had 3 different managers, all of having different management style and tactics and still they fail.

At somepoint they have to shoulder some responsibility. That time is now.


So time for new blood for the next qualifying campaign.

James - at 39 is closer to management than playing.

Terry - clearly too powerful in the dressing room - a cancer that needs to be removed. Since his indiscrections Capello's authority has been undermined.

Gerrard - Has gone over the "tipping point" of a 30 year-old. Poor form for Liverpool and is on his way down from here onwards.

Lampard - 31 - time for younger players to step forward and take their chance.

I'd also add to the list - Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Ledley King, Matthew Upson, Emile Heskey. Basically due to injury proneness and age restrictions.

So from that I'd be looking at something like this in 2 years:

-----------------------------Hart

--Richards---Dawson---Jagielka----Cole

----Milner------Carrick----Huddlestone

Lennon----------------------------------Johnson

-----------------------Rooney

Or something along those lines - Richards/Johnson at full-back. Centre-halves from Daws/Jagielka plus Lescott, Jones (at Blackburn) and one of the two centre-halves at Birmingham, with Wayne Bridge in at left-back

Midfield 3 mentioned plus Wilshere, Barry and Jack Rodwell.

Wingers - these two plus Walcott and Ashley Young.

Up front Crouch, Defoe, Bent, Sturridge (from Chelsea) in reserve.

Hopefully we can then build a solid base for the World Cup in 4 years time. The worry is that there is very little coming through beyond these players. The under-21s have been selected for their size rather than their technique. We were embarrassed in our own back yard by Greece just a few months ago as their technical players passed and moved the ball around us. Worrying times ahead indeed.

World Cup 2010: Summary

As the World Cup draws to a close England are once again conspicuous by their absence in the latter stages. The South Americans who dominated the early stages have since been usurped by the remaining Europeans. A pragmatic Dutch side and the favourites Spain have reached the final.

The Germans who entertained us so well have finally fallen at the semi-finals. Much was written about their suspect defence and lack of experience in the squad. However the tournament has shown that their youthful exuberence can take them far. The defence was always well protected and the team had a system which was superbly drilled by their canny tactician Joachim Loew. Their style showed up Argentina and their coach Maradonna as naive novices on the world stage whilst England were made to look like dinosaurs, just as Hungary showed them up over 50 years ago.

Uruguay deserve credit for getting so far although I found them rather negative, as I have at previous World Cups. Ghana were one kick away from the semi-finals but were great for the tournament as Africa's representatives in the second round and beyond. There should be honourable mentions for the likes of Chile, Paraguay and Mexico for entertaining along the way. The French were the biggest disgrace of the tournament while many of the big names failed to live up to their billing - take a bow Ronaldo, Rooney, Drogba, Torres, Kaka.

We have seen a new tactical system come out of the World Cup - the 4-2-3-1 - more on this in a future blog.

Overall I've found the World Cup a little disappointing. Fabulous for Africa and congratulations to South Africa for holding a tournament which was a success off the pitch. However on it a lack of goals, entertainment, quality and drama have left it wanting.

Let's hope the Dutch can display some of their classic skills and we get an exciting final, though I fear it will be a dour affair and one goal may well win it.

World Cup 2010: Capello's gambles fail to deliver

So another World Cup comes around and the media has hyped team England beyond reality. A solid qualification programme was followed up by a couple of ponderous performances in warm-up games. Surely we should have known what to expect.

Capello reverted to type by teaming Lampard and Gerrard together in central midfield - a tactic which ends with one or both producing subdued performances. He then compounded that decision by gambling on a rather untested James Milner in a wide left midfield position and plumped for Robert Green in goal. Rio Ferdinand's pre-tournament injury left us with no other real choice than to pair Ledley King with John Terry. Emile Heskey was somewhat surprisingly chosen to partner Wayne Rooney - possibly given the nod due to their relative success in the qualifiers.

The performance was in typical England style. Huff and puff and a constant turn-over of possession with a succession of long balls to Heskey. The only difference on this occasion was that the opposition - USA - were less capable of holding on to the ball than ourselves. The game had a Premier League feel to it - not surprising given the number who ply their trade in that league.

It started well with a nice trio of passes resulting in Heskey playing in Gerrard to open the scoring after 4 minutes. Capello vindicated. Unfortunately that's where the good news ends. England dropped off and looked shaky at set-pieces. Milner, who had suffered with a high temperature during the week, was replaced after 30 mins having looked off the pace and been cautioned. His replacement was rather puzzlingly Shaun Wright-Phillips who looked lost on the left flank. Surely Joe Cole, who looked very good in the warm-up matches should have been the man to come on.

Then disaster struck with Green's embarrassing moment. Dempsey had managed to sneak into space behind both Gerrard and Lampard, Gerrard to his credit doing his best to get back and stop him getting a shot away. Dempsey did manage a scuffed effort which unfortunately Green wasn't capable of stopping after a disastrous loss of concentration.

King limped off with a groin injury to be replaced by Carragher who was left reeling by Altidore with a super turn and shot in the second half. Heskey spurned a golden chance when put clean through by a super ball from Aaron Lennon. And that was pretty much that.

So where did we go wrong?
The choice of Robert Green has to be questioned. His performances were at best average in the Premier League this season and if David James was fit then his experience coupled with his ability should have been the order of the day. My personal choice would have been Joe Hart who has been the most consistent English goalkeeper by some margin this season. Although he lacks James' and Green's experience, Germany have put their faith in a goalkeeper who only has 4 caps to his name.

Milner wide left seemed a choice out of leftfield, especially given he was struggling with a virus in the build up. Surely Joe Cole was worthy of a starting spot given his pre-tournament form.

Gerrard and Lampard paired together again ended with Gerrard playing well and Lampard struggling somewhat. The best case all round would be to do one of the following:

• Move Gerrard further forward and play him off Rooney - they quite clearly have an excellent chemistry
• Or play with a holding midfielder - the now fit again Barry - allowing both Gerrard and Lampard to get forward in support of a lone striker in Rooney with support from out wide from Lennon and Joe Cole.

Heskey is a useful tool but we should only using him as a battering ram against sides where we will struggle for possession - namely top South American sides or superior European teams.

Hopefully Capello has the answers for the remaining group games because he fell woefully short in his first audition.

Journey into North Africa

Marrakech
I headed to Marrakech for a few days in November to soak up some culture, sights and winter sun. Flights from Manchester to Marrakech are currently very reasonable flying with easyJet.
Beware of return time though - earliest flight back is currently 2330.

The currency in Morocco is Dirhams. It is currently not possible to purchase this currency at any foreign exchange bureaus in the UK. We took sterling to change at bureaus within Morocco. There are some in the airport as well as just off the main square (Djemaa el Fna). There are plenty of ATMs too. Take out what you need as you can't bring Dirhams out of the country and you'll be stung converting them back to sterling.

Accomodation
Riad Ajmal

We decided to go for an authentic feel rather than a modern hotel in the Gueliz.
The Riad Ajmal was an excellent little place off the beaten track within the Medina. If you don't know Marrakech I'd recommend arranging a taxi through their website (cost €20). Don't pay the driver though as it will be added to your bill at the end!

The staff in the Riad are extremely helpful and friendly. Beware however that only the owner, Guillame, speaks English. This shouldn't be too much of a problem to those of you who remember your GCSE French!

On arrival you'll be welcomed with a pot of Moroccan tea and sweets to allow you to settle in and take in the pleasant surroundings in the courtyard.



Next you'll be taken up to your room. We chose the "amjad" room, which was beautifully laid out. It had an en-suite with walk-in shower. The shower had a window above it which opens on the terrace. There is a cover for this up on the terrace which you may wish to place over the window!

Upstairs on the terrace are several sunloungers and shaded areas for sitting. In the corner is a traditional hammam. Hammam's involve a full naked body scrub and the riad offers this service starting from around €17 (added to your final bill). We spoke to one English couple who recommended a local Hammam nearby but we weren't confident enough to try it.


I believe the riad also has wi-fi internet access.

Be warned that the Riad accepts cash only (Dirhams or Euros - Euros preferred I think). I wasn't aware of this beforehand which meant a couple of days getting out my maximum amount of daily cash from an ATM.


Taxis
Beware of the taxis - they are con-artists! There are two types - petit and grande. Petit are cheaper and can only journey within the city limits. As many travel books recommend, make sure you get them to turn the meter on. Otherwise a journey which should cost 10 Dirhams can easily cost up to 90! If you're not comfortable doing that sometimes agreeing a price beforehand is the best method.

Sightseeing
The Souks
The place to buy fruit,veg, meat, carpets, rugs, clothes and lanterns. We chose to splash out on a lantern. Again these guys are out to make a quick buck and will give you a wonderful story about the lantern but remember you can get them at stalls throughout the Souks (and indeed in the airport). Their opening gambit is around 600 Dirhams. You should be able to get them down below half that value and if not walk away! (In fact I've probably even been ripped off at that price but never mind :) )



There are some beautiful sites within the city which are well worth a visit.


Saadian tombs
They date back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917).







El Badi Palace
A palace dating from the same time as the Saadian tombs. Built over a vast space but in ruins now.






Bahia Palace
A palace and set of gardens built in the late 19th century.






Gardens
There are a number of gardens in Marrakech. We chose to go the jardins de Menara which is on the road to the airport. It is surrounded by olive trees which are continually being harvested. Although there is a beautiful reservoir in the centre there isn't actually that much to do (though there is a small cafe with outdoor seating). There is also supposed to be a spectacular fireworks display every Wed-Sun however the ticket booth looked like it had been out of operation for years and when I enquired at the cafe they said it had finished.







Restaurants
Tanjia
Situated just beyond the Djemaa el Fna, a restaurant serving traditional Moroccan cuisine such as tagine and cous-cous. It is beautifully decorated and if you're lucky you'll see a display from the belly dancers. I recommend the lamb tagine! Meals cost in the region of 300 Dirhams.

Dar Moha
The chef here serves Moroccan cuisine with a modern twist. There is a set menu for around 600 Dirhams. Lots of little dishes are served as an appetizer (including mint, pepper, chilli, potato, fish). The starter followed in the form of a pastilla and then the main course (cous-cous and tagine). I chose the foie-gras. A choice of desserts are also offered. Vegetarian option available on request. The setting is stunning - al fresco dining by a pool surrounded by trees. Traditional Moroccan music is also played to set the mode. Situated within walking distance of the Riad Ajmal on rue dar el Bacha.



Bars
KosyBar
The selection of bars in Marrakech is limited mostly to licensed restaurants. Fortunately we came across the Kosybar which served lunch, light snacks, dinner or just drinks if that's what you're after. Sample the excellent Moroccan tea here or simply relax and enjoy the sun, good views and the storks nesting on the walls of the nearby El Badi palace.