Me, Mark and Marking

By: Daryl | April 13th, 2009

Previously on FM Offside….

I was riding high in the Prem, second only to Arsenal after nine games, and having just beaten Everton with (even if I say so myself) an impressive tactical readjustment.

Basically, to combat Everton’s 4-4-1-1 I’d rearranged my midfield and persuaded one of my central defenders to step up and man-mark Everton’s attacking mid, which gave me a nice 2-1 win.

vs Man City (away)

In a weird way, Man City have become my rivals. Long time readers will remember they stole the FA Cup from me via penalty kicks in 2008/9, and I nicked the final Champions League place from them last season.

Going into this game I was second and they were third, so another big showdown. We’ve had so many grudge matches now, we’re like the Ali vs Frazier of the Premier League. I just haven’t worked out which one of us is which yet.

As you can see, I tried to repeat the tactics used against Everton by dropping my AM back to CM. But I couldn’t push a CB all the way up to mark their other CM, which means I was outnumbered. And the only mid who wasn’t being man to man marked – Hernanes – scored the first goal after 20 minutes.

More importantly, they were too fast for me. Zhirkov and Robinho were juts too quick for my centre backs so every time I tried to push on, I was liable to get caught on the counter. Very frustrating game and Rosina made it 2-0 in the 70th.

In hindsight, the formation that beat a 4-4-1-1 Everton were never going to work against an attacking 4-3-3 Man City full of pace. Seems I need to learn a few new tactical tricks.

Result: L 2-0

Goods news: My defensive mids will soon be back. Ignacio Camacho is finally over his broken toe and ready to play again (although nowhere near match fit) and Miguel Veloso’s domestic suspension is over (although his Champions League ineligibility continues until next season

Bad news: The above defeat leaves me third in the Prem, as Man City have leapfrogged me.

vs AaB (home)

Champions League Group D Matchday 4

Nothing like a home game against AaB to cheer everyone up after a defeat. I put out a mostly first choice XI, but rested Jonas and Marquinhos. Maggio seemed a bit down after chasing Zhirkov around for 90 minutes vs Man City, so I gave him the freedom of the right wing.

And we demolished the Danish no-marks. Keeper Mikkel Andersson seemed mostly to blame as Laurito, The Pog and Arshavin all places shots past him. John Fleck (5′10″, 10 for jumping, 7 for heading) even scored a header past him. Camacho got a much-needed last 20 minutes, and even found time to beat Andersson at his near-post with a sidefooted shot.

Result: W 5-0

One mistake I made was starting with Akinfeev instead of Given. Had always planned to keep the old fella (he’s 35 now) happy with a start in this game, but basically forgot (you ever do that with keepers?) Brought him on HT, so hopefully that cheered him up a bit.

And with that, we get a nice Q next to our name in Champions League Group D.