Euro Division LXVI

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The Enrique & J from 5ive League

FC WHU Do You Think You Are - Gregers

Bilbao - Afro

Would you dance, if Ajax you to dance? - Sodhat

Southampton FC - Marky

PSV - GSC

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - Nando

Lille - Trebs

Glad t'be bach - Hero

FC Basel - cherriesfna

FC ZwagAtletico - Zinedine_Ze_Zebra

The Nodge - Olly

Fool 'em FC - Azzy

Turns out I misunderstood what "any other" meant in terms of TD scorers. Stupid gambling. I'm going to slap all my money on a TD scorer this weekend and try and double it. Then I can see how long I go doubling it.

Anyone seen Viva around of late?

No votes from him so far which is unusual.

He's drowned himself over guilt of cheating on ZZZ with Olly.

#AIDS

#IKWOSBWP

#RWAT

So Viva hasn't voted due to suffering #RWAT?

It didn't stop him in previous weeks

#RWATInfection

A load of increases/decreases on the TM website this morning.

Most notable are:

Jackson Martinez - up £4.4m to £26.5m
Nemanja Matic - up £4.4m to £24m
Eliaquim Mangala - up £4.4m to £17.5m
Oscar Cardozo - down £2.6m to £12.5m
Adil Rami - down £3.5m to £7m
Alen Halilovic - up £2.6m to £3.5m
Saido Berahino - up £1m to £1.3m

Afro wrote:Alen Halilovic - up £2.6m to £3.5m
Saido Berahino - up £1m to £1.3m

 
 
Halilovic is less than three times Berahino's fee. Funny that

I know that was what I thought. That was why I added them as otherwise it wasn't really noteworthy

Not far off though and doesn't take away that you could have swapped a £1.3m player for a £3.5m player

Afro wrote:I know that was what I thought. That was why I added them as otherwise it wasn't really noteworthy

Not far off though and doesn't take away that you could have swapped a £1.3m player for a £3.5m player

I could have. I would also have been swapping a Premier League player and England U21 International for a Croatian wonderkid playing in Croatia

Values mean very little sometimes. One of my most in form players is the £875k Francesco Totti.

Except when you buy a player as a means to make money in future value increases.

With your strike force, it just feels unlikely that you bought Berahino to improve your team or squad. He is hardly an established Premier League or U21 player. He is just currently enjoying a moment in the sun and even Azzy has said he is likely to drift away from focus as we go further into this season.

And agreed Halilovic is playing in Croatia, but he is also playing internationally and in the Europa League.

If you were honest, neither is high profile at all and you went for Berahino to make money from his future TM increases?

And in the space of one day, a player I paid £500k for is now worth £1.3m. And he's already playing in the Premier League. Plus, with the injuries as they are, the aim is to have everyone in the squad capable of stepping up and keeping the side strong.

Afro wrote:And agreed Halilovic is playing in Croatia, but he is also playing internationally and in the Europa League.

If you were honest, neither is high profile at all and you went for Berahino to make money from his future TM increases?

I signed Berahino for the same reason I signed Gnabry. Because the odd Premier League appearance (and goal) will do his ratings and value the world of good. Maybe not as high as others, but if all my other strikers were injured, I'd be happier relying on Berahino to get me ratings than Halilovic as only one of them has proved he can score in the Premier League. For the Afro's and Hero's who know all about 17 year old Croats, there's the Olly's and the Azzy's of the world who mainly watch the Premier League and Champions League.

And the proof of that is Azzy offering me Halilovic for Berahino in a straight swap.

Okay

Marky wrote:And the proof of that is Azzy offering me Halilovic for Berahino in a straight swap.

Surely Azzy having Halilovic in the first place is proof of the opposite and the offer is just because he is a Baggie?

I'm going to ask Steve Bruce....

I very rarely watch CL football, it's boring. I watch La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1. With the odd Eurosport highlights show thrown in.

I only 'offered' you Halilovic because I wanted a reaction, no way would I make that swap

Lies.

Guys, guys.

Come on, lets all channel our inner Steve Bruce.

Considering this is a league of little money uve have to be an idiot or CF to sell a player worth 3.5m for one worth 1.3m.

At the time, in my head, I compared it to you offering a young Luka Modric for a young Shola Ameobi!

TBH when Marky signed Berahino when he did I thought it was a great signing. I didn't think he would play him (and with Hero's feedback when he played Bakkali, I wouldn't consider playing someone so low profile in these leagues), but for investment value alone, it was a no brainer

Anyway, Muniain and Siqueira - anyone?

Fernando wrote:Considering this is a league of little money uve have to be an idiot or CF to sell a player worth 3.5m for one worth 1.3m.

Yesterday it was £225k (£500k minimum) v £875k.

Morning

Sorry I didn't get votes in, I was feeling really bad yesterday vomited twice. I'll take the point or goal deduction sorry, will be back to normal voting and tactics on Thursday.

Fernando wrote:Considering this is a league of little money uve have to be an idiot or CF to sell a player worth 3.5m for one worth 1.3m.

Well at the time it was £850k v £275k (or something like that) and he did put ENQ.

I just can't get my head around Berahino being this higher profile player because he has played a few Premier League games , with two U21 appearances and scored a goal at Old Trafford, whilst Halilovic who played in the Champions League last season, has full international caps (for a strong country) and for a number of seasons has been one of the most chased young players across Europe, is lower profile.

Afro wrote:

Fernando wrote:Considering this is a league of little money uve have to be an idiot or CF to sell a player worth 3.5m for one worth 1.3m.

Well at the time it was £850k v £275k (or something like that) and he did put ENQ.

I just can't get my head around Berahino being this higher profile player because he has played a few Premier League games , with two U21 appearances and scored a goal at Old Trafford, whilst Halilovic who played in the Champions League last season, has full international caps (for a strong country) and for a number of seasons has been one of the most chased young players across Europe, is lower profile.  

I've already said Halilovic will be better, but right now and for the next two months, only one will be playing in a major league. This league will have rebooted by February.

Okay.

I agree, at the current moment, Berahino has a higher profile. I can't argue with that. I still wouldn't play Berahino as I don't think he is high enough a profile that you wouldn't get smashed in the feedback for him being out of his depth.

Afro wrote:

Fernando wrote:Considering this is a league of little money uve have to be an idiot or CF to sell a player worth 3.5m for one worth 1.3m.

Well at the time it was £850k v £275k (or something like that) and he did put ENQ.

I just can't get my head around Berahino being this higher profile player because he has played a few Premier League games , with two U21 appearances and scored a goal at Old Trafford, whilst Halilovic who played in the Champions League last season, has full international caps (for a strong country) and for a number of seasons has been one of the most chased young players across Europe, is lower profile.  

Even at 850k to 275k your not doing to do it that's 500k or 1m essentially before they went up.

Tbf i bought Januzaj for the same reason as Marky mainly future profit. Be silly to play him though until he's guaranteed a start on weekly basis which i can't see happening tbh.

Just because he plays in a lesser doesn't mean he's a worse player on that basis Bernard < Downing he won't get as much exposure but everyone knows who he is. Big clubs don't chase you if your not good enough

Although, it is also questionable if Berahino will be playing in a major league either isn't it? A few weeks and less injuries, and he'll be out of the picture won't he?

Fernando wrote:

Afro wrote:

Fernando wrote:Considering this is a league of little money uve have to be an idiot or CF to sell a player worth 3.5m for one worth 1.3m.

Well at the time it was £850k v £275k (or something like that) and he did put ENQ.

I just can't get my head around Berahino being this higher profile player because he has played a few Premier League games , with two U21 appearances and scored a goal at Old Trafford, whilst Halilovic who played in the Champions League last season, has full international caps (for a strong country) and for a number of seasons has been one of the most chased young players across Europe, is lower profile.  

Even at 850k to 275k your not doing to do it that's 500k or 1m essentially before they went up.

Tbf i bought Januzaj for the same reason as Marky mainly future profit. Be silly to play him though until he's guaranteed a start on weekly basis which i can't see happening tbh.

Just because he plays in a lesser doesn't mean he's a worse player on that basis  Bernard < Downing  he won't get as much exposure but everyone knows who he is. Big clubs don't chase you if your not good enough

I think Marky was saying that he wasn't buying for a future profit, but to play in the event of injuries. Otherwise he wouldn't have turned down a higher value player in swap?

I'm with you, Berahino was a good signing for future profit, but not to consider playing atm as he is far from a regular player for WBA

I'm not saying he would play regularly for me either. But if injuries do cripple my side, who better to throw in for a game than someone who, in real life, was thrown into a game at Old Trafford, away to the Premier League Champions, and scored in a 2-1 win?!

That, and he has improved in value as well. Win win.

I'm sorry but Berahino has no rating for me. He's had one good game, and Halilovic in a couple of years will be a big thing. But, having said that, he's not ready to start games for any of our sides at this level.

Yo, guys, im back in work but have a lot of catching up to do as I have been out of the office for 4 weeks. Should become more active gradually.

That was kind of my point Treb's.

I wouldn't want to throw either of them on in that situation as neither would gain me very much.

I've never said I would choose to start him though. This is getting silly now.

If I was forced to play him due to injuries to Lukaku, Defoe and Totti, I would. But I would be happier playing Berahino than I would Halilovic. Even if neither are ready.

Marky didn't mention starting him btw

Eliaquim Mangala - up £4.4m to £17.5m

Afro, can I just say I told you so!

No, I would play Halilovic over Berahino. Easy.

FInal call if anyone wants Muniain or Siqueira....

Hero wrote:

Eliaquim Mangala - up £4.4m to £17.5m

Afro, can I just say I told you so!

I know Sorry!

Anyone want Jallet?

Hero Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:26 pm
I imagine his value will rise again in the near future, it was July it was last looked at so is due a review.

Afro Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:29 pm
I think it is already quite high.

Hero Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:33 pm
It is but its on a par with Papadopolous who's been injured for a season, 2 mil behind squad player Phil Jones, 5 1/2m behind Nastastic and 9m behind Varane and Marquinhos.

Afro Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:35 pm
He's not in the same class as Nastasic and Varane IMO and Marquinhos is that high because that is what PSG actually paid for him.
I might be wrong, but I think the only thing that will see him increase is actually moving for more


Hero Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:37 pm
I reckon he'll go up to around 16.5m within the next month.

1m off!

 
I just looked at the same in my inbox.
 
I bow to your superior wisdom

Note to self.

Don't PM someone who you plan to buy so that they then quickly buy them.

 

Week 8 Results

ZWAG 0-1 Basel
Neymar

Lille 1-2 Fool Em
Cassano; Berbatov, Ramsey

Southampton 2-1 WHUDYTYA
Lukaku, Defoe; Mandzukic

Athletic Ballbag 2-1 Corinthians
Drogba, Muniain; Muriel

Ajax 3-0 Zwag
Eriksen, Mirallas, L. de Jong

The Nodge 1-2 Glad t'be bach
Ben Arfa; Aubameyang, Xavi

FEEDERZ

Zwag 0-2 Basel
Zwag have a decent team and I look forward to ZZZ being able to put tactics in for them. As it is you have to reward Viva for his effort and his nice lime green writing.

Basel 4-0 QPHa
Basel: Decent side on paper/Set up for wrong side

Zwag 1-0 Basel

Difficult to comment with one bare set of tactics and the other a copy and paste job against the wrong team. Benefit of doubt to Zwag due to manager’s injuries.
Zwag good: Great front 6, plenty of threat there if used properly
Zwag bad: Feels like plenty of improvement can be made across the entire back four
Basel good: Neymar is still brilliant
Basel bad: Poor choice of shade of green. Bit more effort with tactics.

Zwag 3-2 Basel
(Coutinho, Remy, Giroud) (Neymar x2)
Zwag look strong across the pitch, Basel reliant on Neymar still. Neymar causes problems but not enough as Zwag earn the win today.
Good: Zwag's front four are pretty strong, with all of them in good form. Basel playing the right system to allow Neymar most impact.
Bad: Zwag's CB's need improving and midfield pairing I don't really see gelling as a pair. Basel need to give Neymar more support, or cash in and build a stronger overall team.

Zwag 1-1 Basel
Scorers: Remy / Neymar
Summary: Neither side set up well, Zwag went for tactics-lite and Basel went for tactics-against-the-wrong-opponents. Neither side did enough to win the game.
Home Good/Bad: With full tactics, that side wins a lot of games. A lot. / I think the FBs are nowhere near the same quality as the rest of your side.
Away Good/Bad: Neymar / the other 11. Sign someone, anyone!

Zwag 0 vs 1 Basel
Scorers: Neymar
Zwag Feedback: Properly instruct your team next time, your starting XI is very good.
Basel Feedback: I think you know what must be done in terms of strengthening the side Viva, but I must say I think you've struck upon the right formula with your tactics this week, for the team you have.
General Comment: Basel win this game through a bit of Neymar brilliance after a lacklusture Zwag performance.

Zwag 1-3 Basel
An easy win for Basel today who showed up with superior tactics.

Zwag 3-3 Basel
Can you award minus goals? One not arsed, one not a clue who they're playing. Zwag has the better team, Basel make the effort though and with Zwag not bothering with Neymar he gets a hattrick.

Zwag vs Basel
0-2
Zwag:
P - Great line up centrally
C - Remy out wide? And very poor tactics
Basel
P - Neymar and gradually turning the side around
C - Need so many improvements, maybe cashing in on Neymar...

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Lille 1-2 Fool 'em
(Navas) (Berbatov, Ramsey)
Three at the back is the future as Fool em outthink Lille and overrun the midfield as they earn the points.
Good: Lille's defence is solid and midfield has plenty of flair and balance. Fool em outnumbering Lille in midfield played a big part as basically a 3-6-1 worked well today.
Bad: Lille seem too rigid, nothing wrong with 4-4-2 but this was 4-4-1 with a man marker. Pirlo was marked but with so many other midfielders around Pirlo it didn't have the desired effect. Fool em were strong today, very little to criticise.

Lille 2-1 Fool Em
Lille Good: Best set of tactics in the league for me.
Lille bad: Improvement needed in the strike force with perhaps a bit more physical presence needed. Left hand side also looks the weakest area.
Fool Em good: Like the AM trio a lot and they will create a lot of problems for most teams
Fool Em bad: Pirlo was key to the gameplan and against strong tactics he was taken out of the game. Need better plan B

Lille 1-1 Fool Em FC
Good set ups from both sides with good consideration of each others strengths and weaknesses. I’m going for a draw because I think the sides stifle each other in the end.
Azzy could use more pace in his side because if teams sit high it is hard to see how they plan on pushing them back. There isn’t a threat to get in behind.
Trebs has brilliant wings and full backs but the strikers don’t suit for me. Get a big man in to get the crosses home.

Lille 1-2 Fulham
A close match but one in which I'm tipping it to the form pairing of Ramsey and Barkley to get the win. Whilst Lille look threatening down the flanks the end product isn't quite there whilst Fulham have a lot more desire in the play going forward.

Lille 0-2 Fulham
Lille: Like the midfield 4/The front 2 wouldn't work for me
Fulham: Well set up to exploit their FB's/Need better then Holtby

Lille 0 vs 0 Fool Em FC
Scorers:
Lille Feedback: I like the setup in the 4-4-2 with Cassano dropping in when defending a lot. I would however say that personally I would've gone with Thauvin in the hole behind Eto'o for this game, but for future games the 4-4-2 will work well.
Fool Em Feedback: Love the way you've set up your side to nullify the Lille threat, just don't think you offer enough in attack in that formation despite having the beast that is Ramsey. Would also look into getting another CB, personally like Hangeland but not sure others do. I don't think Berbatov's is suited to the instructions you give him to be honest, unfortunate you have Lambert out this week.
General Comment: A draw this game, think Fool Em have nullified Lille quite well, however not really sure they ever offer enough of a threat going forward to nick the win. A very good and intriguing game though.

Lille v Fool Em FC
1-2
L
P - Strong side all round, superbly written tactics. Sahin/Bender a solid middle cm pairing
C - Still need a bit more flair, Eto'o probably hindering due to real life form but I would worry about scoring goals
F
P - I love the way the tactics are written, despite the fact I couldnt do them like that myself! The use of wingbacks nullified Lille, great scouting
C - Please improve on Berbatov, feel the danger comes from Barkley/Holtby/Ramsay but Berba is almost in the way


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Saints 1-1 WHU
This game is a nailed on draw. I’m probably being generous giving goals out too, but the quality of the strikers on show swings that. They are basically the same team! Set up identically and with similar strengths and weaknesses. I can see WHU having the advantage with a well balanced midfield but unless Lampard can get a deflection on a shot then it doesn’t seem like they’re going win this thing.
Gregers still needs to replace Demechelis on that back three.
Marky could stand to improve his winger options, because Lukaku will literally knock himself out to get to balls first.

Southampton 2-2 West Ham
Just not feeling the Southampton side at present but they certainly have enough firepower to cause West Ham major problems, Gregers is starting to turn his West Ham side around now and with a couple more signings should threaten next season.

Southampton 1-0 WHU
S'ton: Like that you've gone match formation/Nacho + Totti probably let the side down
WHU: top midfield 3/ Defense apart from Cole is pretty shoddy.

Saints 2-1 West Ham
Saints good: Really like the Lukaku and Defoe combination. Good use of Defour on Verratti too
Saints bad: Felt that the strike partnership could become a little bit isolated in the formation and tactics used.
West Ham good: Two good wing backs seem well suited for the formation. I think the strike partnership would work well too.
West Ham bad: Still really dislike the CBs used in the formation. They need to be more mobile. Saints matched up with much better CBs for the formation.

Southampton 0-0 FC WHU Do you think you are
A very interesting game with the two sides tending to cancel each other out, both playing five at the back and two upfront. The midfield battle was won by West Ham, narrowly, but Southampton had enough about them in defense to keep a clean sheet and get a well earned point. Neither team deserved to lose this one, so a goalless draw, but not in a bad way.

Southampton 2 v 1 FC WHU Do you think you are
Scorers: Lukaku, Totti; Mandzukic
Saints Feedback: Love the setup of the side this week Marky, think you have countered the West Ham tactics really well. Would say that your RWB needs to be improved, not sure he's a great attacking threat old Billy. Love the Totti in the hole with two midfielders sitting, and your CB's are arguably da best in the league. Oh and LUKAKU!
West Ham Feedback: Think Marky has surprised you with the setup a little today, just think you lack the cutting edge against their CB's to take advantage of the battle you just win in the middle. But you've vastly improved the defence from the start of the campaign
General Comment: I've gone for a Saints win today, just think their strikers cause the opposing CB's more problems and the use of Totti in particular is superb. It was very very close however.

Southampton 2-1 FC WHU Do you think you are
Scorers: Lukaku + Defoe / Lampard (pen)
Summary: Both sides went for basically the same setup - but Southampton just have by far the better side.
Home Good/Bad: That back 3 is peachy / Jones and Flamini are so out of place in such a good side.
Away Good/Bad: Riviere and Mandy is a potent combo / improve your three CBs, I say it every week! They're not good enough!


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Ballbag 2-1 Corinthians
Nando called it…wrong. No shame though, even if he matched up man for man I don’t see a side that can really trouble Ballbag. Nando needs help up front and probably on the wing too. Afro’s side is well-balanced but I do reckon that he could get a better game out of Drogba with wingers that want to cross it.

Ballbag 2-0 Corinthians
(Drogba, Muniain)
Ballbag's superiority and Nando's failed attempt at second guessing Ballbag leads to a win for them.
Good: Ballbag mixing it up, 4-2-3-1 can be overused but works well for your side. Corinthians have decent fullbacks and wingers which cause problems for Ballbag.
Bad: Ballbag maybe need to improve at CM, other than that well played. Corinthians messed up by changing things for me. Pjanic at AM was key last week, moving him to RW wasted him a little and I just don't rate Guerrero highly enough to warrant the change of system. Also CB's were targetted too easily.

Athletic Ballbag 0-1 Corinthians
Scorers: Pjanic
Summary: As good as Ballbag's side is on paper, Corinthians set up very well, and I simply couldn't see Ballbag getting past them. A great win for Corinthians, showing what strong tactics can do even against a quality side.
Home Good/Bad: CB pairing is amongst the very best in the league / why have Muniain taking penalties and not Drogba?
Away Good/Bad: Whole team set up well to deal with the Ballbag threat / Joaquin. Just stop it and replace him already.

Corinthians 1-3 Bilbao
Nando predicts a 4-2-3-1 to storm his 4-4-2 and unfortunately it occurs, I like Corinthians going forward with Muriel and Pjanic but Afros team just look stronger throughout the rest.

Athletic Ballbag v Corinthians
2-1
AB
P - The use of the 4-5-1 but with actual scouting! The trio behind Drogba is beautiful
C - Its difficult to pick faults but Susaeta should be playing
C
P - Being proactive and changing the system, and the team finally coming together
C - Too negative in the team talk, you need to talk your players up - if you had you would have got at least a draw today

Athletic Ballbag 2 v 1 Corinthians
Scorers: Drogba, Herrera; Muriel
Ballbag Feedback: You got yourself one sexy ass team there Afro. Would personally look at replacing Oscar next, but it's being picky tbh.
Corinthians Feedback: I like your setup Nando, it's fast and solid in some ways. I like Muriel a lot up front, however not a great Gargano fan here. Would look to bring in another top striker for your 4-4-2
General Comment: Think Nando has elluded to it in his team talk, but just think the Ballbag team has too much for Corinthians to handle in this setup. However really do feel Corinthians pose a quality attacking threat when they do get the ball, slowly evolving into a very good side.

Athletic Ballbag 3-2 Corinthians
Corinthians didn't set up too badly but they went for trying to man-mark the Ballbag attackers, and with them looking to interchange it lead to the Corinthians defense getting into a right tangle. I'd have liked to see Susaeta start over Oscar for Ballbag, and the two centre backs trying to man-mark the Corinthians forwards didn't work as they managed to get the better of the Ballbag defenders. Overall a Ballbag win, just, because of the quality of their players as tactically it was honours even with both teams doing a couple of things wrong.


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Would you dance, if Ajax you to dance 2 v 0 FC ZwagAtlético
Scorers: Varela, Eriksen
Ajax Feedback: Dat attack Soddy, dat attack. Quality side going forward you are indeed, would look at CB next to improve not sure Vlaar cuts the mustard against top quality players. But dat attack
Zwag Feedback: Properly instruct your team next time, your starting XI is very good
General Comment: Win for Ajax side who is vastly improving and play sexy football, Zwag would probably have got something from the game if tactically instructed properly

Ajax 2-1 Zwag
(Eriksen, Mirallas) (Remy)
Both teams strong and hard to pick a winner. Zwag's poor tactics lose them the game though.
Good: Ajax's AM trio, maybe Varela needs improving on but very good. Zwag again with Remy and Giroud on form are very good players to have going forward at present.
Bad: Ajax need to improve on Luuk De Jong upfront for me, I feel a better striker would have earned you the win. As it is, you won by default today. Zwag missed Coutinho for me and also missed the decent tactics from the previous fixture. Less stropping, more managing please.

Would you dance, if Ajax you to dance 3-1 FC ZwagAtlético
Scorers: Eriksen, Mirallas, S De Jong / Remy
Summary: Ajax win due to their quality all over, and their better tactics than Zwag's. Would have been a Zwag win if the tactics were full (and as I'd expect from Zebs).
Home Good/Bad: De Jongs, all good, get more of them / poor FBs for a team of such quality.
Away Good/Bad: Again, you have a great team when all fit + proper tactics / when Coutinho is out, you look toothless

Would you dance, if Ajax you to dance v FC ZwagAtlético
3-0
A
P - Best side in the league, especially with the purchases of de Jong(s), Clasie and Varela
C - Lack of strength in depth with only 5 subs today
Zwag
P - Great line up despite injuries
C - Lack of tactics... AGAIN!

Ajax 2-0 Zwag
Again, hard to be critical of Zwag given injuries, but that is not Sod’s fault for him to be treated any differently. Against the table toppers and arguably strongest team in the league, more would be needed.
Ajax good: Great mixture of pace, strength and class on the ball, through out the team
Ajax bad: Felt the wide players were blunted slightly as asked to stay out wide when both are at their most dangerous coming inside
Zwag good: Great front 6, plenty of threat there if used properly
Zwag bad: Feels like plenty of improvement can be made across the entire back four

Ajax 3-1 Zwag
An easy win for Ajax today who showed up with superior tactics.

Ajax 4-0 Zwag
Walkover, best team in the league v one not bothered.

Ajax 4-0 QPHa
Ajax: Solid tactics/Need to sort the back 4
QPHa: No effort CF > You


-----------------------------------------------------------------

The Nodge 1-2 Gladbach
Credit to Olly for facing down the pacey Gladbach with a high line but it does mean Chavvy only has to get one ball right over the top and they are away. Nodge look good with strength in most areas but whether Hooper is the best man for the job up top is debatable. I also had to laugh when I read Ben Arfa/Valbuena/Pilkington. One of those names seems a bit out of place. Hero won’t be able to rely on pace alone against other sides though, that tactic can be stopped.

Nodge 2-2 Gladbach
(Ben Arfa, Hooper) (Aubameyang, Xavi)
Two decent sides, identical fomation but also similar levels of player overall. Gladbach stronger at CM but Nodge stronger at AM, similar strikers and defences means a draw for me.
Good: Nodge's recent signings. Much better going forward and better balance. Also good rotation of strikers. Gladbach's midfield and new signing at CB show how good they can be with more acquisitions.
Bad: Nodge's CM is weaker without Strootman, needs addressing. Gladbach need to improve their AM, I feel the time is right to cash in on Bernard's TM increase as he's doing nothing much IRL.

The Nodge 1-1 Gladbach
Both sides have set up identically, and rather than go for it and exploiting any real weaknesses in the other side, they're both sort of doing their own thing. I don't like Fer abandoning his midfield position to go and track Xavi, but other than that the Nodge tactics are solid but unspectacular. Same goes for Gladbach, but they could really do with signing a couple of top defenders.

The Nodge v Glad t’be bach
1-2
N
P - Fer, Carvajal, Martins Indi, Ben Arfa. Solid tactics with both scouting and mindgames
C - The Norwich bias is starting to hurt, the players simply are not up to it against stronger sides such as Glad t'be bach
G
P - Xavi/Capoue is probably the best pairing in the middle for what you want to be doing. Fortunately against Tettey they can do their own thing
C - Sidney Sam :whistle:I joke, he's alright. Lack of depth hurts you again with Kruse, Wendt, Jantschke and Benatia needing improvement on. Also not sure why you bought Benteke when you have Aubameyang!

Norwich 2-1 Gladbach
Nodge: Front 4 up with the best in league/Need to sort back 4
Gladbach: Top midfield not much of a fan of Capoue/Xavi pairing/Need Full backs

Nodge 1 -1 Gladbach
Nodge good: Valbuena and Ben Arfa are good acquisitions and definite improvements.
Nodge bad: Still plenty of improvement possible. Missing some physical presence and could be bullied out of games easily. Tettey looked out of his depth alongside the other midfielders in the game.
Gladbach good: As ever Xavi and Capoue are the best CM pairing in the league, and with Max Kruse, they would be hard to stop.
Gladbach bad: The defence, Benatia aside, stands out a mile at the moment.

The Nodge 0-2 Glad t’be bach
Scorers: Xavi + Sam
Summary: I wasn't sure if Nodge was instructing their players to give the ball to Capoue or not. Either way, Gladbach were by far the better side. A big improvement for Nodge though.
Home Good/Bad: Ben Arfa and Valbuens is a lethal combo / get a goalscoring striker and a good LW and you're in business
Away Good/Bad: Great pace all over / FBs are weaker than the rest, and I can't help but think that your tactics (and sheer amount of instructions) would be too much for the kids in your team to handle. Raheem Sterling is told to get his head down and run, here your lads are given quite explicit instructions that I'm not sure they'd be capable of holding up to. You still won though

Kruse, Wendt, Jantschke and Benatia

Benatia and Kruse in the same bracket as Wendt and Jantschke? Really?

I would challenge the poster of that feedback to find a better CB in the league, on current form, than Benatia

What's the problem with Pilkington then peeps?

Because imo he's a pretty darn good winger, has end product, good crossing, two great feet the ability to consistently beat a man, and works hard for the team. The only thing holding him back IRL is the fact he is constantly picking up niggles and injuries.