Possesion Versus Counter Attacking

[sam-caddick]

I prefer the Dortmund/Liverpool style of play personally rather than controlling possession like City/Barce/Bayern do.

Wouldn't put us in the same boat although we're guilty of it on bad days, we're a lot more direct, kind of on the middle ground between the two styles.

I agree, the philosophy Pellegrini is implementing is heading the way of being the perfect style of football for me in my opinion.

I think if we sort our defence out in the Summer, get some depth for Yaya and Fernandinho, add a quick winger/ forward and start pressing like Atletico Madrid and Dortmund I think we will potentially be on our way to winning the Champions League.

 

[supercrystal7]

This is an expansion on what Adrianr said.

I agree when you have possession you cannot concede and it's a great tactic when you are winning comfortably, but not at the start of the game. Here lies the main problem with a possession game. To control possession especially in Pep's eyes you need to control the midfield. This is why the extra man in midfield has become so popular and teams often play with one upfront. Pep takes this a step further. He wants even more midfielders than the usual 3. The way he has set about doing this has changed, but either he will play a false 9 or play full backs as wingers etc. Yes this gives you possession, but it leaves you outnumbered at the back and lacking numbers at the front. It means you struggle to score against organised defences, but worst it leaves you very open to the counter.

Therefore the only way to stop the counter attack is to be even more conservative in possession and ensure you don't lose the ball. Long range shots, risky through balls, dribbling past a man, plays running into the box etc are all frowned upon, because they give the opponents the ball.

In my opinion Bayern last season were as balanced and strong as a team can be. Chelsea in 06 lacked a little in creativity and Barca in 09 were too weak defensively.<br /><br />-- Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:07 pm --<br /><br />

I prefer the Dortmund/Liverpool style of play personally rather than controlling possession like City/Barce/Bayern do.

Wouldn't put us in the same boat although we're guilty of it on bad days, we're a lot more direct, kind of on the middle ground between the two styles.

I agree, the philosophy Pellegrini is implementing is heading the way of being the perfect style of football for me in my opinion.

I think if we sort our defence out in the Summer, get some depth for Yaya and Fernandinho, add a quick winger/ forward and start pressing like Atletico Madrid and Dortmund I think we will potentially be on our way to winning the Champions League.

I don't want to start ripping apart City on a City forum, but I don't think Pellegrini is even close to implementing a perfect style of football. A couple of games were brilliant, but most of the time the team is too unbalanced. City have the best defenders in the league, it's the tactics that makes them weak defensively. Unless you really want to go into the tactics without overreacting if I criticise Pellegrini's set up then it's best we leave it there. From what Pellegrini says playing a certain style of football is more important to the City board than playing the most effective style of football.

 

[celticfc482]

<a class="postlink" href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2039855-pep-guardiolas-tiki-taka-doesnt-suit-bayern-munich-against-real-madrid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2039 ... eal-madrid</a>

That article sums it up well.

 

[GHoddle]

Football is all about creating space in which to attack the opponent. Possession football (at least in the iteration of the current Bayern/Barca teams) does the opposite - limits space for your own team while gifting the opponent with plenty of space to play into behind a high line. It's what drove me crazy about AVB, we'd have tons of possession and do absolutely nothing with it, while better opponents would easily break past our high line and score 4, 5, 6 goals.

Bayern last year for me are the ideal football team - had a blend of counterattacking and possession football but they were also more willing to take risks with the ball and were far more direct than the team is now.

 

[celticfc482]

It's good to have the right balance and coaching the team to play both ways. There will always be games which you would benefit from counter attacking rather than having possession and vice versa.

 

[mcfc482]

Tonight again shows that counter attacking football can really be effective when you have the right set up and quality to do it.

 

[IH8MUFC]

Every style has strengths and weaknesses. The thing with bayern tonight is they were not looking for the killer pass. That's all real looked for all night.

 

[mcfc482]

Not many managers alter their tactics for different matches though. Ancelotti did it with real to beat Bayern and Barcelona in the cup final and as much as it pains me to say Mourinho does it as well. In my mind the most effective way is to make sure your team can play both ways as both are useful in different scenarios.