e don't have pacey fullbacks to use 4-2-2-2 or 5-3-1-1, besides 5 men defense means you need the potency in attack to convert even half chances, which we clearly don't have. Stimac uses the traditional Croatian 4-2-3-1 formation, which is good for use since 2 holding midfielders provide better support to our defense.
Against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. I am not sure if we are utilizing the best with this formation. the traditional 4-2-3-1 and later changing to 4-1-4-1 will be the ideal.
Stimac has used this many times before and this way we can still use our existing wingers. Mandar could be used as a winger and bose should be back.
Indians looked fitter yesterday because they did not press Qatar like they did against Oman. The intensity we played against Oman is first half requires lot stamina
Just because 5 man defence did not work for Argentina does not mean the strategy is bad. It can work for certain teams depending on their strengths and weaknesses. India at this moment have 3 main strengths - 1) We have 4 good CBs whom we can rotate (Jhingan, Adil, Narender, Anas/Anwar). 2) We have good technical midfielders (Thapa, Sahal, Brandon, Amarjit, Reynier) who can pass well and are comfortable on the ball. 3) We have decent, pacey wingers with limited technical abilities in the final third of the pitch (Udanta, Changte, Soosairaj, Mandar, Ashique). We also have certain weaknesses - 1) We have terrible full backs. Both Bheke, Kotal and Bose are at the most below average. On the LB the situation is so bad that we use a genuine winger as a fullback! (Mandar). 2) We have absolutely no other striker apart from Chettri. All others are merely making up numbers. So how do we fully use our strengths while negating our weaknesses? This is where the 5-3-1-1 Christmas tree system cones in. Since we have good CBs so lets use them fully by having 3 men Central defence (preferably Jhingan, Adil and Narendra). This will have 2 advantages - 1) Adding an extra man in defence will give it more solidity while unshackling our holding CM from a purely defensive role and allowing him to move forward to support the attacks. This gives our midfield more bodies and we can control the area better. 2) Extra man ensures that even if one of the wing backs fails to track back in time while opposition attack cones from that side then one of the CB can cover that vacant area and still we will have 2 regular CBs to protect our penalty box area. This is particularly important since we have seen the likes of Bheke getting stranded in opposition half while leaving plenty of space behind him which opposition exploits. Extra CB will cover that eventuality. Also I believe players like Bheke and Mandar can be better utilised as Wing Backs then as traditional full backs. And if we want to use wing play more prominently then we can always ask Udanta, Narzary, Soosairaj, Mandar or Changte to play as WBs. I know they don't know much about defending but then, neither do our regular full backs do! And finally this is one formation where we can deploy all of our best midfielders together (Thapa, Reynier, Sahal, Brandon) with Chettri playing as lone striker. I believe this has a better chance of our scoring then the current formation.
Playing 5 at the back invites even more pressure and minimizes whatever little attacking potency we have in attack. I think we should utilize the 4-5-1 with a 3-man midfield and wide players with pace. We have players who can hold on to the ball in midfield (Amarjit, Sahal, Thapa, Brandon) and decent wide players with pace (Udanta, Chhangte, Kuruniyan).
If we play a defensive 5 at the back, the focus of the creative midfielders will be diminished. Rather, we should encourage them to flourish by keeping the ball and trying to play. They are young enough (until @goalkeeper says otherwise) to learn and develop ONLY IF we push them to perform in such a system.
Also, there is no need to cramp Brandon and Sahal together if not needed. They can be competition to each other while the more defensive-minded Thapa, Amarjit, Raynier, Borges can hold. Perhaps Soosairaj can also be a good option for the more offensive minded midfield role with Sahal/Brandon.
r@"The real AG" - "If we play a defensive 5 at the back, the focus of the creative midfielders will be diminished." This statement makes no sense. Rather the opposite is true. If there are 5 at the back then the midfielders will be more reassured about defence and will be encouraged to come out of defensive mindset and try and move forward. Plus the short passing style can be best used in this formation since we will be able to crowd the midfield and dominate it. Same thinking goes in the 4-1-2-1-2 (Diamond formation). These tactics are good if you have a number of good ball playing central midfielders and want to utilise them properly. Width can be provided by playing our wingers as wing backs.
Traditionally, the 5 at the back has proven to be a formation teams play to sit deep and counter (if they have efficient attackers, we don't). Regardless of one extra CB playing, the midfield still has to protect the CBs, so I am not so sure the midfield will play with any more freedom.
The biggest problems lies in wide areas; Mander/Udanta as wingbacks with no protection from midfield or wide players means opposition will get between CB and full back, forcing midfielders wide and thus taking away the attacking impetus further.
Besides, its all good playing to not let the opposition score, but even the talented midfield has very few goals between them, so how would we be able to create any attacking threat?
Hope the team does not get complacent now..Focus should be winning all matches against Afghanistan/Bangladesh ..and draw against Oman/Qatar..if we can beat Oman in Oman.. nothing like it.
Comments
Stimac has used this many times before and this way we can still use our existing wingers. Mandar could be used as a winger and bose should be back.
We also have certain weaknesses - 1) We have terrible full backs. Both Bheke, Kotal and Bose are at the most below average. On the LB the situation is so bad that we use a genuine winger as a fullback! (Mandar). 2) We have absolutely no other striker apart from Chettri. All others are merely making up numbers.
So how do we fully use our strengths while negating our weaknesses? This is where the 5-3-1-1 Christmas tree system cones in. Since we have good CBs so lets use them fully by having 3 men Central defence (preferably Jhingan, Adil and Narendra). This will have 2 advantages - 1) Adding an extra man in defence will give it more solidity while unshackling our holding CM from a purely defensive role and allowing him to move forward to support the attacks. This gives our midfield more bodies and we can control the area better. 2) Extra man ensures that even if one of the wing backs fails to track back in time while opposition attack cones from that side then one of the CB can cover that vacant area and still we will have 2 regular CBs to protect our penalty box area. This is particularly important since we have seen the likes of Bheke getting stranded in opposition half while leaving plenty of space behind him which opposition exploits. Extra CB will cover that eventuality.
Also I believe players like Bheke and Mandar can be better utilised as Wing Backs then as traditional full backs. And if we want to use wing play more prominently then we can always ask Udanta, Narzary, Soosairaj, Mandar or Changte to play as WBs. I know they don't know much about defending but then, neither do our regular full backs do! And finally this is one formation where we can deploy all of our best midfielders together (Thapa, Reynier, Sahal, Brandon) with Chettri playing as lone striker. I believe this has a better chance of our scoring then the current formation.
If we play a defensive 5 at the back, the focus of the creative midfielders will be diminished. Rather, we should encourage them to flourish by keeping the ball and trying to play. They are young enough (until @goalkeeper says otherwise) to learn and develop ONLY IF we push them to perform in such a system.
Also, there is no need to cramp Brandon and Sahal together if not needed. They can be competition to each other while the more defensive-minded Thapa, Amarjit, Raynier, Borges can hold. Perhaps Soosairaj can also be a good option for the more offensive minded midfield role with Sahal/Brandon.
This statement makes no sense. Rather the opposite is true. If there are 5 at the back then the midfielders will be more reassured about defence and will be encouraged to come out of defensive mindset and try and move forward. Plus the short passing style can be best used in this formation since we will be able to crowd the midfield and dominate it. Same thinking goes in the 4-1-2-1-2 (Diamond formation). These tactics are good if you have a number of good ball playing central midfielders and want to utilise them properly. Width can be provided by playing our wingers as wing backs.
The biggest problems lies in wide areas; Mander/Udanta as wingbacks with no protection from midfield or wide players means opposition will get between CB and full back, forcing midfielders wide and thus taking away the attacking impetus further.
Besides, its all good playing to not let the opposition score, but even the talented midfield has very few goals between them, so how would we be able to create any attacking threat?