Comments on: One week on…The Champions League Final http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final Arts & culture blog based in Cork Ireland Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:39:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Bif http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final#comment-10689 Bif Wed, 30 May 2007 13:55:30 +0000 http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final#comment-10689 Simply put, we had a tactic for the game that was working. It had worked in the past and would have done but for conceding from the free-kick just before half-time. Nobody who was watching the game can dispute that. The problem came when, a goal down with 45 minutes to go, we needed to change up our tactics to try pry open a tough and well organised defense. A tactical change would have been needed but we didn't have the quality of player needed to do that. It's that simple. You can argue Riise for the left but, for everything he does for us, I've never seen him pick a defense open. Crouch up front, great idea but not much use unless you have someone picking him out or creating space for him. Crouch may know the lone striker role against Wigan Athletic or some such shit but Milan are a different kettle of fish. Yes, there were maybe, with the kindness of hindsight, a few little things that could have been done differently. Benitez isn't infallible but the tactics and team selection were as sound as you could have had at the time without the benefit of a time-machine. It is the football fans delusion that we always think there's this one thing or the other that would have changed everything. Sometimes you just lose. This time our lack of creativity was exposed, glaringly and not for the first time. None of the changes you've suggested would have changed that. In the end it just came down to a dirth of quality, creative personnel. Simply put, we had a tactic for the game that was working. It had worked in the past and would have done but for conceding from the free-kick just before half-time. Nobody who was watching the game can dispute that. The problem came when, a goal down with 45 minutes to go, we needed to change up our tactics to try pry open a tough and well organised defense. A tactical change would have been needed but we didn’t have the quality of player needed to do that. It’s that simple. You can argue Riise for the left but, for everything he does for us, I’ve never seen him pick a defense open. Crouch up front, great idea but not much use unless you have someone picking him out or creating space for him. Crouch may know the lone striker role against Wigan Athletic or some such shit but Milan are a different kettle of fish. Yes, there were maybe, with the kindness of hindsight, a few little things that could have been done differently. Benitez isn’t infallible but the tactics and team selection were as sound as you could have had at the time without the benefit of a time-machine. It is the football fans delusion that we always think there’s this one thing or the other that would have changed everything. Sometimes you just lose. This time our lack of creativity was exposed, glaringly and not for the first time. None of the changes you’ve suggested would have changed that. In the end it just came down to a dirth of quality, creative personnel.

]]> By: Eoin http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final#comment-10688 Eoin Wed, 30 May 2007 13:31:07 +0000 http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final#comment-10688 That's a good article Bif. I've heard a lot of it before but that puts in very clear terms. I agree the squad isn't good enough, but I think that explains the Premiership campaign rather than the European one. That’s a good article Bif. I’ve heard a lot of it before but that puts in very clear terms. I agree the squad isn’t good enough, but I think that explains the Premiership campaign rather than the European one.

]]> By: Eoin http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final#comment-10686 Eoin Wed, 30 May 2007 13:22:15 +0000 http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final#comment-10686 I agree the game was there for the taking but don't believe it was a lack of strength in depth that cost us. While we did dominate the game for large periods we didn't have anyone in the box when we got up that far because Kuyt was gone walkabout again. This was the problem with the formation and team selection and this is why we didn't finish our chances. With all this going on we had our top scorer, and someone who has proven time and again that he knows how to play the lone striker role, sitting on the bench. Add to that the statistic that Crouch hasn't scored off the bench all season and you wonder what the think behind it was. As for Zenden, yes he had been in a rich vein of form, for Zenden. The truth is that despite working very hard he just isn't up to the standard required. All season he has had openings in front of him on the pitch and not seen it until it was too late. How many time did a player pass to Zenden only for his to be too slow to realise it was coming. Riise is a much better option for left midfield if Rafa felt Kewell wasn't up to starting. Naming two left-wingers and a possible left-back on the bench was foolish too. Fowler would have given us another option and having Sissoko to come on if he felt he really had to take Mascherano off might have stopped the second goal. I'm sorry but for all his good work this season it is Benitez who needs to take the blame for that defeat. I agree the game was there for the taking but don’t believe it was a lack of strength in depth that cost us.

While we did dominate the game for large periods we didn’t have anyone in the box when we got up that far because Kuyt was gone walkabout again. This was the problem with the formation and team selection and this is why we didn’t finish our chances.

With all this going on we had our top scorer, and someone who has proven time and again that he knows how to play the lone striker role, sitting on the bench. Add to that the statistic that Crouch hasn’t scored off the bench all season and you wonder what the think behind it was.

As for Zenden, yes he had been in a rich vein of form, for Zenden. The truth is that despite working very hard he just isn’t up to the standard required. All season he has had openings in front of him on the pitch and not seen it until it was too late. How many time did a player pass to Zenden only for his to be too slow to realise it was coming. Riise is a much better option for left midfield if Rafa felt Kewell wasn’t up to starting.

Naming two left-wingers and a possible left-back on the bench was foolish too. Fowler would have given us another option and having Sissoko to come on if he felt he really had to take Mascherano off might have stopped the second goal.

I’m sorry but for all his good work this season it is Benitez who needs to take the blame for that defeat.

]]> By: Bif http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final#comment-10685 Bif Wed, 30 May 2007 13:10:36 +0000 http://bifsniff.com/sport/one-week-onthe-champions-league-final#comment-10685 That's a little absurd. We dominated the game in the first half largely because Gerrards role behind Kuyt enabled him to nullify Pirlo's influence on the game, whilst also freeing up Mascherano to keep a lid on Kaka. Zenden was in because the alternative was an unfit Kewell and he had actually been in a pretty rich vein of form in the run up. It was tactically sound and would likely have won the game but for a dodgy freekick just before half-time. Tactically it was sound. We weren't out played or outclassed. He could have brought Crouch on earlier but it's all sixes and sevens as to whether that was going to make that much difference. In the end we struggled, as if we have against far less impressive opposition on numerous occasions, because we didn't have that extra depth of quality players to pick open a resilient defense. The truth is, apparently, that Benitez has been hamstrung by <a href="http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/liverpool/article1845157.ece" rel="nofollow">Liverpool's procrastinating ever since he arrived</a>. All in all, the game was there for the taking but we didn't have the resources open to do what was needed. No amount of tactical acumen is going to make up for that. That’s a little absurd. We dominated the game in the first half largely because Gerrards role behind Kuyt enabled him to nullify Pirlo’s influence on the game, whilst also freeing up Mascherano to keep a lid on Kaka. Zenden was in because the alternative was an unfit Kewell and he had actually been in a pretty rich vein of form in the run up. It was tactically sound and would likely have won the game but for a dodgy freekick just before half-time. Tactically it was sound. We weren’t out played or outclassed. He could have brought Crouch on earlier but it’s all sixes and sevens as to whether that was going to make that much difference. In the end we struggled, as if we have against far less impressive opposition on numerous occasions, because we didn’t have that extra depth of quality players to pick open a resilient defense. The truth is, apparently, that Benitez has been hamstrung by Liverpool’s procrastinating ever since he arrived. All in all, the game was there for the taking but we didn’t have the resources open to do what was needed. No amount of tactical acumen is going to make up for that.

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