DC Postmatch

This is not FIFA, you cannot just put people in unfamiliar positions and think they will know what to do under duress.
You don't play much FIFA or you'd know that it's folly to presume any defender will act rationally under any circumstance. Not to say I don't agree with your larger point.
 
Can I put in for Vieira at fault for that goal? Both goals were perfect examples of players unsure of what to do in an unfamiliar system. 1st goal, chanot and brillant both thought the other would get that ball. There wouldnt be two guys there in a four in the back set, so that wouldn't be an issue.

2nd goal was worse. You had three CBs all bunched up, Brillant the RCB is on le toux, and Chanot was covering no one, Callens was no the ball carrier. Thank god we had 3 CBs since one had no one to cover.

This is not FIFA, you cannot just put people in unfamiliar positions and think they will know what to do under duress. Chanot and Callens have formed a good partnership over preseason and the first months of games, why would you mess with that? Not only did it fuck up the defense, it took one more body out of midfield on the build up making it harder to get the ball through.

Blaming anyone for this game other than Vieira is wrong in my opinion. And that is coming from someone who can usually find a way to blame Pirlo every game.

This is a great take. When Kreis was here, people on the forums would occasionally suggest shifting to a 3-man backline, and they would immediately get shot down over concerns about difficulty of transitioning mid-season. Then Vieira arrived and started experimenting with all sorts of stuff and we didn't really question it. You're a genius if you tinker and it works, but if you tinker and it fails, especially with a shift that's commonly known to be a difficult one, you get the blame.
 
This is a great take. When Kreis was here, people on the forums would occasionally suggest shifting to a 3-man backline, and they would immediately get shot down over concerns about difficulty of transitioning mid-season. Then Vieira arrived and started experimenting with all sorts of stuff and we didn't really question it. You're a genius if you tinker and it works, but if you tinker and it fails, especially with a shift that's commonly known to be a difficult one, you get the blame.

I don't think the 3 man backline was the issue. I think the make-up of that 3 man backline was. Brillant isn't mobile enough to defend in space. He was brutal on Saturday in that regard.
 
I don't think the 3 man backline was the issue. I think the make-up of that 3 man backline was. Brillant isn't mobile enough to defend in space. He was brutal on Saturday in that regard.
Not just immobile, but he thinks/positions himself like a CB and not a RB. White seems to have learned some nuances of playing he outside with the touchline.
 
This is a great take. When Kreis was here, people on the forums would occasionally suggest shifting to a 3-man backline, and they would immediately get shot down over concerns about difficulty of transitioning mid-season. Then Vieira arrived and started experimenting with all sorts of stuff and we didn't really question it. You're a genius if you tinker and it works, but if you tinker and it fails, especially with a shift that's commonly known to be a difficult one, you get the blame.

We also had the concerns about how weak our backline turned out to be. Year one that crap was a tire fire and everyone knew it. That's not even retrospectively looking back at it with full knowledge of how the season turned out, people like Midas Mulligan Midas Mulligan were pointing out how our backline had big problems from like game 2 onwards.
 
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I don't think the 3 man backline was the issue. I think the make-up of that 3 man backline was. Brillant isn't mobile enough to defend in space. He was brutal on Saturday in that regard.
You could also make the claim that if we played with a true wingback on the right side that playing those three would have been fine too. Regardless, if we played the same formation as we had since the beginning of the season we probably would have had a better shot at coming away with points rather than debating how exactly Vieira fucked up.
 
You could also make the claim that if we played with a true wingback on the right side that playing those three would have been fine too. Regardless, if we played the same formation as we had since the beginning of the season we probably would have had a better shot at coming away with points rather than debating how exactly Vieira fucked up.
Very true, another problem with the formation was that Jack was not a wingback, and Wallace is not a striker
 
First let me say that I don't believe in the 3 man back line if it is done to accommodate Andrea Pirlo.

That being the case, could Wallace play as a RWB?
 
Given the volume of possession our full back are expected to deal with, in areas where giving the ball away can easily turn into a 1-on-1 with our keeper, why would we want to give that responsibility to Shelton? What qualities does he have?
 
How do we know he is not a defender? I actually think he's become a VERY good 1 v 1 defender up the field. He's athletic and strong in the air. He has a high work rate and covers a lot of space.
 
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How do we know he is not a defender? I actually think he's become a VERY good 1 v 1 defender up the field. He's athletic and strong in the air. He has a high work rate and covers a lot of space.

And the first touch of a toaster oven. Of all the guys to patiently build out from the back, collecting those kooky Pirlo backpasses on the edge of our own area, he's the one you want to rely on?