SwiftGuyver
New member
Tata has faced a lot of criticism so far this season but I think we should all remember a lot happens behind closed doors that the fans & press don't know about...
After the CL exit to Bayern we ended last season with almost everyone (fans, press, players etc) saying we needed changes, different tactical options, better fitness training and playing time management etc. Now I'm not pretending to have any inside knowledge, obviously I don't know if this theory is true or not but I have a sneaking suspicion that Tata has been using the first half of this season to try out alternative tactics & styles to possibly use later on to keep opponents guessing and to manage the amount of minutes players are on the pitch and aim to keep everyone fresh for the business end of the campaign. I wouldn't be surprised if the players were told not to waste energy pressing against teams we can beat without that extra effort earlier on in the season in order to help the squad maintain high energy levels against tougher opponents later on. The performance against Rayo really pleased and excited me and made me think has Tata's plan been to keep tiki taka as the team's core but to give the players time to learn some more direct/counter attacking options if we need them later on down the line (so basically keep the style all the players already know, are comfortable with and are extremely good at but also add some other ideas which pretty much everyone was saying we needed after the Bayern games last year) and manage the players' minutes on the field and the amount they are pressing etc to make sure we don't face the same problems we had at the crucial business end of last season (Messi playing with an injury, whole squad looking drained and slow with no energy to press or move the ball quickly enough, only one style of play etc etc etc).
If this is the case then Tata has pulled off an absolute master stroke IMO. After the Rayo game it seems all our players are fit, all are in form, all seem relaxed and happy, regular goal scoring has been spread around 5 players instead of just 1 and we have some other tactical options if we need them.
I could be wrong and obviously we'll see how the match against Man City tonight goes but I feel positive and believe in Tata.
:tata1:
After the CL exit to Bayern we ended last season with almost everyone (fans, press, players etc) saying we needed changes, different tactical options, better fitness training and playing time management etc. Now I'm not pretending to have any inside knowledge, obviously I don't know if this theory is true or not but I have a sneaking suspicion that Tata has been using the first half of this season to try out alternative tactics & styles to possibly use later on to keep opponents guessing and to manage the amount of minutes players are on the pitch and aim to keep everyone fresh for the business end of the campaign. I wouldn't be surprised if the players were told not to waste energy pressing against teams we can beat without that extra effort earlier on in the season in order to help the squad maintain high energy levels against tougher opponents later on. The performance against Rayo really pleased and excited me and made me think has Tata's plan been to keep tiki taka as the team's core but to give the players time to learn some more direct/counter attacking options if we need them later on down the line (so basically keep the style all the players already know, are comfortable with and are extremely good at but also add some other ideas which pretty much everyone was saying we needed after the Bayern games last year) and manage the players' minutes on the field and the amount they are pressing etc to make sure we don't face the same problems we had at the crucial business end of last season (Messi playing with an injury, whole squad looking drained and slow with no energy to press or move the ball quickly enough, only one style of play etc etc etc).
If this is the case then Tata has pulled off an absolute master stroke IMO. After the Rayo game it seems all our players are fit, all are in form, all seem relaxed and happy, regular goal scoring has been spread around 5 players instead of just 1 and we have some other tactical options if we need them.
I could be wrong and obviously we'll see how the match against Man City tonight goes but I feel positive and believe in Tata.
:tata1:
