From heaven to hell: What was Martino thinking?

In basketball, you have a set number of players (twelve) and it matters little if the starting five does not work, as substitutions are unrestricted. In football, you have only three chances to correct the mistakes in naming your squad. This makes managing a team in multi-competitions campaign a even harder job. On Saturday, Gerardo Martino made a mess against Real Sociedad in rotating his squad and paid a hefty price of gifting Real Madrid the top spot in La Liga. There are three questions that Martino did not get his head around:

(1) Do they need to rotate?

With 38 league matches, about 20 games for cups and European matches, plus some international duties for majority of the players in a season, the answer is yes, they do need to rotate. However, it is not the first time this group has to face congested fixtures. They should be mentally prepared, and although some of the young legs are gone and it was their third game in one week, it was never a tough game against Rayo and they had a man advantage for most of the second half against Manchester City. You would believe the intelligence of the like of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi should enable them to prevent from being physically over-drained, as they have demonstrated in the past few years. The decision to bench both Xavi and Fabregas on the bench undermined their playmaking ability significantly.

Greizmann celebrating his goal that brought the lead

(2) Was this the right moment to rotate?

Real Madrid's victory made Barcelona's game a must-win. especially with Madrid derby lining up next week, it is important that Barca keeps up the pace so that they can have a chance to be in the pole position after the derby.

If this is not a strong enough reason, Real Sociedad's home record should have convinced Martino to field a stronger team. They have been unbeatable at home in all local competitions since their loss to Atletico Madrid in September last year. Ten days earlier, Barca also failed to win in the same ground in Copa del Rey, despite still advancing on aggregate. Despite their inconsistency throughout the season, their form at home is unquestionable.

Finally, ahead of the clash with Manchester City, they have an easy two weeks. facing bottom half teams Almeria and Valladolid. Surely it makes sense to bite the bullet this week which could be as rewarding as putting them on the front foot of the title race? As Atletico stumbled tonight, now it's their rival Real Madrid who has the sole upper hand.

(3) Did it have to be that radical?  

Four days after the victory at Manchester, Martino rested more than half of the team, including three at the back, only one was injury-forced. Introducing Pedro and Neymar back did little harm to the attack, but it was the selection of Alex Song that was the most dubious. The Cameroon is still yet to find his feet in Spain and playing him in a back-three is not the natural formation Barca has been used to. While they still dominated possession, the creativity in midfield was not quite there to support the front three. It is no Song's fault and his own goal was unlucky, but Martino definitely had better options on the bench.

Disappointing night for Alex Song again

Bartra and Montoya have both showed solid performance this season. Still relatively young to highest level of football, playing away against a team sitting fifth in La Liga is tough for both. With Gerard Pique looking sluggish all night and Adriano stronger in attack than defence, Antoine Griezmann and Carlos Vela had torn their defence apart with ease. Poor communication between the back four was well-exposed in David Zurutuza's goal as the penetrating midfielder was never picked up. Only Martino knows the best if Dani Alves or Mascherano was fit enough to play.

Pellegrini's indecisiveness sent City on the back foot

It is always dangerous to comment on a manager's tactical move in post-game situation. The What-if analysis is theoretical and will never be justified. While there is little room to argue that Aleksandar Kolarov was the worst City player on the pitch on Tuesday evening, by fielding the Serbian, Manuel Pellegrini had already significantly undermined his chance of conquering Barcelona.

Exposing the opponent's weakness is the most effective way to get the better of them. Jose Mourinho demonstrated by using border-line brutality and speedy counter-attacks to put a halt to Pep Guardiola's dominance.

Pellegrini has strong belief in his side. Being the stronger side in Manchester, facing the team that lost the fear factor and being labelled as the worst Barca for years, the Chilean wanted to take the initiative to win the match, emphasising City will attempt to deny possession of the Spanish giant and retain their attacking football.

The call that sent Pellegrini fuming

Nevertheless, this is still one of the best teams in the world and Pellegrini just has to admit it, no matter how reluctant he is. The formation was not quite the 4-4-2 that City flourishes at home this season. A more sensible 4-2-3-1 was adapted. The home team was able to recall Fernandinho to the squad, but Pellegrini did not make the most out of this luxury The home team was able to recall Fernandinho to the squad, but Pellegrini did not make the most out of this luxury to threaten the leader of La Liga.

To pick one player that is most capable of destroying Barca's defence, it is likely to be Yaya Toure. With Jesus Navas and David Silva in the lineup, Yaya restored the partnership with Fernandinho, but his activity in the final third was limited by the defensive duties, as Barcelona unsurprisingly controlled the match tempo. Javi Garcia is a natural option that could release Yaya Toure to charge forward more freely, whereas James Milner 's versatility and discipline offers a good alternative.

Kolarov was quite on top of Barca this evening

But who should give way? Silva's flair is critical in unlocking Barcelona's defence; Navas' speed is a serious weapon in counter attack; deadball specialist Kolarov can convert some precious opportunities. If one speciality was to be given up, Kolarov would be the sensible choice. When City even struggled with possession time, there was little scope for the left back to show his freekick skills, even more strangely Silva was the primary free-kick taker. Also a relatively one-dimensional player, his moves were predictable and for sure were well-studied.

His contribution could be on the defensive end to provide support to Gael Clichy. However, as Pellegrini stressed their intention to bring the game to Barcelona, he should have higher confidence in his full backs' ability to contain Jordi Alba and Dani Alves. Should Javi Garcia or James Milner was fielded, either could also provide cover to Zabaleta and Clichy with their exceptional working rate.

In the end, he could not finish the game and could only get a booking in his statistics line.

As ridiculous as it sounds, you indeed have to be near to perfect to beat Barcelona. Martin Demichelis made a mental error that put City on the back foot, but it was the hesitance or non-determination of his manager in his tactical approach that have cost City a chance. There was definitely positives to take from the loss, but it doesn't change the fact that City need three goals in Camp Nou to overturn the tie.

The Toon in Troubled Water

The difficulty of managing a mid-table teams could easily been overlooked. Although free from title expectation and relegation threat, it is easier said than done to maintain a sustainable team development, while retaining satisfaction of supporters and support from directors board. The recent dismissal of Michael Laudrup at Swansea is a classic example. Newcastle, who is one position above Swansea, is facing similar crisis that put Alan Pardew's future in serious doubt.

From being awarded manager of the month to three losses in a row in February, conceding ten goals without answering back, the two key differences in Newcastle between this period is the departure of Joe Kinnear and Yohan Cabaye. Few would argue that losing Cabaye was a huge blow to the Magpies halfway through a season which they were getting stronger and stronger.

He was on the verge of joining Arsenal before the summer transfer window closed, but Newcastle stood firm to block the move, while Cabaye, after absenting a few games to calm down, moved on to produce one of his finest season in career. The prospect of European football once again reignited at St James Park. 

 

His phenomenal performance aroused interest from Paris. Moving ahead of World Cup is debatable, but how many players in the world can afford to reject the opportunity to wear Paris St Germain's jersey? Mike Ashley clear understands football is a business. A foreign move minimises the chance that Cabaye would come back to haunt them, while it is also a good gesture to thank the Frenchman's contribution in the past two and a half seasons. There was indeed very little reason to decline the bid.

The problem is Mike Ashley seemed to have no intention to bring in a replacement. The impact of losing the brain of midfield was obvious on Wednesday. Without a distributor, they looked clueless in how to unlock Tottenham's defence, which was far from solid. Fullbacks David Santon and Mathieu Debuchy in particular suffer from the lack of playmakers, that their forward runs were often unspotted and unrecognised, which ultimately left Sammy Ameobi and Luke De Jong exposed to one-on-one situation. It was as if Pardew was driving a decent car without engine.

More worrying is that the passion of the players has vanished. Mohammed Sissoko and Papiss Cisse were the focal point of booing when both looked uninterested to put on a fight. Late in the game, four Tottenham players were rushing to receive a cross from fastbreak, but only young defender Paul Dummett, who replaced Santon who had a horrid night, threw his body out to block the shot. Together with the 3-0 derby loss at home to Sunderland, Pardew appears to have lost the magic to inspire his side.

outnumbered, outperformed

With three months to go, Newcastle is now stuck. They have only the league to compete in. With twelve games to go, they can declare to be relatively safe from dropping zone, but also not quite in the race for European football. It will almost certainly be an improvement to their league position last year, but what should the fans expect? Have they shifted their ambition of European football to next season? However, can they keep up with the pace of development of rivals like Everton, Tottenham and Southampton?  The comedy around Joe Kinnear and departure of key players make the club less attractive to quality players. The future of Newcastle is among the mist.

Alan Pardew has led Newcastle to numerous memorable moments in the past four years. Nevertheless, more than once the supporters cast doubt over his suitability to the role. He characteristically survived among the turbulence last season and has recovered to drive Newcastle to where they are now. As a reward to his commitment, more importantly to the fans' support, Mike Ashley needs to rate club development ahead of financial return in managing the Magpies. Otherwise, by the end of season, it will only look even more depressing at St James Park.     

Moyes' tactical inability cost United three points again

Too, Too, Too Predictable

Fulham came with a relegation battle to win and Rene Meulensteen returned with a point to prove. Moyes’ United have been too predictable and become easy to defend – scoring an average 1.63 goals only in 24 league matches compared to the 2.26 goals last season. While injuries have often been an excuse for the Scot, his tactics have hardly changed regardless of the 11 players on the pitch.

Starting with a defensive 4-5-1, Fulham sat back and was ready to absorb pressure from the hosts. Rafael and Evra were allowed lots of room to overlap and the flanks contributed an amazing total of 46 crosses in the first half alone. However United only had 4 attempts on target as Fulham transformed into a 6-3-1-0 with United pushed forward. With the back four crowding constantly inside the box and the wide players slotting in as secondary full backs, there just wasn’t enough quality to beat the quantity; especially when United grew impatient after trailing behind midway through the first half through a sweet Sidwell volley.

When Adnan Januzaj came in for Fletcher at the hour mark, moving Mata behind the strikers, United had already put in 54 ‘wasted crosses’, said commentator Gary Neville. Valencia and Chicharito soon too came on for Young and Rafael, Moyes just wanted more crosses. At the end, United put out 81 crosses. The two goals did start off from a cross but it was hardly related; rather more to Fulham’s exhaustion and a fortunate deflection.

To sum up the ‘tactical changes’ by Moyes: old wine in new bottles; and credit to Fulham for devising and carrying out a game plan which at least let them leave Manchester with a much-needed point.

What’s Moyes’ Plan for Mata?

The Spaniard’s signature sent a message that United could still attract big names and his exclusion would’ve contradicted the statement. However, starting on the right as an inside winger, Mata had little influence on the game. His exquisite ball-control and delicious long balls were applauded by the Old Trafford crowd but it’s still far from enough to affect the scoreline; or resurrect United’s season if he continues to stay so distantly involved.

3 assists to his name, but still not at his best in red

The ability of the former Chelsea player is undoubted, but by moving him onto the right flank is no different than putting Shinji Kagawa – who used to flourish behind the striker at Dortmund – on the left. If Mata was as hard-working defensively as Kagawa, he might have stayed in Mourinho’s plans but if Moyes continues to put him in such a position, the playmaker’s low work rate would soon backfire and cost United more points.

Here comes the question, nevertheless. David Moyes have been sticking with the 4-4-2 for most of his matches; mainly for two reasons: 1) He has two star strikers which he has no authority to bench either; especially with Rooney so crucial to an extent that benching or playing him out of position would make disclosing to the England man the club’s transfer plans as leverage to renew his contract complete nonsense; and 2) he simply has not enough good central midfielders for 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formations.

Hence if Moyes decides to keep his 4-4-2 unchanged, he will keep on using up one substitution every game to introduce a winger into the game in order to switch Mata behind the strikers and sacrificing a central midfield in return which would be disastrous against bigger teams (think about Yaya Toure/Fernandinho vs Carrick/Mata). That’s not any tactical masterstrokes, is it? Juan Mata could only be the player Old Trafford want him to be if he’s played as a proper number 10, and if rumors of Cavani and Diego Costa are true, buena suerte Juan.

It's Mourinho 2 Pellegrini 0

It was not 19th century football, nor were buses parked at Eithad Stadium. Manchester City finally failed to score at home, lost the opportunity to regain the top spot, and more significantly gives Chelsea the mental edge in the title race, having swept the series of this season. Both teams were not playing with their best XI. However, the difference being Manuel Pellegrini was forced to make changes that weakened the team; Jose Mourinho's moves were more tactically-driven.

Is Manchester City running short of options?

A statement makes little sense at all for a team whose second string still looks too strong for the competition, however, they looked toothless attempting to fight their way back against Chelsea and Pellegrini struggled to spring any surprise from his bench.

The absence of Fernandinho once again labels the weak point in their squad --- lack of a reliable central midfielder in Pellegrini's 4-4-2. On paper, having the defensive-minded Martin Demichelis would not undermine the free-scoring City much. The presence of Fernandinho is indeed equally important to that of Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero. Not only just being younger and able to cover a lot more grounds, his technique and vision also help open up space for Yaya Toure to roam forward. When City was trailing, this became particularly obvious when Yaya had to drop deeper to initiate attack, at the same time hinder his powerhouse potency.

Sergio Aguero's injury was also critical, who could potentially be devastating to Chelsea's defence, but City has little to complain when they still have the like of Negredo, Dzeko and Jovetic, while all failed to deliver and with Dzeko particularly disappointing.

Tactically out-battled

The dilemma was always there for Pellegrini: Should he retain the side that is unstoppable at Etihad, or should he opt for a more tactical approach against Chelsea? The result shows the latter might be the better way against the tactician master.

The unlikely hero --- Ivanovic

Jose Mourinho decided against playing his favourite no. 10 Oscar but granted Nemanja Matic a league debut who partnered David Luiz to protect the backline. City did have a couple of decent chances early in the match, but they needed to work harder than at White Hart Lane to break the defence, and gradually the momentum shifted to the Blues when Willian, Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto’o caught the opponents sleeping in counter attacks.

This attacking trio, as well as Ramires, all possess tremendous speed and are incredibly dangerous in counter attacks. At 33 years old, Demichelis further tilted the battle to Chelsea's side. Ramires would have brought the lead with better finishing following a 4-on-1 basketball-type fastbreak. Samuel Eto’o's shot only needed to be one inch lower to double the lead.

To compensate for the loss of attacking ability of Fernandinho, Pellegrini chose Kolarov over Clichy. Although Kolarov delivered a number of quality crosses, Mourinho successfully exposed the defensive liability at City's full back positions, as well as their weak spot in between the line. If David Silva mastered the victory against Tottenham in that position, City was in turn punished with a lack of cover in the similar spot.  

What could have been done?

Rather than sticking with two strikers, Pellegrini could have cast trust on his midfielders and field only one, especially with Negredo not being fit. While neither Dzeko nor Negredo had contributed much, James Milner could be a better option this evening. By placing him alongside Demichelis, the cover for fullbacks will be more assuring. Yaya Toure can also be liberalised to challenge the Chelsea defence more than it turned out. His versatility is also a plus when Pellegrini has to make in-game tactical changes.  

Yaya was kept busy on both ends of the field

With Chelsea's defence being exceptionally organised, overloading a flank would be an effective way to stretch their back four. Later in the game, Zabaleta and Jesus Navas combined to put together good efforts that put Cesar Azpilicueta, who had been solid at left back for the whole night, on the back foot. 

Nevertheless, they did not do enough of this, especially when winning goal-scorer Branislav Ivanovic was booked before the interval, but there were limited direct runs towards the right back in the second half.

Their quality in attack will enable them to conquer most of the teams playing with liberty, but to beat a team like Chelsea, you need to do something a little more special to get the better of the Special One.