Sentences with phrase «squad played to their strengths»

Each squad played to their strengths and put up an unbelievable fight.

Not exact matches

Wenger has mostly used the second string squad at the start of any season to great effect, most teams aren't at full strength or match fit and he plays that Wengerball numbers game, throwing in squad players who are fit and raring to go whilst the first team get ready, we'll win 2 of our 3 opening games and he'd rather that than splash 100m on 3 players and get the same amount of points.

To be fair they do have a smaller squad with less strength in depth and so the fewer games they play the better.

either you pay the money to ensemble a barcelona - like squad, or you play according to your strengths and not according to your weaknesses like a damn fool

Even if we don't and we have to play one of the group winners, Wenger has the January transfer window to strengthen any positions that we are light in (cough, DM, cough) and barring any more bad luck we should have a full strength squad with key players like Walcott, Debuchy and Ramsey back and fully fit.

Despite Antonio Valencia's tremendous start to the season, Mourinho has little full - back options to choose from and so signing 23 - year - old Fabinho — who can also play in a defensive midfield role — would undoubtedly bolster this area and thus the strength of the overall squad.

He added: «We continue to add strength and depth to our playing squad while continuing to develop young talent.

Things like good players and a good balance to the team, as well as the strength of squad to cope with all the games are fairly obvious qualities a title winning team needs, but I think that luck can also play a big part over the course of a campaign.

This is an incredibly difficult question to answer for a variety of reasons, most importantly because over the years our once vaunted «beautiful» style of play has become a shadow of it's former self, only to be replaced by a less than stellar «plug and play» mentality where players play out of position and adjustments / substitutions are rarely forthcoming before the 75th minute... if you look at our current players, very few would make sense in the traditional Wengerian system... at present, we don't have the personnel to move the ball quickly from deep - lying position, efficient one touch midfielders that can make the necessary through balls or the disciplined and pacey forwards to stretch defences into wide positions, without the aid of the backs coming up into the final 3rd, so that we can attack the defensive lanes in the same clinical fashion we did years ago... on this current squad, we have only 1 central defender on staf, Mustafi, who seems to have any prowess in the offensive zone or who can even pass two zones through so that we can advance play quickly out of our own end (I have seen some inklings that suggest Holding might have some offensive qualities but too early to tell)... unfortunately Mustafi has a tendency to get himself in trouble when he gets overly aggressive on the ball... from our backs out wide, we've seen pace from the likes of Bellerin and Gibbs and the spirited albeit offensively stunted play of Monreal, but none of these players possess the skill - set required in the offensive zone for the new Wenger scheme which requires deft touches, timely runs to the baseline and consistent crossing, especially when Giroud was playing and his ratio of scored goals per clear chances was relatively low (better last year though)... obviously I like Bellerin's future prospects, as you can't teach pace, but I do worry that he regressed last season, which was obvious to Wenger because there was no way he would have used Ox as the right side wing - back so often knowing that Barcelona could come calling in the off - season, if he thought otherwise... as for our midfielders, not a single one, minus the more confident Xhaka I watched played for the Swiss national team a couple years ago, who truly makes sense under the traditional Wenger model... Ramsey holds onto the ball too long, gives the ball away cheaply far too often and abandons his defensive responsibilities on a regular basis (doesn't score enough recently to justify): that being said, I've always thought he does possess a little something special, unfortunately he thinks so too... Xhaka is a little too slow to ever boss the midfield and he tends to telegraph his one true strength, his long ball play: although I must admit he did get a bit better during some points in the latter part of last season... it always made me wonder why whenever he played with Coq Wenger always seemed to play Francis in a more advanced role on the pitch... as for Coq, he is way too reckless at the wrong times and has exhibited little offensive prowess yet finds himself in and around the box far too often... let's face it Wenger was ready to throw him in the trash heap when injuries forced him to use Francis and then he had the nerve to act like this was all part of a bigger Wenger constructed plan... he like Ramsey, Xhaka and Elneny don't offer the skills necessary to satisfy the quick transitory nature of our old offensive scheme or the stout defensive mindset needed to protect the defensive zone so that our offensive players can remain aggressive in the final third... on the front end, we have Ozil, a player of immense skill but stunted by his physical demeanor that tends to offend, the fact that he's been played out of position far too many times since arriving and that the players in front of him, minus Sanchez, make little to no sense considering what he has to offer (especially Giroud); just think about the quick counter-attack offence in Real or the space and protection he receives in the German National team's midfield, where teams couldn't afford to focus too heavily on one individual... this player was a passing «specialist» long before he arrived in North London, so only an arrogant or ignorant individual would try to reinvent the wheel and / or not surround such a talent with the necessary components... in regards to Ox, Walcott and Welbeck, although they all possess serious talents I see them in large part as headless chickens who are on the injury table too much, lack the necessary first - touch and / or lack the finishing flair to warrant their inclusion in a regular starting eleven; I would say that, of the 3, Ox showed the most upside once we went to a back 3, but even he became a bit too consumed by his pending contract talks before the season ended and that concerned me a bit... if I had to choose one of those 3 players to stay on it would be Ox due to his potential as a plausible alternative to Bellerin in that wing - back position should we continue to use that formation... in Sanchez, we get one of the most committed skill players we've seen on this squad for some years but that could all change soon, if it hasn't already of course... strangely enough, even he doesn't make sense given the constructs of the original Wenger offensive model because he holds onto the ball too long and he will give the ball up a little too often in the offensive zone... a fact that is largely forgotten due to his infectious energy and the fact that the numbers he has achieved seem to justify the means... finally, and in many ways most crucially, Giroud, there is nothing about this team or the offensive system that Wenger has traditionally employed that would even suggest such a player would make sense as a starter... too slow, too inefficient and way too easily dispossessed... once again, I think he has some special skills and, at times, has showed some world - class qualities but he's lack of mobility is an albatross around the necks of our offence... so when you ask who would be our best starting 11, I don't have a clue because of the 5 or 6 players that truly deserve a place in this side, 1 just arrived, 3 aren't under contract beyond 2018 and the other was just sold to Juve... man, this is theraputic because following this team is like an addiction to heroin without the benefits

Equally adept playing left back or centre back he will be a good addition to the squad with his strength and athleticism playing on the left of their new back three.

Don't usually agree with people's line ups but this formation play's to the strengths of our squad and could easily rotate players.

Did this with van persie (who insisted to leave because wenger would not strengthen the squad) 3) Buys few good players and plays them out of position — Arshavin, Ozil, etc rather than playing to their strengths.

I know that a lot of us would like to have some more strength in the squad, especially at the back, as we used to have with Adams, Keown, Vieira and others, but when we play well, it is the silky skills of players like Cazorla that does the business.

Now I think there is still reasons to be cheerful, I agree Man C & Chelski have spent & bought some good players, we all understand that 5 of those teams might be in the CL proper which is a huge distraction for those 4 - 5 teams.Chelsea will not be able to field the same 13 - 14 players all season, as for Man C they were very frail at the back last season, add to that 2 flying wing backs and I'm not sure they will be any better this coming season.LFC will most probably have CL as well if they qualify and haven't exactly bought great players apart from Salah who could be a good aquasistion for them.Spuds have sold a good player & strengthened a rival & still not bought a single player yet, Man U have bought 2 good players & in Lukaku have a proven goal scorer in the PL but if they play the same dour way they did last season & with the added games the CL brings will they perform week in week out in the league??? As for Everton yes they have released a lot of players and also brought in a lot too to give better quality in the squad as they have Europa league the same as US the big difference is I think we will play squad players & youngsters maybe with a few senior players all the way up to the QF This tells me most of our rivals will pave the way for us to field pretty much the same side every weekend in the PL thus giving us an advantage over all the other 5 teams playing in the CL & Europa, just remember the League has been won in the last 2 seasons by teams NOT in Europe YES we are this season but I think Wenger will put all his eggs in the League basket and field an under strength side in all comps hence focusing on the League until we are no longer in the race.

Yes Manu have talent and a brute of a Manager while Sotn have a basic squad but play to their strengths.

They are one of the better Volleyball squads in the League (if playing at full strength) and they fully expect to move into the Final4 this season.

The reason is simple: only these formations play to the strengths of our existing squad, and now that the transfer window has slammed shut, this squad is all we've got.

This suggests that they either lack the mental strength to play under pressure or there is an issue within the squad in that the players are much of a sameness — Wenger seems to have moved towards a certain type of player whereas before when he first came to the club we had strong, physical leaders such as Vieira and Keown and smaller, technical players like Overmars and Anelka.

You can understand the younger players like Emiliano Velazquez and Bernard Mensah, who are never going to earn playing time in La Liga given Atletico's squad strength, and are far better off on loan but decisions must be made on the likes of Borja Baston and Luciano Vietto regarding their more long - term futures.

«We continue to add strength and depth to our playing squad while continuing to develop young talent.»

Like when he played an almost full strength squad at home to Coventry in the FA Cup a couple of seasons ago, when we had a busy fixture schedule and big games coming up just days away, so we know he's prone to random bouts of insanity by risking players.

Coach Martin O'Neill remains focused on Wes Hoolahan as he plays to the strength of players in the squad.

Liverpool is the only club in the top 10 of the Deloitte Football Money League that didn't play in the UEFA Champions League last season - demonstrating the strength of its commercial operations to support reinvestment into the playing squad.

Of course, money plays a big part and Chelsea's squad strength bears no relation to our ramshackle collection once you get past a competent dozen or so.

In Rafa's defence, we play to our strengths and grind out occasional results, but often its a one - goal game gamble, we win some, we lose some — why Mourinho's Utd like to play the one - goal game gamble with that squad, only he knows... Funny to watch though;)

An almost entirely different experience that adds the challenge of managing a squad to play off your strengths.