Ange’s team seemed better drilled in the press, Also think having a proper ball carrier like Jota helped massively. Starfelt and CCV much better partnership as well than Trusty/Scales.
Mooy better at receiving/distributing that Engels and Bernardo.
Very important point on Mooy, IMO - exactly the profile of midfielder that helped being near McGregor at that level.
I wouldn't characterize the difference in pressing as better drilled - Ange down shifted the intensity of pressing at CL level vs what we tried to do Tuesday. Ironically, BR did similarly in last season's CL but for some reason must have thought Dortmund were vulnerable.
I think this is where I have an advantage James of being at most games, I see a lot of the off ball movement that the TV cameras don’t necessarily show or that are maybe not picked up with heat maps. My opinion is very much Ange’s team were more effective with their press.
Really would like to see more unique angle footage from around the stadium but don’t think we invest enough here.
The game reminded me so much of Germany Scotland and the Tyson phrase everyone has a plan till they are smashed in the face. Maybe in this case we smashed ourselves in the face. I think losing 2 goals so quickly panicked the bhoys notwithstanding your great analysis of our poor tactics.
How do you think this heavy loss will affect morale and what should BR do differently domestically and in Europe?
That echoes what McGregor said. But the tactics didn't change based on this information. I think BR is a very good coach and manager and morale will recover. As regards what to do there are many, many, many, play books that could be adopted and should be based on opposition SWOT. I wouldn't be prescriptive, i'd expect an elite coach and seasoned pros to adapt accordingly.
I had it in my head before the game this season we'd been playing in a well balanced way with a real defensive shape, although we'd press high in the right moments. Was that a figment of my imagination, created by how oppressive our press has been domestically?
I'd usually associate Rodgers with "defending with the ball", ie placing a premium on possession for defensive reasons. Even last season, to an extent. Seems like he's decided offence is the best defence this season. How much of that do you think is down to players at his disposal?
This was all down to tactical decisions on pressing, shape without the ball, collective positioning and collective spacing. All were utterly unsuited to this opponent and indeed supported instead of hindered their endeavours.
It was mentioned very briefly, but would be interesting to hear a comparison between Ange set up vs Real and Rodgers in Dortmund. We lost badly in Madrid but it didn't feel nearly as awful, was Ange better at setting up pressing at this level or is Ange more practical than his reputation?
Our pressing in CL under Ange was a fair bit less front footed than what was on display Tuesday, generally.
Given how BR setup in last season's CL, I was confident he would likely do similar. My guess is he fundamentally misjudged our relative quality vs Dortmund's strengths and weaknesses.
Ange’s team seemed better drilled in the press, Also think having a proper ball carrier like Jota helped massively. Starfelt and CCV much better partnership as well than Trusty/Scales.
Mooy better at receiving/distributing that Engels and Bernardo.
Very important point on Mooy, IMO - exactly the profile of midfielder that helped being near McGregor at that level.
I wouldn't characterize the difference in pressing as better drilled - Ange down shifted the intensity of pressing at CL level vs what we tried to do Tuesday. Ironically, BR did similarly in last season's CL but for some reason must have thought Dortmund were vulnerable.
I think this is where I have an advantage James of being at most games, I see a lot of the off ball movement that the TV cameras don’t necessarily show or that are maybe not picked up with heat maps. My opinion is very much Ange’s team were more effective with their press.
Really would like to see more unique angle footage from around the stadium but don’t think we invest enough here.
The game reminded me so much of Germany Scotland and the Tyson phrase everyone has a plan till they are smashed in the face. Maybe in this case we smashed ourselves in the face. I think losing 2 goals so quickly panicked the bhoys notwithstanding your great analysis of our poor tactics.
How do you think this heavy loss will affect morale and what should BR do differently domestically and in Europe?
Hi David
That echoes what McGregor said. But the tactics didn't change based on this information. I think BR is a very good coach and manager and morale will recover. As regards what to do there are many, many, many, play books that could be adopted and should be based on opposition SWOT. I wouldn't be prescriptive, i'd expect an elite coach and seasoned pros to adapt accordingly.
I had it in my head before the game this season we'd been playing in a well balanced way with a real defensive shape, although we'd press high in the right moments. Was that a figment of my imagination, created by how oppressive our press has been domestically?
I'd usually associate Rodgers with "defending with the ball", ie placing a premium on possession for defensive reasons. Even last season, to an extent. Seems like he's decided offence is the best defence this season. How much of that do you think is down to players at his disposal?
This was all down to tactical decisions on pressing, shape without the ball, collective positioning and collective spacing. All were utterly unsuited to this opponent and indeed supported instead of hindered their endeavours.
It was mentioned very briefly, but would be interesting to hear a comparison between Ange set up vs Real and Rodgers in Dortmund. We lost badly in Madrid but it didn't feel nearly as awful, was Ange better at setting up pressing at this level or is Ange more practical than his reputation?
Our pressing in CL under Ange was a fair bit less front footed than what was on display Tuesday, generally.
Given how BR setup in last season's CL, I was confident he would likely do similar. My guess is he fundamentally misjudged our relative quality vs Dortmund's strengths and weaknesses.