A team's success is built on its defences, do you agree???

iceFatboy SG

for me, I do believe with a strong or formiable defence, can a team really achieve success..

look at MUFC of old, they got bruce, and pallister..

look at Chelsea, they got terry, Gallas..

Gunners, Adams, Steve Bould..

Even Spurs who are rebuilding on this fact with King..

On the other hand, you look at the teams such as Newcastle, who seems to think attack is good, and not spending on their defence..

do you agree defence is the rock to built upon?

let's discuss...

rem, I am only kampung level not someone who played in UK Uni level, so please spare me big footballing jargons hor. Razz

Marco_Simone SG

Success=what? Entertaining play which wins over supporters? Number of trophies collected?

The early 1950s Hungarian total footballers were one of the 5 top teams in the history of footie,yet have they won the World Cup?

What have the 1970s Clockwork Orange led by Cruyff and Neeskens won?

How aboout the 1982 Brazilians led by Zico and Socrates?

NOTHING!!!

These teams are renowed for their all out attacking game,their defence was pretty non-existent...

Of course,the 1970 Brazilians(arguably the best footie team in the history of the game) were top heavy also,but they had the luck...

Sadly,pragmatism is the name of the game now and the status quo is not going change anytime soon...

Nigel009 SG

just look at greek. they won the euro cup on defence

dragg SG

something is seriously wrong with the newcastle board.

they had 2 runners-up in the premiership and should have build on it. they had shearer who scored hundreds of goals but they won nothing. isnt it obvious? they need better defenders!!!

why do they keep signing strikers?

frankly shepherd should sell his stakes at newcastle and leave. the club will not prosper with someone like him at the helm.

a-Lost-9uY SG

yeah i agreed wif u..
in this modern football inorder to hav a team success, def has to be superb 1st..
as a superb def can break down opponent attack n thus brings in confident into e team..
furthermore wif a superb def, a team can steady build on a superb midfield n also its attack..
moreover almost every team 50% of its 1st 11 will be in its def..
such as a 4-4-2 formation, 4 def n 1 gk..3-5-2, 3 def n 1 gk..
anyway nowadays almost every team plays wif 4 def..
therefore defence is a key part of e team..
tats my view, as diff ppl diff views..

kopiosatu SG

if u want to play with a weak defence and strong attack.

you'll be playing football from the past.

which isn't to defend but to outscore the opponent.

and formations are 2-1-7

Marco_Simone SG

The BEST team in the 5 years from 1999-2004 was arguably Valencia.

You don't reach 2 European Cup Finals in consecutive years,win 2 league titles and the UEFA Cup with a sieve like defence.

Indeed,their defence led by Ayala was rockhard,but so too was their central midfield consisting of Baraja and Albeda.

So what is it that pumps Valencia up into the Hulk-like demon that bestrides the Mestalla with such apparent conviction?

One explanation is the midfield and defence, none of whose components one would like to meet on a dark night. Apart from the slightly deranged look in goalkeeper Santi Cañizares' ice-blue eyes - he looks and behaves unnervingly like Christopher Walken - the defence is enough to terrify even the toughest of forwards, and Ronaldo looked as though he wanted to be somewhere else on Saturday. Mind you, it was his birthday.

Roberto Ayala didn't play against the side he was rumoured to be joining earlier this summer, perhaps for his own good, but along with Carboni and Marchena, he takes no prisoners.

These are the scary monsters you face if you happen to have got past the formidable central midfield shield of Baraja and Albelda, both deservedly internationals.

Remember Real Madrid in season 03/04? Beckham's first season? They blew an 8 point lead. Coz they had no defenders and their midfielders were all the offensive types.(Zidane,Figo etc)

You would do well to read Phil Ball's article "The Emperor's New Clothes" in Soccernet.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=294924&root=europe&cc=4716

You can't have many pianists and no piano carriers.

The key word is "Balance".

Marco_Simone SG

This quote from the Spanish correspondent Phil Ball in Soccernet sums it all.He was doing a post mortem on Valencia during the triumphant 03/04 season.

What has effectively happened this season has been a clash between two competing philosophies, one in which the idea of stuffing a side as full of as many famous faces as possible finally came off the rails, defeated in the long run by the opposing policy of building a solid and stable squad over a period of time.

Valencia seem to have no weaknesses. Like all the frightening sides of the past, they have based their success on the firm foundations of defence first, midfield next, and last of all, attack.

mcfadden SG

if Man Utd, I agree to it. With Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister in 1990’s. Surely the best combinations ever. Vidic and ferdinand will be the next Bruce-Pallister combinations for few seasons. Trust me.

hobochua SG

I agreed........ Very Happy

Ben_Ng69 SG

so wat if u hv formiable defence but impotent forward? U cant always defend? A good team is build wif 11players on field. Rolling Eyes

iceFatboy SG

read the headline, I meant build on defences, not 11 defenders..

next time, I make it plain to aid understanding.

ghimpheng SG

agree last time defence and goalkeeping was so lousy it allow players to score a goal easily

but now the defence and goalkeepers of team has improved it do help the team to concede less goals

and further more if u concede a goal morale will be lowered

it is the overall package that make the team success but a strong defence with a good attack is always better than a strong attack with good defence

as this case can be seen chelsea compare to real madrid/barcelona

if your defenders clear the ball upfront and your attackers do not pick it up..........you give the ball straight back to the opposition and let them attack you again.......and this suitation can happen agan and again and it usually happen when weak opposition is leading the game against strong opposition

example : sheff utd 1 - 2 man utd

lpx88 SG

True.If theres no defence but super strong attack u score 99 the oppo score 100, u also lose.If super strong defence but weak attack at least the game can end 0-0.So i guess it’s defence thats the first priority nowadays.

SBS9828X SG

ya... like how carvallo was so stupid to dance around saha and let him score so easily?