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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · 14h

Brazil are a unique team too, player marking with a system that matches up perfectly against 4-3-3, and the right player profiles to carry it out. They can impose themselves on anyone. Flattened Spain at last year's Olympics and beat USA earlier this year too.

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · 15h

😍 All over them like a rash. If they add England to the "battered" list alongside Spain and France, do they get to be taken seriously?

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · 4d

From when Ferguson hired Steve McClaren as his assistant in the 90s: www.theguardian.com/football/199...

McClaren at the cutting edge

As they say in business, those who stand still get left behind. That accusation could never be levelled at Steve McClaren, the man who has been snatched from Derby County to become Alex Ferguson's ass...

www.theguardian.com

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · 4d

The two schools are closer than some let on. It's not all *that scene in Moneyball* Truth is the good old schoolers have always been sharp, wanting an edge. Many of the great Scottish managers worked in mining shipbuilding or came from those communities. They were tough yes, also anything but stupid

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · 4d

On the article, it's pedantic I know, but I do wish people stopped talking about long throws and set plays like they just turned up in the data. Many traditionalist coaches and scouts knew this already and exploited it when possible, that's been going on for a long, long time.

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · 4d

I'm not totally against that, for prolonged VAR calls, corners etc. And get rid of stoppage time. Like in rugby union - an hour and a half is more than enough time to secure a result of some meaning. Plus it means we can all go home in time for dinner, not actually have to live at the stadium.

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · 27d

Good shout on two similar systems. Harvey used to use 4-2-4 defence by default a few years ago (I think?). KC defence is top notch and a good example of zonal marking, how 1 player may "cover" 2 opponents. Helps to have Chawinga, Hutton etc

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 25

Please keep watching games, sharing your technical analysis. Your Sears post highlighted something few else saw. Easy to get off the peg opinions through numbers on a sheet. (Price of everything value of nothing springs to mind.) Football is a complex team game & numbers alone can unfulfil/mislead

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 22

It's quite literally the biggest heap of bullshit since heaps of bullshit were invented

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 22

Chawinga beneath Girelli

two women are standing next to each other in a room .

ALT: two women are standing next to each other in a room .

media.tenor.com

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 20

She goes in at a good pace and has the defender backing off from the get go. Slow down, little touches, draw the defender in, accelerate - a Cascarino classic. And Rodman is a good example for using arms/body, wrestling with the defender on the way past. Force them to commit a foul, minimum

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 20

Excellent observation. Even without trickery, a simple principle she could use: Slow in, fast out. I've noted she doesn't change pace much in 1v1s. Cascarino, for comparison's sake, doesn't need to do the trademark leg wobble do beat her opponent...

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 20

On a more serious note, I think FM has gotten worse over the years. It peaked at FM10 for me and I still play every now and then. I find the recent editions too complex, would almost be more straightforward to just be an actual football manager. But I have to try this if woso is being added.

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 20

Thank you for mentioning the BIGGEST omission of them all 🙏

a man in a suit and tie is saying scotland in front of two flags

ALT: a man in a suit and tie is saying scotland in front of two flags

media.tenor.com

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 19

One to watch for sure

Soccerdonna @soccerdonna.de · Sep 19

Deadline Day in Spain 🇪🇸

Real Madrid has signed Lotte Keukelaar from AFC Ajax until 2030! ✍️🇳🇱

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Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 16

Here is your tactical genius, who used it in a big game half a decade before Luis Enrique's PSG did. Neil Lennon, now of Dunfermline, formerly Celtic, Omonia, Hibernian, Bolton.

a man wearing a marathon shirt is waving his hand in a stadium .

ALT: a man wearing a marathon shirt is waving his hand in a stadium .

media.tenor.com

Blair Newman @secondball.bsky.social · Sep 16

Happened in Celtic men's v Rangers, 2019. Celtic launched it out of touch to put pressure on from the first whistle. Won the game 2-0. Luis Enrique didn't invent this and it's not new. It's a tactic to use intermittently, as it's very easy for opposition to cotton on to.

NWSL @nwslsoccer.com · Sep 16

Crazy or Genius, you tell us 🤔👇

Angel City has adopted a trending kick off strategy that forces their opponent into a throw-in deep in their own territory.