04/16/24
February 11, 2010
Are teams getting better at playing with ten men?: Really interesting article from the Guardian today peering a little bit into how teams fare after they receive a red card after some results from this weekend where teams improved after being reduced to 10 men: Almeria 3-1 Sporting Gijon, Barcelona 2-1 Getafe, and Liverpool 1-0 Everton. There was also yesterday's match at Villa Park, where Manchester United held Aston Villa for more than an hour and sometimes looked like the better side with ten men. Match report: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United.
posted by boredom_08 to soccer at 12:31 PM - 5 comments
I'm not sure that having Nani sent off is an impediment.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 01:58 PM on February 11, 2010
I'm sure most clubs also train and prepare for the situation, so they can adjust their formation, tactics etc. After a red card, you will often see the manager make a substitution.
posted by owlhouse at 04:01 PM on February 11, 2010
The whole piece really deserves a read, because it goes well beyond the usual clichs -- the evocation of system theory is especially insightful. The comments thread is good too.
From what I've read, one-man-down is common on the training ground not just as red card preparation, but to develop a mindset that becomes useful when a player's pulled way out of position or goes down injured and you have to act like you're a man down.
posted by etagloh at 06:01 PM on February 11, 2010
SAF didn't make a sub after the sending off, he went from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-1 with Fletcher on the right (sort of, as 24 tended to stay more on the right side of center). Well into the 2nd half he sent on Valencia to give real width on the right and Antonio created a few chances.
Liverpool were very serious about keeping their lines after Kyrgiakos went, which surprised me a little as the back line have been a bit iffy all season.
posted by billsaysthis at 01:19 PM on February 12, 2010
If FIFA 2007 is any indication, then yes. Every time someone on the opposition receives a red card, I seem to lose. That's not scientific though.
All humor aside, it's something to think about. Based on the minute by minute of the ManU game yesterday, it seemed like they were by far the more threatening team, even with 10 men.