Chapter 570 The First Productive Force
"Hello everyone, I'm Gary Lineker and welcome to Match of the Day!"
"Hi everyone, I'm Alan Shearer!"
"I'm Alan Hansen!"
"Hello, audience friends, I am Charlene Lahiri!"
When each host greets the audience, the camera will give a close-up.
After the four people finished speaking, the camera zoomed out, revealing a distant view of the entire studio, including all four people.
"Speaking of the games tonight, which one are you most concerned about?"
Lineker said with a smile, pointing to Alan Shearer, "If I'm not mistaken, Shearer should be most concerned about the match between Southampton and Reading, right?"
Alan Shearer nodded, "Yes, I care about this one the most."
Alan Hansen on the side laughed immediately, "He is a saint, and he is considered a famous person."
"No, no, no, that's not entirely true!" Alan Shearer quickly shook his head. "A very important reason why I care about the Saints is that I think this team deserves a reward!"
"Runner-up in the league, is that not enough?" Lineker asked with a smile.
Alan Shearer was speechless and could only shrug his shoulders and look helpless.
"Hansen, which game are you most concerned about?" Lineker asked again.
Alan Hansen nodded and smiled, "It was also the match between Southampton and Reading."
"Why?" Lineker found it funny.
Just now you said that Alan Shearer cares about Southampton because Shearer is a famous player of the Saints, so why do you care?
"Before, when I was on Charlene's show, she mentioned to me that Southampton introduced more high-tech elements in training and games. I was very interested, so I have been following this team, every round."
Lineker nodded in sudden realization, "What did you find?"
"Stable, very stable!" Alan Hansen shook his head and exclaimed, "Since September last year, this team has been fighting on multiple fronts, but their rotation mechanism has worked quite well. They have done an excellent job in terms of player rotation and the team's overall combat effectiveness, especially since December."
After hearing this, the others all nodded.
Speaking of rotation, Southampton has the largest rotation lineup and range this season.
Bielsa even promoted players including Kovacic, Januzaj, Luke Shaw and Chambers to play in many cup matches, and these players often performed well.
This is quite surprising.
Logically speaking, a team that likes to rotate its players will inevitably experience ups and downs in strength.
But Southampton is quite stable.
Maybe there are ups and downs, but it’s really hard to tell!
"Charlene, what about you? Which game are you most concerned about?" Lineker turned to the blonde beauty, Charlene Lahrie.
She is a flower among the three big male hosts of the daily game.
"I am more concerned about the derby between Manchester United and Manchester City!"
This made the three male hosts feel strange.
As we all know, Charlene Lahri has always been a staunch Saints fan. Why did she suddenly turn to care about Manchester United?
"Why?" Lineker asked.
Charlene Lahiri smiled brightly, "Because I know that Southampton will definitely win. Instead of paying attention to a game with no suspense, I might as well pay attention to the opponent, so..."
Everyone was at a loss at this moment.
What is a die-hard fan?
Charlene Lahiri is a die-hard fan of the Saints!
"Okay, now that the game is over and everyone knows the result, I'm very interested to know what you think of this result. Southampton is only five points behind Manchester United, and there are still six games to go. What do you think?"
After Lineker asked the question, he immediately looked at Alan Shearer.
The Saints star answered without hesitation: "As I said just now, I think Southampton should get a reward, that is, they successfully reversed Manchester United."
"From the past few league games, Manchester United undoubtedly has problems. Maybe it's physical fitness, or maybe their tactics have been figured out. In short, I think Manchester United has problems and the possibility of continuing to lose points is very high."
"Five points, just two or three games. Judging from Manchester United's performance in the past few rounds, it is entirely possible!"
"On the other hand, Southampton has been winning streak and its unbeaten record is quite amazing. The morale is high and the players are full of energy. It is the time to make a final push, so I think Southampton is likely to continue its winning streak."
Lineker nodded and turned to Alan Hansen, "Hansen, what do you think?"
Alan Hansen thought for a moment, "I partially agree with Shearer's view, but I have some different opinions."
"Tell me about it!"
"I think that the more critical the championship is, the more we cannot ignore the role of the head coach!"
"Yes, that makes sense!" Lineker nodded.
"Ferguson is the head coach with the most experience in winning the Premier League, and don't underestimate Ferguson's ability to adjust himself. I would rather believe that the downturn in the past few rounds of games is over. Ferguson will definitely have a way to deal with it!"
Lineker nodded again, thinking that what Alan Hansen said made sense.
But at this time Charlene Lahri interrupted, "Hansen has a point, but I'm curious. No matter how much Ferguson adjusts, he can only adjust the players' physical and mental conditions. Not to mention the veterans, how much he can adjust is unknown. I'm just curious..."
After a pause, Charlene Lahri looked directly at Alan Hansen and asked, "How do we solve Manchester United's tactical problems?"
"What kind of illness?" asked Alan Hansen.
"As we all know, including in Steve Wilson's column, Ferguson's transformation of Manchester United after Queiroz left the team was going backwards. Once Manchester United's attack reached the front court, there was no idea at all. How to solve this problem?"
"Rooney?" Charlene Lahiri shook her head and laughed.
Steve Wilson is a well-known football columnist in Europe. He once commented in his column that it would be a tragedy for the Premier League if Manchester United won the championship in the end this season.
The reason is simple. Manchester United’s playing style in the past few seasons has completely gone against the trend of continentalization!
Why do I say so?
Steve Wilson mentioned that Manchester United's entire midfield operates very mechanically, filled with players such as Fletcher, Cleverley, Nani, Ashley Young, Valencia, Anderson, etc. What can these people bring to Manchester United's midfield?
The answer is, no!
Ferguson is a very stubborn man who firmly believes that actions are far more important than ideas.
Therefore, Fletcher, Cleverley and others are all practitioners of his philosophy.
But the problem is, you are very vigorous and brave, but you have no ideas. What should you do?
What does it mean to play football with your brain?
That is to say, when you play football, you must have ideas, imagination and creativity in your mind!
On the football field, ideas are the primary productive force!
But even in that season when Manchester United reached the Champions League final and eventually lost to Barcelona, the most commendable thing about the Red Devils was never their offense, but the iron defense formed by Ferdinand and Vidic.
Apart from the veterans, the only one with more ideas in the team is Carrick.
But it is obvious that Carrick cannot support Manchester United's entire midfield!
Therefore, Ferguson had no choice but to invite Scholes and Giggs to stay in the team and make use of their remaining energy.
Even with Scholes, Giggs, Carrick and others, there is nothing commendable about Manchester United's entire midfield and frontcourt operation mechanism. It is all very British, old-fashioned and outdated stuff.
So, Steve Wilson said that between Manchester United and Southampton, he would firmly choose the Saints!
Now, more and more teams are beginning to understand how to play against Manchester United.
Thus, the Red Devils' offensive crux was exposed.
More importantly, as the core offensive player of the team, Rooney obviously failed!
"I dare say this, if Manchester United wants to continue to make a difference in the Premier League, they must get Rooney!"
"By the same token, if Manchester City want to make a difference, Yaya Toure must be signed!"
At this point, Charlene Lahri shook her head and sighed: "Many times, it is very painful to make such a decision. Manchester United and Manchester City may not do this, but the best players may not be the most suitable ones!"
Charlene Lahiri's words made the three people present fall into deep thought.
Manchester United, with Rooney as the core, and Manchester City, with Yaya Toure as the core, have obviously encountered problems.
At the very least, the ceilings of these two players have severely restricted the development of these two teams.
It can even be said that Manchester United's attack just exposed the gap between Rooney and the top stars, and Manchester City's midfield also let everyone see why Yaya Toure was pressed firmly in the defensive midfielder position by Guardiola.
Relatively speaking, Southampton's original choice was much smarter.
Ibrahimovic, as one of the best centers in the world, needs the team to build tactics around him, but the Swedish center's strong strength and his center position on the court have become an advantage.
Many people say that Ibrahimovic has his own tactical system. Why?
It's not to say that Ibrahimovic alone can match all the opponents, but it is describing his tactical value.
The Swedish center has a nearly perfect body, including speed, flexibility, toughness, strength, height, etc. He is perfect in every way. What's more terrifying is that he has delicate footwork and excellent shooting skills.
With such a perfect center, you can have any combination of midfield and backcourt, as long as they are not too bad and can pass the ball to him stably and effectively, and then have a decent secondary offense lineup around him, then the whole tactic will be done!
The opponent is defending tightly?
It doesn't matter. I can use my body and skills to forcefully create a space for you. What is there to be afraid of?
The Swedish center forward's physical fitness and technical ability are enough to crush all central defenders. Let alone one-on-one, two-on-one is often enough to make it difficult!
Once on the court, it's like twelve against eleven!
In the past three years, Southampton has been pushing Ibrahimovic's tactical role forward step by step.
Look at Southampton's frontcourt this season. Neymar, Gareth Bale, Hazard, Sturridge and Ravel Morrison are all very strong players who can pass the ball to Ibrahimovic and actively participate in the secondary attack.
What about the midfield?
Modric, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Isco, Matic...
Plus the back line includes players like Javi Martinez, David Alaba, Danilo and others.
It can be said that Southampton's entire lineup is trying its best to maximize Ibrahimovic's tactical value.
The Swedish center forward did not disappoint, having scored nearly thirty goals in the Premier League this season.
What's more frightening is that his assists also reached double digits.
Neymar, Gareth Bale and Vidal all benefited greatly from Ibrahimovic!
Just like the game against Reading, one goal and three assists, it shows the important role of Ibrahimovic in the team!
The aging Ibrahimovic has clearly begun to transform with the help of the Southampton coaching staff.
Both have superstar players as the core players, but compared with Southampton, the core players of Manchester United and Manchester City are obviously inferior, right?
After all, Manchester United and Manchester City have made too many sacrifices on the tactical level for their core players!
Southampton is different.
As long as Ibrahimovic continues to maintain this excellent competitive form, even if Southampton really sells Neymar or even Gareth Bale, as long as they introduce suitable players, Southampton's overall strength will not weaken!
Are you kidding? Dafengxian is at the forefront. Who can bear it?