Urgent! Urgent!

Yoz, after 2 weeks of rest, there's a match coming up real soon. For those itching to play check out the details. For those who are not, you are welcome to watch us play too.


Match Details
Date: 29th June 2006, Saturday
Time: 11am-1pm
Venue: Marina South Pitch 3
Opponent: Zhi Rui's Team
Attire: Wear Gold but bring Blue in case of clashes of colour with their Green
Meeting point: Be at the field at 10.15am. ( Don't be late!)

Description of the team: The team comprises of largely TPJC and TJC ex-students who are one year our senior. It has confident centre backs to command the defence. Their midfield, armed with quick wingers and skilful holding players, is competent. Their weakness is probably their full backs and keeper.

Lads, keep yourself fit for this saturday's match. Let's strive for a convincing victory!


-doubleU

This is what i meant...

Just rough sketches that I came up with during half-time during the England-Portugal game hahaha...... No offence to anyone, the names mentioned in the above formation are just who I thought would play to their abilities when deployed in those positions. Who plays where is still decided by Wei De haha....

NOTE: Please envision the name "Sin Cheng" as one of the 3 attacking midfielders and "Dao Hao" in right-back. Too late when I took this picture and realised I left out their names...Too lazy to capture a new one haha =X Pai seh pai seh...

Some key points when viewing the above 4-2-3-1 formation:

>> No prizes for telling why Rayner was chosen as 1 of the 2 holding midfielders. Bing De was chosen because he is more of a defensive player and has enough tactical discpline/knowledge to know whether he has to cover Rayner's area (when Rayner moves further upfield with one of his runs) or to venture further upfield when he has the ball (since Rayner will remain behind).

>> The two defensive midfielders would be able to provide support to either of the flanks when defending during a quick counter-attack. This reduces the pressure of the wing-back, especially if the opposition deploys fast wingers down their flanks. We will be able to close them down more efficiently while there would still be a holding midfielder close to the defence for us to pass the ball to if we manage to regain possesion of the ball, rather than just pumping long balls down the flanks.

>> The central attacking midfielder might have to drop back slightly to fill up the gap if one of the DMs moves to the flanks during an opponent's counter-attack. This AMC would have to be alert to the movement of the DMs so that he does not become a headless chicken and run aimlessly up and down the midfield.

>> Alvin/Elson could arrive deeper to receive the ball, drawing out defenders along the way to create space for our midfielders upfront to run into.

>> Chun Wei, if deployed as a right-back, could be allowed to roam further up the pitch when we attack since he has enough pace and stamina to recover to his position if the enemy counter-attack immediately after we lose possession.

It's pretty late now... about 1am in morning haha... so the last few lines may not seem to make much sense...so feel free to leave your comments! Enjoy the game!

Inspiration....

The report on the recently-played match between Mclucky FC and Soccerblues FC drew numerous players to leave their comments on the blog. Many formation and tactical suggestions were brought up and it is good to see that we are all brain-storming for ideas on how to improve the team. So, inspired by all these comments, here are some ideas for this week's upcoming match with the "Damai Field" team.

If I remembered correctly, the "Damai Field" team (lets call them DFT and spare my fingers haha.....) had tall central defenders and quick wingers that counter-attacked constantly down the flanks, although apparently it always happened on the right side of our midfield...Remember? Our photographer Junhan had problems trying to capture the team on film during the game because the action was happening far away from where he was. Not sure whether the same group of players will face us again, but if they do.......


1. Use Alvin (he should be there =P) as the target striker

Not much explanation needed haha... We all know he has great physical presence upfield and nobody chests down long balls quite like Alvin. Will be able to shield the ball from the tall and big-sized central defenders for quite some time, allowing support to arrive from the wingers or midfield.


2. Speed on flanks to cut into middle

In an ideal situation, the presence of Alvin upfront should cause a few problems for their central defenders and either of them (should/will) stick close to him whenever we attack. This is where the forwards, either Ben/Boon Wee/Khee Yong/Sin Cheng come into play.

Alvin with ball:
Support Alvin and get him to lay the ball to them while the rest of the open forwards start their runs into the box, drawing defenders along with them. This will create more space for the forward with the ball to work with, leaving him with more options.

Any forward with ball:
Alvin would then try to support that forward while the rest make their runs into the box. If Alvin manages to draw the central defenders out, it would create more space down the middle.


3. Limit area where wing-backs overlap to

This would be a little "negative" in footballing terms, but at least it would reduce the chances of our wing-backs being caught out of position if we lose possesion deep in the opponent's half and they start a counter-attack using a long ball. Where the limit would be placed would depend on the pace of players deployed in those positions and how attack or defensive-minded they are.


4. Pack the midfield

Deploying more players in the middle would give us more options when we pass the ball around. Using the 4-2-3-1 system (as described by Siu Chun), the 2 holding midfielders would keep things tight in the area close to defence while the 3 midfielders further upfront would be able to provide adequate support to Alvin when we attack.

Finally! An Opponent With A Team Name!

Mclucky FC Vs Soccerblues FC

Time: 3.00pm
Venue:Pasir Ris Crescent Secondary School
Weather: Sunny with scattered clouds

Starting Line-up:
Alex (GK), Chun Wei (DR), Zhang Wei (DC), Wei De (DC), Yang Teng (DL), Rayner (MC),
Siu Chun (MC), Sin Cheng (MC), Boon Wee (FL/R), Wei Chern (FC), Ben (FL/R)
**FL/R represents Left or Right Forward**

Substitutes: Bing De, Da Hao

Formation: 4-3-3

Pre Match

Anyone can fill me in on what happened before the match started? Other than warming up by playing "pig in the middle"? Yours truly woke up late on a sunny Saturday afternoon after being hypnotised by the football match between Italy and Ukraine at 3am. Watching the first half of the match was like watching paint dry, a fantastic remedy for insomniacs who simply cannot get to sleep. I arrived at the pitch just in time to catch the later moments of the first half, so anyone who wishes to add to the match highlights (and arrived a lot earlier than me) are highly encouraged to do so. Moving along...

Match Highlights

First Half

The first half saw Mclucky FC taking the lead through Wei Chern, who plants a firm header into the back of the net following a good delivery of the ball from the corner. 1-0 to Mclucky.

Siu Chun almost scores a second goal for Mclucky when he spots the keeper off his line and trys a 25-metre screamer from distance. The ball sails over the keeper's flailing arms but it hits the cross-bar and goes out of play.

The Soccerblues manage to secure an equalising goal soon after when they scramble the ball into the net after a frantic goal-mouth scramble. All square at 1-1.

The Mclucky lads then get a chance to take the lead in the closing moments of the first half when they are awarded a penalty after a Soccerblues defender was deemed to have held back Boon Wee while he was heading towards goal. Wei Chern steps up to take the spot kick but it is saved by the flamboyantly-clad Soccerblues keeper, who had been giving quite a reassuring performance throughout the first half. A goal each for both teams as the referee signals the end of the first half.

Second Half

The 4-3-3 formation adopted by Mclucky FC seems to be working well when they come out with all guns blazing in the second half. However, the forwards seemed to have left their scoring boots at home, unable to convert the numerous goal-scoring opportunities into actual goals. Credit must also be given to the Soccerblues defenders, who were quick to close down our forwards and deny them space to move or pass the ball into.

The inablity to score a crucial goal would prove to be Mclucky's undoing later in the second half when Kee Yong, the playmaker of the Soccerblues, curls a free-kick into the top right corner of the net from outside the penalty area. The Soccerblues take a 2-1 lead towards the end of the match.

The goal fired up the Mclucky lads, who stepped up a gear and tried to press for an equaliser, but were stopped in their tracks by the outstanding Soccerblues goalkeeper, who came off his line several times in the closing stages to thwart the threat of our on-rushing forwards. Tight defending by the opposition towards the end also made it hard for Mclucky to create any realistic goal- scoring opportunities. A hard-fought match where finishing proved to be the decisive factor. It ends 2-1 in favour of the Soccerblues.

Post Match

The 4-3-3 formation proved to be penetrating enough, but poor finishing cost us dearly. With better finishing, the match could have finished in our favour and by a much larger score-line. However, one can see that the ball movement between our own players has improved quite significantly when compared to our previous matches. Our players seem to be more composed when in possesion of the ball too, looking out for open team-mates to pass the ball to or simply passing the ball back into defence when they run short of options. Off-the-ball positioning has also improved, which along the formation, gives the forwards and midfielders more space to work with. Defenders were also quick to back-track and shadow opposing players making runs into our penalty box, limiting the opponents to long shots and high balls.

Now with the demerits. The 3-men midfield were often seen shifting out of position as the game progressed. Sin Cheng in particular, was most often seen drifting out of his position to move further up the pitch. Our triangular 3-men midfield became a 3-men "diagonal line" midfield in the end, with Rayner in danger of being over-worked as he had to cover the area left behind by Sin Cheng whenever the Soccerblues counter-attacked. More discussion is needed on this issue so all are welcomed to leave your comments! Don't be shy! "Just Shoot!"

With the 4-3-3 system, our forwards on the wings are encouraged to dribble and run with the ball to maximise their speed and agility advantage, but sometimes they are often caught too far up near the corner of the pitch with little or no options to pass the ball, resulting in them trying to take on 2 or more defenders on their own and more often than not, losing possesion of the ball in the process.
Perhaps in a situation like this, we could push our midfield slightly higher onto the pitch to support the wingers, or could we get our wing backs to be more adventurous and move beyond the half-way line to support the attack? Maybe this is the reason why Sin Cheng drifted out of postion so often during the match with the Soccerblues? To provide more options in attack? More discussion is also need on this topic. 不要客气，有话直说。

Player Ratings (flames not included...just honest comments...haha)

Alex:
Competent replacement for Kelvin, but could do better with his handling of ball when under pressure from opposing players. Thanks for coming!

Chun Wei:
Another reassuring performance at right back, but became largely anonymous when deployed as a forward as he did not use his pace and agility to their full advantage.

Zhang Wei:
Deputised in central defence as Wei De's partner and did well. Watched his man and shadowed him well. Was also on hand to clean up any loose balls in the penalty area, providing important backup to Wei De. Now we know he can play in any side of the defence.

Wei De:
Puts in effort week in, week out. A composed and imposing figure in defence, but should have helped Alex in organising the defence during set-pieces.

Yang Teng:
A newcomer in Mclucky FC. Often caught out of position (as described by Bing De in his "don't-stand-in-front-of-the-man-you-are-marking" comments earlier) whenever opponents attacked down his flank. Needs to communicate more with fellow midfielders and defenders to distribute defensive duties (ie: who marks who).

Rayner:
An excellent defensive midfielder with exceptional ball-winning skills. Provides an added attacking edge with his surging runs down midfield and has good vision to pick out fellow players with a long through-balls. Protects the defence well.

Sin Cheng:
Jekyll and Hyde performance. Attack-mindedness caused him to drift out of his midfield position often, leaving a gaping hole in midfield to be covered by the remaining midfielders. We all know you can do better, just like you did at Bishan. I want to see that sort of through passes again!

Siu Chun:
One of the best performances I have seen from him. Played accurate long balls for the forwards to chase. Has good vision and distributes the ball well, although his stamnia could be further improved to allow him to last a full game.

Boon Wee:
Made use of his pace and trickery to cause problems for the Soccerblues' defence. Could be better in his decision-making when faced with numerous markers by passing the ball back to open players nearby rather than trying to take on the defence himself.

Ben:
Similar to Boon Wee. Penetrating runs into the heart of the opponent's defence but made questionable decisions on several occasions with his decision to run and jink his way through defenders rather than making use of open team-mates nearby as the easier option.

Wei Chern:
Held the ball well as the target striker but still lacked physical presence upfront when compared to Alvin. A good header of the ball but is essentially still a creative midfielder who prefers to pass the ball and play-make rather than shooting on-sight.

Bing De:
Commanding and defensive-minded figure who can play either in defence or just in front of it. Has good tactical knowledge and reads the game well, allowing him to help out in organising the defence when opponents counter-attack.

Da Hao:
Has improved since I last saw him play. Should be more composed when he receives the ball in defence if there are no opposition players nearby. Playing a short pass to team-mates nearby is a better choice rather than just clearing the ball high up into midfield.

Mclucky's Man of the Match: Siu Chun

Quote of the Match:
"Bing De, you know you got 3 or 4 options to pass the ball to? etc etc..."
--- Siu Chun

McLucky on YouTube

Yo check this out. Website of our most recent opponent, Soccerblues FC., which has some clips of the game.

Inside includes the unforgetable penalty blunder by John Lee Wei Chern. He might want to save the clip for future references when he goes back to Australia.

Meanwhile, the rest just enjoy!

-doubleU