eple Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Disclaimer: I'm not having a moan. I want to understand what is happening and find a way to avoid it in the future. Right click-> View image to see higher resolution 2017/2018 Europa league form Meanwhile, in the Premier League As soon as I secured qualification through the group stages in the EL I saw very specific changes in the players and the form changed completely Results after qualification was secured ------------------------------------------------- 2018/2019 Europa League Meanwhile, in the Premier League My qualification was secured after the win against Pilzen, and sure enough, in the next game I see a very different team on the pitch. They seem more reactive, shots are more directed and there is intent in everything. Defender are anticipating and intercepting, etc, etc. I'm feeling confident that this is the turning point and that I will go on similar sort of run to last season. So, why is this happening? The players appears to have no self-belief in the Premier League games. Defenders are making mistake, attackers are not taking their chance, every defensive set pieces races my heartbeat. However in opposite land of Europa League everything is.. well, opposite! To give a bit of back story to the team I achieved consecutive promotions from Skrill to Premier. First season there we finished 6th, massively overachieving. I had a similar sort of start in that season, although not as bad, and quite good considering I played, Man C, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and league winners Spurs within the 9 first games. 2nd season saw us finish 6th again, although this time on a higher point tally The last two seasons I've actually been expected to finish in the top ten, and this season I'm expected to fight for the 6th place with Liverpool. As for the tactics, it's one that I used with success on multiple different challenges and had massive success. Obviously this situation is rather special, but I am adapting to the situation by employing a holding midfielder, going with counter and dropping deep when I'm up against teams that clearly think they are the better side. With team talks I have a way that seems successful, by using praise and sympathy to increase confidence when it's needed, and asserting pressure and having high expectations when things are a little bit too good to be true. In these bad runs I've really tried just about anything I can think of to turn it around. In this season I've had two team meetings where moral went from mostly okay to mostly very good. The EL games funnily enough has kept (starting) moral high for the PL games, but as soon as I concede or half times comes along it's down to 'Okay'. Last season before the game against Twente, my ass man Ryan Giggs, suggested that with moral high and our form so great I should encourge the team to go out and dominate. This was repeated this season. Funny thing is, when he said it I had lost four in a row and moral was mostly 'Poor'. So what's going on here? Is there an underlying issue causing my players to lack belief, and if so, why is form so different in the other competitions? It seems like they are operating completely isolated from eachother. I have a fairly young squad, can that be the issue? Or is it simply just a case of me being perceived as relegation fodder by other teams and my players included and the Europa league qualifications is the trigger that makes this go away? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OxfordUnitedFC Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I cant say i've noticed a change in form once qualification was assured but i have personally faired a lot better in champions league games than in domestic league games. I put it down to my style of play working better against the approach of foreign opponents. The only thing i can think of is when you've achieved qualification you then are playing less games so players are tiring less. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eple Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 I did not see this at all with Aston Villa or Sporting Lisbon, whom I've played many season with on this current patch and with the same tactic system. Those teams are obviously very different from Forest Green in terms of stature though. But competing in the CL did not result in a poor run in the league. The EL games still go on for a little bit though, and so does Capital One Cup, and the FA cup starts when the EL takes a break. And besides I have a decent squad size so fitness is not an issue. At least, from what the games is telling me I very rarely have players tired or jaded. What would Brian Clough do? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eple Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 Update It was almost an exact copy of the last two seasons. The form after securing EL qualification from the group stages was excellent, and we climbed from relegation to finish 6th for the fourth time in a row. Form in the league after securing EL qualification from the group stages Any words of wisdom or advice on how I can avoid this pattern repeating itself for the 3rd time? As we finished sixth I'll be playing europa league football once again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Maybe you are just slow starters at the minute. Is your pre season good enough in terms of fitness? Are you signing a few players in the summer that take time to gel? Your form reminds me of about 7 of David Moyers seasons with Everton. Always starting slow but by the turn of the year they go on a run as good as the champions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eple Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 Yes, it does have a Moyesque feel about it!! Thanks for the feedback, you do have a good point, as yes, I have signed a few players in both those instances. Not much, but some. For this season I bought 13 players in the pre-season, 4 players for the first team and the rest was for the U-18 team. I let two first team players go. All but one was signed before the players came back from vacation. The season before I bought 9 players, 3 for the first team, while 1 first team player and 2 backup players left. I see that this can be a problem. I have done a lot more chopping and changing without an issue before though, so I wouldn't say that for sure. For next season, there is only really one player I need, so I will try and limit my deals and see how that goes. It is kind of tricky though. Right now about half my players are wanted by big clubs. Judging by their attributes and not their reputation I should be competing for the title, and the other clubs are going mental for them, despite them under-performing. As for Pre-season I'm pretty thorough in preperations. This season it was 5 weeks Two weeks with fitness focus on high Two weeks with team cohesion on high The back to balanced on average for the season + individual training For match prep I kept in on Tactics only at 40% until a few days before start where I changed to my standard Att.mov at 30%. Played a total of 7 friendlies, which brought tactical fluidity to almost full. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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