Chapter 56: Experiments with New Formations
Poyet has been assisting Michu as Michu's assistant coach for half a year, and as an assistant coach, he has always seen the changes that have taken place in the team in just half a year.
You must know that the team's call to win the championship before the start of last season's League One competition was still very high, but after the start of the season, Leeds United did not show the kind of crushing performance in the second half of the season, but frequently overturned in the gutter, and the inconsistency of the state also made the team's results far from the expected level.
I can't say why the team is the way it is, but since Michu's mysterious injury, the team has been in hot form since 2009.
And when the team began to focus on defensive counterattacks in the second half of the season, the team gradually found its form in the game against the weak team!
The team's attacking weakness in the first half of the season was also greatly improved by the team's introduction of Reus and Muller in the winter transfer window, and Michu's bold use of his academy players has also won the applause of a loyal fan base, with Delph's promotion being a clear example.
However, how did the team's two foreign players Michu know, Poyet still doesn't understand, he just knows that the other party arranged for Bob to find these two people after researching a game, and the team immediately changed shotguns after signing the two, and Leeds United also ended the League One with a wave of record-breaking consecutive wins.
And Poyet, who was going to take a good rest in the summer transfer period, did not have this opportunity at all, in his own opinion, Michu is simply a workaholic, but the team in the summer transfer window has gained a lot, and several targeted reinforcements have greatly improved the strength of the team, as for the specific effect of these reinforcements, Poyet also feels that he needs to take a look at it, but he is very much looking forward to the performance of several newcomers, after all, the previous two gave the team a big surprise!
However, it is a pity that the team was unable to add to the midfield position, after all, the team exposed a big problem at the end of last season, but Poyet still thinks that it is a great thing to be able to get chairman Bates to spend so much money.
With the start of the team's training camp, the new squad has also begun to enter the run-in stage.
However, through the observation of this period of time, Poyet feels that the run-in of the new lineup is obviously not ideal, especially the problems that arise when the team changes from defense to attack under the 442 formation is still very serious. As the pivot of this new formation, Delph was forcibly transformed into this position.
The youngster, who had excelled in the middle of midfield when he was at Under-19s, was transformed into a left winger last season, and it seemed that Delph's adaptability was amazing at the time.
However, it now seems that although Delph was not playing the best position at the time, his main task was still attacking, and now as the team put him in the playmaking position, the young man's performance is very difficult.
This position instantly raised the requirements for him by several notches. The high demands of the defensive sense in the midfield position, coupled with the lack of physical fitness, often do not provide the protection needed at the back, which also makes the team's other midfielder and backline often face great danger.
On the offensive side, according to Michu's requirements, Delph is the pivot of the offensive and defensive transitions, which presents a different task for Delph in terms of offensive organization. The control of the team's offensive rhythm and the change of offensive direction need to be guided by Delph, but after all, this young man is only 19 years old, so frequent changes of position are a huge challenge for Delph, in Poyet's opinion, Michu's requirements are really a bit harsh!
Although Delph is working very hard to adapt to such a positional change, after all, he has just hit this position, so Delph is not far from the team's requirements at both offensive and defensive ends.
If Delph's performance in his new position remains so tepid, then Poyet will have to rethink their previous formation. While the previous 4231 could have made Delph's position premise, Poyet felt it would be a good idea to put him in the central midfield position that he does best, and it would also be able to provide more help to the team.
However, Michu insisted on continuing to practice the new formation, especially in the use of Delph, this guy became a little unreasonable, and Poyet felt that this guy was not stunned! My head is sunburned! Blind! I can't see how awkward that kid is, and now the whole team is playing a little uncomfortable.
In fact, he also knew why Michu insisted on asking for this kind of attempt, but seeing that the team was still doing this useless work in such a precious pre-season preparation time, Poyet decided to talk to Michu,
"Boss, I think we should stick to the way we played last season, 4231 is the best fit for the team based on the current performance, and this squad allows the team to choose the order of the players according to the characteristics of different opponents.
But if the team still insists on using Delph in this way, I think it will have a big impact on our pre-season preparation," Poyet said seriously.
"I understand what you said, in fact, I want to transform Delph into a metronome in the backfield, he has this ability, but I don't know why the effect is so poor," Michu scratched his hair, thinking a little confused.
"Yes, boss, the effect is very unsatisfactory! And the current situation is that the team's performance on the field is obviously not running normally, if we change back to the previous 4231 play, we can at least ensure the team's attack, although the team may not be able to meet your requirements in terms of rhythm control" Seeing that Michu was a little shaken, Poyet decided to strike while the iron was hot.
"Actually, it wasn't until the end of last season that I realized how important the team's metronome is for the team, and having a good metronome allows the team to control the rhythm of the game when the ball is against the wind and not be led by the nose.
And when the ball is downwind, it can also enable the team to better grasp the rhythm and direction of their own attack, and they will no longer swarm and hold others and beat them like last season, but it seems that it may still take some time at present" Hearing Michu's words, Poyet couldn't help but feel that the idea is good, but the reality is really skinny!