Anonymous wrote:Mendy is a head case and his days were numbered long before he broke his foot. He was also a non-factor in the Man City Championship last year. They had to scramble to find him the minimum 5 games for him to qualify as a team member.

Last year, Mendy was ManCity's no.1 transfer target and he was one of their best players before he injured his ACL. This year it seems like there were reports of a spat the the manager, but he clearly has talent.

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be clear, it's not kickball. The outside backs dribble up to the wingers. And the wingers also track back to the back. When I say they are covering it, I mean they are covering it.

I know that's a shift from old school strategies, but it's becoming fairly common practice.

What's not kickball? USWNT? They're definitely not playing kickball (not now, anyway). Didn't mean to imply they were.

The teams that tend to have the outside backs and wingers control the outsides of the field and have the midfielders play the middle. The midfielders used to cover the middle including the outside borders of the middle. Now that outside territory is covered by outside backs, not via big boots and long balls. Through possession.

Mendy is a head case and his days were numbered long before he broke his foot. He was also a non-factor in the Man City Championship last year. They had to scramble to find him the minimum 5 games for him to qualify as a team member.

Anonymous wrote:Pep is another example of a coach that moved a mid fielder to left back at Man City with Fabian Delph. Delph used to play CM before Pep. Delph is now used as a false full back to help maintain possession.

Last season, Pep's first choice at left back, Mendy, went down with injury so he had to move Delph and, after Delph went down with injury, Zinchenko, to left back. It worked well, but it was a move dictated by necessity/injuries rather than tactical tweaks.

Teach them footskills and passing. Teach them triangle play. Stop the wide outside backs and get it to the winger to carry and cross it style that is so predictable and elementary.

Use the entire field. If your players can pass quickly and have vision, and know triangles you can bring the ball inside. You can control the spine and win games the right way.

Unfortunately, if players don't rotate in their club, then a midfielder may not be convertible to an outside back. (or winger for that matter. I've seen coaches also try to convert wingers to outside back).

If you don't develop the right defensive skills, a player may not thrive. Or if a player is too slow, they may also not be able to cover all the territory an outside back needs to cover.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That midfielders and wingers are being converted to left backs shows how important the position is and how few players are being groomed for it. Conversions only take place when there aren't enough quality players to fill the position and too many somewhere else.

I think it shows the style of left backs is changing completely and traditional backs no longer fit the mold. Now the best teams like Man City are playing inverted backs that can control the center, that can take the ball inside and play it up. This brings the backs in and and higher. It makes it easier to recover from turnovers, and creates a strong spine. It allows the mids to play higher. You need players with great ball skills that can move quickly because the weakness of the inverted back are playing teams that go traditional and bring it up on the sides with wingers. That is why mids are being used for the backs these days. All players are important but this is the rise of the mids.

Very true. Times are changing. The way positions are played is changing and what coaches want and value is changing. Some of the best players in the world play outside back.

Now, as several have stated, ideally all positions have strong players. But in the world of youth soccer, what is preferred isn't always what is recruited.

Anonymous wrote:That midfielders and wingers are being converted to left backs shows how important the position is and how few players are being groomed for it. Conversions only take place when there aren't enough quality players to fill the position and too many somewhere else.

I think it shows the style of left backs is changing completely and traditional backs no longer fit the mold. Now the best teams like Man City are playing inverted backs that can control the center, that can take the ball inside and play it up. This brings the backs in and and higher. It makes it easier to recover from turnovers, and creates a strong spine. It allows the mids to play higher. You need players with great ball skills that can move quickly because the weakness of the inverted back are playing teams that go traditional and bring it up on the sides with wingers. That is why mids are being used for the backs these days. All players are important but this is the rise of the mids.

Anonymous wrote:That midfielders and wingers are being converted to left backs shows how important the position is and how few players are being groomed for it. Conversions only take place when there aren't enough quality players to fill the position and too many somewhere else.

No. They are converted because they do no have the skill needed to play midfield which is different vs the skills needed for defense. A good midfield can play any other field position. This is not true with the other positions. In the US midfield play is not as value because we rely on physicality and athleticism. This allows the team to play ball long and skip the midfield. As te defense get better, the long ball game breaks down. At younger ages this work great because good midfielder need to develop and have players around them who will pass. This is the system in youth soccer. Look at the World Cup. The teams with the strongest midfield are the one who advance to the finals.

Now what do college coaches want? They will convert any play to fill a role in their system.

Ederson was overlooked by everyone before Pep. He is not even the best Brazilian GK thanks to Allisson and therefore did not play in the World Cup. People were shocked that this unknown kid was signed by Man City last year. But he fits Peps style perfectly. Pep gets all the credit for him.

That midfielders and wingers are being converted to left backs shows how important the position is and how few players are being groomed for it. Conversions only take place when there aren't enough quality players to fill the position and too many somewhere else.

Yashin was the first to come out and is considered perhaps the greatest ever no doubt, only GK to ever win the Ballon D’Or. he is the father of modern goalkeeping. Neuer under Pep transformed the role with his aggressive sweeper keeper and an arm that would make any NFL QB proud for the quick counter strike. With Ederson, he is beyond sweeper keeper. If you watch him play, is is more comfortable with the ball at his feet than any other keeper. And he can accurately serve to almost anywhere with that left leg. But his ability to handle the pass back and distribute accurately under pressure makes him a 4th defender and is used by Pep to gain numeric advantage. Pep gets credit for that.

Anonymous wrote:In Guardiola’s system, even the keeper is part of the attack. Pep can be credited for the rise of Neuer and Ederson as the keeper becomes the 11th field player. The defense moves up to midline most of the game and everyone presses. They overwhelm the other side.

I'd give more credit to GKs like Yashin and Higuita for that style of GK play than Pep.

Pep is another example of a coach that moved a mid fielder to left back at Man City with Fabian Delph. Delph used to play CM before Pep. Delph is now used as a false full back to help maintain possession.

In Guardiola’s system, even the keeper is part of the attack. Pep can be credited for the rise of Neuer and Ederson as the keeper becomes the 11th field player. The defense moves up to midline most of the game and everyone presses. They overwhelm the other side.