Experimental Review

I am not going to write a review (or a youth player rant), I am going to try something different. As a watched the game, I wrote down what I liked and disliked about the players performances. This is a trial, I will probably do reviews in my old style when the season begins again. Im a little busy right now thats all.

Raul: Like- He holds the ball up well
Dislike- He did nothing all game, and really looked lost on the field. Is this a sign of things to come after the disappointment of not getting a Euro medal?

Ruud: Like- He can finish any half chance he is given, and he moves the ball well in the channels for runners.
Dislike- He Is pretty much useless on 1v1s, where even Miguel can keep him out. But he was probably our best player tonight.

VDV: Like- Set piece delivery has been excellent
Dislike- Just isn’t in the game enough, with a few shorts passes all he has shown. Guti should be playing instead of him.

De la Red: Like- The ball to Ruud for the goal, and his interchanges with the forwards are good. He seems a little more suited to be playing closer to Diarra.
Dislike- To many give aways and still is not much of a defensive presence physically, although he is a bit further forward then say Gago, which doesn’t make sense given its an away game.

Robinho: Like- Nothing
Dislike- Worthless, he had a bad match, and that is undoubtedly because of the speculation in the press about him. Robben is definately the better option until Robinho discovers his ‘joy’.

Diarra: Like- Id like him to not be on the field. HAY OH!
Dislike- Needless give aways, sloppy tackles, complete lack of concentration

Heinze: Like- Offside trap is working well…
Dislike- He does not have the pace to keep Villa shackled

Javi: Like- He is a brute, and looks awkward at CB but then so did Hierro when he first started there. His tackling is good though.
Dislike- Positional sense is missing but that comes with experience. He really lost the plot tonight, but then again, who doesnt when Villa is in that kind of and Silva is running at you on top of that?

Salgado: Like- He kept Mata quiet in the first half, then in 10 minutes gave away two goals. I may call him and give him the address to the nursing home my grandma stays in.
Dislike- Is not moving forward at all, and even though its an away game it wouldn’t hurt to once and awhile attack. Also dislike how he is caught out of position at the most crucial of moments.

Torres: Like- Has kept Joaquin quiet and Miguel has not done any damage on the overlap, so he has done very well.
Dislike- His forward movement still lacks any punch. His crosses need direction and his short passing is to central focused, he should combine with Robinho/Robben a bit more. Good performance, unspectacular but efficient.

Casillas: Like- He saves everything, even when it’s a foul by Silva or offsides 7 times.
Dislike- He seems hesitant to punt the ball, often kicking it to Heinze to start the play, or taking a quick throw that usually ends up in a turnover. Also, the Vicente goal may have been avoided if he had come off his line to collect the ball. May have gotten him banged up but thats what its all about.

Sergio Ramos: Like- He was more solid then Salgado, but that is not saying much now is it.
Dislike- He showed a lack of effort other then a few forays forward. His defending was half-hearted, whats the deal with that?

Robben: Like- He was excellent wasnt he. If he stays healthy, Glass Man will be a real revelation this season.
Dislike- Every time a defender closed in on him I gasped in fear of an injury.

Guti: Like- The few touches he had were classy, but with the game gone, he had little to do but defend well, with a few good slide tackles.
Dislike- That he didnt start, because he clearly was a better option to VdV, who still needs time to adjust.

James did a bit of a review too, so I am going to post that for all to read. Thanks to James for this review, if everyone likes it then maybe James wouldnt mind to grace us with some more pieces of his:

—Casillas—
Torres-Heinze-Javi Garcia-Salgado
Diarra—-De La Red (hinged forward)
Van Der Vaart-Raul-Robinho
Ruud

First, the negatives:
Wow, an pretty ugly looking performance (in my opinion). It’s pretty much still the preseason I know, and Real didn’t have their full complement of players on the pitch or the bench. However, Madrid was really lucky to come out with 2 away goals and a one goal deficit. Javi Garcia sucked major ass, as he was completely invisible the entire match while we were busy playing with three defenders. He looked quite lost, but guarding David Villa is hell for the entire defending population of football right now. But the ultimate asshole of the match had to be Diarra. His passing was like watching Shaq take free throw practice. He gave away ball after ball, Gago better be ready to take the reins, because Diarra probably wants to strangle himself after that match. I’ll say Salgado isn’t worth a whole lot anymore either. He got beat numerous times when defenders ran straight at him. It’s a good thing we obviously don’t give a rats ass about the Supercopa. David Villa absolutely paralyzed the defense today. It’s a good thing his positioning was just a bit off (he had about 6 or 7 offside calls himself). I guess you can attribute a few of those to good “communication” of the back line. They absorbed a hell of a lot of attacks tonight. Madrid also did an awful job of keeping possession and building attacks in the attacking 3rd. The Valencia keeper looked like early work on Monday mornings, if Madrid could have at least put some more shots on goal, they actually might have stolen the match away. A lot of poor communication on offense. Raul was pretty invisible during his stint in the match as well, but had no service at all.

The positives:
The Dutch players were outstanding. Van der Vaart had excellent free kicks (and a hot wife, let’s never forget), and played with a lot of determination. Ruud was his usual self, poaching goals and making himself a target for playing the ball upfield. He’s outstanding, and got great service on both goals from De La Red on the first and a magical Arjen Robben on the second. Robben was a nightmare for the defense when he was out there; thank god he was subbed for Robinho (not a very strong outing for him). The stick-man had great pace with the ball and showed why he should start over Robinho’s whiny ass (until he’s conveniently injured of course!). Ramos was strong when he was subbed in and robbed Villa of a certain goal. This makes me feel OK about tonights result because with the rest of the starters back, Madrid should be a LOT more solid. Latest reports are that Garay is staying with Racing, but Marid still could really use him, I see why Schuster is concerned. Canna needs to get healthy and Metz needs to stay that way.

Overall, Real should be just fine heading into the second leg. It’s obvious that Schuster and the squad isn’t full strength, and they aren’t playing the Supercopa at 100% intensity. That being said, the D needs to really improve.

All true James. Although I thought De la Red was poor too, but his positiong was strange, on the right of a diamond, but as many a England manager will tell you, a midfield diamond never works, so Schuster may re-evaluate that decision. An entertaining match for a neutral observer, but we will hope for much better at the Bernabeu on Sunday. Regular blogging will resume after that match as an FYI.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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