My Tactical Journey

[rruss8]

As a person who is constantly lurking in this forum and rarely posting, I've found myself recently struggling to stick with a save for an extended period of time. I figured as something to regain my keenness I would attempt to document my tactical musings throughout my managerial career. So in this thread I'm going to be posting updates about my progression through tactics, player development and all of the other intricacies of day to day management in my virtual coaching career. So if anyone actually reads this, please, give me feedback! what am I doing wrong, what am I doing right, general thoughts, etc. I just think this website is a great forum to if nothing else document your tactical development and give me something I can look back on after seasons and seasons and see how far I've come, and for that I am grateful. So without further ado, here goes:

SQUAD OVERVIEW:

So basically the rest of this post is going to be dedicated to evaluating the squad I selected, Sunderland, and hopefully by the end of it make some deductions on what tactic I'm going to use based on the strengths of the players I have in my squad.

Goalkeepers:

Vito Mannone: Former Arsenal Man is decent technically for what Sunderland is, but weak in the mental department.

Costel Pantilimon: The massive Romanian is an imposing presence in the air standing at 200cm, but really nothing more then an average keeper.

Overview: Both average, shouldnt be the first place to look to improve but neither are long term answers

Defense:

Wes Brown: 34 year old solid defender with good mentals, lacks a bit of pace however and is quite injury prone.

John O'Shea: Similar to Brown with good mentals, little bit worse technical defence abilities however. Also slow

Sebastian Coates: On loan with no option to buy. Average ability across the board. Meh

Santiago Vergini Looks solid, good defender with solid physicals. Can also cover right-back.

Patrick van Aanholt-Decent work rate and stamina. Not crazy about his defensive abilities. Looks a decent attacking fullback

Billy Jones-Solid right back. good attacking and defensive abilities. Lacks some pace, which is his downfall.

Overview: Old in the middle, and very average on the flanks. This is an area that needs improvement and an injection of youth

Midfield:

Seb Larsson- Dead ball specialist. Also has decent eye for a pass. Might be a decent option in the center of the park.

Liam Bridcutt: Looks like a championship midfielder to me. Below average technicals, and average physicals and mentals, not crazy about him

Lee Cattermole: Guys an absolute beaver, incredible mentals, solid technical ability as well, would be a class ball winning midfielder for out level.

Cabral: Below the grade and will be shipped on ASAP

Jack Rodwell: Very well rounded, could be a strong box to box player. His lack of vision really hurts him in my opinion

Charis Mavrias: Young right footer who can play on both sides. needs work on his mentals though. Will have to make a decision on whether to loan him or have him knock around and have him tutored. Perhaps Giacherrini

Emanuele Giacherrini: Bit of class, can play in the middle or out wide. Still quick for 29 with good dribbling and passing, will star when he returns from injury in 2 months. Might want to implement a tactic that gets the best out of his ability.

Ricky Alvarez-Another good winger, of the Giacherrini mold in that he can play in the middle or out wide. Lacks some pace, but quite good on the ball. Only thing is he's on loan with a massive 11 million pound option. On the wrong side of his 20's its something to consider.

Adam Johnson: We clearly have our strength on the wings, Johnson is another fairly quick winger with great dribbling. Also can finish quite well, mentals suggest he would flourish as an inside forward.

Jordi Gomez: Good creator in the middle, lacks physical ability though and is getting on

Overview: Were strong with the attacking wingers and have some steel in the middle. We really lack a true playmaker in the middle though outside of Gomez and its something I will look at in the transfer market

Forwards:

Connor Wickham: Once promising English talent, has fallen off a bit, but is still young and has ability. Could be quite a useful target man with great strength, but may lack some of the mentals to handle it.

Danny Graham: Below the grade for me, will look to ship on

Steven Fletcher-Class. Great finisher, Also has an eye for a pass as well. Is slow though. Would love to pair him with a nippier, little guy as a strike partnership.

Jozy Altidore: Ah, as an American, watching Jozy can be painful, alot of ability, but looks lazy on the pitch, and this is reflected in the game. Injured in the beginning, so might be stuck with him till January.

Overview:Bright spots in Wickham and Fletcher, Might look to add one more, something different though as I said, a quicker striker.

Whew! if your still here a appreciate any reading of the monotones ramble, any feedback would be awesome. In the next post I will put this squad analysis into practice by displaying my tactic.

[MrKeithSmooth]

Got a soft spot for Sunderland, so I'll be keeping an eye on where you take this.