Talleyrand
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- Apr 24, 2013
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I was wondering if any old timers or tactical historians could come up with a tactic based on, or similar to, Graham Taylor's Watford. I have tried on numerous versions to create something close to it, but have always seemed to fail. It's basically a 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 since the wingers John Barnes and Nigel Callaghan were always high up the pitch.
The way they played was basically long balls ("long passes" according to Taylor if you've ever seen him talk) into dangerous areas in the final third. The front players pressed frantically and it was essientially a barrage of long balls, but very attacking.
Watford went from the fourth division to the old first division in five years and finished second to Liverpool in their first season in the top. While they did score tons they also let in a lot due to their attacking nature. But the style allowed them to punch above their weight by shocking teams. Even big clubs had a hard time handling the constant pressure of long balls coming in and the team swarming. I really wanted to make this sort of tactic to be able to get similar results for smaller teams. I'm not sure it's possible due to my own failings, but if any of you guys have some ideas it would be great to hear. Or maybe you like the game and tactics and never really knew much about this team from the 1980s, and you want to read up and give the tactic a shot. Thanks guys.
The way they played was basically long balls ("long passes" according to Taylor if you've ever seen him talk) into dangerous areas in the final third. The front players pressed frantically and it was essientially a barrage of long balls, but very attacking.
Watford went from the fourth division to the old first division in five years and finished second to Liverpool in their first season in the top. While they did score tons they also let in a lot due to their attacking nature. But the style allowed them to punch above their weight by shocking teams. Even big clubs had a hard time handling the constant pressure of long balls coming in and the team swarming. I really wanted to make this sort of tactic to be able to get similar results for smaller teams. I'm not sure it's possible due to my own failings, but if any of you guys have some ideas it would be great to hear. Or maybe you like the game and tactics and never really knew much about this team from the 1980s, and you want to read up and give the tactic a shot. Thanks guys.