izzy wrote:

The Franchise wrote:I think I speak on behalf of the entire forum when I say, thank you for such a thought provoking and analytical thread. You have shown us all the light and firmly put us on our place.

Your a credit to the human race.

I think this thread has great potential. Granted the OP was meh, it does leave the floor open for a tactical debate.

izzy wrote:Madrid's weaknesses IMO stem from two postitions: The Midfield and the fullbacks.

The Fullbacks: Arbeloa is the current fullback and it's very obvious he is a defensive one. He does his job very solidly and rarely gets forward to support the attack which can make Madrid dependent on width to arrive from the left side. This is where Marcelo comes in. Loves to get forward, contributes heavely to the attacking side of the Madrid game but does leave spaces. A LOT OF SPACES. It's fair to say that if he comes up against a winger with pace, expect him to be given a very tough time.

The Midfield: Where to start? Let's link it with the fullback problem. Countless times that Marcelo gets forward, i've seen Xabi drop in-between Ramos and Pepe leaving the midfield so open it's unreal. Xabi's lack of pace ain't helping anyone and the fact that if you pressure him enough he can't really get into his rhythm which makes the whole Real team not operate as fluid as they can. Stopping Xabi from playing can massively hinder Madrid from playing their usual game and this is why I think Mou has asked Ozil to drop deeper at times to help Xabi with the midfield workload and make us less predictable in the center of the pitch.

Well, that's all i'm writing. Stop Xabi, expose the fullback unbalance and hopefully you'll get something from Madrid.

My two cents.