Paranoid Android Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 There was a weekend not so long ago where 14 out of Serie A's 20 clubs lined-up with three along the back (plus wingbacks). Juventus use this system extensively, though Droid's probably right about bigger CL clubs, because Juve have failed miserably in Europe. It definitely requires a certain balance in the CB positions. Juventus have Chiellini, Barzagli and Bonucci. Chiellini and Barzagli are pretty similar in that they're both pretty gung-ho, though Barzagli is a tad less mental (and good at football) than Chiellini. Bonucci is more of a risk-taker who'll take more risks with his passes and often dribbles the ball out of defence, he makes a few mistakes because of this, and definitely benefits from having two brutes to cover for his errors. I think it's a good system if you have a technically excellent CB who looks a bit ropey in a flat back four, because Bonucci looks excellent in this system. David Luiz springs to mind. I was going to mention serie a as being a bit different. I remember that weekend and at the time I read an article which said that 3-5-2 was a more viable option in Italy because teams tend to be more narrow and there is a lack of real quick quality wide men compared to other leagues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Aye exactly, he was brilliant for us, his hold up play was second to none when he was on form, if he had a bit more pace about him he would be been lethal. What hold up play? He was abysmal. He had half of one season were his performances were acceptable. Aside that he was one of the most awful and frustrating players to wear a Dons shirt. Really don't understand why he's rated by anyone, especially by some of our fans. He connected with a lot of balls I'll give him that, as a target man he got that bit of his job right. But then he failed almost universally at finding a team mate with any of his knock downs or if he tried to hold it up he either lost the ball immediately or fell over in a pathetic dive at the slightest touch. Barely moved for the ball when it wasn't being lumped up to him and hardly scored. Awful player for us. May be technically gifted but he rarely showed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 What hold up play? He was abysmal. He had half of one season were his performances were acceptable. Aside that he was one of the most awful and frustrating players to wear a Dons shirt. Really don't understand why he's rated by anyone, especially by some of our fans. He connected with a lot of balls I'll give him that, as a target man he got that bit of his job right. But then he failed almost universally at finding a team mate with any of his knock downs or if he tried to hold it up he either lost the ball immediately or fell over in a pathetic dive at the slightest touch. Barely moved for the ball when it wasn't being lumped up to him and hardly scored. Awful player for us. May be technically gifted but he rarely showed it. I'd disagree with that completely tbh. His hold up play was what made him so effective for us, he was one of the few top performers in his last two seasons with us. He did dive, ill give you that, but i think the rest of your post is well wide of the mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 I think it's an entirely accurate reflection of his performance for most of his time with us. Football's amazing. Thousands of fans watching the same thing happening on the same pitch and everyone sees something different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 "Hardly scored" is a bit much. About 1 in 4 according to wiki, which isn't setting any records, but it's far from the sort of pish that Mackie churned out for 10+ years. (Okay I just looked up Mackie and he was a bit worse than 1 in 5. I thought it would be worse to be honest.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 I'd rather have Mackie in my team than Miller to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Really? I didn't think Mackie contributed much in his latter years at all. A couple of seasons of double figures, but the rest of the time his return was abysmal. He wasn't exactly an assists man, or a hold up, target man. He was fast and that was about it really. He looked promising as a youngster but I don't think it ever really materialised. He was a poor man's Kenny Miller really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 "Hardly scored" is a bit much. About 1 in 4 according to wiki, which isn't setting any records, but it's far from the sort of pish that Mackie churned out for 10+ years. (Okay I just looked up Mackie and he was a bit worse than 1 in 5. I thought it would be worse to be honest.) Miller scored 4, 13, 12 and 4 in his time with us. In the two full seasons he was sporadic, scoring in fits and bursts. He'd score 1 goal a game for a few weeks then go two months without scoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 It's probably just that I have more fond memories of Mackie than Miller. Embarrassing Rab Douglas, the Dnipro goal etc. Can't think off the top of my head of any great Miller moments. I'm not going to think any more about it though as I'm aware my argument is likely to fall to pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 I cannot believe anyone would ever want Mackie ahead of any player. Its a travesty that he was able to play for Aberdeen for as long as he did, absolutely terrible player. Still scored that fine goal in Europe, but that really was about it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 They were both pretty shit. That's like comparing AIDS and Cancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 I'm coming across all anti Flood. I'm totally not, boy's brilliant. I just shouldn't post when hungover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) Miller scored 4, 13, 12 and 4 in his time with us. In the two full seasons he was sporadic, scoring in fits and bursts. He'd score 1 goal a game for a few weeks then go two months without scoring. Which I would argue is better than hardly scoring. How many Aberdeen players can you think of in the past 20 seasons that's scored really regularly? As in, like 1 in 3 or better? In fact, outside of the old firm, there probably aren't many strikers with that sort of record in the SPL. Edited June 6, 2014 by Gladstone 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Miller scored 4, 13, 12 and 4 in his time with us. In the two full seasons he was sporadic, scoring in fits and bursts. He'd score 1 goal a game for a few weeks then go two months without scoring. Who scored more than him during his time with the dons? Is it not possible that with a better team behind him he would have scored more? He certainly was no where near as bad as your making out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 I always thought Miller was a very good forward who was cast as a bit of a scapegoat among certain sects of Aberdeen's support as frustration towards Calderwood's methods grew. Clearly a very good technical forward, slow though, and a terrible diver. I always thought he looked lazy as fuck a lot of the time, but he's absolutely one of the better forwards we've had over the past few years. Adam's bang-on about Brewster. Quality stop-gap signing. He ran the show when he was at Pittodrie: it's a pity we couldn't have had him earlier in his career. I never understood why Stevie Crawford was the one picked for Scotland when they were both at Dunfermline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 He scored that in what was, until last season, the most successful Dons team for years. He SHOULD have scored more. But he was shite so didn't. Being the best striker in a pretty terrible bunch isn't a cause for celebration. Dunno what's worse about the Calderwood era, the humiliating cup exits or the fact that we're still arguing about him and his players years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Let's just forget about the Lee Miller debate. I'm sure we can all agree that Lubo Blaha is the best centre-forward to play for Aberdeen in the past ten years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 The Calderwood era was great. Exciting football, top 3 finishes, it was just the piss poor cup runs that stopped him from being a great dons manager. He signed some great players as well, it was just a shame our board buckled under the fans pressure to win a cup, we were close to getting relegated because of that decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 To move away from the Lee Miller argument... Best Aberdeen striker ever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 To move away from the Lee Miller argument... Best Aberdeen striker ever? Probably Joe Harper, or McGhee. But in modern times id say Stavrum or McGinn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
givemeasmile Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Zerouali was pretty exciting for a while, but terribly inconsistent. Best strikers for the Dons since 1990: Duncan Shearer/Dean Windass/Niall McGinnWorst: Dave Bus/Laurent D'Jaffo/Leigh Hinds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) Christ i had forgotten about Shearer, or Billy Dodds, both were fantastic. Robbie Winters for a season.Windas was a fan fav, but im not sure how great he really was for the dons, plus he was a bit of a prick. Edited June 6, 2014 by The Milner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Zerouali was pretty exciting for a while, but terribly inconsistent. Best strikers for the Dons since 1990: Duncan Shearer/Dean Windass/Niall McGinnWorst: Dave Bus/Laurent D'Jaffo/Leigh HindsLeon Mike, Tommy Wright, Noel Whelan, Nigel Pepper, Scott Muirhead, Paul Sheerin, Richie Byrne and of course Darren Mackie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Thorarinn Kristjansson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Pasquinelli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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