Interesting comments in the Daily Mirror today from Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas was talking about the difference in how Spain prepares for an opponent and how Arsenal does. This is what he said:
“Here they give us much more information than they do at Arsenal, definitely. At Arsenal we don’t really look at anything from the other team, we look for ourselves and that’s it. Here, maybe two three days before the game, we start looking at some videos, we know more or less the starting eleven that is going to play… we know nearly everything about them.”
Interesting stuff. Part of the reason I would think for the different approaches is that with a club team you are playing teams that you are familiar with most of the time. On the international stage, you are playing teams and players that you are not familiar with, so you need more information about them and how they play.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Talk about mountains and mole hills!
im def. pro wenger, but i think the squad could use a little more direction from him, in terms of opponent research and game-play direction from wenger…
can’t wait for the start of the season!
arsenal v. liverpoo LOVE IT
How interesting! Didnt Spain lost their opening game and a certain Cesc Fabregas sat on the bench while Iniesta started! A sign of Cesc’s future me thinks!
I saw the interview, he wasnt critisising Arsenal, just responding to a question about how Spain prepare
Also, a few years ago Arsenal players asked Wenger for more info on opponants (although of course Wenger prefers them to concentrate on their own game and impose themselves on the opposition) and Wenger started giving more info as they asked
It worked wonders for them. But thanks Cesc for the heads up.
:cesc pls f off to barcas bench pls go play playstation with your “friends” . honestly i hope spain lose thier next game so ur barca bum chums can shut thier dna talks.. u shined the bench yesterday hope u enjoyed it coz dats where u gonna be at barca and as far as winning is concerned im going with mourinho to win everything while his there which i hope is as long as ur barca career so u end up wit NOTHING . u will look back and regret leaving coz wengers plans are about to bear fruit
If you saw the interview you’d have seen there was absolutely no criticism on Cesc’s part. He was simply making a statement as to how Arsenal prepare in relation to Spain.
If the Mirror has called it criticism then it is being malicious.
If this blog thinks it was criticism then it too is being malicious.
Either way the headline is misleading. What’s new.
No wonder Spain lose to Switzerland. Support Wenger all the way.
Can I share a thought here? Teams A and B have a match. Both teams spend three days watching videos about one another. Both of them are aware that the other is studying videos of the opponent, so each tries to guess what the other will be out to do and as well ALTER their tactics to outdo the opponent. So, what is the whole point of watching the videos? A mordern team should be able to beat anyone no matter who or how they play!
While everyone is saying it shouldn’t make any difference you have to look to Mourinho, he analyses every aspect of the opposition and his record speaks for itself. No comparisons, no mud slinging.
I’m not saying Wenger is no good, that would be insane, but if this is true you can’t but wonder if it’s an advantage or disadvantage to Arsenal. Just saying it makes no difference is naivity bordering on ignorance!
That’s the coach job to analyse opponents and pick the best team depending on them. That’s not the player’s job to learn opposition’s tactics.
Rest is up to having a squad with depth.
Changing tactics too often always lead to a loss sooner or later.
If your tactic is good and you have the right players, the videos you should look at are your own mistakes to stop doing them and your successes to remember to use them.
It’s by repeating the moves over and over again that brings that extra edge.
Not by spending 2 days over what the other team did in the past (because they might have learned. And if they havent, they’ll do the same and if your players are not too stupid, and work as a team, they’ll do the same mistake again. Don’t need to study this do you?
I basically came on here to say that Cesc was not being critical, he was commenting on the difference in style but it’s already been said.
Also this is no grounds for criticism, this is a common method of management. Wenger himself is a student of the game but he chooses not to drill it into his team.
Mourinho’s methods are one thing and Wenger’s are another; Mourinho’s a tactition, Wenger’s a strategist. Look at any team Mourinho leaves, he doesn’t strengthen a team for the future only to win right now no matter how much it costs the club. Mourinho may have garnered success around the world but since porto he’s had big fat chequebooks to play with, let him stay at a club for 5-10 years, then we’ll see if he’s a real manager or just a consultant.
And Dooshbag, Fabregas is fully entitled to plan to move to Barca any time he likes. They’re his boyhood team and Guardiola’s his hero, what’s your problem? If the club benefits from the move, they will sell him without thinking about how long he spends on the bench there, seems like a fair situation for both parties to me. Don’t make it a personal thing against Cesc just because you’ve got a crush on the boy, thus far he has acted impecably, as long as he keeps it up and the club don’t bottle it, we don’t have to worry.
Whatever Spain did it surley did not help them win the match against Switzerland, this must prove that no matter how early you get to know who starts, and no matter how early you get to watch videoes and no matter how “perfect” the spain squad does things, they are not guaranteed to win.
Infact that way of doing things makes you loose! Im glad Arsenal does not do the same as Spain as it has been proven recently to make players loos matches
Erm….I see that great prep’ worked in the last match.
Not. LOL.
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