Randomly I just saw a compilation of Doku beating Trent yesterday and the worst ones were where he actually tried to do what people seem to want from him - winning the ball. Anytime he put in Doku just skipped around him, the other times he didn’t make a challenge and just allowed Doku to run down the byline where we had pre-planned how to defend it. Still trying to affect Doku of course but not committing to a tackle.
Bill Belichick was famous for maximising his players abilities. Tom Brady is slow as shit and can’t run with it, so don’t ask him to. Just let him do what he’s good at. That’s how I see it yesterday, Trent isn’t good at 1v1 defending, so don’t make him do it just tell him to force the run into a controllable area and let it peter itself out with ither quality players getting themselves into good positions to cover.
Doku is just a Belgian Adama Traore. He’s all fast twitch muscle and pace but once he does beat a man he’s not actually doing much else that’s particularly threatening.
I think it was last season Trent got some pelters for getting beat by time and again. When you looked back it most of that was from Trent forcing him inside. Now he’s getting pelters for showing him down the line.
If the bloke is significantly quicker than you, your job is to make sure if you do get beat, it’s in a way that takes him into an area that’s least dangerous. They’re playing without a CF. Showing him down the line for him to cross into no one seems like a decent plan.
Ultimately Doku has contributed nothing of real note in either game so job done as far as I’m concerned.
So, Dom and Mo both commented after the game that this was an accident as his lay off wasnt supposed to go there (Im guessing that is why we saw the odd reaction to it)
On Doku v TAA. Can fully appreciate the idea of covering TAA when he forces Doku out wide onto his weaker foot, especially when they didn’t have Haaland to worry about.
But it would have been nice had he won a few of his 1v1s! If for no other reason to get into Doku’s head, possibly forcing Doku to be less direct. Would have given TAA a breather, he looked spent by the end.
Almost NO professional teams routinely play with opposing attackers being defended by their defenders one on one. NONE!!
Top attackers across Europe and South America get doubled up. Why? Because they’re TOP attackers! All teams, even elite ones the RM and Bayern and ESPECIALLY Italian ones double up on their opponents’ main goal threats.
Teams go 1 v 1 at the back as a less used alternative.
No matter how much Trent trains practices etc, at this point he will never be as quick as Doku. Few players in world football are. It’s normal to help him. We are a football TEAM, not a collection of individuals. We find effective ways of winning as a team. Maximising each player’s strengths while giving them support so their weaknesses are minimised.
The tactics on Sunday worked.
If Bradley was fit he may have got a red for kicking lumps out of Doku. Trent played him the way he should have, and Konate/Gravenberch and Salah did the rest. Then Endo.
I imagine Mo was told to track a bit more.
No one attempted a tackle in the box, no penalty calls or drama.
It was perfectly orchestrated management of their threat.
. So proud of our boys.