Your “Syndicate
Hangover” is proudly presented by “Heineken 0.0”
All of the calories
and none of the intoxication!
This dog don’t bite ;
)
Day 19: Recap
Record—
Spread: 21-35
Straight up: 31-19-6
Hot
Girl Standings
Country
|
Tally
|
Games Played
|
Brazil
|
44
|
4
|
Sweden
|
43
|
4
|
Colombia
|
41
|
4 (finished)
|
Mexico
|
40
|
4 (finished)
|
Russia
|
38
|
4
|
Spain
|
34
|
4 (finished)
|
Argentina
|
34
|
4 (finished)
|
Poland
|
32
|
3 (finished)
|
Iceland
|
31
|
3 (finished)
|
Germany
|
31
|
3 (finished)
|
Switzerland
|
30
|
4 (finished)
|
Croatia
|
30
|
4
|
Japan
|
30
|
4 (finished)
|
Portugal
|
29
|
4 (finished)
|
Denmark
|
29
|
4 (finished)
|
South Korea
|
28
|
3 (finished)
|
France
|
26
|
4
|
Belgium
|
26
|
4
|
Nigeria
|
24
|
3 (finished)
|
England
|
24
|
4
|
Senegal
|
23
|
3 (finished)
|
Iran
|
22
|
3 (finished)
|
Egypt
|
21
|
3 (finished)
|
Uruguay
|
20
|
4
|
Tunisia
|
20
|
3 (finished)
|
Australia
|
20
|
3 (finished)
|
Costa Rica
|
20
|
3 (finished)
|
Serbia
|
19
|
3 (finished)
|
Morocco
|
18
|
3 (finished)
|
Peru
|
18
|
3 (finished)
|
Panama
|
13
|
3 (finished)
|
Saudi Arabia
|
11
|
3 (finished)
|
Genuinely mad about having a shitty team get through, gentlemen.
These pesky Swedes grate me. I don’t care what FIFA says, Forsberg shouldn’t have
gotten credit for that goal. Also didn’t like the flop from Olssson’s flop deep
into injury time. An exaggerated fall and a lengthy delay killed off Swiss
chances.
Oh well. Credit to Team Blaugult for their fine defensive work.
The Nati didn’t play like a top-tier team today.
Of course the big news is that Mother England has FINALLY
prevailed in a shoot-out! With all the stoicism of chivalrous Knights, they
withstood the sleazy cheating tactics of the Columbians and got the job done.
Yes Sir!
These guys say it all. Onwards brave Crusaders! Strive for
the divine en-route to the grail
S.S.S.
Tactical Breakdown 
The Blaugult Band of Brothers coalesced without their
captain. While they didn’t play anything resembling exciting football, they did
incredibly well collapsing Swiss passing tunnels. Simply no way through for
their opponents. Ekdal, Augustinsson, and the much-maligned Gustav Svensson
deserve major plaudits. We’ll analyze their unanticipated accomplishment.
Far less tactical scrutiny on the English side. They advance
thanks largely due to cogent preparation. Southgate taught them to remain
calmly professional under the duress of both dirty play and the crushing
tension of a shoot-out. For once the English power through the pressure. Now
they have to avoid dropping the ball against a clearly inferior opponent. Easier
said than done in any tournament, let alone this one.
Lineup—Sweden—Match
Two (4-4-2) (6/23/2018
Ola Toivonoen Marcus Berg
|
Emil Forsberg Viktor Claesson
|
Sebastian Larsson Albin
Ekdal
|
L. Augustinsson Mikael Lustig
|
Andreas Granqvist Viktor Lindelöf
|
Robin Olsen
|
Lineup—Sweden—Match
Three (4-4-2) (6/27/2018)
Ola Toivonoen Marcus Berg
|
Emil Forsberg Viktor Claesson
|
Albin
Ekdal Sebastian Larsson
|
L. Augustinsson Mikael Lustig
|
Andreas Granqvist Viktor Lindelöf
|
Robin Olsen
|
Lineup—Sweden—Match
Four (Projected) (4-4-2) (7/1/2018)
Ola
Toivonen Marcus Berg
|
Emil Forsberg Viktor Claesson
|
Albin
Ekdal Oscar Hiljemark
|
Mikael Lustig Victor Lindelöf
|
L.
Augustinsson A. Granqvist
|
Robin Olsen
|
Lineup—Sweden—Match
Four (4-4-2) (Actual) (7/3/2018)
Ola
Toivonen Marcus Berg
|
Emil Forsberg Viktor Claesson
|
Albin
Ekdal Gustav Svensson
|
L. Augustinnson Mikael Lustig
|
A.
Granqvist V. Lindelöf
|
Robin Olsen
|
Andresson tapped Svensson after all. Heroic display from him
and his counterpart Ekdal in midfield. Admirable match turned in by the two
centerbacks as well. Contrary to my predictions, Lustig and Augustinsson
settled into more stable roles. This allowed Forsberg to set-up some
conventional attacks outside the 18. Were it not for atrocious finishing from
the strikers, the scoreline might have been higher
Claesson spent more time in between Granqvist and Lindelöf
than he did on the flanks. Whenever Forsberg couldn’t get established, the
Swedes immediately re-organized into a 5-2-3 that swarmed Dzemali in triple
coverage. It worked today mostly because Shaqiri was denied many useful
touches. It might not work as well against England because concentrating on
their point man won’t shut down distribution in the same way.
It shall prove interesting to see how they fit Larsson back
in. He can take either Claesson or Svensson’s spot. They might even drop the
utterly disappointing Berg and try a 4-5-1.
A sharp strategy and some lucky bounces could see the Swedes
through to the Semis.
Lineup—England—Match
Four (Projected) (3-1-4-2) (7/3/2018)
Harry Kane Raheem Sterling
|
Ashley Young Kieran Trippier
|
Jesse Lingard Dele
Alli
|
Jordan Henderson
|
Fabian Delph John
Stones Harry Maguire
|
Jordan Pickford
|
Lineup—England—Match
Four (Actual) (3-1-4-2) (7/3/2018)
Harry Kane Raheem Sterling
|
Ashley Young Kieran Trippier
|
Jesse Lingard Dele
Alli
|
Jordan Henderson
|
Kyle Walker John
Stones Harry Maguire
|
Jordan Pickford
|
Delph was given the day off to return to England to witness
the birth of his third child. It’s safe to assume that he would have earned the
start otherwise. Not exactly easy to produce further evaluation of this novel
formation as the match was full of interruptions. All that many of us will
recall from today’s match will be the fouls and confrontations.
Markedly better play from Rose, Vardy, and Rashford off the
bench. Dier and Henderson paired up decently as the Lions took up a 5-2-3 shape
down the stretch. One can see how the Belgian match solidified the alternate
game-plan of this side.
Young, Lingard, and Sterling may start the next fixture on
the bench based on today’s play. Dier may also inherit Trippier’s place if Deli
Alli’s re-aggravated injury forces a 4-3-3 deployment.
S.S.S.
Salute to Fallen Comrades
Switzerland—“Die
Schweizer Nati”
-4
games played
-5
Goals scored
-30
Hot Girls
Truly terrible choices from Petkovic today in match he took
far too lightly. He made similarly stubborn moves in the Euro Knockouts two
years ago. The core group of this very talented side will remain in place for
Euro 2020, but a manager I’ve lavished with praise needs to start getting
smarter if this country wishes to finally break through the barriers that have
halted their progress over the past fifty years.
Lineup—Switzerland—Match
Three (4-2-1-3) (6/27/18)
Mario Gavranovic
|
Breel Embolo Xerdhan Shaqiri
|
Blerim
Dzemaili
|
Granit Xhaka Valon Behrami
|
R. Rodriguez M. Akanji
F. Schär S. Lichtsteiner
|
Yann Sommer
|
Lineup—Switzerland—Match
Four (4-2-3-1) (7/3/2018)
Josip
Drmic
|
Blerim Dzemaili
|
Steven
Zuber Xerdhan Shaqiri
|
Granit
Xhaka Valon Behrami
|
R. Rodriguez M. Akanji J. Djourou M. Lang
|
Yann Sommer
|
Let’s begin with Drmic as the lead striker. Really no need
for this as Seferovic had been doing just fine in the role. Behrami and Dzemaili
intuitively sensed how to place the ball directly on the tip of his boot. In
the Lines section, I advocated picking Zakaria in the interest of giving the
side some carry-over club chemistry. Zuber made sense if the goal was to
compete with the Swedes aerially, but that shouldn’t have been an issue with so
much height at the back.
Moving Shaqiri to the right also wasn’t sensible in either
match. He often switches to that side in the latter stages of the match when opposing
defenses start to break down, but if he himself gets shut down early it
disrupts the whole flow of the offensive engine.
I strongly supported and expected Elvedi to get the start at
centerback. Djourou only barely secured a roster spot following some late
injuries. Elvedi worked very hard to beat him out of a place and would have
been the perfect choice to pair with Gladbach teammates Michael Lang and Yann
Sommer at the back.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Your friendly bookie had a bad
premonition when he saw how Petkovic planned how to deal with the absence of
Schär and Lichteteiner. Starting Elvedi and flipping him with Akanji would have
surely prevented that own-goal.
Argh. Such an imprudent waste. Possibly their best chance
ever squandered by horrible managerial decisions in the third and fourth
matches.
Columbia—“Los
Cafeteros”
-4
games played
-6
Goals scored
-41
Hot Girls
It should have absolutely been possible to win without
James. Now it’s back to Bogota to regroup for next summer’s tournament. One
last opportunity for Falcao, Barrios, Cuardrado, Aguilar, and Carlos Sanchesz
to capture glory. As early as it is, I predict they’ll falter in that quest and
the Coffee Growers will drop off the international footballing map for a good
long spell.
Lineup—Columbia—Match
Three (4-2-3-1) (6/28/18)
Radamel Falcao
|
J. Rodriguez J. F. Quintero J. Cuadrado
|
Carlos Sanchez Matues Uribe
|
Johan
Mojica Santiago Arias
|
Y. Mina D. Sanchez
|
David Ospina
|
Lineup—Columbia—Match
Four (4-3-2-1) (7/3/2018)
Radamel Falcao
|
J.F. Quintero J. Cuardrado
|
J. Lerma Carlos Sanchez W. Barrios
|
Johan Mojica
Santiago Arias
|
Yerri
Mina Davidson Sanchez
|
David Ospina
|
The actual form of the team was a great deal more compressed
for most of the match. For some reason Pekerman just pulled everyone inward
early on. Practically no lateral play from a team that had up until now
excelled at it. They were all bunched together, particularly on the second and
third lines. Ostensibly this strategy was used to draw Trippier and Young in
off the flanks and keep the match tight.
Though it’s impossible to know for sure, I’ll conjecture
that this tactic ultimately led to the raw frustration to which the players
succumbed. Packed densely into an unnatural formation, most of the guys just
lost their nerve when lining up in close quarters for the free kicks. Too crowded.
Your friendly bookie fails to understand why a 4-3-2-1 was
needed. The loss of James Rodriguez wasn’t so critical as to necessitate a
shake-up of the entire system. I only saw Pekerman return to his base formation
shortly before the Zapata substitution in the second half of extra time. By
then everyone was too spent and discombobulated for it to make any difference.
“Riffs
of the Day”—Day Nineteen
Reader:
What’s with the low Hot Girl numbers this year?
Vicey:
Could be that I’m missing more as I try to keep up with everything. Might also
be the case that fewer female fans are traveling to Russia. Maybe your friendly
bookie’s standards have risen a tad now that he’s not boozing. Those are your
three main factors. Use them as the main analytical thrust of your article and
turn it in on Friday by 4:00 p.m. EDT.
You’ve
a bright future here at the “Department of Vice Studies”, 23-M ; )
Reader:
Will you re-post your forty-page analysis of England’s shootout losses?
Vicey:
No need for that. Do your own research you’d like tenure here at the “Department
of Vice Studies”, 53-M.
Reader:
Only an American ref would have the patience for this nonsense.
Vicey:
I concur, 44-M. How in the hell Mark Geiger didn’t punch those persistently
whiny little bitches in the face is beyond me. Never seen that kind of
restraint from Jersey Shore guys like him or you.
Happy Independence Day, Yank Bettors!
Best wishes for a happy holiday and a day off from football.
Everyone’s laughing at your friendly bookie for repeatedly
bashing the Swedes; labeling them a lost team from the very beginning. Even
Princess Sofia gives me a sardonic smirk.
Yeah. We’ll see who’s smirking come Saturday. In any event, she
bids you a coquettish adieu until the next Round of Lines ; )
