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3 Steelers who need benched or fired after another awful offensive performance
3 Steelers who need benched or fired after another awful offensive performance
The Pittsburgh Steelers have some tough choices to make after a narrow win over the Cleveland Browns. The offense played horribly yet again.
2023-09-19 12:16
The six types of Pep Guardiola full-back, and what each says about Man City’s evolution
The six types of Pep Guardiola full-back, and what each says about Man City’s evolution
A month ago, Pep Guardiola considered the prospects of the player who had made most appearances for him as a full-back and concluded he could not play full-back in a Pep Guardiola team. Or not this team and this system, anyway. “He cannot do it,” Guardiola said. And perhaps that, for Kyle Walker, would have been that, the beginning of the end, a player whose time at Manchester City was ended by a tactical shift that rendered him redundant. Since then, however, Walker has started four of City’s last five games and subdued Gabriel Martinelli in a title decider. In the other biggest match of City’s season so far, he could be the specialist selected for another unenviable task: halting Vinicius Junior, the scorer in last season’s Champions League final, the scourge of Trent Alexander-Arnold. He has the pace – “he will be the fastest in the room at 60,” Guardiola said – to stand out but Walker is an anomaly in other respects. He is the only senior specialist full-back left in City’s squad. They have knocked a player they own, and one who felt the definitive Guardiola full-back, out of the Champions League, after loaning Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich. But then the definition of a Guardiola full-back has altered over his managerial career. He is indelibly associated with passing midfielders and false nines, but his willingness to experiment, reinvent and revolutionise has been most apparent on either side of the defence, as the six types of Guardiola full-back show. 1. The attacking full-back So far, so conventional? Perhaps not quite. Guardiola may be a trailblazer even there, an advocate of ultra-attacking full-backs when many another manager first looked for solidity in the back four. His Barcelona pairing of Maxwell and Dani Alves could overlap while his midfielders dominated possession. Alves reached double figures in assists in La Liga in three successive seasons for Guardiola, peaking with 15 in 2010-11. Had Jesus Navas opted to stay at City in 2017, it would have been as the second-choice right-back, with Guardiola taking a winger and converting him into a full-back. 2. The full-back as midfielder Given the Bundesliga’s emphasis on pressing and quick transitions, Guardiola became more concerned about counter-attacks during his time at Bayern Munich. It was one reason why he revisited football’s past and formations from the game’s history; either the 2-3-5 used from the end of the 19th century or the W-M system that was invented in the 1920s. Instead of getting his full-backs to overlap, he got them to come infield, to play as old-fashioned wing-halves, taking up positions in front of the centre-backs. It helped that Philipp Lahm and David Alaba had the skillsets to play as midfielders; indeed, Guardiola would often use Lahm, with his footballing intellect, ability to take the ball under pressure and find a teammate, as an actual midfielder. Cancelo has been a variant on the theme at City: a midfielder earlier in his career, he has come infield – most effectively from left-back – and his more ambitious range has made him a playmaker from the base of the midfield. Whereas Rodri, the actual holding midfielder, was more of a metronome, alongside him, Cancelo tried the defence-splitting pass. 3. The midfielder as full-back A reason why Guardiola’s squads tend to feature relatively few out-and-out full-backs and why he can be picky when buying them is that few seem to meet his demands. They tend to include having the ability on the ball of midfielders; perhaps it is unsurprising some actually are midfielders. Joshua Kimmich was a case in point for Bayern. At City, first Fabian Delph and then Oleksandr Zinchenko were moved from midfield to full-back – the Ukrainian was more of a left winger or a No. 10 – with both directed to play the half-back role, to double up as the second defensive midfielder in possession. It has become a more permanent shift, at club level anyway, for Zinchenko, but when Delph went to Everton he reverted to being a midfielder. Kimmich has the ability to operate in a host of roles but is now established at the heart of Bayern’s midfield. Guardiola’s most extreme example of the midfielder as a full-back, albeit a brief one, was when Bernardo Silva spent a couple of games playing as an auxiliary left-back. 4. The defensive full-back It wasn’t how Walker was described when he joined City. He had spent 2016-17 as a flying wing-back for Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham. Guardiola decided his extreme pace was better deployed as an insurance policy, as the man to stop the counter-attacks and as the counterpart to the left-backs, whether Cancelo, Delph or Zinchenko, who were directed into midfield. In effect, Walker was often the right of three centre-backs, though that arguably led to another evolution. 5. The centre-back as full-back When Cancelo was exiled and Walker benched, it felt as though Guardiola was abolishing the notion of the full-back altogether. He has fielded teams featuring five players – including Rodri – who operated at centre-back for their countries in the World Cup. It helps that a manager obsessed with the Cruyffian idea of a left-footed centre-back to open up passing angles in the build-up has two, each accomplished in possession, in Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte. Ake has proved particularly accomplished in a hybrid role: half centre-back, half left-back. Manuel Akanji has been the other unexpected beneficiary of Guardiola’s change in thinking this season. If the Switzerland international had been positioned on what became the right of three, he played as an out-and-out right back against Bayern Munich, charged with halting Leroy Sane, and then as a pure defensive left-back against Arsenal, subduing Bukayo Saka. It was as though the purist in Guardiola had gone full pragmatist, looking for a player who was big, quick, defensively diligent and reliable, almost regardless of his ability on the ball. 6. The centre-back as full-back and midfielder If Cancelo felt the man who gave City an added dimension in the past, now John Stones is. If much of Guardiola’s tactics since leaving Barcelona has been a quest to find someone who is both the fourth defender and the second holding midfielder, the tweak this year was to reinvent Stones from a centre-back to a right-back who moved alongside Rodri in possession. Then, against Bayern, came another twist: Stones started as a centre-back but stepped forward, leaving Ruben Dias, Ake and Akanji to form a back three behind him. Stones’ extraordinarily high pass completion rates makes him dependable in possession, while having the defensive nous. He has often been preferred to his friend Walker. But perhaps the prospect of Vinicius will prompt Guardiola to pick Stones as a conventional centre-back and Walker as an old-fashioned right-back. Read More Why Man City vs Real Madrid is the ‘real’ Champions League final Pep Guardiola ready to stare down his managerial nemesis once again Is Real Madrid vs Manchester City on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Champions League semi-final Ex-England boss Fabio Capello labels Manchester City ‘the best team in world’ Man City not motivated by revenge against Real Madrid says Guardiola Real Madrid handed Luka Modric fitness boost ahead of Man City clash
1970-01-01 08:00
USC athletic director Mike Bohn resigns after 3 1/2 years in charge
USC athletic director Mike Bohn resigns after 3 1/2 years in charge
Southern California athletic director Mike Bohn has resigned
2023-05-20 04:49
Rite Aid's bankruptcy plan stirs worries of new 'pharmacy deserts'
Rite Aid's bankruptcy plan stirs worries of new 'pharmacy deserts'
Rite Aid’s plan to close more stores as part of its bankruptcy process raises concern about how that might hurt access to medicine and care
2023-10-17 23:29
CEO says he fired a co-worker after she helped him avoid being on 9/11 plane
CEO says he fired a co-worker after she helped him avoid being on 9/11 plane
A CEO has explained why he fired his colleague whose advice meant he didn't get on a 9/11 plane. On 11 September 2001, Bill Ellmore was booked to fly on United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco - one of the four flights hijacked by terrorists. But writing on Twitter, he explained how his co-worker told him to get another flight to save time - meaning he was spared from tragedy - only to get the sack. The CEO of Solomons Global Executive Services wrote: "I was booked on United Flight 93 on 9/11, 2001, flying nonstop from Newark NJ to San Francisco CA. Around midnight the night before, a coworker called me urging me to change my flight to fly into San Jose instead." He didn't want to change flights because he would have to give up his first class seat and the flight to San Jose left 20 minutes later with a stopover in Denver. However, his co-worker explained that the commute from San Francisco to Mountain View - where he was attending a meeting - would make him late for the meeting and traveling from San Jose would be much quicker. He continued: "When I got to the airport, I watched people boarding flight 93 and I was upset that I was not leaving earlier, in my 1st class seat on a direct flight," he said. "I didn’t notice or care about the people as they were boarding, only myself." He finally boarded his plane but as the flight was a few planes away from taking off, the pilot told passengers to look out the windows on the right side of the plane because it appeared the Twin Towers had been hit by a plane." They were grounded and Ellmore said the experience changed him. "I now take every opportunity to watch and if possible, get to know the people I’m boarding a plane with," he wrote. "I never hesitate to give up my seat for a later flight if requested. "I’ve had two children since 9/11 and went to multiple mission trips to war torn countries. Every day I wake up breathing is another gift from God." He finished his astonishing story with the words: "Never forget." So what happened to his co-worker? When asked about her, Ellmore responded: "Sad to say, I ultimately had to fire her for poor performance. It was difficult." He continued: "The reason I was originally booked on Flight 93 was due to her performance issues. These issues didn’t improve afterwards and I delayed letting her go until my boss insisted it happen." That's capitalism for you... Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-09-13 16:05
The best dating sites for introverts, wallflowers, and anyone hesitant to try online dating
The best dating sites for introverts, wallflowers, and anyone hesitant to try online dating
Online dating is kind of the best thing that's ever happened to introverts. Now, you
2023-08-23 17:00
Marketmind: G4 central bankers speak, chips wars rumble
Marketmind: G4 central bankers speak, chips wars rumble
A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Eyeing another slew of impressive U.S.
2023-06-28 18:02
Georgia made it easier for parents to challenge school library books. Almost no one has done so
Georgia made it easier for parents to challenge school library books. Almost no one has done so
Georgia Republican lawmakers passed a law to make it easier to challenge school library books as inappropriate, but few people are using it
2023-08-20 12:03
College football rankings 2023: Projected Week 8 AP Top 25 after Notre Dame blasts USC, Washington prevails
College football rankings 2023: Projected Week 8 AP Top 25 after Notre Dame blasts USC, Washington prevails
Projecting the AP Top 25 college football rankings for Week 8 after Notre Dame flat-out embarrassed USC, Washington outlasted Oregon in Seattle, UNC made a statement against Miami, and much more on Saturday.
2023-10-15 12:07
NFL Rumors: Bills make firm decision on Sean McDermott’s future
NFL Rumors: Bills make firm decision on Sean McDermott’s future
The reigning AFC East champions have lost twice as many games as they did a year ago. Is Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott on his way out?
2023-12-03 04:08
What we know about the Morocco earthquake
What we know about the Morocco earthquake
More than 1000 people have died after a powerful earthquake struck the North African country of Morocco on Friday night. Hundreds have been injured.
2023-09-09 23:21
Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga fans go to war over 'Princess Diana' verse
Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga fans go to war over 'Princess Diana' verse
'I could've never imagined this interaction, I thought they hated each other????!!' said a fan
2023-05-19 16:20