Football, Flamini and other tacklers.
A friend recently commented on, my labelling of Mathieu Flamini as a tackler, by pointing out that Flamini's not really a good tackler but just a hard working bits and pieces type of player who likes to tackle. And because he's not really good at anything else, Arsenal fans, myself included, like to place him in the tackler category when there are, in fact, better tacklers in the side such as Francesc Fabregas.
That got me thinking. He had a point, Flamini is not that good a tackler. But wait, there's more to it than that. When Flamini executes a tackle, whether it's successful or not, whether it's clean or not, it causes the opposing player to shift, to preempt his movement and react accordingly. Flamini likes to get stuck in. In fact, he looks rather clumsy tackling, more often than not. Whether his clumsiness is due to his lack of proficieny at tackling, or his style, is not the point. It's his mentality that builds the reputation. Flamini's tackling comes across as someone who is deliberately on the ground to obstruct and disturb someone's flow with the ball at his feet. And therein lies the rub. That is why it's effective and that is why he's branded a tackler.
In the Premiership, it's players like Flamini, who like to get stuck in, that are feared by opposing flair players. It's not necessarily the ones who may tackle you cleanly and take the ball away - example Fabregas or Gilberto. It's the ones who will cause you to remember the tackle, knock you over and clatter you while possibly dislodging the ball from your feet. These players disrupt the flow, these players knock skilled players off their stride - these are the ones who are remembered more often than not. Of course, this is not 100% true - there are some excellent tacklers who are remembered and avoided when possible - Patrick Vieira for example. But in Vieira's case, the man was a a bit of a giant - tall and gangly, with immense strength in his legs and lower body. Whether he clattered you or not, you'd remember the tackle. When Fabregas tackles - it's usually so smooth and uninterrupted that the person who loses the ball rarely remembers the tackle. If Fabregas was more clumsy - he'd be feared as a tackler a little bit more. Half of tackling is all about reputation and pre-emptive fear.
Thomas Gravesen is not a good tackler and never was - but he's a chronic tackler - ever ready to hit the deck and cause all sorts of problems to people and their shin and ankle guards and he's strong and tough - boy is he ever strong. It's how he has staked his reputation and for a while became a rather sought after defensive midfielder. Phil Neville is another such player - generally rubbish but more than happy to get stuck in and fell the man. The disgraceful, unpunished kicking that him and his brother dished out to Jose Antonio Reyes in the semifinal of the FA Cup in 2004 is one of the reasons Reyes never got over his fear of the tackle while in England.
Blackburn is one of the lousiest set of tacklers I have ever seen but it is their inherent clumsiness and lack of technique that causes them to knock more skilled teams out of their stride. To that list add Bolton (Ivan Campo aside) and the Sheffield United defence. It's no mystery why Chelsea may be looking at Bolton's Tel Ben Haim as a possible option to reinforce his team, the Israeli is one of the worst tacklers I have ever seen but he makes sure people remember him as a physical player. He gets stuck in. He creates fear. Paul Scholes is a very clumsy tackler and quite often gets booked 2 or 3 tackles in - however opposing midfielders fear his incoming studs and preemptively dodge out of the way. Their flow gets disrupted. Job done for Scholesy. Dan Smith's ridiculous lunge on Abou Diaby on the last day of last season was not even carded - thereby showing that the grey area between a foul and a clean tackle is vast. For the rest of his playing career Abou Diaby will subconsciously fear the incoming tackle no matter where he plays. In a perverse way Dan Smith's job is done.
So to wrap up, if you're going to go in for a tackle, go in hard. Make sure the opponent feels your thunder. As entertaining as modern football is, there is no better way to get at an opposing football team than to get stuck in and around their ankles and knees. As for my beloved Arsenal - that is the only way you can beat them.
A friend recently commented on, my labelling of Mathieu Flamini as a tackler, by pointing out that Flamini's not really a good tackler but just a hard working bits and pieces type of player who likes to tackle. And because he's not really good at anything else, Arsenal fans, myself included, like to place him in the tackler category when there are, in fact, better tacklers in the side such as Francesc Fabregas.
That got me thinking. He had a point, Flamini is not that good a tackler. But wait, there's more to it than that. When Flamini executes a tackle, whether it's successful or not, whether it's clean or not, it causes the opposing player to shift, to preempt his movement and react accordingly. Flamini likes to get stuck in. In fact, he looks rather clumsy tackling, more often than not. Whether his clumsiness is due to his lack of proficieny at tackling, or his style, is not the point. It's his mentality that builds the reputation. Flamini's tackling comes across as someone who is deliberately on the ground to obstruct and disturb someone's flow with the ball at his feet. And therein lies the rub. That is why it's effective and that is why he's branded a tackler.
In the Premiership, it's players like Flamini, who like to get stuck in, that are feared by opposing flair players. It's not necessarily the ones who may tackle you cleanly and take the ball away - example Fabregas or Gilberto. It's the ones who will cause you to remember the tackle, knock you over and clatter you while possibly dislodging the ball from your feet. These players disrupt the flow, these players knock skilled players off their stride - these are the ones who are remembered more often than not. Of course, this is not 100% true - there are some excellent tacklers who are remembered and avoided when possible - Patrick Vieira for example. But in Vieira's case, the man was a a bit of a giant - tall and gangly, with immense strength in his legs and lower body. Whether he clattered you or not, you'd remember the tackle. When Fabregas tackles - it's usually so smooth and uninterrupted that the person who loses the ball rarely remembers the tackle. If Fabregas was more clumsy - he'd be feared as a tackler a little bit more. Half of tackling is all about reputation and pre-emptive fear.
Thomas Gravesen is not a good tackler and never was - but he's a chronic tackler - ever ready to hit the deck and cause all sorts of problems to people and their shin and ankle guards and he's strong and tough - boy is he ever strong. It's how he has staked his reputation and for a while became a rather sought after defensive midfielder. Phil Neville is another such player - generally rubbish but more than happy to get stuck in and fell the man. The disgraceful, unpunished kicking that him and his brother dished out to Jose Antonio Reyes in the semifinal of the FA Cup in 2004 is one of the reasons Reyes never got over his fear of the tackle while in England.
Blackburn is one of the lousiest set of tacklers I have ever seen but it is their inherent clumsiness and lack of technique that causes them to knock more skilled teams out of their stride. To that list add Bolton (Ivan Campo aside) and the Sheffield United defence. It's no mystery why Chelsea may be looking at Bolton's Tel Ben Haim as a possible option to reinforce his team, the Israeli is one of the worst tacklers I have ever seen but he makes sure people remember him as a physical player. He gets stuck in. He creates fear. Paul Scholes is a very clumsy tackler and quite often gets booked 2 or 3 tackles in - however opposing midfielders fear his incoming studs and preemptively dodge out of the way. Their flow gets disrupted. Job done for Scholesy. Dan Smith's ridiculous lunge on Abou Diaby on the last day of last season was not even carded - thereby showing that the grey area between a foul and a clean tackle is vast. For the rest of his playing career Abou Diaby will subconsciously fear the incoming tackle no matter where he plays. In a perverse way Dan Smith's job is done.
So to wrap up, if you're going to go in for a tackle, go in hard. Make sure the opponent feels your thunder. As entertaining as modern football is, there is no better way to get at an opposing football team than to get stuck in and around their ankles and knees. As for my beloved Arsenal - that is the only way you can beat them.
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