The Importance of Alphonso Davies

[dyslexic nam]

20 minutes ago, Colliedor said:

Yes, but if you have a speedy, dangerous fullback, you use it. Bayern played very narrow and struggled offensively the whole game.

I will admit that I am just going by online updates and stats, but 27 shots (11 on target) doesn't seem like much of a struggle. 

[SthMelbRed]

8 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

I will admit that I am just going by online updates and stats, but 27 shots (11 on target) doesn't seem like much of a struggle. 

There were a lot of shit attempts in there. Bayern were poor in the final third today. 

[PopePouri]

Tactically he's grown leaps and bounds in such short amount of time. One major strength that hasn't been said is his ability to win aerial balls consistently due to his height and agility.

[Bertuzzi44]

3 hours ago, Acid-Tone said:

You were saying something?  😛

Oh, I didn't know Flick was hired as Bayern's new permanent manager. Congrats to him!

[Colliedor]

Find a lot of strange arguments being made as to why he isn't attacking.

Davies was doing attacking runs in the other games, just not today under the new intern.

So I'm not sure where all the weird excuses of "defending first, attacking comes later" or "not rely on a 19 year old" or "gotta defend against a lesser team" comes from. None of this make much sense.

One of their best chances came from Davies making a overlap run and sending a dangerous cross. But that was pretty much it. The rest of his chances came from setpieces. Bayern looked really poor, they better hope the new manger knows what he's doing cause this style was brutal today. Against a decent team, this would backfire.

[Snowcrash]

Defensive game summary shows Davies with 4 tackles and 3 interceptions.  The next highest is Goretzky with 2 and 2.

 

[Obinna]

https://www.bayernzone.com/showthread.php?t=5712&page=8

Praise for Davies in the other pages of this thread, but the linked page has some speculation that Bayern will go with the same back four against Dortmund this weekend.

A fourth start in a row on your Champions League debut (which was a win against Olympiakos) is not a bad way to head into the int. break, but a 5th consecutive start in a match against Dortmund would be the icing on the cake.

[Acid-Tone]

^^^

Not sure about all that.  The new manager will probably reassess things once he realizes Davies didn't attack enough according to some guy on the internet!

[baulderdash77]

The Bayern fans are buzzing about Davies.     A completely dominant game from LB by him shutting down the outside.

I don’t know if it maximizes OUR talent if he plays LB but the Bayern fans seem to think he’s pretty great player as a LB.  I still think of him as a LW.

It will be interesting to see for a tough road game if we decide to use him and Laryea as FB to shut down the US outside pressure and force counters.  Combined they could be the most athletic set of FB in CONCACAF.

[Acid-Tone]

What Bayern Munich and Canada need from Alphonso Davies are in no way the same thing.   

Completely different rosters make for completely different lineups and game plans!

[BFBF]

To be fair, in Bayern's eyes, why the heck would they play him at LW right now. Maybe down the road he will get a chance, but right now their back line is shattered, and Davies has helped shore it up. 

Taking this run of games to mean that Bayern's full expectations of Davies is at LB is not a good idea. Right now they are playing him where they need him. I am sure the coaches and future coach will know Davies can play both LB and winger. He will likely play both positions for the rest of his career. One preferred, and one when needed through injuries. That just means more playing time and options for Canada. 

In terms of Canada, right now we need Davies at forward, but in the future who knows. With David, Millar, and others like Borges coming Davies at LB might be a good idea in 3-4 years. Even though I would prefer not, it is a possibility. Now I'll duck out of the forum before you all revoke my Canadian citizenship.

[Colliedor]

20 minutes ago, Acid-Tone said:

^^^

Not sure about all that.  The new manager will probably reassess things once he realizes Davies didn't attack enough according to some guy on the internet!

Asking a converted winger playing fullback to join in the attack against a team parking the bus and struggling to create clear cut chances all game is a weird thing to ask around here apparently..

 

[apbsmith]

Thought he barely put a foot wrong all game.

World class cross across face of goal that should have been finished. 

As for the entire discussion Lw/LB, let's not forget many times Alaba played LB for Bayern and CM/CAM for Austria. 

I'm beyond happy and impressed with his well deserved 4th start in a row. Deserves to get the start in the Derby this weekend to make it 5 in a row. Incredible experience and development for this young man.

Edited November 6, 2019 by apbsmith
Impressed

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

He looked good.  They were building through Kimmich mostly and people were standing around way too much so I would not read too much into the lack of attacking.

First and foremost, just great to have him playing.  

[SthMelbRed]

1 hour ago, apbsmith said:

Deserves to get the start in the Derby this weekend to make it 5 in a row. 

Bayern is playing Dortmund this weekend, not 1860.

[Acid-Tone]

1 hour ago, Colliedor said:

Asking a converted winger playing fullback to join in the attack against a team parking the bus and struggling to create clear cut chances all game is a weird thing to ask around here apparently..

 

Asking?  Why would he care what you're asking of him?

The concept that you apparently fail to grasp here is that it doesn't f*cking matter what your opinion is (or mine for that matter), as to how he plays and more specifically, how much he gets upfield.  He either plays how he's been instructed to and proves to his manager that he's reliable, or he doesn't play.

The fact that two different managers have now placed him out there on the back line as a (barely 19 yr old!) starter, would lead most to understand that he's doing well following his managers instructions.

[Colliedor]

3 minutes ago, Acid-Tone said:

Asking?  Why would he care what you're asking of him?

The concept that you apparently fail to grasp here is that it doesn't f*cking matter what your opinion is (or mine for that matter), as to how he plays and more specifically, how much he gets upfield.  He either plays how he's been instructed to and proves to his manager that he's reliable, or he doesn't play.

The fact that two different managers have now placed him out there on the back line as a (barely 19 yr old!) starter, would lead most to understand that he's doing well following his managers instructions.

Uh... I think there's some kind of miscommunication here. I'm slightly confused.

I'm not placing blame on Davies for not going forward. I'm not telling Davies how to play. I was making the argument that the COACH needed to push his fullbacks up more cause the opposing team was sitting deep and Bayern didn't have enough bodies joining in the attack. They looked very narrow and poor in the final 3rd. Like I mentioned earlier, Davies did 1 overlap pretty much all game and it was one of their best chances. They were missing those kind of runs the whole game.

I thought I made it very clear in my first post that I thought the coach wasn't using his strengths properly. With the intern's coach debut, he told Davies to sit back a little and drift near the middle. It wasn't the case with Kovac, who seemed more willing to let Davies move forward. This is what I prefer to see him being used. Suits him more.

 

 

 

[Aird25]

5 hours ago, Snowcrash said:

I counted three plays where Davis  dispossessed an attacking player.  Happened in previous games too. The ball winning is completely unexpected and will probably keep him in as a starter at LB more than any other part of his game.

 

I really don't think it's that unexpected. He was league leader in duels won in his last season with Vancouver, and he averaged nearly two tackles per game. His defensive abilities have always been very underrated by Canadian fans, which is why there has been so much shock about him being used as a defender.

[Aird25]

4 hours ago, PopePouri said:

Tactically he's grown leaps and bounds in such short amount of time. One major strength that hasn't been said is his ability to win aerial balls consistently due to his height and agility.

He was absolutely horrible in the air with Vancouver. He has improved significantly in that regard

[apbsmith]

1 hour ago, SthMelbRed said:

Bayern is playing Dortmund this weekend, not 1860.

My bad, thx, Derby was def the wrong word.  Should have said 

"Der Klassiker"

[Bdog]

If only he scored that volley...

On the subject of our national team, I think him playing LB depends on what other options we have at the wings and if we can't get a clear starting LB.

Hoilett is still going to be a good option for this cycle but is David actually effective out wide? He looks great at striker and it sounds like CAM is his best position but I think against Cuba he didn't look super effective out wide, it might have been that 1-0 game where no one looked great to be fair. Tabla is out of the picture right now. Borges might be an option but we have to probably see how he does at a higher level. Millar likely has the highest ceiling out of our winger prospects but right now he's not a starter for us. Basically I'd keep Davies at LW/RW right now unless we can get another solid starter besides Hoilett.

I'd also keep him at wing if someone claims the LB spot but right now I think we're just average there tbh. Adekugbe probably won't become much more than a MLS level player and we don't know how good Miller will turn out to be. If his peak is just an MLS starter, I'd consider just putting Davies there.

[SpursFlu]

I'm surprised nobody points out how dominant he is defensively. The Olympiacos player ran at him like a half dozen times in the first half of the game but near the end totally gave up and just looked to pass. One time a player even got upset that he didn't take on Davies and he motioned back like.. hey have you been watching, I can't beat this guy

Davies is a freak running with the ball but I still think the most impressive thing is how he dominates defensively 1v1

Edited November 7, 2019 by SpursFlu

[Cheeta]

^ Echo that.  Hasn't even been a year and Germany has been very good to him, especially on that side of his game.    Being more selective on when to go on his raids being another big part.  Thought he tried to spur things forward there a couple of times, not out of any practiced movement or opportunity just because the game was calling for it.  Which is good!  Just he was way more economical with those types of actions than we've see from Canada in a few matches. 

Good night for him overall.  Damn he's quick with that ball.  Pity about the match though, Olympiacos were already beating before opening kick-off.  Or it seemed like it to me.

[baulderdash77]

8 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

I'm surprised nobody points out how dominant he is defensively.

That’s kinda what I was getting at.  In a tight away match he could pair with Laryea and shut down the outside completely and start counters defensively.

He’s becoming an absolute unit defensively and teams just get frustrated and stop trying to challenge him because he wins almost every 1v1 duel on the outside.  Then anything he doesn’t win he just harries the player relentlessly with his speed.

[Snowcrash]

8 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

I'm surprised nobody points out how dominant he is defensively. The Olympiacos player ran at him like a half dozen times in the first half of the game but near the end totally gave up and just looked to pass. One time a player even got upset that he didn't take on Davies and he motioned back like.. hey have you been watching, I can't beat this guy

Davies is a freak running with the ball but I still think the most impressive thing is how he dominates defensively 1v1

In the Bayern forum, someone mentioned that Davies was baiting the Olympiakos RW to beat him down the line but shut him down every time so he eventually stopped trying to go one-on-one with Davies.

Wonder if Herdman would consider using Davies to mark Pusilic down the wing like that.   Just give Pusilic all the space he wants down the line but don't let him cut in.