Hmm...you know, Mourinho's Inter really was a defensive beast. That Inter side was indestructible when arrayed in two banks of four on the edge of the penalty area. Gosh, so utterly defensive. But we still won against them at the lane and gave them a real fright at the San Siro. How the hell did that happen? We beat the ultra-defensive European champions, managed by ultra-ultra-ultra defensive Rafa Benitez? I guess the reason we lost 4-3 and won 3-1 is because we played better than a hybrid of Barcelona and 70's Ajax, zipping the ball around at light speed and reaching a destination before we'd set off, our superman-like laser vision burning through the swarms of black and blue shirts.
Or it could be because they played a really high line against us. You know, their back four on the half-way line, closing down opponents near the center circle? Recycling possession from mid-way, much like Barca do? trying to play a fluent pass-and-press game? Gosh, they really looked like they were trying to play a high line and only put four defenders near the center circle, leaving the rest free to advance further up the pitch. I could have sworn that was why Bale blazed through them with such ease; because they were actually trying to attack.Because they weren't sitting back, and were willing to go forward leaving gaps in their back-line. True, that tactic didn't appear to work, but that seemed only to be the case because their defenders were slow as molasses. If they were faster, it could have been a beautifully fast-paced system, much like our own. But I guess I just imagined all that. No, no way Sam Allardyce Mk2 was trying to change his tactics to be more adventurous. He doesn't work that way. He's Park The Bus Rafa! Only plays for a draw! or a 1-0 win! you know, 1-0 to the liverpool and all that? Except all those times when they beat teams 4, 5, 6, 7, even 8-0 of course. Those were aberrations. All those resounding wins against the likes of Madrid, Besiktas and Marseille? pfft! pah! Insignificant! The fact that he introduced a radically different attacking approach when he joined Valencia? Pah! unfounded rumours. All those intricate, incisive passing movements that so harried PL defenses and allowed Torres, Gerrard et al to score hatloads? Not for me, oh no sir! Rafa is a defensive dullard, and you can strike me down if I'm wrong, yes-sir-ree!
Or maybe we won because Benitez was trying to implement an attacking approach, the same way he implemented one at Valencia and the same way he led Liverpool to score 77 goals in the 2008-2009 PL season, something we haven't managed in the PL era to date, unless I'm mistaken. He's not a defensive coach; he's an organized one. If you label all organized coaches as defensive, then every game in the PL would finish either 1-0 or 0-0, with the exception of ours which would finish 566565333-4454544.
