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View Full Version : CD Tenerife away from home this season as of late



FinnKris
30-10-2011, 16:37
In the wake of another rather disappointing away day I was trying to figure out why we now lately struggle a bit away from home whereas at home it’s quite the other way around. Of course against the better teams even a point away is a good/great result depending a bit, but in order to secure a top4 play off spot (ideally top spot) to hopefully achieve promotion, we need to start winning against the middle/lower teams away from home, otherwise the pressure is really on to win at home week in week out.

Admittingly I’ve only seen 2 and a half away games & no home games (yet) this season, (second half away to Getafe B, full games away to Real Madrid Castilla & the latest away to SS Reyes) but for me this formation with these players just doesn’t work (in an attacking sense) .

At least away from home we play a 4-2-3-1 type formation which is what this season’s Real Madrid for instance also use. The problem for me is that the middle guy in the upper midfield trio is almost wasted the way we play. Perona in the game vs SS Reyes was a non-entity looking almost lost as he doesn’t seem to be a real striker but also not a play-making number 10 type to complement Kiko Raton upfront.

So basically our playmaker is Zazo/Marcos who plays with Kitoko in front of the defense but ends up lying way too deep for me when we try to attack (too far away from the play). What we would desperately need (if we keep persisting with this formation) is someone to play off Kiko Raton with a bit of creativity. Real Madrid have someone like Kaka or Özil to do just that.

Now almost all our creative play comes from the flanks but none of the players we have (Chechu, Ferran Tacon, Victor Bravo that I’ve seen play in this position) are really pacey wingers that fly by the defender or can consistently beat the defender one-on-one ala Ronaldo/Angel di Maria. I would also like to see our full backs join in the attacks much more to help out the wingers, maybe creating a 2-on-1 situation vs the defender & thus allowing for time & space to put in quality crosses or even go for goal directly.

With the players I’ve seen this season I would go with Kiko Raton as striker, Victor Bravo on the left, Ferran Tacon/alt Nico in center & Chechu on the right. I really wish we still had players in the mold of Dani Kome-Junalu Hens etc who (on their day) were great on the flanks & really brought a lot to the attack. And what worked so wonderfully for 2 glorious seasons was the attacking pairing of Nino & Alejandro Alfaro, now there is no such duo upfront to provide the goals needed. Hopefully we could find someone for Kiko Raton to partner up with.

I know Josmar Zambrano was/is highly regarded, however he seems to have dropped out of reckoning, is he injured/progress stalling? I haven’t really seen him play bar a few minutes as a late substitute last season, but surely (assuming he is anything like the hype suggested, even some comparisons drawn to Messi :wow:) he could do a job for us either on the flanks or through the middle?

Thoughts/ideas from the faithfulls, agree/disagree with points I brought up? What should CDT/the Coach do to improve our away form as I feel we need to start winning real soon, our away form could well be crucial for the promotion push?

And also a question to you who have the opportunity to see the home games either at the stadium or via local TV, what are the biggest differences to the way we play at home vs away as the results at least are quite contrasting of late?

Sorry, a bit long-winded the text, I seem to be in a contemplating mood today….:wink2:

bonitatime
31-10-2011, 17:55
We have always struggled away from home, even in the year we went up to the first division we were only so/so in the first round. If I recall after xmas we were 6th or 7th. I am never sure why away games are so hard but it is the travelling, the change in temperature or just being away from home.
Ask Fred Perry how many away games he has been to and how many wins seen. I have done 11 away games and seen one win and 2 draws in all that time.
I feel that in the second half yesterday they decided to consolidate the draw and not break their legs on the ground as it was.


I think you will find the biggest factor with the home games is that the crowd get behind the team and push them to win.

No one is sure what is happening with Josmar but there seems to ba a tendency to play with the team who came new this year. It will be interesting to see if Luna plays on Sunday. Pablo will certainly be incorporated into the squad at xmas when the window opens and the sports director is looking for a forward and a provider.

Fred Perry
31-10-2011, 22:14
Thanks for the informative and knowledgable post FinnKris. As Bonitatime rightly says, CDT have never been great away from home. I have been to about 24 away games following Tenerife to the mainland and only seen them win twice (there were a few good away draws included). Calderon our manager is known for being on the cautious side. I also think the pressure he is under from fans and media make him more like that and to be honest I do not blame him for settling for an comfortable draw in contrast to risking a win or loss.
Yes, we need another strike and one will be found in December. But we don´t want some big-headed ex-star on big wages who could spoil the excellent atmosphere in the squad.

Regarding Zambrano; no one is really sure why he is not in favour. I mean he played for Venezuela full team last month against Argentina with Messi and all. Then he returns here and cannot get a place in the squad, strange. He is also one of the highest paid players. We do not know the whole story, I suppose we have been good at home, free-scoring so why would you change the team a week later?

It is a complicated one bit I think we can see a pattern here. Solid at home and struggling away picking up points here and there. That should be enough for a play-off place but obviously we need to improve away from home if we do reach the play-offs.

Carlos
01-11-2011, 11:52
Zambrano was criticised by the manager this week for being 'too free a spirit who needs to have his wings clipped' before he can fit in with the team style. That probably explains why he is missing. I disagree on Kiko Ratón: he is the one who should be dumped. Apart from throwing himself about and nicking the occasional easy goal he does very little and has no tactical awareness whatsoever. It is always 'me against the rest' in his case.

FinnKris
05-11-2011, 16:05
Thanks for the replies & clarifications.

One thing I failed to take into account is the fact that almost all the players are new this season so it will obviously take a while for everything & everyone to gel, this possibly more evident away from home than at home where everyone feels more comfortable. And the most important away games are of course in the play off stages (assuming we get there) at the end of the season so plenty of time to find form away as well.

I suppose the 'home fortress' aspect is even more significant this season as I image almost all other teams & players rarely get to play in front of close to 10.000 fans & play in a real stadium so they may well feel a bit intimidated out there giving CDT an even bigger advantage at home than normal. The passionate fans & support also making a real difference.

Really an unfortunate situation with Zambrano in light of the the info from Carlos above. Double whammy really as he presumably could be an important asset to the team on the pitch and (assuming rumours of Barca/Sevilla being interested last season were on the money) also an asset for the club as a potential big-money transfer down the road (if he is close to as good as reported obviously a bigger team will come calling even though no one wants to see the star players leave).