Subject: [NT] dazzad

Hi, I am dazzad from England.

I am standing for election for the Latvian national team and very much hope you will vote for me. I have played Sokker now for over two years and in that time have built a good team _ LA Gunners FC - playing in Div III in England after gaining promotion early on.

I would like the honour and challenge of leading a national side and having been to Latvia, they seemed to be a good option for me. I like to study the opposition for their tactics and spend quite a lot of time scouting players anyway so that time could be useful to the national team.

I won't make any rash promises but I would hope that I could improve Latvia's fortunes adn get up the world rankings.

Any questions, please ask.

Dazzad

good luck to you!:):)

Thanks. Do I have your vote?

I see that the current national team is very young and if elected I would look to blend some of the exciting under 23s with one or two older heads to provide some experience and perhaps better results.

Dazzad

it's nice to see a non-latvian candidate for Lativan national team manager position..
just to give all managers equally great chances to this position, i'll ask the same questions manager gugagins asked other candidates:
1) Against which rank teams you intend to play?
2) What would be the age of the players you would use in your games? (i see you already partly answered to this question in your previous post)
3) What type of tactics do you prefer/will you use? (ATT, DEF ...)?
4) What kind of playing style would you use? (passing ,speed, etc .....) ?

In response to your questions

1) I would intend to play against teams outside the World Top 50. Latvia can improve their world ranking but they wont do this playing the top sides. The recent results for the team have not been great and I am sure that most people would rather see Latvia win so I will be looking play games that Latvia can realistically do well in.

2) As I have said, I will not use entirely young players as the current regime does. I think that experience is important also so my 11 would be a mix of experience and youth. Of course form will play a big part in who gets into the team for each game. I have a unique system (based on a calculation) that I use for my club team and I would apply the same to the national side. The formula takes account of form but also previous ratings and each and every skill

3 & 4) I like to play a counter attacking style, fairly tight at the back, a defensive midfielder, two good quick wide men with very good passing ability and then two men up top with a playmaker completing the diamond in midfield. Midfielders must have a reasonable defensive quality too and all players must be able to pass the ball. Pace throughout the team is a must for me and is more important than technique (although that needs to be good too) I do believe in tailoring tactics to suit the opposition and in certain games a more attacking formation would be used.

I hope this answers the questions but if not please ask and I will give you my thoughts.

Thanks

I can tell you a little secret - when we started to recruit NT players there was a poll which players to use (older ones with better skills or young talented boys to be better in a future). And community voted for U23 players so we would be really disappointed if someone will try to change it without knowledge and experience how the current team is created. At the moment there aren't older players left I think - youngsters already are better. But if you find one, let us know :)

edited: added brackets
(edited)

Fair enough, if that is the policy then I will stick to that. I will still scout for 23+ year olds to assess whether they can do a job in the team but from the sounds of it the kids will be better!

I hope I get the chance to manage the nation.

2008-06-14 - Group H - week 2

Latvija - : - Nippon

How would you play this game? What tactics would you prefere?

Hi Ozzynators

This is a slightly unfair question to ask from the current manager (and somebody who is standing for election again) as you obviously have the advantage of knowing the individual skills of the current Latvian squad, which I cannot see.

However based on the tactics I can see from the last two games, against Slovensko (a 10-0 loss) and Al Maghrib ( a 9-1 win) I would suggest some changes for this game. Nippon generally play 5 at the back , 3 narrow midfielders and two strikers pushed right up. Looking at the last two games the weakness of Latvija is the defence and this needs improvement. I would play 5 at the back with a sweeper and the full backs slightly advanced. I would then match their midfield with a defensive midfielder and two wider players and then play two strikers up top, pushed up on their central defenders. As they play so many at the back I would opt for pace up front and would even sacrifice the striker level for this if need be - it depends on the qualities of the players in the squad that are available.

As Nippon are several places above in the rankings and their average value is consierably better than the players in the Latvija squad, tactics will be very important if a defeat is to be avoided.

Hope this helps explain my strategy!

I am not answering my question so it is fair. If you want to be elected, i think that people must know your thinking style and tactic solutions.

No problem

All you Latvians that have not yet voted, make sure you record your vote before tonight!

Congratulations to Ozzynators and good luck with Latvia

thnx :]