KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Zonal Defending - The facts

Goals Conceeded

2010 - 2011 29 goals so far.
2009 - 2010 35 goals total.
2008 - 2009 27 goals total.
2007 - 2008 28 goals total.

And we listened to all the pundits (including other managers) going on about how this system is a weak one. Yet Reina clean sheet record was one of the best.

Only put this together because Skrtel looks like half the defender he was and this is probably the reason why, hope this can be sorted 1 way or the other.

both systems when done right can be very very good. Changing systems will always result in a weak defence until the new system becomes second nature to the players

I never understood the attacks on Rafa about it as the facts showed our defence was amongst the best in the league. Reina has won the golden glove in almost every season he's been in the league, how bad can it be?!

We actually defended set pieces well with zonal marking compared to Chelsea who last season conceded more goals from set pieces using man marking.

Each one has it's pros n cons

man marking, player can lose sight of the ball or player. Player gets a run on the ball
zonal marking, don't get the run up needed and can be beaten by a player who's got a run on you

I personally think zonal marking in open play is much harder to break down and get through. When it comes to set pieces I don't think we did it that well and everytime we gave up a free kick around the box or a corner I could never watch we were poor at defending them. No reason why both can't be used in different circumstances!

Where are all the people who mocked me for supporting zonal marking on these boards every time someone said it was a "waste of time" or "doesn't work"? You can't hide from the truth forever, you know. Look at this thread, for instance; someone else is realizing it too.

yesterday we looked very shoddy defending set pieces. Something Kenny will need to address with the team this week.

That's because everyone outside Agger and Kelly don't know how to defend for sh*t, and Agger only played 45 mins. So if Kenny can address bad players and illness during this week he'll have done well by me!

There actually should be a mixture of both systems. You mark zonally with man marking saved for anyone big or dangerous in the air. Where Zonal marking fails is that from the time the ball is delivered to the point of impact you might have a small man up against a big man because that's the zone the ball has landed and thus the zone the big man has moved into. So to avoid that mis-match you mark the big man with another big man and zonal mark everyone else.

Having said that, i would'nt trust Skrtel outjumping
Jimmy Krankie