“If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten.”
-Jessie Potter
When I first was writing this, I was going to do a deep dive into what has plagued Forward Madison the last month and ideas on how that can fix their abysmal road woes. I had plenty of ideas like shifting to a back four with a now healthy Pato Diaz, or having more overlap on the wings can allow Derek Gebhard and Tyler Allen to be more of a threat with the ball. Hell, there might even be the case for trying to get the seemingly-forgotten Vang Train(g) going again. This past Wednesday as I watched another uninspired match on the road, it dawned on me what Madison need to do to turn things around before it’s too late. It was pretty simple and something the team needed to do awhile ago.
The smartest managers’ key ability is to get their respective teams as ready as possible for the match at hand. Because in the end, it’s incumbent upon those eleven players to complete the gameplan, and if there is someone that isn’t doing that, the manager needs to sub them out for someone they think can do the job. All the talent and strategy in the world won’t matter if the team is disjointed and unwilling to work together.
“It’s not about having the good players, it’s about knowing what you have as a team and being able to play to that”
–Alex Ibaceta
If a midfielder doesn’t link up with the defense, the attack doesn’t have a chance to make a play. If a wide player doesn’t overlap, what is the other player with the ball supposed to do? As the season starts to slip away, maybe the players feel the burden to try and create something on their own. Maybe others just cave to pressure, but the little things are what turns draws to wins, or losses to draws; it can also be the opposite, as we have seen plenty of times this season. It’s tough — and easy to let the shoulders drop — but you have to believe.
Spoiler Alert for the Season Two Finale of Ted Lasso: if you want to skip it, just don’t highlight the text below (scroll down until you see END OF SPOILERS)
Highlight the following text to read: Heading into the final game of the season against Brentford, AFC Richmond need a result to get promoted to the Premier League. Assistant Coach Nate Shelley had suggested the team run a false nine for the match. Despite the hesitation, Ted Lasso and the team go ahead with the plan despite not using it during the season. At halftime, the team trails 0-2 at halftime, Nate thinks they should abandon the false nine citing it won’t matter since the players can’t execute it; however the players decide to continue using the tactic because they know they can execute it. It pays off and AFC Richmond secure a late draw and get promoted to the Premier League.
END OF SPOILERS
As we saw, sometimes the players just need a push and go ahead figuring out the task on their own. Maybe this previous weekend’s Camp Mingo will be enough for the players to clear their head and go back with a renewed focus. We HAVE seen what this team can do when it’s on the same page based on the play we saw in May and June. There is talent on this team and key players returning to the squad from injury. Sure, you can try a drastic tactical change, but maybe the solution is as simple as going back to basics. Madison has only won one game on the road and that was back in May. Now is the time to get on the same page, play as a team and start picking up some wins with your back against the wall.
