All players began training, and Alexander began to observe carefully his training effects.
Alexander's training program was very different from David O'Leary's training. In those three years, he obtained the license to be a coach had been watching the training of the best quarries in the world and also the training of the main teams. Although his philosophy of play was the possession of the ball. However, he had been in Italy and he liked the intensity that the Italian coaches ask their players is something that does not happen in any other league and Alexander wanted to have the intensity of the Italians, the order of the Germans and the tactical delicacy of the Spanish people.
There is nothing wrong with the training content organized by David O'Leary. But Alexander knows that after 2 years the world of football will change forever, tactical planning will evolve.
In the first team of Aston Villa, Alexander had brought with him 2 players from the youth team, Aston Villa lacked a lot of intensity in the attack, he had brought the first team to Gareth Bale and also to Theo Walcott. In addition, he also had some pupils he had trained in the Aston Villa youth team, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gary Cahill and Craig Gardner.
Although there were some players who were not happy to be a coach for a person younger than them. Alexander had many talents in his youth team that have enough to play at least a few minutes in the first team.
The next opponent is Middlesbrough.
This team, is a difficult opponent, is a growing team last season they made the best season of their history in the premier league, ranking seventh and qualifying for the UEFA Cup, 2 seasons ago they won the League Cup the first title of their history and this season they have qualified for the Round of 32 of the UEFA Cup, which has made them neglect the premier league. It is a good opportunity to deal with a team that has neglected the league. However, it is always a fearful team, in the UEFA Cup, they have defeated great teams. They cannot neglect a team that is fighting for an international title. In addition, he knows that this season Middlesbrough will reach the UEFA Cup final and over the course of the championship he beat teams like VfB Stuttgart, Rome.
"It must be said that Steve McClaren his style is very similar to the Dutch, quick exit of the ball, the midfielders have very good speed, he plays with 4 players in the middle and with 2 strikers. Mark Viduka the typical English 9, very good at the air game and knows how to cover the spaces, the other forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who plays a little more late than Mark Viduka, his speed will be a problem, this team knows how to go out playing with the ball, they do not lose it easily, the key of this team is in his midfield, if they managed to pass the midfield we can win this match. In addition, the Middlesbrough is playing 2 tournament, while we only concentrate on the league. "By watching the video of the recent rounds of the Middlesbrough that were played in front of him , Alexander thought of his heart.
Aston Villa this season was playing with a 4-4-3. The midfield is very young, with an average age of 22 years. Players like Steven Davis, James Milner, Gavin McCann, Gareth Barry, are players that have very good quality especially Barry and Milner.
But the defense and the front have been the biggest problems of Aston Villa, most of the goals that fit Aston Villa were for the tactical disorder in the defense of the team, they cannot coordinate at a good level. And the biggest problem has been the strikers, the lack of goal has been a fatal problem, former team stars such as Juan Pablo Angel and Kevin Phillips, have barely made 5 goals together so far this season.
After training for two days, Alexander finally announced the initial lineup of the next round of the league.
"Goalkeeper, Thomas Sørensen," Alexander mused calmly.
Alexander explained nothing, but directly began to read the position of the next main line of defense.
"The next game we will play with 3 central defenders, they will be Aaron Hughes, Olof Mellberg, Gary Cahill.
The final result reported below caused some players to make strange faces. They had never played with 3 players in the baseline and Gary Cahill was still a rookie, he had sided with the team.
"Midfielders, Gavin McCann, Gareth Barry and James Milner."
"Interior, Theo Walcott"
"Interior, Gabriel Agbonlahor"
"Mediapunta, Juan Pablo Angel"
"Forwards, Milan Baroš"
"The initial lineup is like this ... we will play with a 3-3-3-1 tactical system. Within 2 days we will visit the Middlesbrough. This is a strong international competition team. Although we are one of the biggest clubs in England today we are a team in the relegation zone, no team currently respects us, even at home, we have nothing to be proud of. "
Alexander's words made Aston Villa players feel a bit dissatisfied. What Alexander said was true, the history of the club is worth nothing if the team struggles to get out of the descent.
When observing the different expressions of the players, Alexander's mouth slid slightly upwards, even if he laughed: "Simply, Middlesbrough surpasses us in everything, the combination between his strikers the total sum of his goals exceeds the number of goals that we have scored in the league.This game will be played by counterattack if we gather all our forces, then we can beat them! In this game, let them attack, Gavin McCann, pay attention to cover the spaces, you are the player who will give us the opportunities to counterattack, his task is to steal the ball from the rival team and press center strikers Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a very fast player, the defense must be careful in areas with a lot of space, he is a player who knows how to take advantage of his speed and then Mark Viduka , this is a player who is a very good header and knows how to play behind the backs of his rivals Cahill, his main mission is Mark Mark Markuka, do not let him jump, do not make it breathe in the field. "
The players nodded and Alexander was right.
"As for the offense ... Barry and Milner, you two will help pressure Gavin, but you are not fixed in the vanguard position, take turns in the middle to take the ball, organize the attack with Juan Pablo, to break the middle of the rival field, they have to take advantage of Theo and Gabriel's speed, they will be in charge of breaking the rival defense from the sides, but the main point is in Milan Baroš, if there is no opportunity to enter the rival area of All Balls they are handed over to Milan Baroš. Milan Baroš their mission in this match is just to score, they will only advance but never reach the center of the field "
"No problem, boss!", Milan Baroš.
"Understanding the tactics of this game, we can win, now retrain. Erik will help you understand the strategies of the game!" Alexander dismissed them.