Did we play for a draw?

[MrAmir]

The whole reason I wrote this was not neccesarily to criticise our tactics it was to see if anyone else though that those were in fact our tactics.
i.e. trying to not concede a goal.

I think we could easily have counter-attacked more effectively with the same players and same formation, by merely telling them to attack with speed with the NK attack brokedown. I think Ghotbi told them to not commit too many players in attack.
If you remember the Saudi game that is exactly why we lost. We kept trying for the 2nd goal and got hit on the break twice to lose the match...


Also I do agree that we will see different tactics against UAE. I think we'll be playing an old fashioned 4-4-2 and tell our players to hammer them from the start with pressure, hoping they fold

[shayan20]

When he takes out Hash and doesn't add another, rather playing only 1 striker, then clearly he was very cautious, he wanted to make sure we don't concede first and then maybe bu luck, karimi or shojaei do something miraculous.
Maybe for this decision we will get eliminated soon and have no more chance or maybe he thinks he can beat SK away!

[Kasra.]

There is something I don't understand. Why was this game called Do or Die if we were satisfied with a draw

[persianallstars]

There is something I don't understand. Why was this game called Do or Die if we were satisfied with a draw

actually it was a so called Do or Die game, because if we had lost, our WC dreams would had been destroyed, we shared points so our hopes are still alive

[shayan20]

But our chances of qualification almost disappeared after this draw.
Just read DD's signature quote from Guardiola

[maij]

If we want to believe the coach , then we went to this game for all the 3 points.....In fact , the first half an hour or so , made me think that he (Ghotbi) was serious in getting all the three points.....

In my opinion , Ghotbi showed many signs of his rookie status which resulted in this goal-less draw. I think he either ran out of ideas or got cold feet . In any case , the match was virtually out of control as far as TM was concerned from the first whistle of the 2nd half.

Ghotbi seems to be a theorist , but soon discovered that the real world is slightly different. He MUST have been disappointed by some of the players performances and the functionality of the game plan. BUT , I think if he has any fairness and logic in him, he must be seriously concerned with his own performance before anyone else.

I said it in some other thread .... Let us stop coming up with imaginative excuses and accept that this team is hardly deserving to go to the World Cup.... for crying out loud , if you do not believe that you can score with 6 forwards , why on earth you bother to play in the first place....