It gives you answers
When and who to sub, who should start, who is a defensive liability, who can play with whom, a goalkeeper weakness and his strength, when to turn it up, when to shoot, how to keep composure, be consistent and keep possesion, who can run for 90 mins and who cant, who should take corners and free kicks, how to protect a lead and how to be mentally ready under pressure.
How can we find answers if we do not do our homework. We learn this in school. We study for exams, we do mock exams to find our weakness and to see how we can improve and what level we are. Practice makes perfect.
Why use important games to test players, find a formation and work on match fitness. You can run around the field 20 times and it still doesn't mean you are fit. You can practice what you want in training but in an actual match the situation is totally different.
Its about winning, yes we played better than we did previously but we still didn't win and at the end of the day, points make prizes. Do you think Costa Rica will be on the flight back home reminiscing on how they played and who played better, they only thinking of one thing, 3 points in the bag. They probably saying one thing maybe. "Thank you Latapy for taking out your number 10, he was giving us real pressure on the right side and when you took him off our job became easier".
Latapy is here already and have my support, but I hope is inexperience and tick head decisions don't cost us. Sometimes, you have to kiss ass to kick ass and he must take advice sometimes especially from the older heads if he wants to improve. Every country in the world prepare with matches, they don't go blinded into a game hoping for a miracle to happen.
Beating or tying Mexico in Mexico is not impossible, but it will take alot more from a coach to accomplish that. This is where Latapy will really be tested.
I also find our home support is poor and as a team we don't defend our home turf like we should, visiting teams win too comfortable in our own backyard. Our crowd only makes noise when something exciting happens.
I hope Stuart Charles send Latapy a tape with the W Connection vs Toluca game when W Connection was winning 2-0 in Mexico and as soon as the clock hit the 70 minute mark they ran out of gas and ended up loosing the game 3-2.
