Skip to main content

The past, present and future of the Rayo Report - a new spin-off? (4th November, 2017)

My first tactical analysis piece for this blog wasn't actually The Rayo Report. It was a piece I did in July 2017, entitled Rayo Tactics - the delicately perfect balance of Míchel's team. It was a look back at Rayo's tactics over the final third of the season.

It was hastily assembled, and it was ugly. The tactical boards to represent the players were ugly. The structure of the post was ugly. I cringed when reading it back - it made no sense.

But I loved it. And so a new series was born...

The Rayo Report was a brand new tactical analysis series - for the first time on this blog I challenged myself to tactically analyse each and every Rayo league game, and have so far missed just one.

But I've enjoyed doing it so much that I asked you guys whether I should extend the series to include games that have already happened in the past, and you guys (overwhelmingly) said...


...yes! Which leads me to announce that The Rayo Report has a new spin-off, called The Rayo Archive, which will start sometime this month and will last until there are no more games that I can get footage of. It, hopefully, will not just analyze games in history but will also explain the historical context of the games itself.

Hopefully. And I also hope this satisfies my curiosity to analyse matches. If it doesn't I really don't know what the next step is!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Non-league Incider: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Last game: 8th August: Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 East Thurrock United The previous day, I was blown away by my first ever football match experience. Dulwich Hamlet impressed me, but what impressed me more was the journey. The travel to the stadium was just as enjoyable as the football itself. I had caught the groundhopping bug. There were no games scheduled for the 9th of August. There was one, near Wigan, and all I had booked earlier was a refundable bus ticket from Manchester Airport leaving at quarter past midnight. I should have refunded it. This was a mistake. This whole day was a mistake. I was only slightly hungover from the previous night, but that was nothing compared to this feeling of loss - I couldn't handle the fact that there was a game happening. And I wasn't too far away. Just three hours and a bit. They'll fly by , I thought. I was in autopilot. Something within me made me get up, grab a bag, and get out the door. This wasn't me. I wasn't trave...
2 comments
Read more

The story of a Dutch duo transferring to relegated Rayo - Dave van den Bergh and Robert Gehring (17th November, 2017)

Transfers are always fun. While digging around former Rayo players, I found that someone had transferred from Rayo Vallecano to Rayo Majadahonda - the other Rayo. What I uncovered was a fascinating story - the story of two Dutch friends who came together and left in very different ways... Robert Gehring started his youth career in AFC, and finished it at Ajax; he made his debut in the first team in the second match for the 1995 UEFA Super Cup against Real Zaragoza - a competition Ajax subsequently won - but largely spent his time in the reserves. In the 1996-97 season, he got seriously injured, which stagnated his development. Robert Gehring, celebrating the Super Cup victory In 1997 his friend and teammate Dave van den Bergh made the switch to Spanish side Rayo Vallecano. Dave recommended Gehring to the club, and Gehring was invited to a trail - despite the fact that his ACL injury had ruled him out for a year. In the trial, Gehring made such an impression that he was off...
Post a Comment
Read more

Non-league Incider: Cray Valley Paper Mills 4-4 Punjab United Gravesend

Last game: 9th August: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers After ripping up my groundhopping calendar, mostly because I was determined to avoid overnight travel, and partly due to other commitments, there was a period of time where non-league football took a backseat. But that period did not last long. Because of course it didn't. Secretly, I'd loved travelling over ten hours back-and-forth to watch some 10th division football. And this was 9th division football in London. When I had gone to East Dulwich exactly a week back , I had commented on how the amount of graffiti struck me as I watched from on board a southeastern train. I was going the exact same way, but much further this time - then I had stopped at Denmark Hill, now I would have to go six stations further. The graffiti I had thought was so emblematic of south London quickly disappeared, as did the tall buildings desperately cluttered together. We, and by we I mean me, were going to the suburb...
Post a Comment
Read more