Article by Mark FrenchWinning the game tonight is the only acceptable result but it will be the manner of the win that will be the telling point. We have to dominate this game and win by more than 2 goals. We have to attack the flanks, get the ball in the box from the by-line and allow our strikers to do the damage from there. We have to lose this‘inverted wingers’ idea and play to the strengths of our strikers. It is vital that we are incisive, that we can cut a side open and demonstrate what this team was put together to do.
- No cutting inside from Townsend (if he plays) and having a speculative “Bale like” shot from 25yards – he is not Gareth Bale (yet) and he has to understand that.
- Lamela (if he plays) needs to be allowed to play his own game attacking the by-line, taking on defenders and delivering.
- Lennon (if he plays) needs to also get to the by-line as he used to.
We have plenty of players who can operate down the middle of the park so we have no need to make it any more congested than it is. Capoue needs to play alongside Sandro (if he has the strength to keep going) and we need Eriksen to play and be given a free role.
I still have no idea why Vertonghen is playing at left back, he is far and away our best centre back and it makes no sense to not have this key performer in his best position. Looking at our squad there must be someone else who can fill in here, no matter if they are not as good as Jan, they will never learn or get better on the bench and eventually Jan will have had enough and look to ply his trade elsewhere. Bluntly he is a player we cannot afford to lose.
I’d start with Friedel, Walker, Vertonghen, Dawson/Kaboul, Chiriches, Capoue, Sandro, Eriksen, Townsend, Lamela, Defoe. With Chiriches at left back – no I don’t care if it’s not his position! I like what I’ve seen of him as he seems to be one of those ‘lucky’ defenders with the knack of being in the right place at the right time.
Subs: Chadli/Lennon, Holtby/Siggurdsson, Lloris, Soldado, Dembele. Giving Paulinho a rest.
All that being said about Tromso, the biggest response has to be against United on Sunday. That is a totally different kettle of fish and for me it’s a ‘must win’ game. AVB only has himself to blame for that. It is time to front up and there is no better opportunity than the Champions at home, it may even decide our Managers future.
The manner of how we play United is less important than the result, though in order to win we have to actually create chances. Last season we scared the living daylights out of teams with our pace and counter attacking ability, we’ve shown little of that this season, but without it against United we’ll be sunk. Then where will we be?
Looking for salvation in January? Looking to strengthen the squad (again)? Looking for a new Manager (and who the hell would that be……)?
How about giving our old #18 the chance he thought he was going to get when Mr Sugar was Chairman?
At least Jurgen will put the passion back in. Anyway, replacing AVB is way off yet (I hope). These next two games will probably tell us everything we need to know about our season, the team and AVB.
Let us hope it is what we all want. Errr…that is two victories, AVB showing he can do it, our strikers scoring and the team giving it their all…isn’t it?
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Eriksen is a definite non-starter. However, that aside it is hard to imagine that a 4-2-3-1 line-up is the answer. Soaking the middle of the pitch has led to the slow ball transfer from midfield to front which has been the cause of our poor goal return. It allows well drilled teams to 'set-up' their 4-4-2 defence. Or 4-6-0 if West Ham. The Newcastle game shows how vulnerable we are when losing the ball to a team that can play quickly on the break. City basically just took it from there with better players. Using this formation, if we don't score first, we beat ourselves by chasing the game and losing our discipline. There are however a number of options within the squad which better suit the strengths of our players. I agree with you about Verts. Our best defender must be kept happy. I feel however that Chiriches will be better suited as a right back. With Ade injured, I would start with a 4-3-3 today. Lloris; Chiriches, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Fryers; Capoue/Sandro, Dembele, Siggurdson; Lamela, Soldado, Townsend.
ReplyDeleteThis line up would have 1 holding midfielder, with Dembele and Siggy box to box. Lamela would play from the right and Townsend from the left. This is where the width would come from. This allows us to have 2 strikers getting into the box, making cross runs etc. The ball transfer from back to front would by necessity be much quicker, hence allowing our quick players to receive the ball facing goal. Something which we havn't seen all season. COYS