How do you see us lining up?

[DEFchenkOE]

Anyone know what formation Montpellier tend to play and what position Stambouli played within it, would he have been a single holding mid for example?

I checked football-lineups yesterday and it seemed that they played a mix of formations 442/4231/433. He played as part of the "2" and the middle of the "3" according to that site.

 

[TheGreenLily]

Anyone know what formation Montpellier tend to play and what position Stambouli played within it, would he have been a single holding mid for example?

Same formation I have put, with Stam in the exactly the same role.

http://livefootballvideo.com/fullmatch/france/ligue-1/montpellier-vs-psg - 2 mins in for the formation

 

[talkshowhost86]

The other thing to consider is whether we'll always go with the 4-2-3-1.

Liverpool picked us apart with an extra man in midfield at the weekend so there may be occasions we have to sacrifice one of those creative players.

 

[jayesar]

...The three behind the striker pick themselves really as the alternatives (Lennon, Townsend and Paulinho) aren't exactly sparkling....

I would say he (Paulinho) is 1 from 1 under Poch. Hope to see him get some good minutes over the next month or so and ideally put some pressure on Eriksen (who has thus far struggled to adapt to the new system).

I'm not a Paulinho fan, but he was great (albeit against poor competition) midweek, hopefully he can continue on in the same fashion.

 

[robin09]

LLoris

Walker Fazio Verts Davies
Capoue .Stambouli
Eriksen
Lamela..............Chadli
Ade
​

I think that's what Poch has in mind. I'd personally swap Ade for Soldado.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

I like this, but not sure if I'd start Stambouli (never seen him play) over Capoue in the holding role to start with in the league. Would also be tempted to start Dembele over Paulinho just to give the midfield some running/dribbling power. And would still start Ade for now until he has a few bad games in a row.

Chadli ----------- Adebayor---------- Lamela

Dembele----------------- Eriksen
Capoue

Davis ----- Verts ---- Fazio ----- Walker

Lloris
​

Weak points about this, well the front 3 are not prolific in terms of goals. And i'm not too sure if that would change, would be tempted to put Kane in for Chadli as I think he'd get in better goalscoring positions although Chadli did well against QPR.

Also apart from Walker the back 4 is not that quick (does Fazio have pace??), so not sure how successful the pressing game would be, probably highly likely to concede goals on the counter.

Define holding midfielder. Is it a defensive midfielder or just someone who stays deeper in the midfield (i.e. asked to not press and be cover for those who press) and passes from deep as the outball from defence to the creative players. Either way I don't see Capoue as ideal for those. He isn't a defensive midfielder, he doesn't defend well enough and remaining deep surely limits the use of his passing and his engine for pressing. No point in us pigeon-holing a player as a holding midfielder just because they are the closest we have to a defensive midfielder if it doesn't suit their abilities.

I'd rather see Capoue where you have Dembele so he can press at max energy to try to win the ball higher whilst having another player (maybe Stambouli) covering and marshalling the area in front of the defence. Then when balls are won deep the ball can be played quickly forward to Capoue so he can still see plenty of the ball and allow him to pass it shorter into the feet of attacking players and make better and easier choices with his out balls.

 

[TheGreenLily]

I like this, but not sure if I'd start Stambouli (never seen him play) over Capoue in the holding role to start with in the league. Would also be tempted to start Dembele over Paulinho just to give the midfield some running/dribbling power. And would still start Ade for now until he has a few bad games in a row.

Chadli ----------- Adebayor---------- Lamela

Dembele----------------- Eriksen
Capoue

Davis ----- Verts ---- Fazio ----- Walker

Lloris
​

Weak points about this, well the front 3 are not prolific in terms of goals. And i'm not too sure if that would change, would be tempted to put Kane in for Chadli as I think he'd get in better goalscoring positions although Chadli did well against QPR.

Also apart from Walker the back 4 is not that quick (does Fazio have pace??), so not sure how successful the pressing game would be, probably highly likely to concede goals on the counter.

Dembele - Your comments are fair on him and I agree, but I also know that he has a hard time releasing the ball when it is needed and making the right pass. I feel in this case, Paulinho is better as hae can make that pass, see a run and know when to release the ball.

As for Ade, I think Soldado links up with the team better and he doesn't run around without a purpose, unlike the chaotic Ade.

The back 4, who knows until it settles, but Kaboul is not the answer and I think Davis is the better player, just doesn't have the same pace though.

But hey, they are my opinions and it is awesome that people can see things differently

 

[WestBelfast Spurs]

Lloris

Dier - Fazio - Vertonghen - Rose

Capoue - Sambouli

Lamela - Eriksen - Chadli

Ade​

Depending on Walker's fitness.

that's a strong team, but is it top 4 strong, the break came at a bad time for us in my opinion, Poch would have loved to get them in and working on pressing again

 

[adamsky]

I hate jamie redknapp sometimes, but he was spot on about Capoue, he called it before he match and was subsequently proved right. Not aggressive enough and not even that great on the ball against decent teams who press us. It is one thing to play against QPR at home, entirely different to anyone in the top half. Dembele has way more talent

 

[hughy]

that's a strong team, but is it top 4 strong, the break came at a bad time for us in my opinion, Poch would have loved to get them in and working on pressing again

No, it's clearly not top 4. But I get a feeling that isn't what Levy was aiming for this season.

 

[talkshowhost86]

Define holding midfielder. Is it a defensive midfielder or just someone who stays deeper in the midfield (i.e. asked to not press and be cover for those who press) and passes from deep as the outball from defence to the creative players. Either way I don't see Capoue as ideal for those. He isn't a defensive midfielder, he doesn't defend well enough and remaining deep surely limits the use of his passing and his engine for pressing. No point in us pigeon-holing a player as a holding midfielder just because they are the closest we have to a defensive midfielder if it doesn't suit their abilities.

I'd rather see Capoue where you have Dembele so he can press at max energy to try to win the ball higher whilst having another player (maybe Stambouli) covering and marshalling the area in front of the defence. Then when balls are won deep the ball can be played quickly forward to Capoue so he can still see plenty of the ball and allow him to pass it shorter into the feet of attacking players and make better and easier choices with his out balls.

I suppose the sensible thing to do is to look at Southampton under Poch and try and compare the players that were used by them to what we've got.

Their midfield two was generally Schneiderlin and Wanyama, so who fits that role in our squad?

I'm assuming Stambouli will play the Schneiderlin role. Other than that I'm not sure.

 

[WiganSpur]

Lloris
Walker Fazio Vertonghen Rose
Capoue Stambouli
Lamela-Eriksen-Chadli
Soldado

​

Without Eriksen & Lamela Pochettino has to adapt:

Vorm
Naughton Dier Chiriches Davies
Capoue
Bentaleb--Paulinho
Townsend------------Chadli
Adebayor

​

 

[DEFchenkOE]

Define holding midfielder. Is it a defensive midfielder or just someone who stays deeper in the midfield (i.e. asked to not press and be cover for those who press) and passes from deep as the outball from defence to the creative players. Either way I don't see Capoue as ideal for those. He isn't a defensive midfielder, he doesn't defend well enough and remaining deep surely limits the use of his passing and his engine for pressing. No point in us pigeon-holing a player as a holding midfielder just because they are the closest we have to a defensive midfielder if it doesn't suit their abilities.

I'd rather see Capoue where you have Dembele so he can press at max energy to try to win the ball higher whilst having another player (maybe Stambouli) covering and marshalling the area in front of the defence. Then when balls are won deep the ball can be played quickly forward to Capoue so he can still see plenty of the ball and allow him to pass it shorter into the feet of attacking players and make better and easier choices with his out balls.

I would say this, and I think Capoue is capable but of course he'd need to improve on what he showed on Sun. And if he didn't then Stambouli walks right in. I don't see him as someone with an engine that would excel pressing all over the pitch, maybe I'm wrong. But I just see him as a water carrier, patrolling in front of the back 4 and giving it quickly to the more creative players.

 

[WiganSpur]

The other thing to consider is whether we'll always go with the 4-2-3-1.

Liverpool picked us apart with an extra man in midfield at the weekend so there may be occasions we have to sacrifice one of those creative players.

If Eriksen is missing then I think our best bet is 4-3-3 but Pochettino has always stuck to 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2. Hope he can adapt under different circumstances.

 

[DEFchenkOE]

Dembele - Your comments are fair on him and I agree, but I also know that he has a hard time releasing the ball when it is needed and making the right pass. I feel in this case, Paulinho is better as hae can make that pass, see a run and know when to release the ball.

As for Ade, I think Soldado links up with the team better and he doesn't run around without a purpose, unlike the chaotic Ade.

The back 4, who knows until it settles, but Kaboul is not the answer and I think Davis is the better player, just doesn't have the same pace though.

But hey, they are my opinions and it is awesome that people can see things differently

Yea I see your points on Paulinho, who also has more of a goal threat. It could work and would love to see how those 3 would work in midfield. Could end up being a bit slow and one paced though especially when the outlets out wide aren't that quick either. It's literally the only reason why I would include Dembele as I don't see anyone else on our team capable of travelling some distance with the ball. It is a shame that he struggles to release at the right moment though.

 

[TheGreenLily]

Yea I see your points on Paulinho, who also has more of a goal threat. It could work and would love to see how those 3 would work in midfield. Could end up being a bit slow and one paced though especially when the outlets out wide aren't that quick either. It's literally the only reason why I would include Dembele as I don't see anyone else on our team capable of travelling some distance with the ball. It is a shame that he struggles to release at the right moment though.

I agree, it is a shame as there is so much promise.

 

[talkshowhost86]

If Eriksen is missing then I think our best bet is 4-3-3 but Pochettino has always stuck to 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2. Hope he can adapt under different circumstances.

Eriksen is the one player that worries me actually.

I think he is the one that needs to adapt the most in terms of the attacking players and if he doesn't then he might find himself in trouble.

 

[TheGreenLily]

Same formation I have put, with Stam in the exactly the same role.

http://livefootballvideo.com/fullmatch/france/ligue-1/montpellier-vs-psg - 2 mins in for the formation

I will add, after looking at some other games, he has played in a 4-2-3-1

****

**** ----- **** ----- ****

**** ----- Stam
​

If IIRC, Bentaleb's position in the same formation.

 

[ebzrascal]

It is hard but I would like to see some flexibilty especially when we meet tougher teams.. As I think with a different system we could have frustrated Liverpool on sunday and maybe got something playing more direct on the break so I would suggest..

Most games we could probably be 4-2-3-1

Lloris
Walker-Fazio-Vertonghen-Rose
Capoue-Stambouli
Lamela-Eriksen-Chadli
Adebayor

Against a strong offensive team we should consider 4-5-1

Lloris
Walker-Fazio-Vertonghen-Rose
Lennon-Dembele-Capoue-Stambouli-Chadli
Adebayor

Against a weaker team we could go with 3-4-1-2

Lloris
Walker-Fazio-Vertonghen-Rose
Lamela-Benteleb-Townsend
Eriksen
Kane-Soldado

 

[wiggo24]

I wuold pick Soldado over Ade purely becuase the link-up play in the final third seems so much better with him in the team.

From what I've seen, it's quicker, more decisive, and more effective.