PLAYER WATCH: Soldado

[HildoSpur]

I think that the main thing holding us back at the moment as many other have said is effective, intelligent play from the number 10 area and out wide. This WILL come but it will take time for the likes of Eriksen, Holtby (still a new player don't forget) and Lamela get used to the team, the league and the new country they now live in.

This could take a few more weeks, months or perhaps most of this season to happen. This is a transitional season and I think some people forget that, we can aim very high and I think we are capable of a great season, but we are still very much a work in progress.

Soldado is a fantastic player, his movement is outstanding - it really is. He will thrive in this league and in this team.

 

[Mr Pink]

I don't think anybody is expecting us to suddenly start playing like Arsenal. There really are some doom mongers on here.

Its not about waiting for it all to 'click'. Its a case of gradual improvement, and it will take time. Bar the anomaly of the West Ham game, we are extremely tough to beat now - and how times have changed.


I think AVB is trying to address some of the problems we've currently had. The signing of Eriksen is a step in the right direction, but sometimes you don't always get an immediate impact/benefit for the collective good. Eriksen will release the ball quicker, help with our tempo albeit he operates further up the pitch than Modric etc

I don't think for one minute that some day soon we are going to change radically in the way we play, what I am hoping for is that our attacking interplay improves steadily over the next few months. I thinks that's reasonable with so many new signings etc

 

[Mr Pink]

But teams did exactly the same to us when we had Bale on the left and Lennon on the right. One year under Redknapp we failed to win half our home games playing that way. With VDV as well.

Wingers aren't the solution to teams that sit deep. The solution is intelligent movement and players to utilise it.
Teams have been doing this to Arsenal and Chelsea too and their response hasn't been to start playing wingers, it was to buy intelligent players and teach them well and apply them tactically.

Its why we bought Eriksen though isn't it?, the kid is exactly that, a lock picker, obviously - the sooner he hits the ground running the better.

And I use Arsenal and Chelsea as examples because they do not both play the same brand of football, but both frequently dispose of defensive tactics and have done for a long time, without wingers.

I fear that as exciting and direct as Townsend is, he is also part of the problem at times. He does some good things, but we need more lock pickers and he's another dynamite merchant a lot of the time. He's played 8 games so far and I think I can only remember one through ball played to Paulinho against Chelsea. Good crosses are fine, but we are still not creating the type of chances that players like Ozil, Rosicky, Ramsey, Cazorla, Hazard, Oscar, Mata etc create regularly and I don't see Townsend providing that too often.

 

[Mr Pink]

Sorry BC, meant to say - surely signing Eriksen was recognition of this.....Eriksen totally utilises intelligent movement, we need more to offer that kind of movement though, Soldado's is very good IMO.

 

[Legend10]

Wide players are essential to consistently breaking down defensive teams as is having players who are capable of beating a man! Beat a man and you move another defender out of position to cover, you can't just narrowly and slowly pass your way through teams.

Our issue right now is playing with the exception of Townsend in a to predictable way, we need to be more adventurous and realise that possession isn't the be all and end all. We can get the ball forward quicker and with more purpose on occasion and risk turning over.

 

[CowInAComa]

I think in the Villa game Soldado cottoned on to the fact our style of play wasn't suiting him and dropped off of the back four. This brought him closer to Holtby and importantly Paulinho started getting up close to them and all of a sudden we started looking lethal. It's all about getting them 3 (or Erikson) interchanging passes and lay-offs in front of the oppo back four. The threat of our two wide forwards can be used to keep their defensive line from pushing up with Soldado if he drops off, which maintains space for us to work in. I've wondered a lot why we haven't been doing this more so far and would hazard a guess that they've been instructed otherwise by AVB. I've banged on a thousand times about Paulinho being too restricted when playing in a two man deeper laying midfield pair but I do also wonder whether AVB has instructed Soldado to sit on the shoulder of the back four no matter what. Hopefully the coaching staff will look at the highlights, see what's worked and implement it in to our playing style.

yep. our issues are ones for the coaching team to work on. we have the tools to do the job.

That is becoming my mantra.

 

[Hoddle&Waddle]

Chelsea away last season.

Ade scored and played OK that day, as did Soldado on Sunday. We made Ade available for transfer in the Summer, and had no interest, there's a reason for that.

 

[Mullers]

The clock is ticking for AVB at the moment, results matter the most for this season, if we are stylish and losing AVB won't have his contract renewed.

 

[double0]

Wide players are important and both Arsenal and Chelsea have those options... I personally can't see how Townsend is a problem (Bayern Real Dortmund Barca all play inverted wingers).

Villa were awful, (styles make great fights) as the home side they did not want to commit and sat very deep our tactic in the end was correct, possession football followed with picking them off in the latter stages of the game.

I will say though our game can be mechanical but with Townsend Erikson Lamela Holtby Sigurdsson Lennon Chadli Dembele when he wants to, we have enough flair and directness to rival anyone in the league IMO

 

[Strikeb4ck]

The most pointless criticism of a striker ever. Finally been proved that it is unfounded to criticise his ability and believe that Defoe should start so moves on to arguing we should have a juggling clown or fire eater up front instead of Soldado as they would interest him more.

On the other hand, you could just enjoy Soldados quality and read a book or something for entertainment? Or do you still prefer the idea of Soldado sky diving into WHL, playing and then maybe do a bit of break dancing for your entertainment at half time?

Thanks for ruining my keyboard, had to spit water out laughing.

 

[Legend10]

Ade scored and played OK that day, as did Soldado on Sunday. We made Ade available for transfer in the Summer, and had no interest, there's a reason for that.

Primarily I would think it would be his wages?

I wouldn't call Ade's performance at Chelsea away last season ok, by my memory he had a great game!

 

[$hoguN]

But teams did exactly the same to us when we had Bale on the left and Lennon on the right. One year under Redknapp we failed to win half our home games playing that way. With VDV as well.

Wingers aren't the solution to teams that sit deep. The solution is intelligent movement and players to utilise it.
Teams have been doing this to Arsenal and Chelsea too and their response hasn't been to start playing wingers, it was to buy intelligent players and teach them well and apply them tactically.

And I use Arsenal and Chelsea as examples because they do not both play the same brand of football, but both frequently dispose of defensive tactics and have done for a long time, without wingers.

I fear that as exciting and direct as Townsend is, he is also part of the problem at times. He does some good things, but we need more lock pickers and he's another dynamite merchant a lot of the time. He's played 8 games so far and I think I can only remember one through ball played to Paulinho against Chelsea. Good crosses are fine, but we are still not creating the type of chances that players like Ozil, Rosicky, Ramsey, Cazorla, Hazard, Oscar, Mata etc create regularly and I don't see Townsend providing that too often.

I disagree, there is obviously more than one way to skin a cat, but getting in crosses and crucially having a striker and late runners willing to attack the crosses can be a remedy for teams that pack the middle and sit back. Also playing Townsend on the left and Lamela on the right means that Lamela, a very gifted player with great vision, is the one cutting into cleverly pass or shoot. We also are playing 4-2-3-1 at the moment with either Holtby or Eriksen behind the striker, so it is not like we are lacking football intelligence.

 

[Fergus]

Great finish, but he's just boring and doesn't do enough for me. He's too much of an old fashioned striker.

You would have hated Jimmy Greaves.

 

[ItsBoris]

I fear that as exciting and direct as Townsend is, he is also part of the problem at times. He does some good things, but we need more lock pickers and he's another dynamite merchant a lot of the time. He's played 8 games so far and I think I can only remember one through ball played to Paulinho against Chelsea. Good crosses are fine, but we are still not creating the type of chances that players like Ozil, Rosicky, Ramsey, Cazorla, Hazard, Oscar, Mata etc create regularly and I don't see Townsend providing that too often.

But Townsend's created a number of clear scoring chances in recent games. At least two or three against Villa, first the cross that went in, the cross to Paulinho that should have been scored, the shot that nearly went in. Against Montenegro his run created Rooney's first goal and then of course he scored as well and created a number of chances.

Both approaches are legitimate imo. United under Ferguson created chances mainly from wide positions and they finished on 89 points in the last two seasons. City generally creates chances from through balls and intricate passing through the middle. I think there needs to be a balance, which I think Bayern Munich under Heynkes was a good example of. I think to be really effective at breaking teams down you need both effective, quick, and skillful wide players and creative central players. At least that's how I like to see football being played.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Ade scored and played OK that day, as did Soldado on Sunday. We made Ade available for transfer in the Summer, and had no interest, there's a reason for that.

I think wages has more to do with that. And there really is no comparison between Ade-Chelsea and Soldado-Villa. Soldado was decent, Adebayor was superb.

 

[Kendall]

You would have hated Jimmy Greaves.

Why? I'm pretty sure he played in the 50s and 60s.

 

[jezz]

I think wages has more to do with that. And there really is no comparison between Ade-Chelsea and Soldado-Villa. Soldado was decent, Adebayor was superb.

Yep but to turn for 1 game a season doesn't cut it no matter how you look at it.

 

[Hoddle&Waddle]

I think wages has more to do with that. And there really is no comparison between Ade-Chelsea and Soldado-Villa. Soldado was decent, Adebayor was superb.

Surely if Ade is the player you think he is, someone would be willing to pay his 70k (estimate) wages, lets face it, we couldn't give him away!

 

[lillywhites61]

I agree completely

I think it was crazy to drop him against West Ham - if it had been him through one on one against West Ham he'd have calmly slotted it home as he did on Sunday and we would have been 1-0 up and it would have been a completely different game.

West Ham would have been forced to change their play and could no longer sit deep and hit us on the counter....instead we had Defoe up top who did what he generally does and hit it straight at the keeper and hoped for the best

I'm not so sure he was dropped as such, more so Defoe given a go against a club he normally does very well against. I actually thought along the same lines pre match, hold my hands up now but I could see the logic at the time.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Surely if Ade is the player you think he is, someone would be willing to pay his 70k (estimate) wages, lets face it, we couldn't give him away!

70k??? Where did that figure come from? It's pretty common knowledge he was on £100k plus.