Agree with this, if we are to drop anyone for the City game for me it would be Huddlestone for Sandro. Yes Carroll is young, no he isn't the second coming, but he does offer something that without Dembele we are missing and the first two goals lastr night were in a large part down to him.
Ratings v Maribor
- Thread starter Bus-Conductor
- Start date
Agree with this, if we are to drop anyone for the City game for me it would be Huddlestone for Sandro. Yes Carroll is young, no he isn't the second coming, but he does offer something that without Dembele we are missing and the first two goals lastr night were in a large part down to him.
Syn_13
Fly On, Little Wing
- Jul 17, 2008
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Lloris - 5.5 Equally at fualt for the goal, otherwise had an ok game. Responsive.
Walker - 6 Wasn't as bad as recent games, but it is poor opposition. He needs competition, I agree with letting Naughton to play that role for a few games.
Dawson - 7 Solid, good distribution. I still feel he has a part in our squad and still prefer him to Gallas.
Vertonghen - 6.5 Did well, enjoy watching him play.
Naughton - 6 Played well apart from the blunder. Put it down to inexperience.
Huddlestone - 6 Lost the ball a couple of times but did fine otherwise, good ball to Bale for the 3rd.
Carroll - 8 Great game, positive movement and good distribution. Forward passing a welcome change. Has a bright future based on that game. Deserved his assist.
Bale - 9 Man of the match for me. They couldn't handle his pace and his crosses were very good. Good couple of assists.
Lennon - 6.5 Had a quiet game by his standards but did well.
Adebayor - 7.5 Unlucky not to get on the scoresheet but had a good game for the first start of the season.
Defoe - 8 Hat trick hero. Did his job and looked lively.
Walker - 6 Wasn't as bad as recent games, but it is poor opposition. He needs competition, I agree with letting Naughton to play that role for a few games.
Dawson - 7 Solid, good distribution. I still feel he has a part in our squad and still prefer him to Gallas.
Vertonghen - 6.5 Did well, enjoy watching him play.
Naughton - 6 Played well apart from the blunder. Put it down to inexperience.
Huddlestone - 6 Lost the ball a couple of times but did fine otherwise, good ball to Bale for the 3rd.
Carroll - 8 Great game, positive movement and good distribution. Forward passing a welcome change. Has a bright future based on that game. Deserved his assist.
Bale - 9 Man of the match for me. They couldn't handle his pace and his crosses were very good. Good couple of assists.
Lennon - 6.5 Had a quiet game by his standards but did well.
Adebayor - 7.5 Unlucky not to get on the scoresheet but had a good game for the first start of the season.
Defoe - 8 Hat trick hero. Did his job and looked lively.
mpickard2087
Patient Zero
- Jun 13, 2008
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Lloris 5 - Lets face it a very silly mistake for the goal, even if Naughton should never have put him in that position. To me he looks a combination of rusty, nervous and lacking in confidence. I think the remedy is probably a run of games to bed himself in, but will he get them?
Walker 6.5 - Ok. Cant really remember him doing much of note.
Dawson 7 - Relatively untroubled, some good switches of play rather than aimless hoofs.
Vertonghen 6.5 - Easy game.
Naughton 6 - Poor backpass, but I think he made up for it with the last ditch tackle at 2-1.
Huddlestone 6.5 - Nice pass for the third goal, spread the play reasonably well but I thought showed some of his usual deficiencies as well. Doesnt fill me with confidence.
Carroll 8 - Very good display I thought. Always available and kept things ticking over nicely.
Lennon 7 - Needs some self belief, wasted some good chances where he probably should have gone himself. Worked pretty hard though.
Bale 8 - Two assists and should have had more. Easy game for him against this opposition.
Adebayor 7.5 - Makes such a difference to the team. I have marked him down for not grabbing a couple of goals!
Defoe 8 - Three good finishes.
Walker 6.5 - Ok. Cant really remember him doing much of note.
Dawson 7 - Relatively untroubled, some good switches of play rather than aimless hoofs.
Vertonghen 6.5 - Easy game.
Naughton 6 - Poor backpass, but I think he made up for it with the last ditch tackle at 2-1.
Huddlestone 6.5 - Nice pass for the third goal, spread the play reasonably well but I thought showed some of his usual deficiencies as well. Doesnt fill me with confidence.
Carroll 8 - Very good display I thought. Always available and kept things ticking over nicely.
Lennon 7 - Needs some self belief, wasted some good chances where he probably should have gone himself. Worked pretty hard though.
Bale 8 - Two assists and should have had more. Easy game for him against this opposition.
Adebayor 7.5 - Makes such a difference to the team. I have marked him down for not grabbing a couple of goals!
Defoe 8 - Three good finishes.
sloth
Well-Known Member
- Mar 7, 2005
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Really enjoyed that, and hopefully we can draw some lessons from it for the future.
First up I thought Dawson played really well, if he made a misplaced pass I didn't see it, he was authoritative when defending, and was playing the ball out of defence with real zing. On that subject, when he played and made one of his diagonal special's to Bale in the first half my heart sank, because I thought having made one, he'd then be trying and failing to repeat the trick for the rest of the match, but he didn't, he used the pass sparingly, and in the right circumstances, the rest of the time playing it realistic, but progressive. He's still not the long-term answer because of his failings as a defender and because of his tendency to spread panic under pressure, but this was a good game for him.
Secondly, I thought you could see AVB's influence all over the game. Good on him for breaking the dogma and going 442, he also took a risk by teaming Carroll with Huddlestone in CM, but it paid off, in particular you could see he'd spoken to the pair and told then to stop fucking about and get the ball wide to Lennon, or particularly Bale, fast and early. Naughton noticeably hung back too, and so didn't occupy Bale's space. This also showed the advantage of playing a younger player like Carroll, because while older players will listen to the coach and then put their own spin on it, and basically usually do their own thing, younger players are more willing to be guided and to follow instructions; AVB told him to hit Bale early, and lo and behold that's what Tom did.
Just a note on the 442, I think we should be careful about drawing too firm a conclusion from the evidence of one game against weak opposition - we cannot expect the same trick to be as effective against tough PL teams - however the match did serve to illustrate what I and others have been saying recently, namely that if you're determined to play Defoe then it has to be off another striker. I'd go further, and reiterate the points made before and after the Wigan match, which is that without guile, or creativity in the centre, and when your greatest threat comes from your wide men, then the onus is on having men who can make the most of their strengths. I was against 442 last season when we had Modric and VdV, and 442 meant we were sacrificing their creativity to accommodate an additional striker, whilst leaving Sandro on the bench, but this season, with the players currently available to us, I think 442 is the way I would go.
Finally, Lloris. I felt for the guy, unlike others I think he must shoulder almost the entire blame, yes Naughton's back-pass was risky, but so was Lloris' ball to him in the first place, and the simple fact is that Lloris had an opportunity to clear and he didn't. The guy is an international/world-class keeper, and part of that is decision making under pressure. He dropped a clanger yesterday, and those of us who believe he should be playing regularly cannot excuse him for that. On the other hand he should be playing regularly, and in fact even if you're top-class, it's hard for keepers to remain on the top of their game, to keep their concentrations levels and all that when you don't play all the time. There's a reason keeper's aren't rotated and this is it. Last word on the subject, the idea that introducing a keeper like Lloris slowly to English football is the way to get his confidence up is farcical, it means each and every game he does play is under the spot-light, he feels he has to perform every time, every error becomes magnified and subject to speculation, and his chance to put it right doesn't come along for weeks. It is totally the wrong way to get the best out of your keeper. If you believe he is the long-term future, then play him early, tell him you have absolute faith and keep playing him.
First up I thought Dawson played really well, if he made a misplaced pass I didn't see it, he was authoritative when defending, and was playing the ball out of defence with real zing. On that subject, when he played and made one of his diagonal special's to Bale in the first half my heart sank, because I thought having made one, he'd then be trying and failing to repeat the trick for the rest of the match, but he didn't, he used the pass sparingly, and in the right circumstances, the rest of the time playing it realistic, but progressive. He's still not the long-term answer because of his failings as a defender and because of his tendency to spread panic under pressure, but this was a good game for him.
Secondly, I thought you could see AVB's influence all over the game. Good on him for breaking the dogma and going 442, he also took a risk by teaming Carroll with Huddlestone in CM, but it paid off, in particular you could see he'd spoken to the pair and told then to stop fucking about and get the ball wide to Lennon, or particularly Bale, fast and early. Naughton noticeably hung back too, and so didn't occupy Bale's space. This also showed the advantage of playing a younger player like Carroll, because while older players will listen to the coach and then put their own spin on it, and basically usually do their own thing, younger players are more willing to be guided and to follow instructions; AVB told him to hit Bale early, and lo and behold that's what Tom did.
Just a note on the 442, I think we should be careful about drawing too firm a conclusion from the evidence of one game against weak opposition - we cannot expect the same trick to be as effective against tough PL teams - however the match did serve to illustrate what I and others have been saying recently, namely that if you're determined to play Defoe then it has to be off another striker. I'd go further, and reiterate the points made before and after the Wigan match, which is that without guile, or creativity in the centre, and when your greatest threat comes from your wide men, then the onus is on having men who can make the most of their strengths. I was against 442 last season when we had Modric and VdV, and 442 meant we were sacrificing their creativity to accommodate an additional striker, whilst leaving Sandro on the bench, but this season, with the players currently available to us, I think 442 is the way I would go.
Finally, Lloris. I felt for the guy, unlike others I think he must shoulder almost the entire blame, yes Naughton's back-pass was risky, but so was Lloris' ball to him in the first place, and the simple fact is that Lloris had an opportunity to clear and he didn't. The guy is an international/world-class keeper, and part of that is decision making under pressure. He dropped a clanger yesterday, and those of us who believe he should be playing regularly cannot excuse him for that. On the other hand he should be playing regularly, and in fact even if you're top-class, it's hard for keepers to remain on the top of their game, to keep their concentrations levels and all that when you don't play all the time. There's a reason keeper's aren't rotated and this is it. Last word on the subject, the idea that introducing a keeper like Lloris slowly to English football is the way to get his confidence up is farcical, it means each and every game he does play is under the spot-light, he feels he has to perform every time, every error becomes magnified and subject to speculation, and his chance to put it right doesn't come along for weeks. It is totally the wrong way to get the best out of your keeper. If you believe he is the long-term future, then play him early, tell him you have absolute faith and keep playing him.
Bus-Conductor
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Come on SB, that's mainly because Maribor barely sniffed. Him and Vertonghen were fine but you only have to go back to the two away games (particularly the Panathenaikos one) to see the flat footed frailties of Dawson exposed.
He was fine last night. Not so other games, and not so for the last 7 years. He has inherent flaws in his game and to continually deny these is stupid. I appreciate that Gallas is forever tarred with the gooner/chelsea brush but he has always been a better footballer than Dawson. It hurts, but it's the truth.
He's no more a leader than Trundlestone is the fat controller. That's just more mythology.
It's like Liverpool fans saying Carrigher not playing is why they aren't doing better. It's bollocks. We aren't missing leadership at the back, we're missing quality in the midfield and creativity in the attack. And a brain at right back.
As I said, on previous occasions I've watched him, I've thought him a bit lightweight, a bit unsubstantial. I did end my comments last night by saying most opposition won't be that weak. I don't think he has bad technique so much as being very one footed. I think his technique's fine, but he needs to learn to be comfortable with his right foot.
On previous occasions I've also pointed out his slight reticence to move forward with the ball, but I actually thought last night, for the most part he was bright, kept moving, constantly looking to take the ball, always had his head up, got forward, created a goal, played two or three other incisive passes and was definitely my man of the match.
Spurs_Bear
Well-Known Member
- Jan 7, 2009
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Woah there Nelly. Don't tar me with a 'Dawson fan club' brush BC. I was merely commenting on what you said about him, as I saw it too, and you usually bypass your 'un-favourites' when they have a good game.
By stating he could play a part for us with the caveat of 'we aren't using this mythical high line' I don't really see how that means he should be starting every week. Do I think AVB has treated him worse than a bit of shit on the bottom of his shoe? Yes, I do.
I take it all back you ungrateful bastard.
Bus-Conductor
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I think you make a valid point about the throw out Sloth. I don't know if you remember but I did say (before he'd had a game for Spurs) that there will be issues with Lloris, and that I hope we are more tolerant than we were with Gomes ?
Lloris is a little bit in the Gomes mould. He's pro-active, but actually not as strong and physical as Gomes, likes to throw out quickly, but a very good shot stopper and quick and brave off his line.
We better get used to the odd blunder or this will go the same way as Gomes. With a pro-active goalie you have to learn to take the rough with the smooth. Like learning to put up with Bale wasting 90% of the great positions he gets in for the 10% of superb quality he doesn't.
ShelfSide18
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- Aug 23, 2006
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Tempo, hello old friend how we've missed you. We really have.
Since Luka left for better things this is what we've been crying out for, someone to set a tempo in midfield, to receive the ball and move it around the pitch quickly in all directions. Step forward Tom Carroll. It is perhaps symbolic that he was partnered with Tom Huddlestone last night, who I have read for about 7 years now of his supposed ability to 'control midfields', 'his great passing', 'the midfield metronome' (I gather last night he was compared on ITV to Hoddle & Beckenbauer). All this in the face of most of the evidence I've seen, that for 7 years he's failed to nail down a spot for Spurs and has attracted admiring glances from total football exponents Stoke City - it took a 20 year old kid to show that fallacy last night, and even then Hudd had a reasonable game all told. Carroll saw more ball than anyone, 77/87 passes @ 89% while Hudd rolled in a decent 60/66 @ 91%.
I don't really believe that a single player can control a game of football, teams do, but every good side needs a tempo and last night with little Tom Carroll we at last had some fluency as he knocked the ball from side to side, front to back. Quickly and intelligently, always in space, always with his head up. This was a poor European opposition true, and the kid is raw and it remains to be seen whether he can translate his style of play into the hustle and bustle of an EPL midfield but this has to be preferable to watching our midfield Plodfathers plod away all season surely?
I was disappointed in AVB for not giving Falque & Mason either a start/more time on the pitch, especially as he chose to bring on the distinctly average Dempsey who then proceeded to run into trouble for 20 minutes or so. we are a team who has lost it's brains in one fell swoop, but whilst Carroll/Falque/Mason aren't yet Modric/VDV/Kranjcar I want to see them given time on the pitch. It may be sink or swim for the kids, but with Hudd/Livermore/Dempsey around they are just about treading water.
Tactically for AVB I think Maribor and their 4-4-2 was perfect timing for AVB as he could match up 4-4-2 with them, and appear like he was bowing to the booing mob from last week with 2 forwards, 2 touchline hugging wingers and putting some balls into the box. I think Maribor must have been training all week to play against our 4231/433 with Bale and Lennon playing more infield, understandably as they played very narrow and afforded Bale the freedom of the left wing to whip balls in all night and they just didn't react to this one bit. Bale will never have an easier 90 minutes. the 4-4-2 worked up against another 4-4-2 with vastly inferior players, do we go like this against City? Hope not.
Last word to Adebayor, this man has to play. Defoe grabbed a lovely hattrick, and predictably having a partner he looked far more comfortable, but Adebayor was the fulcrum up top that we've missed almost as much as we have missed the brains, tempo and poise of our creative players. Get him in the side AVB, you know it makes sense, Rodders.
Lloris 5 Well he was fine other than the Fabien Barthez tribute act.
Naughton 5 Shows what happens when you pass without looking, other than that was reasonable but not inspring.
Walker 7 Decent game.
Verthongen 7 Decent game.
Dawson 7 Decent game.
Carroll 8 Set our tempo, pass and move, assist. Get him in the side.
Hudd 7 Decent game.
Bale 9 They made it easy for him but my was he a joy to watch, and worked hard off the ball too.
Lennon 7 Decent game, worked hard.
Defoe 8 Can't really argue with that, first goal was a beaut.
Adebayor 8 What we've been missing.
Since Luka left for better things this is what we've been crying out for, someone to set a tempo in midfield, to receive the ball and move it around the pitch quickly in all directions. Step forward Tom Carroll. It is perhaps symbolic that he was partnered with Tom Huddlestone last night, who I have read for about 7 years now of his supposed ability to 'control midfields', 'his great passing', 'the midfield metronome' (I gather last night he was compared on ITV to Hoddle & Beckenbauer). All this in the face of most of the evidence I've seen, that for 7 years he's failed to nail down a spot for Spurs and has attracted admiring glances from total football exponents Stoke City - it took a 20 year old kid to show that fallacy last night, and even then Hudd had a reasonable game all told. Carroll saw more ball than anyone, 77/87 passes @ 89% while Hudd rolled in a decent 60/66 @ 91%.
I don't really believe that a single player can control a game of football, teams do, but every good side needs a tempo and last night with little Tom Carroll we at last had some fluency as he knocked the ball from side to side, front to back. Quickly and intelligently, always in space, always with his head up. This was a poor European opposition true, and the kid is raw and it remains to be seen whether he can translate his style of play into the hustle and bustle of an EPL midfield but this has to be preferable to watching our midfield Plodfathers plod away all season surely?
I was disappointed in AVB for not giving Falque & Mason either a start/more time on the pitch, especially as he chose to bring on the distinctly average Dempsey who then proceeded to run into trouble for 20 minutes or so. we are a team who has lost it's brains in one fell swoop, but whilst Carroll/Falque/Mason aren't yet Modric/VDV/Kranjcar I want to see them given time on the pitch. It may be sink or swim for the kids, but with Hudd/Livermore/Dempsey around they are just about treading water.
Tactically for AVB I think Maribor and their 4-4-2 was perfect timing for AVB as he could match up 4-4-2 with them, and appear like he was bowing to the booing mob from last week with 2 forwards, 2 touchline hugging wingers and putting some balls into the box. I think Maribor must have been training all week to play against our 4231/433 with Bale and Lennon playing more infield, understandably as they played very narrow and afforded Bale the freedom of the left wing to whip balls in all night and they just didn't react to this one bit. Bale will never have an easier 90 minutes. the 4-4-2 worked up against another 4-4-2 with vastly inferior players, do we go like this against City? Hope not.
Last word to Adebayor, this man has to play. Defoe grabbed a lovely hattrick, and predictably having a partner he looked far more comfortable, but Adebayor was the fulcrum up top that we've missed almost as much as we have missed the brains, tempo and poise of our creative players. Get him in the side AVB, you know it makes sense, Rodders.
Lloris 5 Well he was fine other than the Fabien Barthez tribute act.
Naughton 5 Shows what happens when you pass without looking, other than that was reasonable but not inspring.
Walker 7 Decent game.
Verthongen 7 Decent game.
Dawson 7 Decent game.
Carroll 8 Set our tempo, pass and move, assist. Get him in the side.
Hudd 7 Decent game.
Bale 9 They made it easy for him but my was he a joy to watch, and worked hard off the ball too.
Lennon 7 Decent game, worked hard.
Defoe 8 Can't really argue with that, first goal was a beaut.
Adebayor 8 What we've been missing.
Bus-Conductor
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I would be less worried about my un-favouritism and more with the rampant "Huddcontrolsgamesism" and "Dawsonisaleaderism". Those, I confess, I do struggle with, and are far more skewed and malevolent beasts.
sloth
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- Mar 7, 2005
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How would you go then?
Bus-Conductor
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-----------------------------LLoris----Friedel
Smith-----Walker---Gallas--Hudd---Sandro---Dawson----Vertonghen- Naughton
---------------------------------Adebayor
Mr Pink
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- Aug 25, 2010
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In all circumstances? Like our next two league games?
Smith is on loan at Millwall and you are not allowed under FA rules to play two goalkeeperss.
Mr Pink
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sloth
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Looking at a few of the stats from last night...
First of all Dawson had a 96% pass completion off 72 passes, including 21 long-balls, all accurate, compare that to Vertonghen who made 55 passes, with a 93% completion, but just 8 long-balls (all accurate).
Gareth Bale made 22 crosses last night, with a 20% accuracy, that compares to 88 in total for the season in the PL with a 22% accuracy. The sheer quantity of crosses I guess is evidence firstly of our dominance, but also, when compared with games against Villa, Reading, and Lazio (games where we also dominated, and against Villa and Lazio made a high number of crosses) we see a far higher accuracy last night, which to me shows the difference having two strikers makes, rather than one little to aim for.
Our over-all team performance was fantastic too. We enjoyed 61% possession and 90% pass success, compared to the rest of the season where our average possession has been 49%, and pass completion 84%, we also made more tackles yesterday, than our average per game (24/20), on the face of it not a huge difference, but I'd be interested to see if you generally make more tackles in 50% possession games, than when one side dominates?
Last thing, I just had a look at player positions for a number of different matches this season, what is clear is that games where we've done well our tow strikers, or striker and designated second-striker/AM have taken average positions in very similar parts of the pitch, when we've done poorly the forwards seem to spread out. Really weirdly against Wigan Bale seems to have been the point man, where Defoe played deeper and on the left: http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/615012/MatchReport/England-Premier-League-2012-2013-Tottenham-Wigan
First of all Dawson had a 96% pass completion off 72 passes, including 21 long-balls, all accurate, compare that to Vertonghen who made 55 passes, with a 93% completion, but just 8 long-balls (all accurate).
Gareth Bale made 22 crosses last night, with a 20% accuracy, that compares to 88 in total for the season in the PL with a 22% accuracy. The sheer quantity of crosses I guess is evidence firstly of our dominance, but also, when compared with games against Villa, Reading, and Lazio (games where we also dominated, and against Villa and Lazio made a high number of crosses) we see a far higher accuracy last night, which to me shows the difference having two strikers makes, rather than one little to aim for.
Our over-all team performance was fantastic too. We enjoyed 61% possession and 90% pass success, compared to the rest of the season where our average possession has been 49%, and pass completion 84%, we also made more tackles yesterday, than our average per game (24/20), on the face of it not a huge difference, but I'd be interested to see if you generally make more tackles in 50% possession games, than when one side dominates?
Last thing, I just had a look at player positions for a number of different matches this season, what is clear is that games where we've done well our tow strikers, or striker and designated second-striker/AM have taken average positions in very similar parts of the pitch, when we've done poorly the forwards seem to spread out. Really weirdly against Wigan Bale seems to have been the point man, where Defoe played deeper and on the left: http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/615012/MatchReport/England-Premier-League-2012-2013-Tottenham-Wigan
sloth
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It depends on who we have available. It also matters that AVB will play Defoe.
Against City, assuming for a moment that playing Adebayor as a lone striker was a realistic option in AVB's mind, then for me the front six becomes a toss up between something like this:
Sandro Huddlestone
Lennon Dempsey Bale
Adebayor
(leaving aside some might argue for Carroll rather than Hudd, or Gylfi rather than Dempsey)
And something like this:
Lennon Sandro Huddlestone Bale
Adebayor Defoe
Personally I'd go for the latter. I don't think Dempsey or Gylfi offer enough creatively, defensively, or in terms of goal-threat to justify their inclusion, whereas I do believe Defoe is a much better player when playing of another striker, I think Adebayor plays an interesting way, which bridges the gap somewhat between a striker and an AM. And employing two strikers plays to the team's attacking strength, namely two outstanding wing-men.
That said I don't think it's black and white, I can see the merits of playing the first set-up, the argument that Dempsey will be more effective than he has been with a hold-up type striker who he can run beyond, but tbh I really don't rate Dempsey, I think he's a bit of a donkey. Usually you'd say 442 offers a soft centre, but that pre-supposes than 4231 means you can boss possession more, winning the ball back earlier, more effectively and playing a progressive possession game when you have the ball due to the extra CM. With the players we have atm for the formation though, we won't be winning the ball back earlier, and when we do we won't be using it effectively.
There's a very human thing we all do which helps us make snap-decisions, we basically have a kind of look-up table in our minds, into which we shove pre-loaded core attitudes, or opinions about subjects, then when something new comes along, we compare it to these already held attitudes, and if it shares qualities or feels similar, we just shove it right in alongside these pre-loaded attitudes, and hey-presto we already know what we think about a subject. Like I say we all do it, and on a whole range of issues we barely have to think whether a thing is right or wrong, we just refer to the look-up tables and retrieve the answer instantly. It's a really useful tool, mostly it gets things right, and there aren't many penalties when we get it wrong... most of the time... it saves a huge amount of energy, and in situations where a snap-decision is required (even to the point of being life-or-death sometimes), shaving seconds off the thinking time can be crucial.
The thing is, it's not always right, and if you've the time it's well worth trying to take a look at some of the pre-loaded attitudes - many which you'd have stored there as a kid - and try and work out whether you still agree with them, and try and consider why you put them there in the first place etc. It takes an effort, and probably we'll never really get at the deep-seated ones, however it's rewarding, and when you do a whole world of shades of grey and unrealised connections opens up, and all of a sudden stuff which seems contrary, which didn't fit with a previous binary way of viewing the world, begins to make sense...
Mr Pink
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As I said in the team for City thread, I would go with the first set up and play Carroll in Dempsey's position. I agree with you that 4-4-4 gets the best out of a lot of our players, namely our wide men, but for me the key to getting a result here is a good possession game which will afford us some control. City have really struggled at home to Arsenal, Swansea, Dortmund and Ajax - all very good possession teams. Still very difficult no matter what way we go, as we'll have to get the basics very much right.
The Apprentice
Charles Big Potatoes
- Mar 10, 2005
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It was nice to see Dempsey some how manage to look pedestrian in his brief cameo. I've forgotten how many times he has dribbled straight at a defender and lost the ball or when he's completely slowed down a break away by dawdling on the ball.
He surely can't be as bad as he's playing currently. Or maybe he's injured.
He surely can't be as bad as he's playing currently. Or maybe he's injured.
