We can't be that open again

[talkshowhost86]

Firstly I don't want to detract from what was an excellent game of football. The crowd were fantastic, the players showed real courage and Benoit Assou Ekotto was immense.

But I think we have to learn the lesson of the last couple of games. Against both Stoke and Arsenal we've played two attack minded central midfielders with very attacking players either side of them, and it has left us far too open far too often.

With VdV playing 'on the right' it avoids the problem of having two wingers, but we lose the benefit of that by playing Modric and Huddlestone. They are both great players and I know why Harry is trying to accomodate them both but it just leaves us too vunerable, and against a good side like Arsenal we won't get away with that.

We have a defensive midfielder who the likes of Inter Milan and Barca are sniffing around, and for good reason. Let's use him so that the flair players can do their thing.

 

[dimiSpur]

Sandro keeps showing he has more in his locker than just being a good CM, in fact, he gets into the area alot more than both Hudd and Luka. I'd like to see a 3 man midfield consisting of all 3 of them, maybe now Bale might face a few games out we'll see Luka go left and have a midfield of

Lennon - Hudd - Sandro - Modric
------------van der Vaart----------
---------insert crap striker here-----

 

[bubble07]

Sandro must play every week. Once ge adds goals he will be our Vieira

 

[Kendall]

I agree and I don't see an in form Bale at the moment. I'd rather play Modric there and give Bale a breather for a bit. He's had a tough season and we need to be more solid. We've shown we can create without him.

 

[sidford]

Wilson in the guardian did a good piece recently about why a team that plays a normal 442 won't win major honours & I genuinely believe he's right. The centre of midfield is a must win battle & that's why most of the top teams play with 3 cm's & 1 striker. Yes its more defensive but it works & could work wonders for us if we could get a striker who can play up top on his own.

 

[MrWoolley]

It's a real tough dilemma. We certainly missed Sandro in the middle last night, but I also really think we need to keep Modric there aswell. I don't think it's any coincidence Modric has been Player of the Season (as voted by SC) whilst spending most of the season CM. Then there's Hudd, who came back and now we're scoring again.

No idea what the solution is yet!

 

[Black]

Last season with hudd and wilson was good, but with luka we leave the defence with no protection. Last season we had the perfect combo. Next season i think it's gonna have to be 4-3-3

 

[Legacy]

I've been saying since the Stoke game that Sandro is absolutely vital to our midfield. And he showed that within four minutes of being on the pitch when he made two brilliant tackles as well as a run into the box. He was also unlucky not to have a goal too, on another day his shot would've quite easily slipped between the keeper's legs.

And I agree with Kendall about Bale, he's been having difficulty stamping his mark onto games for a while now. He could maybe use a little period on the bench to take the pressure off him and allow him to make an impact in the final half an hour of games.

Putting Modric on the left would allow Van der Vaart to move inside and Lennon to provide pace and width from the right. Saying that though, I have liked seeing Lennon on the left recently. He won us a penalty last night from the left, he hit the post against West Ham coming in from the left and, if I'm not mistaken, the goal he scored against Newcastle was when he broke from the left. Given our lack of success with scoring from crosses this season, moving Lennon to the left to cut in and get off a shot or lay the ball off for an advancing midfielder on the edge of the box could be a lot more productive than having him beat his man on the right to put in a cross which nobody is prepared to attack.

 

[RJ1882]

In his short cameo Sandro was fantastic. Broke up alot of the play, surgng run forward. This guy is the real deal, which is wht there is constant paper talk linking him with Inter, Barca, Real and the likes.

If Sandro played from the start, we dont concede either of the first two goals.
Goal one - GAllas was out tackling someone in midfield, left a massive gap and Walcott was in - Sandro wouldve been the guy in making that tackle, Gallas would not have got caught out of position.
Goal 2, VDV chased Nasri when he had the ball. As soon as Nasri passed it, VDV switched off, Nasri ran into space, picked up ball and scored. Sandro wouldve been in that space and either tracked Nasri or closed down the shot quicker.

He's not super man, dont get me wrong, but he is a defensive wall.

 

[hellava_tough]

I'm not having a dig at Harry, but I think he got it wong last night leaving Sandro out

I think for the West Brom game we should go with the following midfield (presuming Bale will be injured):

------------Sandro-----------

---------Hudd---Modric-------

Lennon--------------------VDV


For me, Modric absolutely HAS to play in central midfield because he's such a dynamo there.

For Holland in the World Cup VDV played on the left, but he can always swap sides with Lennon if needs be

And with Sandro at the back we have our protection for the defence

 

[DEFchenkOE]

I'm not having a dig at Harry, but I think he got it wong last night leaving Sandro out

I think for the West Brom game we should go with the following midfield (presuming Bale will be injured):

------------Sandro-----------

---------Hudd---Modric-------

Lennon--------------------VDV


For me, Modric absolutely HAS to play in central midfield because he's such a dynamo there.

For Holland in the World Cup VDV played on the left, but he can always swap sides with Lennon if needs be

And with Sandro at the back we have our protection for the defence

100% I would go with this, would probably have Lennon and VdV on opposite sides so vdv can come in-field and get more involved. Despite what many think on here Lennon is more than capable on the left, dangerous infact. We can still play exciting attacking football this way just with a little more shape.

 

[kishman]

100% I would go with this, would probably have Lennon and VdV on opposite sides so vdv can come in-field and get more involved. Despite what many think on here Lennon is more than capable on the left, dangerous infact. We can still play exciting attacking football this way just with a little more shape.

This, also Modric, Lennon and VDV can always switch positions throughout the game. But most importantly with Hudd and Sandro in the team Luka will be more free to go forward and create chances.

 

[ladi100]

I havent actually watched the game (yes sounds odd) but I think Harry got 2 things wrong in playing Corluka and VDV on the same side. That's 1 player without the defensive mindset, and one who is not that fast. So it seems it would have left us really exposed on that side of the pitch.

 

[Donki]

From the array of midfield talant we have in Modric, VdV, Hudd, Bale, Lennon etc I think we should be looking at a more dynamic formation IMO. On here we are to concerned regarding our little formation mock ups. We should be allowing players like Modders and VdV who have a footballing brain to drift and swap positions, they have the inteligence to do that. Have the likes of Sando and Hudd more in a fixed role while the little guys create the movement. Bale has said he would like to play off the front, or at least give it a try, there is no reason that Lennon, Bale, VdV and Modders couldn't swap position in game if they are well drilled in training.

 

[ItsBoris]

Firstly I don't want to detract from what was an excellent game of football. The crowd were fantastic, the players showed real courage and Benoit Assou Ekotto was immense.

But I think we have to learn the lesson of the last couple of games. Against both Stoke and Arsenal we've played two attack minded central midfielders with very attacking players either side of them, and it has left us far too open far too often.

With VdV playing 'on the right' it avoids the problem of having two wingers, but we lose the benefit of that by playing Modric and Huddlestone. They are both great players and I know why Harry is trying to accomodate them both but it just leaves us too vunerable, and against a good side like Arsenal we won't get away with that.

We have a defensive midfielder who the likes of Inter Milan and Barca are sniffing around, and for good reason. Let's use him so that the flair players can do their thing.

The problem is we have so much quality in midfield, and no quality up front. If we had a striker like Llorente, 4-5-1 wouldn't be a problem and we could fit all our best players in besides one of Lennon or VDV. But it looks like we have to play 4-4-2 to have any hope of scoring, and that means only 2 of Lennon, Hudd, VDV, and Sandro unfortunately. Sucks that we have to put such quality players on the bench so such crap can play up front.

 

[ItsBoris]

I havent actually watched the game (yes sounds odd) but I think Harry got 2 things wrong in playing Corluka and VDV on the same side. That's 1 player without the defensive mindset, and one who is not that fast. So it seems it would have left us really exposed on that side of the pitch.

hmm interesting thought.

Idk maybe we should try 4-4-2 with Bale and Crouch/Pav up front.

 

[DEFchenkOE]

Luckily we only have a few games left this season and hopefully we can sort our striking situation out this summer, I hope the club see this was a major failing last summer believing our current crop were good enough.

Even if we're not in the CL we should be able to get a few quality strikers in. We've been able to get good strikers in the past when we've been in worse positions and had worse teams.

 

[guiltyparty]

It was a thrilling game, but yeah I agree, I was screaming at the TV when the starting 11 was announced. Utterly bizarre leaving Lennon out, VDV on the right and Pav and Crouch upfront. Pretty sure we've never played that line-up before, and to experiment in a game of this magnitude when we've got basically a fully fit squad available was strange to say the least

Lennon showed why he should have started, and VDV showed why he should be in the middle (let's be honest, he's not going to play wide even if you say he is)

I guess you're pleased with a point after being 3-1 down, but in the context of our season, and our run-in, it's definitely two points dropped

 

[ItsBoris]

@guiltyparty, we played that exact lineup against Stoke.

Basically the same happened, became very open and we scored as well as conceded.

 

[guiltyparty]

@guiltyparty, we played that exact lineup against Stoke.

Basically the same happened, became very open and we scored as well as conceded.

Sorry, my mistake, though Lennon wasn't available for that game so I guess there was more rhyme and reason to it.