The diamond!

[walworthyid]

The immenent signing of Palacios has got me thinking about the formation we will play once we have him and I reckon there is a good chance that we will be seeing a diamond.

Gomes

Corluka Woody King/Dawson BAE/Bale

Palacios/Zokora

Zokora/Jenas/Hudd Zokora/Jenas/Hudd/O'Hara

Modric

Pav/Bent/A N OTHER Defoe


The way I see it this is the only formation that will allow us to have 2 strikers and play Modric. What are the strengths and weaknesses of it? Well, we should be more solid in the middle and we also should be able to make the transition between defence and attack a bit better and retain the ball. In theory we will be able to play the ball into the feet of the strikers rather than go long.

Jenas should be able to have more license to get forward, as will Modric, leading hopefully to more chances created for the strikers and more goals scored from midfield.

The main problem I can see is obvious, a lack of width, neither striker is overly fond of running the channels and Corluka at least is not likely to be flying up the wing at every chance. The game is likely to become very conjested in the middle and we will have to pass our way through. Having said that, Pav and Defoe will make runs in the inside left/right area if the passing is good enough and this will leave space for Modric/Jenas to exploit.


Can we move the ball well enough to do that? Will the players learn to pass and move? Will we end up being just as predictable as we are already?

What are your thoughts?

 

[yanno]

The first thought is that, a/c to stuff in the Transfer Rumours thread, both the blue and red halves of Manchester are attempting to hijack the Palacios deal, and have offered him deals. :razz:

As for the diamond, I'm not a huge fan of it precisely because of the lack of width.

I too want Modric to be the heartbeat of the team. However, when he looks up in possession or makes himself a bit of space, the more options he has, the better we will play. And when he looks wide, I want Luka to have better options than late arriving FBs.

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

we'd get bummed on the wings due to corlukas lack of pace.

seriously when has a diamond ever actually worked?

i would much prefer a 4-5-1 with huddlstone palying as it is reliant on a midfield with passing ability and quick wingers.

 

[southlondonyiddo]

As long as Zokora is nowhere near the CM then it'll be all good, otherwise we're still fecked.

 

[SpurSince57]

Zokora actually worked rather well when Jol played a diamond in that cup game at the Bridge.

The disadvantage is that you really do need full-backs who'll provide the attacking width. BAE can do that, but Corluka? Hmmm…

 

[Spurs_Q8]

Zokora actually worked rather well when Jol played a diamond in that cup game at the Bridge.

The disadvantage is that you really do need full-backs who'll provide the attacking width. BAE can do that, but Corluka? Hmmm…

If Harry signed Palacios, we would ended up with a great competition in the middle, so it is possible to use Zokora as right back and used Corluka as option for LB. So no need for fullback on loan as back for Corluka if Redknapp still thinking Gunter isn't ready.

because Zokora is still doing good job and it would hard to make him bencher while JJ is also here.

I think this Diamond would work well against Shakhter away from home. Corluka isn't availalble, so Zokora could cover as RB and BAE as LB if all fit in that time.

 

[mil1lion]

I thought about this formation the other day. It can only really work against teams without width though. But it could work for certain games and is another option to us. We need good passer in the team for it to work well. My preference would be....

Palacios
Thudd...........Modric
Bellamy
Defoe....Pav​

Although its very attack minded and would probably only really work at home. Bellamy would have a bit of freedom to roam, so he could pop up on either wing to open it up somewhat with his pace. It will be all about movement as far as our attacking play goes, and hard work to get men behind the ball when we're defending.

I think we'll see our fair share of rotation though. Especially with so many games in a season. So i do also expect us to play 4-4-2 quiete a lot with either Modric/Jenas or Zokora alongside Palacios?/O'Hara or Huddlestone, depending on the opposition. And thats what it all comes down too. Having a great blend of players to chose from so we can change the system accordingly. Its becoming more and more common that we will match up like to like with our opponents, especially away from home. So i would also expect on occasion, to see us put an extra centre midfielder in for a striker and play a 5 man midfield.

It really does depend on the circumstances. But it would be great to have a better range of options.

 

[southgatespur40]

corluka might not be able to do that but hutton certainly can and hutton is a very good player. i would like to see something like this:

gomes


hutton corluka woody bale/BAE



palacios


jenas/bentley lennon/dos santos


modric


pav defoe

 

[Reece]

look at our team and the amount of good players we have and it unbeleivable we're in the position we're in. I personally would like to see the diamond tried out but anything that gets us a win atm will do me..