Poyet Eyes Midfield Destroyer

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Shelvey would have been ideal.

 

[Albion4]

Shelvey would have been ideal.

Shelvey isn't a destroyer! he is more of a playmaker.

I think Jake Livermore from Spurs would be great, he will find it hard to get game time in their midfield. The boy can play a bit too.

 

[Medwayseagull]

Where would that leave Bridcutt though?

Exactly - we do not need a Makele type as Bridcutt has often been described as similar. We need a big powerful mobile midfielder who can break up play , win balls in the air and then accrately distribute to the more creative players in the side.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Bridcutt sits deep I know but he not a play breaker. I thought for a while he can move a little further forward and recieve a ball off the defensive mid.

I do see him as a player who breaks up the play in front of the back 4 myself, but perhaps it's only down to our defensive & centre-mid frailties plus the apparent lack of quality options? I reckon you could well be right about him playing a bit further up the park in future though, especially after what Gus has said today. It's certainly tres interesting to see what his new plan is: & let's hope it works!

 

[Triggaaar]

I honestly think El-Abd in front of the defence, with Bridcutt, will strengthen the our centre quite effectively!

El-Abd would strengthen the centre, but I don't think his distribution is good enough to play in the centre of our team.

 

[Medwayseagull]

Duplicated

 

[blue'n'white]

Thing is with Harley is that he was a gamble and an expensive one at that. He is completely unproven at Championship level owing to the fact he couldn't get in the Swansea team.

Be fair now - Harley couldn't get into the Swansea Championship side as he was loaned back to Exeter immediately he was bought from them which is why the Swansea offer was accepted rather than ours as we wanted him in our side last January.

 

[kevtherev]

Dickson Etuhu isn't getting a regular start at Fulham. Would tick every box imo.

 

[Pantani]

I like this line:



What I've been saying, we're standing off and not trying to get the ball back.

This is the problem as I see it too. We do not necesarily need bigger players, what we do need is players who are tenacious at chasing the ball. Dicker and Harley are terrible at this. Watch Barcelona v Man Utd in last seasons Champions League, United were undoubtedly the bigger, stronger and quicker team but Barca hunted them down and harrassed them the moment they had the ball. As the saying goes if the opposition do not have the ball they cannot score, however this does not only apply to keeping possession but also to how quick you can win it back.

 

[perseus]

El-Abd would strengthen the centre, but I don't think his distribution is good enough to play in the centre of our team.

Adam El-Abd could conceivably play the box-to-box midfielder in the Ray Kennedy style. He could then actually double up as a fifth defender, or cover at full-back when the full backs advance.

 

[BensGrandad]

I think that on this occassion Gus has got it wrong I think that more importantly we need to sign a dominant central defender and then play Vincelot alongside of Bridcut to hunt the ball down.

 

[perseus]

The reason we play so deep is simply because Casper is a goal line only keeper and the lack of pace at the back means that our defenders are scared of being turned cheaply and then through on goal with just our keeper to beat!

This was my experience from my playing days.. If my keeper scared me I did tend to play deeper sometimes without even realising I was doing so!

Playing deep is the standard tactics when faced with speed merchants.

 

[Muzzy]

Playing deep is the standard tactics when faced with speed merchants.

Only when the defenders lack pace to get back IMO... Which we clearly do.

 

[the right footed denilson]

Dickson Etuhu isn't getting a regular start at Fulham. Would tick every box imo.

Great shout.

 

[shaolinpunk]

Dickson Etuhu isn't getting a regular start at Fulham. Would tick every box imo.

By jove, I think he's on to something here

 

[Albion 4ever]

It looks as if Gus is looking towards employing a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Bridcutt & new signing at base of midfield.
Vicente behind CMS
Noone & Buckley/Lua Lua out wide.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Dickson Etuhu isn't getting a regular start at Fulham. Would tick every box imo.

That's an interesting shout there Kev. Would Jol be keen on him coming here as well as The Bobster though?

 

[ArcticBlue]

Dickson Etuhu isn't getting a regular start at Fulham. Would tick every box imo.

He's good

 

[Ninja Elephant]

This to me would suggest that he isn't impressed by Bridcutt, but I completely disagree. I don't think the problem is the screening the defence are getting from midfield. The problem is a large percentage of shots at Ankergren are going in at the moment. I think the defence aren't dealing with anything, there aren't many goals I would blame the midfield's defensive work for. I think Greer and Dunk need to be held to account. I've seen the Ipswich goals, and let's be honest, they're good finishes from Chopra but Calderon should have been closer for both of them and Sonko is a beast from set pieces. Not excuses, but I wouldn't be prioritising an enforcer. We don't need one, we just need to work the ball better through midfield like we were at the start of the season. Beating Cardiff 3-1 away was no fluke.

 

[Mowgli]

Hmmm - interesting! i wonder if they will fit in with gus's style of football.

Wouldn't necessarily need to so long as they can play a 10-15 yard pass as they wouldn't be in the team to play pretty football, they would be in the team to dominate midfield and win the ball.