No Target Man - What do we think?

[grummitts gloves]

Maybe the new signings, particularly Lopez & Dobbie, mean we are just going to 'flair' defences to death and with a resurgent CMS, we'll end up walking it into the back of the net. Gus did comment about Hoskins return to fitness the other day, suggesting perhaps it's not the end for him yet? I'm not that fussed about signing a 'target man'.

 

[pork pie]

I have never wanted a simple "Target Man" like Heskey. I would however, like to see a big, strong and athletic "footballer" out of the Bobby Zamora mold in our team. Who can argue with Didier Drogba's effectiveness?

 

[cloud]

No target man will make it harder for other teams to man-mark us. It's good being unpredictable.
We will also get Forster-Caskey back in January

 

[Questions]

I want to see what we've already got before I worry about a target man. It is about holding the ball up anyway. We're not going to start going long are we ?

 

[durrington gull]

I wonder if it might mean a last chance for Hoskins - his contract expires at the end of the season so I guess we need to have made a decision about his future before the January window closes?

Cannot see Hoskins even getting on the Subs Bench - Dobbie and Barnes are miles ahead of him now

 

[Marc1901]

We'll get plenty of goals without a target man.

 

[4-p]

I reckon trying Vicente up front so many times means he wants that false 9 thing in the go.

That requires some much better football then we've played, ever.
It's 3-4 touch for upto 5mins straight, darting in and out of their back line, trying to force an error and find a gap to score from.

The centre forward spends much of their time receiving the ball with their back to goal, feeding the ball back into the play maker in midfield who's facing the goal.

Our problem was Macca running at their goal as soon as we win possession and not being available for that early ball to feet.
Also Greer rarely wants to play that ball anyway, instead he'll lauch one to Buckley or Lua Lua, or Bridders will come back 20 yards and get a5 yard ball with good back to goal in his own half.

When we did get it to the feet of Macca or Barnes early and they played it back to Vicente we where then in control and on the front foot.

The times we had trouble were when we had to clear the ball from the back, pumped it down the middle and due to lack of height it came straight back and Macca got really stressed.
So did Vicente against reading.

If we can clear our ranks properly and get to grips with how to really play that way, game on.

I think Macca is the best centre forward we have and can do the job if he keeps his head on & we all play the same game.
I also think Barnes is able to do it, looked good against Chelski but I'm unsure if he's capable of doing it for more than 20mins consistently... yet!

I'd also like to see a 442 with Vicente or Barnes coming deep off Macca, into the whole as the playmaker, play-in the midfield to then make the space to send Macca, Buckley or Lualua the channels.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

I imagine we are currently saving the weekly cash outlay on another striker, with it all being put in the moneybag for a signing in January.

 

[daveinprague]

Dobie will be a legend

 

[Surf's Up]

I think the concept of having a big strong target man is a response to the size and physicality of most of the centre backs in the division. If we continue to develop getting the ball upfield quicker either through midfield or over the top, down the wings or diagonally, and keep it on the ground once its there using movement and quick passing to create chances I think we'll have the beating of most defences in this division. There won't be many headed goals though!

 

[brightonrock]

I've never thought we needed one, other than to negate a vulnerability against taller teams from set pieces. The key to unlocking CMS' best attributes, and turning mid-table tiki-taka into Swansea-style dominance, was always finding the balance between an increased tempo and remaining defensively solid. Other than a couple of absolute pastings last season, for all the criticism of our keepers or the pace/defensive positioning of our full-backs, we were still generally speaking difficult to score against. That only needed tinkering with. The big change was getting the ball from back to front at greater speed without having to resort to route one - which requires better first touch, more positional discipline and good understanding between players. CMS doesn't want to be deep, he wants to be on the shoulder of the last defender, so the 'target man', for me anyway, was not about a big lad up top winning knock-downs in a 442, but the link-man of the centre of a fluid attacking 3 in a 4231. That player needs the physicality to be able to hold the ball up, the creativity to unlock the defence, the engine to support the 2 holding midfielders and to still carry the attacking threat in the final third that would create room for CMS by drawing the defence out to close him down. That's looking increasingly like it could be Dobbie, although Barnes is the best 'team' player in the squad and has been playing that role very well, and Vicente in the same role would obviously out-create anybody else in the division, at the expense of defensive solidarity. Now we've got choices, different options, and that's what serves as a 'plan B'. The squad has a perfectly balanced look now IMO, with two players pushing for every position (with the exception of CB where we have 2 from 3, and probably need another).

GK: Kuszczak/Brezovan
RB: Bruno/Calderon
LB: Bridge/Painter
CB: Greer/El-Abd/Dunk
DM: Bridcutt/Dicker
CM: Hammond/Crofts
RW: Buckley/Lopez
AM: Dobbie/Barnes
LM: LuaLua/Orlandi
ST: CMS/Hoskins
+ Vicente (if and when fit) in any of the front 4 roles.

I genuinely believe that's a top 8 squad at least, quite possibly a top 6 squad depending on injury and suspension etc - and although it would be foolish to judge a player or a team on one or two performances, with the better mix of short and long passing and the interchanging of the front four, we've looked very, very good so far. It's a great problem to have that Dobbie, Barnes & Vicente are potentially competing for one position - Dobbie & Barnes both want to drop off and link up play in the hole, Vicente wants it deeper with an opportunity to dribble/thread through balls - but playing any of the three serves the same purpose, it frees up to CMS to make runs in-behind, where he does the most damage. The same comparison could be drawn to our L1 seasons under Poyet - first season was about consolidation and solidarity, then we signed adventurous full-backs and creative midfielders, played a fluid 4123 and tore teams to pieces. Fingers crossed history repeats itself.