Keane: Me and Defoe can work

[Danners9]

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=361958&CPID=8&clid=&lid=2&title=Keane:+Me+and+Defoe+can+work

Too right. It worked last weekend, and they are both good players.

The only problem comes with long kicks upfield, which is where Mido fits perfectly.

It's just nice to have the option of playing different ways. Some teams (mentioning no names, Arsenal) don't seem able to do that and struggle against teams who are physical and don't give them time on the ball.

[Colm]

Theres no doubt they can work because

*Keane is a very creative player and can bring others into play and create chance for Defeo

so theres no reason why not. But for a an away game i think a Big man is useful.

[sendorange]

Now that the midfield is sufficiently strong we can get away with playing those two together, at home at least. For the long kicks it looks like they're using Jenas as a sort of target man anyway, at least it looked that way against Charlton.

Sunderland are weak, but it will be a good away test for them. With the pace on the break they should still be effective even if the team has less of the ball than at home.

[PoshSpur]

If we can play through Carrick and Murphy, then Keane and Defoe will score a shed load for us as they are both very quick.

[THFC1]

I still prefer Mido upfront with one of them, the Keane-Defoe partnership has only worked once although they played well on Sunday, i think we can do different things with Mido playing.

[KMJvet]

the Keane-Defoe partnership has only worked once
But maybe that's an issue of how it was played this time vs the other time in that it seemed that Keane was played a lot more withdrawn this time.

[Mr. Bee]

Defoe and I?

[PoshSpur]

When Mido play's, a different system is implemented. If we have two pacey hobbits up front, we play a different system to the one with Mido in it.

[Danners9]

Seemed ok yesterday, a few good moments but generally they make the same runs and look for the same kind of passes. The movement for the goal was good!

it's a bit like Eugene and Casper Rose... anyone? :D

[DigitalTron]

I still prefer Mido upfront with one of them, the Keane-Defoe partnership has only worked once although they played well on Sunday, i think we can do different things with Mido playing.

Me too. Mido commands attention on crosses, opening up spaces for a quick forward to work, and forcing the opponent's defense to stringently defend the crosses. Also, Mido is extremely good at making himself available in the early stages of the build-up, and at always being an outlet for long passes when we get into trouble. His strength can wear down a center-back over the course of a game, so there's significantly more space to exploit for the final 10 minutes of the game.

With Keane and Defoe paired, the opponent's defense only really needs to worry about keeping those guys in front of them, and staying between them and the goal. While both can head the ball, neither is really a major threat that would cause a defense to collapse on them, and both can be fairly easily knocked off of their path if the cross is airborne. I prefer one big strong aerial threat paired with one quick forward. Defoe is the pure-speed option, and Keane is the playmaking option.

Against the teams outside of the top 6 in the Premiership, I'd say Kene + Mido is probably the best pairing, with Defoe replacing Keane late. Against the top defenses like Chelsea and Liverpool, I'd say Defoe + Keane is probably the best pairing, with Keane coming on late.

I expect to have 2 target forwards for next season. It would be great if we had Keane, Defoe, Mido and Kuyt, but I'm just not sure we can keep that much talent happy, even if we finish in the Top 4. It'd sure make cup competitions more exciting though.

-Digital