Our owner did once drop 17 mil on a fat chick, so that makes me feel a little better about the 75. Of course the fact that said rotund female ended the season with just one goal less than our formerly blond striker makes me feel more than nauseas
Now apparently Gokhan Tore is a done deal to Hamburg , 1.3 Million euros on a three year contract , not cool.
what are the odds two-three years from now we get knocked out of the CL by Hamburg, with all the goals made by ex-Chelsea youth
Sturridge scored again. I meant target all those guys and hope to get a couple because, to me, Torres remains a question mark. Not talking about his past. If it's Lukaku and Neymar, great. If it's Willian and Aguero, great. I don't care. But with Drogba turning 34 and Torres being so out of form for so long, depth is needed, imho. I think Sturridge scored again.
Is Torres a 433 guy? If so, Torres in the middle and flank him with Rom and (hypothetically) Neymar or Sturridge or Drogba or whomever we get. Seems doable.
I agree with you that sturridge is a 442 player, but i think he can play in a 433, not the best option but his pace can be utilized on the counter in that formation other than that it would be as moronic to buy Lukaku and play him wide, as playing Torres or Didier wide which is why its confusing why we're chasing romelu in the first place we need wingers, dribblers, creators
But we don't play on the counter against most teams. The only teams against whom we would, on a consistent basis, are.......well.......Barcelona. And in possession, in a 4-3-3, Sturridge isn't useful because he's not actually that fast (not for a winger), he's not a good crosser and he looks for his own shot far more than the pass. That last part is not a problem in a 4-4-2, but certainly is in a 4-3-3.
Hopefully if we go in the season with a properly sized squad we can play 442 and 433 and rotate some of the players and there can be plenty of options. Part of our problem is that outside of those few months with Guus every game I knew pretty much what to expect as far as tactics. And if I know certainly the opposition did as well. If we get Lukaku and Sturridge back then a 442 would be the main option, but we could play one with winger types and 2cm's if the game called for it, or the diamond possibly. And then against certain opposition play a 433 with Drogba or Torres leading the line depending on opponent. We just need a manager willing to try different things. We have become accustomed to buying players to fit the system when really there should also be consideration for the system fitting the player (especially in the first year or two of a new manager).
I'm not saying he should start on the right of a 4-3-3 for every game, but can if needed. But yeah hes a 442 player, i can see him and Lukaku, what i cant see is him and Torres though. I like what you have to say. Still, we need wingers, and i think Neymar is the best player for us ATM.
precisely. post de jour And Lukaku, is what 19, not time to worry about him starting, this is the time for him to see a fair bit of minutes, but mostly off the bench and an occasional start while he learns the trade from Drogs and Torres, learns and adjusts to the League, and acts as cover, unless he earns more time simply on comparative form.
Your point still stands, but pretty much every time we play Le Arse, we play off the counter, it was definitely the one team we completely changed our style of play for during 09/10.
First, we just had a manager who was willing to try different things. That wasn't the problem. Second, we haven't been buying players to fit the system at all. That has been the whole problem. We were playing a 4-3-3 and then we bought Torres. What in the world was the point of that? Sturridge actually played as the deeper of the two strikers for Bolton. I see no reason why he can't play together with Torres. If we get Lukaku, we HAVE to play a 4-4-2. But the only way that will work is if we get a player who can play on the wing and provide creativity. Basically that means buying someone like Neymar or Hazard (who'd be more effective in a 4-4-2). Yes, having the ability to play different formations is nice, but most teams do stick to one, which allows players to become more familiar with each other and with the style of play. Besides which, if we go with a 4-3-3 we're going to need to buy at least two wingers, so we should really make a decision on what we plan to do. Personally, I think that if we do buy Lukaku (which I don't actually think we should), we should keep him at Anderlecht on loan for at least a year and buy Neymar, Hazard and Ashley Young*, let Anelka and Kalou go and play a 4-3-3. That will also give us the option of playing a 4-4-2 since we'll have Drogba, Torres and Sturridge and it will finally provide us with real depth on the wings. I'm not terribly worried about a lack of creativity in midfield, either, since all of Neymar, Hazard and Young can cut inside or even play in the hole. Lampard can provide what creativity we need in midfield, and we can use Malouda as a CM and play McEachran more. I also wouldn't mind selling Essien if we can get a lot of money for him and buying another younger CM (hey, Fabregas is unsettled!). Essien's value will never be higher than it is now, since most people don't seem to have realized that his athleticism is gone and his passing is.....well.......crap. If there's one thing to take away from Wenger and Ferguson, it's that you should never fall in love with your own players as they decline, unless they're willing to take part-time roles, like Giggs. Anyway, I hope we avoid both Pastore and Sanchez because they're in Italy, and Italian players have notoriously had a hard time adjusting to England. It's not that they're not as good, it's that they would fail initially and may never live that down - like Veron. *Yes, I realize that would cost a ton, but then again, we just spent 75M on players we didn't really need. Also, Young would be relatively cheap since he's in the final year of his deal and Hazard wouldn't be insanely expensive either.
Agree and disagree with most of this. Agreed on Pastore & Sanchez (I would prefer Hamsik & Johnson). I like your choice in wingers but the one thing that worries me is yes they can play both sides all three prefer to play from the left. I am worried our right side will stay as barren as it has been. Torres Studge Neymar Frank Mikel Ram Back 5 I think switching to a 4-4-2 would suit Torres but that would mean sidelining Frank. 2 strikers means less room for his runs and would necessitate a more defensive stance from him. Playing so centrally doesnt suit him and I am not sure he plus Mikel can add the creativity we would need to feed the strikers. It didnt work during our ill fated attempt this past season but given an entire preseason with a better manager like Guus may make it click for Frank though I have my doubts. Am I envisioning our 4-4-2 right?
Anelka is actually not a bad crosser. His issue is that half the time he thinks he's a deep-lying playmaker rather than a forward on the wing. With a 4-4-2 we'd basically need to replace Frank or rely entirely on Neymar's creativity (which can work, mind you). However, replacing Frank's not really that bad of an idea. He's over 30 and his career is destined to start winding down soon. As far as wingers - yes, they're primarily left footed, but they can all cut inside the way Messi does for Barca.