Completely new system from Conte and even from anything we’ve played in years. This is not Jose’s 4-3-3.
I hope that he can implement his new system as quickly and as effectively as Conte managed to transition to a back 3. Looking at our struggles in preseason I can see why Conte did shift to a back 3 there is a lot of work to be done if we are to succeed with a back 4, admittedly Kante will make a huge difference. This week he gets some quality back, Tomorrows game probably comes too early to see how he integrates the talent into the side.
Missing several key players with a short pre-season... not reading too much into any of this whatsoever. I expect us to settle into playing a back 4 quite well. Our team clearly struggled with a back 5 last season, suffering a couple of heavy defeats against mid-table opposition who made it look easy to expose us. I did not like the look of it at all by the end of Conte's tenure, especially with us being so reliant on a player who has become totally average after his explosive entry into the team (Moses).
4-3-3 sure, but we haven't been a 4-3-3 team really since Jose v1.0, AVB tried for while... also, the entire point of Sarri is this 4-3-3 being different than most.
Jose v2 was still a variation of 4-3-3 even if it was 4-2-3-1 (in the context of me considering have whatever setup of a midfield 3 to be a 4-3-3 with the key part here being us playing with a back 4).
tactically though the systems are different. saying all you do is invert the midfield and it's the same is like saying and 4-4-2 diamond is the same as a flat 4-4-2. like, i get your point, you're not wrong, but even within a single formation you can play much differently. the entire point of buying Sarri and his system was because it's a much different implementation of system. it's way too simplistic to just say it's a 4-3-3 the players should get it.
I agree. My point here is what I said before, that I "expect us to settle into playing a back 4 quite well." As far as the midfield/front line is concerned, idk. I think a piece of the midfield puzzle is missing but am optimistic about our backline + front 3.
Doesn't it rather depends who goes and who stays? If we were the same as last year but with the addition of Jorginho, (who I think will take time to get into his game in England), then we should be OK if the manager can develop some of the fringe players. If we start to lose too many we might struggle I suppose.
Yes, you say this basically...every other post Considering we won the title with basically this exact group 2 seasons ago, I think that assessment is nonsense. Feel free to feel that way, but even looking at last season when top 4 was a serious possibility (no Morata/Kante injuries or Conte drama and we comfortably beat out Liverpool IMHO). The last 2 seasons are good enough evidence to me that our talent alone is what is going to get us top 4 minimum with anything better being reliant on Sarri's ability to get this lot oranized.
well to that point....AVB vs Di Matteo. this back 4 will certainly have to get used to pressing more. i think Christensen and Rudiger can do that though. i also think Emerson needs to games at LB because Alonso will get caught out for speed.
Fair.. highly dependent on Sarri to get them organized. Everyone said that about Alonso when he played LWB and that turned out to not be an issue at all. He won't be expected to push up nearly as much and we'll have an extra body in midfield so if anything the switch "should" help him. I mean we'll see.... I'm optimistic, overall (if Kante stays healthy). Unless I've misjudged Sarri completely that is..
When Alonso played wing back he was not the last line of defense so it did not matter so much. I think he has really struggled in the pre season games and people get round him to the byline far too easily. I would like to see more of Emerson, he may not be the answer but give him a chance.
yea i mean, overall i'm excited with Sarri and his system. we've seen some glimpses of it. it's just still a work in progress. it's also worth noting the City have become one of the single most dangerous teams on the planet, if any team was going to exploit current weakness you would expect city to do it.
The argument that we have the same exact group as 2 seasons ago is nonsense. We lost Costa who was a vital piece in our jigsaw. You may say it's just one player, but for such a key position, it usually means the difference between being champions or 4th or 5th. We got rid of Matic thinking we had a better replacement in Baka and we all know how it panned out, albeit mitigated by the purchase of Jorginho this season. It now looks like we'll lose Courtois. Look no further than Liverpool vs Real Madrid as an illustration of the importance of having a top goalkeeper. And Hazard's stay is still not assured. Saying that we can achieve the same things with the same exact squad as 2 seasons ago is valid only if: 1) other teams have remained static, 2) we have no need to refresh the squad, i.e. no need to replace any ageing / slowing / unmotivated players, and no need to bring in new competition for the incumbents, 3) no other manager manages to figure out our weaknesses, and 4) no congestion pile-up from European competition. Implying that we will do as well in a 4-3-3 this season as we did in a 3-4-3 two seasons ago just because we retained most of the players is flawed at best. Personally, I don't think Sunday's starting full backs have the pace to excel in Sarri's back four (with and without the ball), while Fabregas's presence meant a big defensive hole in the middle of the park. These have to be changed at the very least.
The same Diego Costa that fell completely off the face of the earth once the new year hit? Big loss, yeah, but I'm pretty cool with a motivated Morata, Bats and Giroud at this point. We proved last season we have got plenty of goals in us, Morata simply needs to get his head straight and not get hurt. Matic? Guess you haven't paid a great deal of attention to United fans wishing he would get dropped from the team for half the season. He was also bang on average even in that title win.. I suppose the counter would be average would have been far more useful than whatever Baka was. Your second paragraph is just as subjective as anything I've said. People are acting like we'd be lucky to get 4th despite us pretty comfortable making 5th last season despite a VARIETY of shitty circumstances (Conte, injuries to major players, etc.). It's perfectly valid considering nearly every time people here predict a meltdown or the worst, the exact opposite happens. Might as well have considered us relegated two seasons ago the way people were talking here. So personally, I think we are in decent shape and expect top 4 at a minimum. A far as the backline goes, all these guys have plenty of experience playing in a back 4 bar Moses and in general a 4-3-3 of any variety gives me more comfort than the thought of us continuing with 3 in the back. I'll concede the "exact group as 2 seasons ago" argument isn't a good one. I'll use it as an example, at best, of the fact that we went in with most people being utterly hopeless and hyping up everyone else far too much yet... we know how that ended. Last season, imo, is a great example. By your own measure, losing two major players yet still barely missing out on top 4? I think we're OK.