Crippled By Control

[LucahArchie10]

I suggested yesterday that we might look more solid in the middle and have more threat if we go with a three at the back?

Wanting to accommodate all the ball-playing abilities to include Stones, Dias and Laporte.

Fuck the wingers off and have Cancelo and Walker as the wide threats, tucking in to make a five and omit the snail formerly known as Rodri.

Something like this?

................ Ederson...........
...... Stones.. Dias.... Laporte
Walker...Bernie... Gundo..Foden...Cancelo
......................KDB..............
........................... Sergio......

It has legs in the midfield, plus Bernie and Foden have the desire and technical ability to free up less emphasis for Gundo to come and receive the ball from our defenders.

It would have runners beyond Sergio and leave KDB closer to goal where he is needed.

Conte did this early season at Chelsea after struggling for goals and they never looked back, winning the title with Victor Moses playing wing back.

Stick Alaba (Cancelo) & Messi (Foden) in that shape it would be awsome

Phil has 2 years with Lionel then let him lose fulltime

 

[Grassland Blue]

Some very good points in your post but this part is especially good. The problem we have that for as long as we're in control he isn't going to change too much. When we're drawing in the second half we never really go for it any more. When was the last time we completely overwhelmed a team, getting runners from deep or wide to get in behind the defence and create chance after chance until we inevitably score? We don't, it's completely disappeared which has made us really easy to defend against. It's why the opposition don't role over and collapse after 70 minutes because playing like this isn't mentally or physically draining for them. The hardest thing to defend is speed, fluidity and movement and playing this robotic rigid crap takes that out of our armour.

It's like Mourinho's Chelski first time around.

 

[Ban-jani]

I think Pep got fed up of having to score 3 to win a match, there’s a definite change of approach. Probably because our defence in last few seasons was never going to win a CL.

He is reinventing himself and when he gets the balance right, and he will (practically no Aguero all season), we could be his best side yet. Mouthwatering prospect.

I agree with everything but your last bit.

When we get the balance right we still won’t be as good as his Barca side or us 17-19.

But it’ll be highly effective.

Now we only need 1 or 2 to win and that’s doable most weeks.

 

[john blue]

Balls to that...criticism is very important. Its small time mentality to stand by a team who is not even showing the most basic desire on the pitch and are earning very high wages in doing so. I hate this idea that "to be a fan you have to always back players/staff"...its just nonesense. I get it when someone is just having a downturn in form, like kev, but where do you draw the line when people are showing no basic movement off the ball, no grit, no basic effort??? I keep seeing this from multiple players.

Mahrez . !