Dzeko, Tevez and the system

[cleavers]

Yes Shaelumstash but we don't play with a single central striker in my opinion, and its certainly not Tevez if we do, unless he constantly doesn't do what he's told. The front three are totally flexible which is why we see Yaya there at times.

My difficulty is with the lack of pace from midfield which prevents an attack bursting through against 10 men defences and in these games it doesn't function. Arsenal play the same game and they struggle too with more pace than we have, you end up passing across the midfield, and even with movement you get no penetration. I've seen us beat united, chelsea and arsenal playing heavily on the defence side.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

the formation doesn't look like it fits to me i think it would be miles better playing a formation like this.

--------------------Hart----------------------
----------toure------------kompany-----------
richards--------------------------------kolarov
-------------------dejong---------------------
--------yaya--------------------barry---------
-------------------silva-----------------------
-----------tevez----------dzeko---------------

i think the full backs will provide the width, tevez will be able to roam and link with silva too and dzeko will get the support alongside him too.

You're absolutely spot on, that's the only way I can see us fitting Silva, Tevez and Dzeko in the same team. As I said before, I think the danger is that the middle gets too crowded and Silva doesn't find the same space as he does when drifting in from a wide position, but I'm confident we can't carry on playing Tevez wide, he just never looks the same player

that's what I'd play 2bh, it's the only way to fit. If we rotate Balo with Tevez/Dzeko then we can play more width.

 

[cleavers]

I didn't see anyone get anal over those figures, but if you want to use them, learn what they actually mean rather than calling people idiots for not agreeing with your redifining them altogether, using them as some sort of the ultimate proof, only to end the end say, once everyone noticed you don't have a bloody idea what you're talking about "they don't really matter@. Wtf? That's the whole point.

Yeah whatever, I don't think you have even read what I'm saying, and I'm not going to argue with you about it, all equate to both 433 and 442, and Mancini doesn't sit down and tell the players they must be either, players have roles in games, they differ game to game, and within games.

 

[Shaelumstash]

Yes Shaelumstash but we don't play with a single central striker in my opinion, and its certainly not Tevez if we do, unless he constantly doesn't do what he's told. The front three are totally flexible which is why we see Yaya there at times.

My difficulty is with the lack of pace from midfield which prevents an attack bursting through against 10 men defences and in these games it doesn't function. Arsenal play the same game and they struggle too with more pace than we have, you end up passing across the midfield, and even with movement you get no penetration. I've seen us beat united, chelsea and arsenal playing heavily on the defence side.

You don't think Tevez has been playing as a central attacking player for City for most of the season? Well it's an alternative view which I haven't heard before but football is about opinions I suppose.

 

[cleavers]

You don't think Tevez has been playing as a central attacking player for City for most of the season? Well it's an alternative view which I haven't heard before but football is about opinions I suppose.

Nominally yes he starts as our number 9, but he spends 70% of his games anywhere other than centre forward doesn't he, wide, midfield, even taking the ball off the centre backs ? Well he does when I'm watching, and that's the point about flexibility, others know this and fill the gaps.

My point is that our team doesn't play with a single striker as you state, its flexible.

 

[Scooby Blue]

From what I have seen of Dzeko for City (+ you-tube goals etc) he does remind me a bit of Teddy Sheringham: tall,intelligent footballer,good finisher and good at link up play but not a traditional battering centre-forward in Shearer/Drogba mode.

The remainder of this season may be tricky for him (particularly if City's results disappoint) and he starts to feel the heat as someone who is partly responsible for change in formation etc.

But longer term, I think he is the ideal player to form half of a powerful striking partnership:Dzeko/Tevez or Dzeko/Balotelli or Dzeko/Lukaku etc in the same way that Sheringham/Shearer linked up briefly for England.

But...you can only employ a strike partnership as part of a 4-4-2 set-up which sends the football purists on this forum into meltdown (it apparently went out of fashion 15 years ago but someone forgot to tell Alex Ferguson who sneakily uses it for half the season to batter teams like Bham 5-0 with both Berbatov + Rooney in forward roles and two "wingers" as well).

Bottom Line: maybe Dzeko has been bought to replace Tevez, maybe not, but I share the concerns of others how we are to squeeze them both into our current set-up for the remainder of this season ...and still get the best out of both of them.

 

[Bigga]

Yes Shaelumstash but we don't play with a single central striker in my opinion, and its certainly not Tevez if we do, unless he constantly doesn't do what he's told. The front three are totally flexible which is why we see Yaya there at times.

My difficulty is with the lack of pace from midfield which prevents an attack bursting through against 10 men defences and in these games it doesn't function. Arsenal play the same game and they struggle too with more pace than we have, you end up passing across the midfield, and even with movement you get no penetration. I've seen us beat united, chelsea and arsenal playing heavily on the defence side.

You don't think Tevez has been playing as a central attacking player for City for most of the season? Well it's an alternative view which I haven't heard before but football is about opinions I suppose.

To be fair, Tévez isn't a central striker and never has been. I'm not sure why people assume he is as he doesn't have the style of play that's ever moulded that way.

What he does do, is drift anywhere in the area of our half centre circle to the entire oppo's box.

A 'central striker' is entirely more disciplined than that.

 

[Shaelumstash]

You don't think Tevez has been playing as a central attacking player for City for most of the season? Well it's an alternative view which I haven't heard before but football is about opinions I suppose.

Nominally yes he starts as our number 9, but he spends 70% of his games anywhere other than centre forward doesn't he, wide, midfield, even taking the ball off the centre backs ? Well he does when I'm watching, and that's the point about flexibility, others know this and fill the gaps.

My point is that our team doesn't play with a single striker as you state, its flexible.

Oh ok, I get you know. Yes I agree he drops deeps and links up play commits defenders. I'd never heard the term before, but someone on the tactics thread months ago called it a "fake 9".

It's a fake 9 in the sense that the opposition centre halvess think he is the centre forward they need to mark, but he drops deep and it confuses his marker, drawing them out and creating space.

Tevez is the best I've ever seen at doing this. He is not a traditional number 9 that plays high up with his back to goal, but he does thrive on being central as oppossed to wide. I definitely think he has been asked to play as a fake 9, he's not being indiciplined.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

You don't think Tevez has been playing as a central attacking player for City for most of the season? Well it's an alternative view which I haven't heard before but football is about opinions I suppose.

To be fair, Tévez isn't a central striker and never has been. I'm not sure why people assume he is as he doesn't have the style of play that's ever moulded that way.

What he does do, is drift anywhere in the area of our half centre circle to the entire oppo's box.

A 'central striker' is entirely more disciplined than that.

I would say that Tevez and Silva dropped far too deep for too long v Villa.

1 of them can at any given point, but the other needs to be running in behind to counteract that.

 

[wanderer72]

I didn't see anyone get anal over those figures, but if you want to use them, learn what they actually mean rather than calling people idiots for not agreeing with your redifining them altogether, using them as some sort of the ultimate proof, only to end the end say, once everyone noticed you don't have a bloody idea what you're talking about "they don't really matter@. Wtf? That's the whole point.

Yeah whatever, I don't think you have even read what I'm saying, and I'm not going to argue with you about it, all equate to both 433 and 442, and Mancini doesn't sit down and tell the players they must be either, players have roles in games, they differ game to game, and within games.

I wasn't talking about you, but the OP who's been slapping everyone who didn't agree with his rather inventive usage of the "figures", which were also one of the key points of his argumentation.

The rest I agree with.