It Really isn't De Jong! And my Dynamic Passing Theory :)

[scenecreamer]

I agree with the OP. I think Pizarro is a good option to keep the ball moving and up the DPE. I hope we see more of him. In the end my belief is that we will win the league of we attempt to score more goals, not if we attempt to concede fewer.

And GD is getting very tight.

8 at the moment. So long as no one lets United go a 5-6 goal banger on them, we should still be ahead when we meet.

It's our goose eggs that worry me more than United thrashing an opponent.

 

[johnmc]

I've no problem with De Jong. In the right fixtures and in the right set up there is no doubting his abilities.

Im probably over simplifying things but our best football has been played without him in the side and our worst has been with him in the team. And not just odd games but spells of games.

 

[80s Shorts]

I think the effect of De Jong on our woes has been overstated of late.

True, some players reduce our ability to pass the ball around quickly and seamlessly more than others. I'd call this our team's Dynamic Passing Efficiency or DPE for short. The theory goes like this: the more players who are less versed in the art of dynamic passing, the harder it is for us to keep sustained possession, create consistent chances, and score goals to win game. This inability to create chances, then emboldens the opposition into attacking us, and also frustrates our players, and leads to attempts at going it alone or forcing plays. All these factors then add to a lower chance of success.

Now many will disagree, and others might have different views, but here are the list of players who I believe are not very consistent at either moving the ball or themselves around the field quickly, creatively and instinctively. All qualities necessary for a higher DPE: Joe, Micah, Clichy, Kolarov, Lescott, Kolo, De Jong, Milner, AJ, Dzeko. and to a lesser extent, Balotelli. However, they all bring certain qualities we also need, so often we have to give up a little of our DPE to add other necessary qualities. Please do not get this wrong, these are all fantastic players, I am just reviewing the effects they have on one key aspect of our game: Improving DPE.

So for example, Joe is just a phenomenal saver of "certain-to-be-goals-had-it-been-most-other-keepers-in-the-league" shots. And so we value that quality over his few poor punts that are detrimental to our DPE. Also, Micah has an incredible mix of Size, Strength, Speed, Athleticism and drive that creates havoc. That too is something that adds so much to our game than his average DPE score detracts from the overall DPE. You can do this for all the players mentioned in the list above. Milner's hustle, Balo's magic, Lescott ariel excellence, De Jong's tackling e.t.c.

However this doesn't change the fact that the more of the players in the list above that start toghether in a game, the lower our overall DPE is, and the harder is it to hold consistent possesion and create scoring chances. And the lower our DPE gets, the more toothless our offense is and invariably the more burdened our defense becomes.

So having De Jong on the team is not necessarily the problem, but rather the overall detriment in our DPE as the number of players on that list above grows is the problem.

Simply looking at the list, it is obvious we are bound to start at least 4 players who don't increase our DPE: Joe, Lescott, Micah, and one of Clichy/Kolarov. The question then is this: Can we afford to make that # 5, 6 or 7? The more players on that list that start toghether, the poorer our overall ability to control the game and create chances.

Truth be told, If we had say a Zidane and a Ronaldinho in their prime, and say a formation like this

.....................Hart................
Micah..Komp...Lescott...Kolarov
.........De Jong......Yaya............
..................Zidane.................
.........Silva................Ronaldihno..
...................Dzeko.....................

It wouldn't matter that we were starting 6 players who had a low DPE ratings, because Zizou and Dihno adds so much more that they'd cover the difference. In such a team, De Jong might actually become the first name on our team sheet. Coz then his excellent tackling skills, and heading skills and concerns for defense will become highlighted and his average DPE becomes less relevant as, Zizou, and Dihno added to the other 3 of SIlva , Yaya, and Komany will more than make up for the detrimental DPE values of the other 6.

But when you don't have players of that calibre on a passing team, you simply have to make sure you keep a high enough number of players who improve the DPE values on the field.

This in my opinion is the problem we have of late, and not necessarily just De Jong!

Star Trek, that is the problem imo.

 

[Dax777]

I keep repeating it. You want to start as many as you can of the following

(Possession Players)
Kompany
Yaya
Nasri
SIlva
Tevez
Aguero
Zabaletta
Pizzaro
Barry

And as few as you can of
(Non Possession players)
Hart
Milner
De Jong
Dzeko
AJ
Kolarov
Lescott
Kolo

Neutrals are
Micah
Savic
Baloter
Hargraves

When the players in group one are less than 6, we will struggle.