doobyedoobye
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 30 Jul 2009
- Messages
- 4,870
Can Barkley play the pivot role and join as Gundogan's understudy?
Can Barkley play the pivot role and join as Gundogan's understudy?
Barkley is not City level player, it will be another Sinclair or Bony kind of situation.
I was thinking about this last night and the worrying lack of links to CDM, and I've been wondering if Stones could fill this role. It's a bit long winded but here goes:
Pep's 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 are essentially the same. In the the latter the fullbacks push up and the holding mid essentially drops into the back three and dictates the play from deep. Stone's passing is very incisive, he's so good at cutting between the lines, that it opens this idea up.
The slight change is that usually in Peps 3-4-3 the LCB drives into midfield, but this could work all the same.
Let's say we play a 4-3-3, it can look along these lines:
Sane Aguero Sterling
Silva Stones Gundogan
Mendy Otamendi Bonucci/VK Walker
Bravo
When the game starts the fullbacks push up and we essentially revert into a back three:
Sane Aguero Sterling
Mendy Silva Gundogan Walker
Stones
Otamendi Bonucci
Bravo.
This enables Stones time and space on the ball and to use his exquisite passing range. If we become under the cosh then it reverts to the 4-3-3 with the fullbacks dropping deeper.
ederson
walker
kolasinac
alderweireld
mendy
isco
sanchez
mbappe (if Sergio leaves)
would be a good window?