Three In Midfield

[BillyShears]

Can we please but this tired cliche to bed. Every week last season and seemingly every week this season people post "we better play three in midfield this week or we'll get overrun". We get overrun when the players don't do their jobs collectively at pressing when we don't have the ball.

In my eyes the ideal of the system we play is some sort of 4312 with one of the wide players stepping into the middle and the other stepping into the hole. Whether it's Silva/Nasri or Silva/Milner or Silva/Navas the jobs of all the players remain the same and they all have the tactical flexibility to play in all those positions in midfield.

 

[neel]

Playing Milner really helps when we play 2 up front....but i think we will play 3 in mid in Europe against team like bayern who dont park the bus

 

[BillyShears]

Playing Milner really helps when we play 2 up front....but i think we will play 3 in mid in Europe against team like bayern who dont park the bus

The only teams in the world i'd contemplate playing a pure 3 in the middle formation against would be Madrid, Barca, and Bayern. Beyond that, not a fucking team in the PL deserve that kind of respect, and hardly one more two more in Europe.

Mourinho is deeply predictable in his negativity and I've little doubt Pellegrini played two up top because he knew Chelsea were coming for the point and to play on the break.

But the discussion is wider than that. It continues to amaze me how pretty much every other week people pick line ups which are about negating the opposition rather than having any belief in the team we have. People continue to call Pellegrini naive when they see Kun/Dzeko and get excited when they see Silva + a striker. It's the same thing. Two banks of four and two forwards when we defend and pure fluidity when we attack.

 

[Rösler von Stretfordbömber]

The main argument I'd have for three is that we have two fit strikers at the moment and you'd hate to get one hurt. Otherwise it astounds me to see how many Blues hyperventilate about how we're going to get lit up every time the team sheet comes out.

Liverpool (no Bitey) was going to overrun us a few weeks ago. Maureen (MAUREEN!) was going to do it today! HUGE RISK to play two up top! OH NO!

What? Against a club 100% certain to be parking the bus?

Good grief, Pellers knows what he is doing FFS. When we start routinely absorbing batterings like the rags do every week then maybe one could make arguments otherwise.

 

[sh249]

Can we please but this tired cliche to bed. Every week last season and seemingly every week this season people post "we better play three in midfield this week or we'll get overrun". We get overrun when the players don't do their jobs collectively at pressing when we don't have the ball.

In my eyes the ideal of the system we play is some sort of 4312 with one of the wide players stepping into the middle and the other stepping into the hole. Whether it's Silva/Nasri or Silva/Milner or Silva/Navas the jobs of all the players remain the same and they all have the tactical flexibility to play in all those positions in midfield.

Couldn't agree more re. the idea that we have to play three/five in midfield (and the corollary that we have to play only one striker). Fairly tiresome, and flies in the face of our performances and results over the past three years. We're invariably at our best with two up top - sure, we might change against the very best sides, but otherwise we should back ourselves.

Today was a prime example. We utterly dominated from first minute to last, to a considerable extent precisely because we played two upfront. Yet Pellegrini gets little credit - it was actually a tactical masterclass, the like of which, had it been pulled off by Mourinho, would have had the media purring.

 

[Fame Monster]

It's playground football to think that more people up front equals a more attacking team.

People call Pellegrini naive for that same reason. All of the great sides of the modern era line up the same way. Do you think Barcelona struggle to score goals playing 3 in the middle? Real Madrid? Bayern Munich? Borussia Dortmund? They don't.

Playing 2 up top just gives another player an excuse not to get back behind play and win the ball back. It is a myth that it is more attacking and if you turn up against the top sides with that mindset, you will get turned over the way Bayern turned us over at Eastlands last year.

 

[Fame Monster]

Glenn Hoddle:

"They played two in the middle against Bayern a couple of years back and got battered...it seems as though they've not learned their lesson".

Spot on Glen.

What was the point of sacking Mancini if the manager replacing him sets up his teams in the exact same way?

Can we please stop hiring shit managers?

 

[the blue panther]

Glenn Hoddle:

"They played two in the middle against Bayern a couple of years back and got battered...it seems as though they've not learned their lesson".

Spot on Glen.

What was the point of sacking Mancini if the manager replacing him sets up his teams in the exact same way?

Can we please stop hiring shit managers?

Pardew in!!!

 

[FantasyIreland]

If we can get all our players fit and available at the same time i'm confident we will progress.


--Zab--komps--Mangala---Kolarov
--------------Fernando--------
-----Fernandinho-------Milner-------
-----------------Silva------------------
---------Jovetic------Aguero----------

 

[KnaresboroughBlue]

If we can get all our players fit and available at the same time i'm confident we will progress.


--Zab--komps--Mangala---Kolarov
--------------Fernando--------
-----Fernandinho-------Milner-------
-----------------Silva------------------
---------Jovetic------Aguero----------

Doubt it with that team to be honest.