adrianr said:
dancity19 said:
Milner in the middle with Fernandinho and Yaya just further foward is surely the answer. Milner posesses a work rate up and down the pitch and in small spaces that not many footballers do. Then that would allow us to have a potential attacking quartet of Yaya, Silva, Nasri/Navas and then Aguero which would be frightnening for any defence. Add Negredo into that at points too...
But then Yaya is pushed into the space where Silva should be, and Milner brings us pretty much the opposite problem as Yaya. All the work rate and stamina, but less of the intelligence and skill. Bit like the Clichy/Kolarov conundrum, we need someone who can do both, not one or the other. Replacing Yaya with any of our other midfield options just highlights our lack of true depth in this area, though that's not to say the team can't be better balanced without him already, like last night.
I agree that it gives us the opposite problem to Yaya. But as a short term fix. I also don't think that means Yaya necessarily occupies the same space as Silva. If he is almost in a gap between the Silva and Nasri line, and the Milner Fernandinho line it allows him to drive from slightly deeper without getting into that pocket of space. It is a problem though. Yaya is a starter for us- he can come across as incredibly lazy/immobile for us at times, especically in less glamorous games; but, I think we are at risk of underestimating quite how good he can be.
If we can have him in a midfield 3 just infront of a deeper lying 2, but behind an attacking trio then that could be the best option.