I wouldn't say he was a midfielder in that sense, no. When Silva said he was competition for Sigurdsson I would assume he meant in the position Sigurdsson actually plays for us, behind the striker, rather than competition for if we ever decided we wanted to play him in central midfield.
We do struggle to break teams down but just filling the team with more attacking players doesn't necessarily solve that. It often makes it worse. One of the main reasons we have managed to break teams down eventually is Gana. His ability to win the ball back every time teams try to break, and to press high up the pitch, has allowed us to put on relentless pressure until teams crack. Losing that means you become much easier to play against, and means players like Gomes and Sigurdsson end up wasting themselves doing defensive work instead of being able to concentrate on what they're good at. Football isn't just about getting 11 skilful players on the pitch, the team has to work as a whole. It's one of the reasons why I think Walcott - or someone like him - has to be in the side. If Lookman plays it should be instead of Bernard not Walcott (he shouldn't by the way, I just mean he's more that type of player).
Spot on.
And the bit in bold hits the nail on the head.
We lacked a balance yesterday. I do keep repeating it but a huge part of it for me was Richarlison back on the left.
I said before the game I'd be happy for Tosun/DCL to get a go but after last night I think it's clear Richarlison needs to start up top, at least until Jan if we can get a striker in (and said striker has to be the right fit for what Silva wants).
It's all about a system and having a system that works. I'm not saying that we'd have definitely had won had Richarlison played up front, because at the end of the day we were poor, but it would have meant Newcastle's defence would be a bit more stretched and therefore the players behind him had the space.
Bernard is a crafty little player but he isn't the same type of player that Gyfli is. I look at Gylfi and the role he currently plays for us (i.e. a second striker) and there's just no way that Bernard could play it in the same way, so it would mean a change in system if Bernard is moved central for a game (which is no bad thing, we just have to ensure there is balance).
It's interesting that I think Ramsey at Arsenal has been used in a very similar fashion to how Silva has used Gylfi as well. Basically as a second striker to push teams back, win the ball high up the pitch on the counter. When in possession/the team is building from the back, both players either drop deep or wide.
