Change of style next season?

Goat · June 5, 2015

Nymzee said:
Cleverley is not better than Besic. No chance.

Is the correct answer.

LouReedwalkonthewildside · June 5, 2015

Stefan Rehn said:
Besic is hardly a midfield great himself, wouldnt be that hard to get in the side ahead of him would it

We wouldn't really know if Besic is a 'midfield great' because he has hardly been given a chance to show what he can do, when he has been given an opportunity though he has looked a decent player, but he needs a run in the side before he can be properly judged.

meatyard · June 5, 2015

PLAYING DEVIL'S ADVOCATE HERE:
To everyone complaining about playing two defensive midfielders at home, let me remind you of the Palace game at Goodison last season.

Yorkie · June 5, 2015

Mikey_Fitzgerald said:
When life gives you lemons............

Have a lemon party?

toffeejack · June 5, 2015

Nymzee said:
We'll never ever play a back 3 in this league because it's best used against teams playing with 2 strikers of which only City and... West Ham? I don't know, not many play with 2.

but martinez played it in this same league just a few years back at wigan. have all teams gone from 2 strikers to 1?

Nymzee · June 5, 2015

toffeejack said:
but martinez played it in this same league just a few years back at wigan. have all teams gone from 2 strikers to 1?

Most teams now play either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 (being as rigid as you can, all formations change via tactics) which isn't great to pay 3 at the back against. Historically you use 3 at the back against 2 strikers so you can free up one defender to push up a bit more. If you are up against one striker that's two floating defenders which are a waste, against 4-3-3 you're man marking and it's harder to pull off.

Bruce Wayne · June 5, 2015

meatyard said:
PLAYING DEVIL'S ADVOCATE HERE:
To everyone complaining about playing two defensive midfielders at home, let me remind you of the Palace game at Goodison last season.

The two holding midfielders is fine, but I don't think it gets the best out of Barkley at all, hence why I started this thread. I don't think the three attacking midfielders worked well last year at all. It's easy to cast the blame at the wide men, but Barkley had a mediocre season too. A change of formation may help matters?

Goat · June 5, 2015

Bruce Wayne said:
The two holding midfielders is fine, but I don't think it gets the best out of Barkley at all, hence why I started this thread. I don't think the three attacking midfielders worked well last year at all. It's easy to cast the blame at the wide men, but Barkley had a mediocre season too. A change of formation may help matters?

Playing actual wingers on the wing is the only change that needs to happen.

beachy · June 5, 2015

3 at the back with Stones as a libero.
(Buy a left foot centre back)

Baines and Coleman wing backs.

Midfield 3 take your pick, not Barry.

2 Belgians up front.

Nymzee · June 5, 2015

People need to read up on the use and benefits of a back 3. It just isn't suitable or useful in our league at the moment.

SerenityNigh · June 5, 2015

Bruce Wayne said:
As is the fashion at the moment, we seem largely to have set up in a 4-2-3-1 last season, but it seems unlikely that Barkley will ever make it as a true #10.

Might it be worth therefore to revert next season to a more traditional 4-3-3 and put Barkley a little bit deeper alongside McCarthy and Cleverley and try and get him more box to box?

Wouldn't you say that the formation was more 4-3-3 toward the end of the season with Barkley dropping back and McCarthy rampaging box to box?

SerenityNigh · June 5, 2015

ijjysmith said:
Essentially McCarthy and Barry are defensive minded midfielders though. Fair enough McCarthy got forward more last third of the season, but imagine if that had been a more attack minded player.

So McCarthy is a defensive-minded player that likes to go forward and Barkley is an attacking player that likes to start from deep. Seems like a good combination to me.

SerenityNigh · June 5, 2015

Layne said:
If cleverly signs he's deffo getting a lot of playing time or at least he's been told that. No way he'd choose going back to being a squad player after playing a full season at villa and having the chance to go there

Are you predicting broken promises!?!?!

marty mcfly · June 5, 2015

Saint Domingo said:
Agreed all that happens is you have a massive gap between your midfielders meaning someone like Barry is having to play a 30 yard pass to get it into Barkley's feet even though they're supposed to both be playing midfield.

People are always desperately trying to copy Barcelona but no one seems to pick up that Busquets Xavi and Iniesta are only ever a 5 yard pass away from each other.

That's because they only play in one half of the pitch.

Well that's how they used to play. Now they aren't much different to a typical premier league team excluding us. Get the ball to the forwards as quick as possible.