Homepage Article NDiaye Upfront?

[Tipp blue]

I kind of omitted the topic of Ndiaye up front! I can't see it working.

Everton could try a hybrid of Pele, Ronaldo, Henry, Puskas and Eusebio up front but unless we find a way of actually getting the ball to the striker in a decient position we'll struggle for goals. That said Beto is not very good and Barry looks way off and appears quite lazy.

 

[Lanolin]

Personally you still dont get rid of someone like Beto because you need another option to play to his strengths.

What Moyes is asking him to do is something he can't do consistently.

I think a lot of 'what Moyes is asking him to do' is just play football to a decent standard. That's my point really, being able to play with your back to goal and pass to your team mates isn't really an optional skill or something that is specific to our tactics, every striker has to do it to some extent. As I said above, his strengths aren't really strengths in a real sense, he's not a fantastic on the shoulder striker who would be scoring bucketloads if we were using him properly, he's just better at that than playing with his back to goal, but that's not difficult.

 

[toffeeblue9]

I love Ndiaye, and maybe in a team which plays football almost exclusively on the deck, this might be a goer, but as many people have pointed out we aren't that side. We will hit balls to a striker and want it to stick (one of the reasons Beto frustrates so many of us), and we need a physical, aerial presence as a number 9. Ndiaye is a lovely, lovely player but put him up front and ask him to take balls down which are pumped at him while battling with centre halves twice his size and you're asking for trouble.

All well and good if we play football like Man City, but we don't and we never will.

 

[banno]

He has played there more than any other position. Lower league maybe but not something to rule out

 

[Richie]

I love Ndiaye, and maybe in a team which plays football almost exclusively on the deck, this might be a goer, but as many people have pointed out we aren't that side. We will hit balls to a striker and want it to stick (one of the reasons Beto frustrates so many of us), and we need a physical, aerial presence as a number 9. Ndiaye is a lovely, lovely player but put him up front and ask him to take balls down which are pumped at him while battling with centre halves twice his size and you're asking for trouble.

All well and good if we play football like Man City, but we don't and we never will.

We get no joy out of pumping it long to Beto or Barry so we’d not be missing out having Ndiaye there. At least we’d stand to benefit from him being able to receive the ball on the deck and run onto a through ball without it cannoning on his shin and going out for a goal kick.

 

[kenada_blue]

I think a lot of 'what Moyes is asking him to do' is just play football to a decent standard. That's my point really, being able to play with your back to goal and pass to your team mates isn't really an optional skill or something that is specific to our tactics, every striker has to do it to some extent. As I said above, his strengths aren't really strengths in a real sense, he's not a fantastic on the shoulder striker who would be scoring bucketloads if we were using him properly, he's just better at that than playing with his back to goal, but that's not difficult.

No. But you can squeeze 8-10 goals out of him whether its coming on as a sub vs tired defence, or going more direct. He's still an option.

If we look at the top scorers we have over the past few seasons its been McNeil, Ndiaye, and Beto. McNeil isnt playing, Beto isn't firing, and Ndiaye is adjusting to another role.

So where are the goals coming from? There's also a shout to playing McNeil as a 10 as he knows Beto's game and can take corners for set pieces.

 

[Lanolin]

No. But you can squeeze 8-10 goals out of him whether its coming on as a sub vs tired defence, or going more direct. He's still an option.

If we look at the top scorers we have over the past few seasons its been McNeil, Ndiaye, and Beto. McNeil isnt playing, Beto isn't firing, and Ndiaye is adjusting to another role.

So where are the goals coming from? There's also a shout to playing McNeil as a 10 as he knows Beto's game and can take corners for set pieces.

Well yeah, I don't think anyone's talking about freezing him completely so that he never gets another minute on the pitch. We have to work with what we've got and he's one of the things we've got so he'll get plenty of minutes i'm sure. He's not totally useless, he can be a handful and score a few goals, no argument there.

 

[JordanianEmbassy]

Worth a go maybe, but would rather see Alcaraz brought in, and then one of either Ndiaye, Grealish or Alcaraz as the number 10 and Dewsbury-Hall dropped back into the middle 2 (and as someone else said, then maybe Garner as right back as he's been good there before going forward)

Also, I understand what people are saying with regards to playing to Betos strengths, ie we should be playing the ball in behind for him to run onto, but I think part of the problem is that both Villa and West Ham sat very deep in the recent home games so that ball often wasn't on. Palace might come at us more so he might have more joy there.

 

[kenada_blue]

Worth a go maybe, but would rather see Alcaraz brought in, and then one of either Ndiaye, Grealish or Alcaraz as the number 10 and Dewsbury-Hall dropped back into the middle 2 (and as someone else said, then maybe Garner as right back as he's been good there before going forward)

Also, I understand what people are saying with regards to playing to Betos strengths, ie we should be playing the ball in behind for him to run onto, but I think part of the problem is that both Villa and West Ham sat very deep in the recent home games so that ball often wasn't on. Palace might come at us more so he might have more joy there.

Thats the issue really. When they sit deep and you can't get balls through or over a back line, Beto is useless.

It needs a false 9 type who's good on the ball

 

[BigDunc'sFod]

Worth a go maybe, but would rather see Alcaraz brought in, and then one of either Ndiaye, Grealish or Alcaraz as the number 10 and Dewsbury-Hall dropped back into the middle 2 (and as someone else said, then maybe Garner as right back as he's been good there before going forward)

Also, I understand what people are saying with regards to playing to Betos strengths, ie we should be playing the ball in behind for him to run onto, but I think part of the problem is that both Villa and West Ham sat very deep in the recent home games so that ball often wasn't on. Palace might come at us more so he might have more joy there.

Palace are a countering team though and I'd be surprised if they played high against us

 

[zook]

I’d go with Barry for the next game but perhaps try out Ndiaye up front for the last 20 if we can’t break them down

Ndiaye can hold his own physically but doing so when you’re playing as a lone striker is a completely different story, think it’s a better idea to move Ndiaye inside, playing off the shoulder of Barry - think that’s what would work best for both players

 

[JordanianEmbassy]

Palace are a countering team though and I'd be surprised if they played high against us

oh well i was fantasising

 

[Noisy noise annoys]

Moyes is so stubborn 'Ndiaye will take time to settle on the right. He can play 10 too but we might play him on the left at times as well'.
We can all see it is not nearly as effective with him on the right and Sunday is a great chance to change things with KDH being out and give Glasner something to think about - he wont though, same set up but Big Tim in for KDH.

 

[Charles Hawtrey]

Maybe N'Diaye as a 10 but not as a flase 9. Moyes waaaaaaaaaaaaay too risk averse for that.

 

[JordanianEmbassy]

I'd happily see Grealish as a 10 so N'Diaye can move back to the left as well. He played in the middle for Villa.