MOTD did actually quite a good piece on our gameplan yesterday. It kind of summed up our season and our strengths and weaknesses. We were able to sit deep and be a threat on the counter against a side who normally look to counter attack themselves. We limited them to only one good chance in the match. That's about as good as you can realistically expect to be defensively away at a top 8 team.
At home and especially with James, it's very hard to play that compact system and expect to get joy on the counter. The minute we try to go onto the front foot then we lose some of our defensive organisation and solidity. It's what we will need to try and fix next season. How can we become more aggressive and play on the front foot without becoming easy to play against. We certainly weren't easy to play against yesterday, but we were very easy to play against the week before. Mobility, pace, aggression and quality are the answers but finding the right players to make the step is not easy.
Yes and I'm happy and trust that Ancelotti is doing his best to make these players work as effectively as possible, and that he is looking to be more attacking and take the initiative when we have to be on the front foot. I think that in fact becoming more attacking is not just about Sigurdsson, James, Iwobi and the 2nd striker, but it's more about the Coleman and Gomes position in the first XI and the alternatives to James, DCL, Richy and Doucoure in the team, and replacements for Iwobi, Bernard and King.
Somehow feel like Gordon and Simms will be ok off the bench next year, and we still just need to buy 4
RB
CM
RW / Striker
another Doucoure alternative (younger version)
4 is a realistic number I think for current times, and if we could bring in Simms and Gordon to the squad, and then we get lucky with a Godfrey - type purchase, it'll be an amazing Summer.
