Right it's a tough one but if rafa persists with it I'd rather give slo mo a run in the team rather than Perez. I'm not a fan of either but ffs yesterday Perez was missing... So Diame for me even though I know he is a lacklustre twat..... Or maybe push sheva up and play Hayden and Merino?
Problem we have is that in the absence of a decent players Rafa's tactic is to use the 10 role as a defensive player; harrying the opposition, closing down the ball. The issue yesterday was Perez just didn't fancy it so whilst the lack of any kind of attacking impetus is marginally understandable - Perez cannot run with it, can't pass, can't shoot - if he's just moping about he's less than useless. Diame will never, ever offer the defensive front foot approach, but will be more effective taking the ball forward, hence why he looked better yesterday. When Perez has been putting 100% in and throwing himself about, once he comes off for Diame it just makes Slo-Mo look even worse than usual. We have to be mindful that we're in this league to survive and we're 6th, because this is what our No.10 is doing. We don't have a true No.10 who can dictate play. We are often going to be second best in matches, so defending on the front foot is probably a better idea than putting Shelvey or Merino there as too much of the game would pass them by. My only gripe is I don't see what Perez does that Murphy couldn't do. He's faster, could also close players down and with the club in his heart will likely put in a shift. We paid £12m for the lad and he doesn't get a sniff, so I think whilst I bow to Rafa's tactical awareness/necessity, I would like to see Murphy play instead of Perez. Putting Diame in doesn't solve anything.
I’d have Merino starting as the number 10 and swapping during the game with Shelvey. That would be best until we get in Prate(sp) in January with the £300M transfer fund monies some papers we will have from the new owners in January.
I'm assuming Murphy is a bit rough around the edges and Rafa is moulding him behind the scenes into the player he wants him to be. I expect to see him more as the season goes on.
For the moment I'd go with Shelvey up there, Perez had a bad game this weekend and may have cost himself his place but going in to the winter window I'd love to get Shinji Okasaki off Leicester if they are still looking like they are struggling - proper work horse who scores goals.
Shelvey's just no good that far up the pitch in Rafa's tactic, he's just not quick enough. Merino would be a better bet, he can tackle and is just a bit quicker of mind. I don't know what's wrong with going with Shelvey/Merino/Hayden as a midfield trio. They could just push forward at different times and vary it up. As proven on the weekend, Perez got us into trouble by running into blind alleys or just taking a bad touch. With Shelvey there's always the chance of a glorious through ball, with Merino you'd fancy him to get space or retain the ball, with Hayden you'd get a little of Slo-Mo's 'carrying' ability but with a touch more pace about it.
Only problem I see is if the shelves of last Saturday shows up. It'll be ****ing hard work getting that ball to Merino in AM if neither of our CM's can pass successfully or speedily.
I'd leave Perez there until the window. Otherwise we are just starting the square pegs and round holes scenario. I can't remember too many occasions this has served us well in the past. Santon did a decent enough job at left back but you could argue he didn't have a defined side. He looked a right back, he said he wanted to play right back, but he had plenty of experience playing both sides. Other than that I'm not sure. Merino is an out and out ball player from the midfielder. Shelvey is the same player but not as good. Hayden is an average holding midfielder. We need a top class holding midfielder and a number 10 to compliment Merino. We need a top class striker to finish the chances. We need a PL quality left back. If get that we are on the right track and 3 three of those would be right down the important spine of the team. Which indicates just how well Rafa has done this year with what he has at his disposal. Chalk and cheese from last season with Benitez. Last year he got not nearly enough out of what he had, but got the job done. This year he has been superb tactically.
