Two things intrigued about BZ's penalty yesterday. Firstly, why did he take it at all? Murphy was still on the pitch; Dempsey was on two and if you remember it was BZ who grabbed the ball and gave it to Dempsey so that he could get a hat trick with the penalty in the Charlton game. Yesterdy BZ again grabbed the ball but placed himself firmly in front of it. Did Murphy think, ah shugar let the old sod take it, at least it will stop him moaning? Secondly, why did he take it with his right foot rather than his favoured left. I kind of recall him doing this before with a penalty but was just wondering if there is still something wrong with his left peg. He certainly doesn't use it to jump in the air and challenge for the ball - like what he used to.
From my understanding i think it was because capello was at the game and he wanted to prove he can score with his weaker foot, he got 3 assists and a goal not a bad days work, will capello pick him because of this? i dont think so as he wants someone who can score weekly and someone who wants to chase the ball all the time instead of when he feels like it.
As pointed out (I think on MOTD), some teams like to change penalty-takers for a second penalty. I don't think Capello will pick him on current form.
In the post-game interview, Dempsey told the interviewer that "Bobby's the supplier of so many goals, putting people through. Danny unselfishly decided to give him a chance and boost his confidence." Makes sense to me.
I also thought it was because Capello was at the game, was a nice touch that it was Zamora's pass to Dempsey for him to get his hat-trick though.
Agreed Craven. However, on yesterday's performance I'd offer Bobby a bit of advice. Stop trying the fancy flicks, instead hold the ball and look for one of your own. Stop trying the fancy side steps a la Demps, they are not in your skill set. In other words get back to playing your own game.
Completely agree, as is vindicated by the assists he got. Using his strength to hold the ball up and then putting in dangerous balls over the top for Demps to run onto
I think we have to drop Ruiz. When Dembele is back then Dembele for Duff (Not because Duff is a bad player, more Dembele is an immense player!) and have Baird play in the middle. AJ and Bobby for a month, if AJ continues his form for that period, reward him with the extra year he wants. 2 million extra won't hurt, plus we still have the ability to sell. I think with the form of Dembele and Dempsey, a classic 4-4-2 really suits us. That holding mid can vary from team to team as well with Etuhu, Baird and Sidwell capable in that role. Then we still have Ruiz, Duff and Frei on the bench as options.
FFC4L I don't think is a matter of dropping players for one or the other but playing a different team with different formation depending on the opponent. 4-4-2 worked well in this case where we needed to close the midfield and score goals. 4-1-4-1 is more fluid and can produce some fantastic football. The problem is that Ruiz can't play 4-4-2 as he won't tackle or defend much. This will change over time I hope.
4-1-3-2? Baird Ruiz/Duff dembele (tracks back very well) Dempsey Johnson/Ruiz(could be good upfront?) Zamora
No that was accidental, but to be honest he's not been great this season, and the sooner we can get away from relying on him the better. but yes it should be Baird/Murphy
I've got to agree Baird (still the consumate professional) with Murphy in the middle. Together they can give us the glue and the creativity - certainly for teams like Newcastle, as evidenced last weekend. C O Y W
Chris Baird is great as a partner for Murphy, but I don't think Gilly's formation leaves room for a partner for Murphy. The solution to not having to rely on Danny's ability to pick a pass is to sign (or promote from within) someone else who has that ability and phase them into the team as his replacement. Whether we go with 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2, I think Baird and Murphy are worth picking as the central midfield two for the next few games. That means two of the senior attacking players (Zamora, Dempsey, Dembele, Ruiz, Duff, AJ) missing out. In spite of AJs performance on Saturday, I don't see him making the top 4 of that list when everyone is fit.
I think 4-2-3-1 has the following selection for midfield 2:Murphy Baird/Sidwell, 3empsey, Ruiz, Dembele, 1:AJ/BZ depending on the defenders 4-4-2 is Murphy, Baird/Sidwell, Duff/Dembele, Dempsey/Davies, 2: BZ/AJ/Dembele/Ruiz/Dempsey. Based on Ruiz's performances he is not suited for 4-4-2 playing in the wing. Also depends if we want to have width or not!
We would be playing with Baird as the only central midfielder? Doesn't take a genius to work out that no team only plays with one man in central midfield, Baird would be overrun easily.
it doesn't take a genius to work out that quite clearly 4-1-3-2 does not mean one central midfielder. Baird is a holding midfielder, with three across the middle, all with license to roam, and fly forward when needed. A good formation for the counter-attack, alot of support for the two up front, but when defending the central part of the three drops back along side baird (dembele would be good at this) and it becomes a 4-4-2. How about thinking a bit before completely discarding suggestions.
Okay, so the formation would be GOALKEEPER RIGHT BACK CENTRE BACK CENTRE BACK LEFT BACK HOLDING MIDFIELDER CENTRAL MIDFIELDER CENTRAL MIDFIELDER CENTRAL MIDFIELDER STRIKER STRIKER Where does that leave Dembele, Dempsey, Ruiz, Frei, Duff, Davies etc? Dembele would be playing too deep, Dempsey plays on the wing as do Frei, Duff and Davies and I think the Newcastle game showed Ruiz can't play central. So realistically our midfield three would have to be Murphy, Sidwell and Etuhu/Gecov, who are the only CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS.
In what way does that leave demeble playing to deep? he would be more attacking than in a 4-4-2. Its basically a 4-4-2, but instead of a straight line of four across the middle, its more of a diamond. Goalkeeper RB CB CB LB holding mid- baird etuhu murphy are options LM RM- dempsey ruiz duff frei davies CAM (drops back to CM alongside the holding mid when defending) Dembele, Ruiz, Frei 2 strikers. i dont understand why your finding this so hard to grasp, it is essentially a 4-4-2, but instead of 2 CMs, you have one thats more defensive and one more attacking when going forward, then you revert to a 4-4-2 when defending.
