Last night playing on the counter worked perfectly for us. It was a Derby and therefore Everton were never going to sit back and try and catch us on the break. We may be forced into that tactic again in games such as Arsenal, City, and Chelsea but will it be successful against other visitors? If not then what strategy should we employ against other visitors and what may that mean for the team? It looks as though we will not have many recruits this window but apart from Coates we should see the return of a number of our walking wounded. How do you feel this could assist us in our selections and helping to rest some key players?
maybe that's why we are targeting this player linked, as he is quick, him and sterling will cause problems hopefully. unless brendan may play 1 up top out of luis and strurridge in some games and have pace on wings.
cheslea would lap it up. arsenal? might be caught out. the issue has to be the fact that everton came with thier own game plan which backfired. thier played a really high line and stones pushed on. there were too many gaps and it was inferior players at the back and jagiekla's hamstring that left them looking totally disorganised For me at home... play 4-5-1 v top 4 rivals, play 4-3-3 against the muck
Sterling and Sturridge provide frightening pace meaning counter-attacking will always work. However, last night was a bit of a red herring as their CB's were very slow, even Suarez ran more than half the pitch with the ball and they couldn't catch up
Suarez has decent pace himself plus the intelligence to #position himself directly in front of the defender so he couldn't be caught
I'm totally with you on the formations but the obvious worry is that a team playing 4-5-1 successfully has to be able to soak up pressure and hit on the counter. Obviously we have no problem with the latter but can we really soak up pressure against the likes of Arsenal or City? It's vital we solidify the back four whether that be with a signing or the tactics we employ.
its a question... i thought we lets mirallas run riot and didn't cut too much out. i'm not sure we can but in the end its a combo of pressing hard selectively, then massed banks or organised players working hard that really does the job. if we leave suarez left wing in those games.... i think we can... i'd rather an lb come in mind but there you go... CM too.
Intelligence yes, but even so that Everton back line was painfully slow. Don't think i've seen such slow defenders in my life. I don't think Mourinho will be naive enough to play such a highline and slow midfield (barry and mccarthy offered no protection) especially with our creaky slow backline. Arsenal you could probably make it work as Wenger is obsessed with possesion football. If Flamini is playing then he will offer some protection (hes suspended though i think). Koscielny is one of the best defenders 1 on 1 against a striker i've seen and will get the better of suarez if he tries to go it alone. On form though and the way your team is playing, with Suarez maturing, his vision and passing other players through, I think you guys can win on the counter against Arsenal Man U look terrible so i expect a standard win for you guys
I'm very glad that Rodgers has warmed up to 4-3-3 (or 4213, 4231). You can see that the difference between our Villa and Everton performances was not the shape, as much as the assignment of defensive duties from 1 to 11 and Gerrard's form. The most mature defensively team in the league (Chelsea) plays a 433 (4231), yet "look" like they pack up the middle only because their winger (Willian) is a monster in tracking back, as are to their other attacking players Hazard, Oscar and Etoo. Three in the center is overdoing it - I wouldn't like to see all three of Gerrard, Hendo and Allen. Go with: DM-CM ACM W-S-F and hope that they all play as committed defensively as yesterday.
Luis isn't slow but pace isn't a asset he has. Positioning in front of the defender is one thing, running half the length of the pitch is another. Their defenders were treading mud!
