What we failed to do, against both them and Newcastle, is recognise and take control of their breakers; we attacked, they absorbed, then they broke and made our defence look very poor. Improve our handling of that and we have every chance.
I'd be amazed if we go 4-4-2 in the final after the way Sunday's game panned out, although we could I suppose go for a bit of a half way house by going 4-4-1-1 with Aluko playing behind Sagbo or as the furthest forward in a 4-5-1. I think it will either be 4-5-1 or 3-5-2 depending on what personnel we have available and how those individuals have been performing over the next few weeks.
Hey, clever man, he signed after he had the op and they had obviously been given the nod that all was well, or they wouldnt have offered him it, would they?
I find it incredible that anyone watching last week's game would think the formation was the problem. We were in complete control until they scored, and even after that we still dominated the rest of the first half. Their second goal killed the game. It's Arsenal, so no matter what formation we play they're going to be a threat. No layout of numbers written down is going to prevent that. I'll be perfectly happy if we play our normal system and in fact, I'd be disappointed if we bottled it, sat XI behind the ball and tried to 'do a Palace' on them which would inevitably fail if we tried it.
otherwise instead of heading for Palace he would be joining QPR on a free to play with Charlie Austin!
What the hell are you talking about with Aluko. He played exceptionally well pre injury and looked perfectly at home in the prem. You are clearly an armchair football fan looking at stats and not actually watching the game, he runs at defenders and makes them run towards goal which creates huge problems for the other team and makes space for team mates. He is not a centre forward, he is an attacking player so you can't judge him entirely on goals scored. With the current team we are very static between banks of players, we have the midfield a long way from the attack and it is rare for our midfielders to flow through the lines like Arsenal did against us. Players like Aluko that do that are important as they create openings for others to attack.
We'll have to agree to disagree then. I've watched Aluko and every time he gets the ball he is 'bound for glory' and appears to ignore his team-mates. We cannot afford an attacking player like him with 1 goal from 15 appearances. Do you honestly believe that Tony Pulis would offer 7 million quid for him. I haven't seen him create many openings (if any) where are the goals?
He's a weird player Aluko because, as I've said before, even when he's on form he doesn't score many, doesn't assist many and rarely actually beats a man. He usually looks skillful and dangerous but it's genuinely quite novel when he actually beats his man and opens up some space. He looks impressive but achieves very little. When he does get the space his shooting from mid-distance and his final ball are both very good. With a run of games and after getting his fitness back he might be able to improve on that but until he can do that he isn't as useful as Long or Jelavic.
Talking about Simpson - another 'Striker' from the same "School for Strikers" as Altidore - he is currently playing for Buriram (who ran away with the title last season) in the Thailand Premier league but they are languishing in 13th position (out of 20) this season with Simpson scoring 1 (from a penalty) from 9 games. He scored 1 in a cup match at the beginning of the season but is failing to merit his 40,000 quid monthly salary.
At £7m I'd sell. He's as reliable as a Trabant. Good player, too many injuries. £7m put towards a proper winger like Johnson when the Black Cats get relegated.
According to their website, he's started four games(and was subbed off in three of them) and he's made three more appearances from the bench, playing a grand total of 350 minutes. It's not a massive amount to go on, particularly only 9 games into a 38 game season.
I don't think I suggested we put 11 behind the ball or play particularly negatively but I think we adopted far too open an approach against a team of Arsenal's capabilities on Sunday. We might have got away with it if we'd put one of the many chances we created away in the first half hour but we didn't, even with our first choice strikeforce, so what would make you think that going for it without them might yield a better outcome? I just think we need to make sure that they can't play through us quite as easily as they did on Sunday and that's not just about formations and tactics but available personnel who are in form, as well as playing in their natural position. The biggest problem with that at the moment is Figueroa's total lack of form, which might see us go 3-5-2 if SB doesn't fancy playing him at left back or Elmo at right back. Either way I think he'll go for a 5 man midfield with Huddlestone, Livermore and Meyler as the middle 3 and the wide midfielders will depend on whether we go 4 or 3 at the back. So either something like: Harper/McGregor Rosie Chester Davies Figueroa Elmo Livermore Huddlestone Meyler Boyd Sagbo or: Harper/McGregor Chester Davies Bruce/Figueroa Elmo Livermore Huddlestone Meyler Rosie Sagbo Fryatt/Boyd/Aluko
When Jela and Long came in he must have known they were going to be first choice and most probably played together as a front 2. I just don't see Aluko as a winger, I see him playing behind a striker or strikers, utilising his skill and vision (when he chooses to use it) to feed and support the strikers from between their back 4 and midfield. We just don't have the set up at the moment to play 3 up top so he's on the bench or away from his favoured position. If a £4mill+ bid comes in, I can see him wanting away.
I actually think Aluko's best position would be in a front 3 of a 4-3-3 where the 3 or at least the two wide attacking players are interchangeable. For example: Long Jelavich Aluko or Brady Long Aluko but we'd probably need a proper sitting midfielder to even contemplate that system and even then only against the lesser teams at home!
