And Jay likes to drive them in around knee-height, which is a good way to create a bit of havoc...decent odds on the shot either taking a deflection, or moving late and forcing a parry. Would rather players simply attempt to get it on target with a bit of movement and pace rather than trying to pick out the top corner from 25 yards.
Reminded me that Jay did one on Saturday which stayed less than a foot off the ground for the 20-25 yards it travelled. I think it was being controlled by ground effect.
It's great having players with the ability to pick a pass, but you need willing runners and good movement. That's the reason Jay Rod has to start as it takes away the emphasis off Lambert and gives the opposition more to think about. We looked a lot more dangerous against QPR when he came off the bench.
I think Lambert playing off Jay is the way to go. Give the opposition more to think about. It's quite a turnaround, because under Adkins I couldn't see why we had bought Rodriguez...I preferred Sharp.
Spot on there Birdsnest. The "W" formation is one which was as common as 442 in the first half of the 20th century, and I think is due a renaissance, I think it would work very well in the modern game, especially with a pressing side. It takes a lot of concentration and players need to be extremely well drilled and disciplined. I'm sure it would suit MoPo and the boys down to the ground...
If Cork could find his shooting boots he would be the natural successor to Gerrard in the England team. It is maybe the one thing that will hold him back. Anyone know if he scored for other teams he has played for?
According to Wikipedia he scored twice for Scunthorpe in the 2007 - 8 season, once for Burnley in the 2009 - 10 season and 3 times in 2010 - 11, also for Burnley.
Not sure he's a natural successor to Gerard whether he improves his shooting or not. In his present role he's not doing the same job, in my opinion. Gerard seems to have the run of the pitch, getting forward a lot, or playing the ball from deep, and players cover for him as he tries to dictate the play. Cork rarely gets that far forward. In fact the furthest I regularly see him is where he supports an attack and stands himself just outside the penalty area. BTW, I see the swear filter has been fixed.
Totally agree that he doesn't get as far forward but that surely has more to do with the system we play rather than his ability. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a player with as much stamina.
Schneiderlin covers more ground than any player in the whole league.....Out of our team alone Schneiderlin, Lallana, Rodriguez seem to have more stamina than Cork.
Not sure I agree with that. Statistically he may well cover more ground but Schneiderlin seems a lot more measured in where he runs than Cork who just seems to enthusiastically pop up all over the place.
I never thought Cork had silky smooth skills or anything, but it seems like he used to be more than just a guy who threw himself about like crazy for 90 mins (not that there's anything wrong with that). I think maybe he gets a little tired or in a tackling/sprinting mindset and it takes away from some of his offensive abilities. I like that he's still willing to shoot, though. Nothing wrong with a midfielder taking a long shot every now and again to spread out the defense and keep them on their toes. I just wish he would put it on target, so that the forwards might be able to pounce on the rebound. He just seems to blast it well over or wide nowadays.
Yeah, I think with the way we play we would be more suited to the Metodo than most, with what you say about the modern pressing style, which I feel we do well. It's a shame that more managers don't have the audacity to attempt more radically different formations; 1-2-7 used to be the most common formation but now Martinez is seen as highly creative by playing 3 at the back instead of 4, hardly a great change. I'm by no means advocating 1-2-7, we would get destroyed, I'm just illustrating that there is little variation with formations nowadays. Guardiola used variations of the Metodo in fairness at times with Barca, and obviously it worked brilliantly. Can't see Pochetino suddenly utilising a 1934 formation, but I would love it if he did!
Saints used 2-3-5, or the W formation well into their first few seasons in the top flight. When they played away they adopted 4-3-3, which nowadays is considered an attacking posture. Their 4-1 defeat of ManU at OT showed them adopting a new formation. It was 4-4-2, and the next day, Jimmy Hill, while interviewing Ron Davies on The Big Match, jokingly commented that Saints had removed an attacker but scored a load of goals. Of course, a fluid 4-3-3 can effectively become 2-3-5 for the odd moment when both FB's push up to join the attack. Yes, they tend to do it one at a time, so you get a 3-3-4 situation. I very much like our 4-2-3-1 at present. Even with the current crop of players, most of whom are not blessed with sheer pace, they rarely get too stretched and seem to be there in numbers when needed. I often find myself amazed at the numbers who have got forward and yet they get back to cover as well.
