We are playing exactly like when he was in the team. 4-3-3 and hoof it up to the big man. So many hoofs today. Terrible
The problem with Carroll was that his best games came when they treated him like a regular non hoof striker. He was decent with the ball and had a cracking strike on him. But no. English mentality isn't it? He's tall so better lump it to him instead of this nice through ball. Same is happening with Balotelli. Play to his ****ing strengths and give him a strike partner.
Agreed. So many long balls and crosses this season. It's as if we're building the team around Gerrard - so he can play his long balls out to the full backs and wingers.
Not convinced on this tbh. Big players typically don't make runs beyond the last man so you can't play through balls, and rarely do they come as deep as the smaller more technical players to start attacking moves, so you either play it in to feet for them to spin and (try to) make something happen/shoot (like Balotelli) or lump it up for them to lay it off to someone making a run beyond them (Carroll). The best 'big man' forward I can think of is Dzeko because he can just about do anything and has so many more strings to his bow than being a focal point or target for the team, which is why City aren't reduced to lumping it up. Balotelli is very static as a forward, so there's not a great deal of options open to us. Also, as a result of playing Allen, Henderson AND Gerrard in the team, there's a huge gap inbetween the midfield and Balotelli (when we play 4-3-3) so there's no possible way to play the ball to feet and work our way forward. You hit it across the gap instead, usually to 'super' Mario. Last season, we had Suarez or Sturridge dropping into that hole and Coutinho playing in the midfield hole too. It's just not a balanced team right now which I think exaggerates the problem.
