There was a little surprise at Holtby's removal for Ade, but it was more to give Bale license to roam and tbh I think aswell as LH had done he disappeared a bit when Toon were in the game for that spell. Till then, the Toon CB's were having a fairly easy time with the unfamiliar Dempsey/Holtby combo. That changed with Ade (more presence than performance) and Bale behind, and they got stretched all over the shop at times. Last season we found Bale drifting into this position and me included gave him a bit of a slating for doing so. All I can say now is that Bale is developing into something special, I thought he was destined to be a top wide player, but this lad can play anywhere it seems and running through the middle the way he does frightens CB's to death. Also, despite being left-footed, is happy to go past them either side, the Norwich goal a prime example. Bale popped up everywhere that last 25, even linking with Lennon, when he's done that before as our left mid, he's been out of position leaving us lopsided and open to counter (one reason I moaned when he did it!), but today that wasn't the case. It does raise some questions though, do we let Bale loose there from the start, or leave it as an option?, and what do we do on the left if Bale does develop into a better central/free role type player, or whatever you wish to call it?
I think we all had issues with Bale drifting through the middle last year, yet that was mainly because he hadn't adapted to the position and Arry chose the wrong time to start allowing him more freedom. What Villas Boas has done, is gradually allowed Bale to drift as he sees fit in a game and to be fair its working superbly and you can see the confidence and slight arrogance in Bale this year from last, he is definitely growing overall and into this new role. My only real concern is he doesn't have the natural and nimble movement of say a Mata, Bale is more powerful, direct and a superb athlete so when he runs, you know what he is thinking. or what he is attempting to do, however that doesn't mean he can be stopped, as he showed with that run across field against west brom, it was obvious he wanted to drag the defenders away to the right and then cut back onto his left, yet only a superb save stopped a goal. I'm starting to see similarities between him and ronaldo (in a physical sense) as they both have rigid strong upper bodies and run with power, pace and directness, yet I personally don't believe Bale will reach that type of standard but understand why the comparisons are starting to be made. As for his long term position, maybe if Holtby switches to the left when Bale moves into the middle? as Holtby seems quite flexible in his movement and able to switch play/positions but Bale is dangerous on the left and through the middle so lets set up the team to allow him the freedom to roam, as long as his team mates know how to cover.
Players of his ability shouldn't be confined to one area of the pitch- Ronaldo isn't, Best wasn't. What position do/did they actually play? They defy pigeonholing. Bale's more effective when he doesn't have a set position, although he isn't too clever when he's asked to pass, cross or shoot with his right foot too often. Because he is such a good athlete, he is happy to roam in search of the ball constantly. Allowing him a free role should produce more consistent contributions and makes him more of a goal threat, as recent results and performances have shown.
Does he have the range of passing to be a great central MF player? Sure, he's great charging forward and taking on players, but it does nothing for our one-man team image that he doesn't seem to link play as much as I would like him to. Is in the same general MF class as Hoddle, for example. Not by a long chalk, in my book. What Bale has is pace, strength, and a fierce left-foot, and he uses all of them to great effect.
I think you're confused Hiag, 'central' doesn't mean where Dembele plays, who needs a range of passing as an attacker?? Ronaldo hasn't! btw, Hoddle couldn't tear Maicon a new one either!...different players, different positions, its about utilising best skills, not trying to turn players into something they never will be.
The way to get the best out of our squad is to use two of Sandro, Dembele, Parker, Huddlestone and Livermore to anchor midfield and then four of Bale, Lennon, Ade, Sig, Holtby, Defoe, Kane and Dempsey in a fluid formation up front. This is why AVB didn't need to sign a striker in January. No striker we could afford would really improve the squad thought about in this way. Bale and Lennon should both be more dangerous if given a free role. Running down the wings and putting crosses in is over-rated as a tactic, however exciting it looks.
Whilst Lennon was effective on the wing sadly many of his crosses weren't which wasn't his fault. The Newcastle defence anticipated well with some of them but in some the middle were wasteful. However we still have the deserved three points and spirits are high in the team. Good to score more than one goal wasn't it?
A solid defence is the key IMO. This enables the front players more freedom of expression. As the season has unfolded our defence has grown in stature. Attention was paid to the habit of conceding late goals and with it came an understanding that is being used throughout the 90 minutes.This sold base allows for more movement up front and less predictability.
Bale.s perfect position is on the wing but at this moment in time with Spurs a free role would be better for the team. As our central midfield is hard working but offers little going forward . Dempsey's huff and puff , Holtby may be a saviour with some finesse (to early to judge) and striker's that are mid table quality he raises our team. A world class player that is explosive at times. Without him these last three games we wouldn't have any points. He is so head and shoulders above anyone , that why create for poor finishing , do it all yourself , my son.
I think that it'd be a strange time to move him into the centre. Holtby's arrival and his similarity of style with van der Vaart would suggest a link up with Adebayor. Had we moved Bale into a more central role earlier in the season, then it would have made more sense. We could've used either Sigurdsson or Townsend on the left, but the latter's out on loan, so we've less options there.
I don't think we have to move him into the centre he does that for himself. I view it like this; top professional footballers are working with each other almost every day they have the skills and mobility to enable them to move around the field with their team mates complimenting those moves by taking up good tactical positions. Provided we have the right organisation at the back, where more discipline is needed, why would you want Lennon and Bale to run up and down the wings as if on rails. That plays into the hands of the opposition who can set up to negate it. Keep it fluid and you continually provide the opposing defence with new problems to solve.
I still remember the days of " bale bale bale" as he galloped down the left wing from deep, awesome to watch. Last season saw Bale change slightly to a more attacking winger. This year hes progressing into a roaming forward. As you can tell, its a progression each year but as Spurf and Power mention, having a solid defence and midfield allows attackers the freedom to roam and long may bales form continue. The only worry.is once bale doesnt score it highlights other issues within our team yet once we have Sandro, dembele and holtby together it will give bale and.lennon even more freedom. All we need on.top of that is for Adebayor to return to form.
All good points made, but I don't think there's any need to labour the point of a fluid front 4, all fairly obvious, my point was towards a starting shape, what position the team gets back into without the ball, when an opponents move breaks down, where are you likely to find Bale, left or centre? Where he goes with it after that isn't really what I'm talking about. He picked the ball up in the centre circle for his second goal, had Holtby been on the pitch it would more likely have been him there and Bale out left as per 1st half. PNP has touched on left sided options if we were to keep Bale in the middle, I don't see whats wrong with Bale and Holtby, with Lennon and Ade as a front four, atm I think the idea presents a few more options, the latter 3 do need to chip in though.
my thoughts area little outside of the box, but I'll explain why. What I wouldn't mind us testing, is Benny and Naughts as a left sided partnership. - I'm not a huge fan of Naughts' defensive work at LB and think Benny is far more comfortable. However, in recent games, I've noticed naughts linking up well with whoever down the left, where he's made runs out wide looking for someone to pass to him, as well as drifting inward. He seems to be developing into a bit of a WB in my opinion, whether that's intentional or not?. Benny has a cracking cross on him and can also aid in an attacking overlap. - Just think this might be worth a try against some "weaker" prem opposition? The above could also help to solve our striker problem. We all know how lethal bale is, playing in this free striker role. Not only could it help us right now with Defoe being injured, Ade being... Ade, and Dempsey not suited, but perhaps Bale is growing into a forward as he's getting older and maybe this could be our solution so we don't have to spend 25m on a striker?
To me, Bale and Holtby can play behind Ade or Defoe, 2nd striker, VdV role if you like, but offer different qualities, Holtby likes to take players out the game with slick pass and move, where as Bale is direct at pace, I've noticed his acceleration has improved..if it were possible! in the first two strides he seems to be half a yard gone. Its all about options and there's a few more than I first thought, and I expect if everyone else is honest you'll say the same. I'd have laughed in your face for having a conversation about Bale in VdV's place last season.
Spot on Spurf I would add that the introduction of Holtby will only add to that fluidity. Early days yes (and he did disappear yesterday before being replaced by Ade) but I reckon his work rate across the whole pitch will provide more scope and freedom for Bale to roam.
Sorry Roo, but I haven't seen any of those examples of Naughtons development. When Benny was injured earlier in the season he provided a relatively solid defensive replacement, but offered nothing in support of the attack. He also failed to impress in his preferred RB position against Coventry in the FAC. And yesterday, he added nothing going forward and got caught out defensively on two occasions - one that cost us a goal and the other that should have done. All in all, he is not showing me anything that would make me want to have him a first team regular.
Spot on Relayer. He really annoyed me yesterday when he gave that daft free kick away close to the touchline in the second half, when all it needed was basic defending to clear his lines. He rarely offers anything going forward and imo is probably closer to being left out of the side rather than be tried in another role.
