............ Reina ............ Sterling.. Migs.. Skrtel ... cissoko ....... Allen .... Lucas...... Johnson ....... Figo (£5mil) ............ Moses......... .......Suarez.. Stur...... / dedicated in memory of TickyNO!
I do agree, but I don't think we've seen the best of 3-5-2 due to injuries to Johno and Jose. I guess the answer to the OP - Do we know our best team? Is NO The thing is with Lucas, Gerrard and Hendo - Is that all 3 are very different, and not the greatest these days (such as Gerrard, Alonso and Masch etc.) So it's so tricky as to who to leave out, which attributes do we lose? Hendo's energy, Gerrard's presence and passing, Lucas's DM break up play...that's the problem, it's a hard decision to make.
Mignolet Johnson Toure Agger Enrique Gerrard Henderson Allen Suarez. Coutinho Sturridge Or Mignolet Johnson. Toure Agger Enrique Lucas Henderson. Coutinho Allen Suarez. Sturridge I've decided that Gerrard & Lucas just can't work in the same midfield, especially against the better passing teams. Too immobile. It appears increasingly clear that the best 3 on paper don't work that way. Could be wrong but I think we'll find out in the next 2 months because BR will insist on going through all those fixtures with a 3 of Lucas, Hendo and Gerrard and top 3 of Couts, Biter & Sturridge. Think we'll score lots & concede lots..... I really do want to see if Hendo is mentally tough enough when not selected as the "legs" of Gerrard and selected as a whole player all to himself.
That, either Hendo and Lucas or Hendo and Gerrard and against Fulham, think I would rather see Hendo and Gerrard and put Fulham on the back foot from the go.
he added a little for sure. he was gaining fitness. in 5-2-3 he was lost. rightly dropped but again my thing is he's on loan. he's not the long term answer for me. i want better as first choice and frankly thats coutinho and suarez. We need to buy a mkhitaryan. rodgers needs to go back to his plan.
Agree with that. Just not sure why we wanted to chop that formation and strategy so quick when it was working? hopefully all just part of the end game.
It's interesting, Gerrard did a piece recently talking about as these last years go on he believes he'll move into that DM role. Did he realise that what he was actually saying was he assumed he'd be picked there before Lucas "when the time came". Think I'd be a little peeved if I was Lucas. I'd think to myself "I'm carrying you defensively and getting over ran as you stand and watch. If I make the tackle I've to pass the ball 3 yards to you so you can hoof it upfield back to the opposition and the cycle starts again but sure you play a couple of games in a hodgeson England team and think you're the man as DM lol"
I think we know our team we know where improvements are needed too. as for the changing? i think toures injury v notts county buggered us and then both johnson and enrique got knocks too... and suarez came in.... i hope rodgers is simply not bottling the decision to drop skertl and return to plan a. we played 4 at the back v southampton with 4 CBs, lost then went 3 at the back as agger decided he was actually injured and we went with henderson on the right wing back and an injured enrique... lost to utd... we've persisted once johnson came back and now persisted when coutinho is back. I am hopeful johnson's dose of the pox is done with and coutinho is ok to start as i think 4-3-3 with moses coming is our best current bet. harsh to skertl but if we are admitting he can't pass for F... well... its him or toure and toure organises... sorry.
Signing Sakho and Suarez coming back has unbalanced our team. We have looked a lot more shaky defensively since Sakho & Suarez came back IMO, and that's not actually down to them as individuals.
btw, another curious one for me is Illore, we spent what 7 mil on him? You don't buy illori and assaidi the year before and you got 10 mil to play with, Didn't Eriksen only go about 12? Feel that money could have been used better?
At the risk of sounding like Rafa, I'd get LL & JH to hold. Let the FBs get forward and provide the with allowing the trio up top to do as they please
From the various options set out above, may favourite has to be SKy's. It's attractive as it stands and I think makes the most of our possible starting 11's. However, it is capable of being changed during a game to meet needs or circumstances. Whilst I still believe that Gerrard has too much to offer to be simply ditched, I do have to accept that it is good to see others looking for options that do not automatically include him. It does have to be accepted that even if we have a very good season and he and England have a good World Cup it will probably be his swan song. Next season we will need a repalcement.
Exactly what I have been saying for the past few months. So what if on paper it doesn't have width? We had infinitely more width with Enrique and Johnson in a back 4 than we ever did in the 3-5-2. They're fullbacks and they attack relentlessly. You've also got that middle 3 spot on - Lucas behind Gerrard/Hendo. Gerrard can't go beside him as he's not very good there. I haven't been impressed with Moses and I can't see the four of Ford, Sturridge, Suarez and Moses ever passing to each other - this also leaves our midfield so short it will be practically non-existent. Moses on the bench for me, at the end of the game he'll be able to come on and inject some pace into the team. Edit: Agger over Toure for me. As fantastic as Toure has been, Agger is our vice-captain and captain of Denmark. He's not suddenly ****, he's younger than Toure too. I wish we could play them all, but unfortunately Toure and Skrtel should be benched for me. Maybe not on current form but we should look to move to this eventually.
I like our attacking trio (ignoring Moses) but that highlighted bit is what concerns me. Not so much Coutinho but definitely the others.
Yeah, don't know why I included Ford in there. Though he'd eventually get fed up and go for it himself.
I don't think he's been that bad but nor has he been great. He is our modern day Reira! Doesn't help that he's been asked to play a unfamiliar role that he is dog ****e in
Me and Zingy are ahead of you in the running #fantasychamps I do agree with your team though. As D says above we get the width from the full backs in a back 4 anyway (as well as Suarez/Cout drifting wide when they need to). What it also does is allows easy changes during a game. I'd much prefer Hendo and Gerrard further forward. Last season we were pressing so well higher up the pitch. Playing this way allows the full backs to start further up the pitch anyway.
