At the weekend Jol said, âItâs about balance and we will find the right balance.â He dropped Dejagah out of the squad for the Arsenal game and for the last two games has not played Bryan. Will there come a time when he bites the bullet and does similar with Berbatov?
I was pondering much the same thing, Cottager. If Bent starts scoring, and if Jol doesn't want to try Kasami, Ruiz, etc alongside Parker as one of two 'proper' central midfielders, that leaves three spaces for creative players, either in a 4-2-3-1, a conventional 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1. I don't think Berba's place is in jeopardy just yet, but if Kacaniklic forces himself back in on the left Berba could conceivably be fighting with Taarabt (and/or Kasami, Ruiz) for the central role behind Bent (as well as fighting Bent for the front man's spot). It would probably take a run of poor performances (Berba individually AND the team collectively) but I could see it happen. Last year some people were complaining that Jol didn't 'have the balls' to drop this player or that player, usually meaning Jol didn't agree with that person about who should be in the team. I think Jol has shown in his time here that he is perfectly well equipped with metaphorical testicles. When he dropped Zamora, it was at a time when the prevailing view was that he was the player whose absence had the biggest impact on the team. He dropped Riise towards the end of last season. Berbatov is a bigger deal than either of those, and Jol wouldn't drop him lightly, but I don't doubt for a moment that he'd do it if he had to, particularly now that we've got Bent as an alternative.
To revive an earlier discussion: how does Kaca playing as an ACM/second striker (as he has for Sweden) affect this argument ?
Probably just makes things even more confusing! With the exception of Reither and Hangeland (and maybe Parker), I don't think any of the outfield players could lay claim to being an automatic starter any more, even if some of them will need a longer run of poor games than others to lose their place.
Disagree. Berbatov is like the Captain of a ship. He will go down with us. Win lose or draw, Berbatov will always play.
I don't see Kaca as a PL attacking midfielder- he is pretty one dimensional. He has hasn't got the ability to slot through balls. I see him as an athlete with football skills rather than a natural footballer (see Lennon, Walcott and Valencia). We need him on the left knocking it past the full back and swinging crosses in. He should be modelling himself on Duff.
Have you seen him in that role Silky? As on the wing, he's not yet the finished product, but looked very good to me.
For me the answer is simple. You can't play all of them at the same time. If Berba starts drop Ruiz and put Taraabt down the middle behind them but in front of Parker. Failing that, go old school. Bent and Berba up top, 4 midfielders behind and 4 defenders. Simples.
I'd love to see Bent/Berbatov up top. Dejagah/Kaca on the wings and Parker/Adel in CM. Will it happen? No.
deegajah when fullt fit is key to our balance, with him and sacha over laping, they were good last season, now we look pedestrian and toothless i.m.o
The problem is who plays with Parker in midfield. If someone creative like Taarabt or Kasami can add the discipline to play there, it frees up a spot in the front four for another attacking player. If Parker has to be paired with one of Sidwell, Boateng or Karagounis, and if Bent and Berba both start (which seems likely), that only leaves two places for Kacaniklic, Taarabt, Ruiz, Kasami, Dejagah, Duff (plus any youngsters like Frei and Mesca that we might want to include at some point) to fight over.
