Summer Transfers

Maybe he realises that our defence is providing him with the opportunities to excel?

 

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Baldini was spotted at the Fiorentina/Dynamo Kyiv match last night - the easiest conclusion to draw from that is we're scouting Yarmolenko, given he's got a year left on his contract...and he's pornographically good on each of the last four Football Manager games.

 

The Standard believe that Baldini was there to watch Yarmolenko, Vida and Savic.
They also mention Micah Richards, who's out of contract in the summer, but he missed the game with a twisted ankle.

 

I don't know if I would like a move for Yarmolenko, or, especially, for Mirallas. Is either one really going to be an upgrade? Or are we going to have one or two more players at the Townsend-Lamela-Dembele level to make selections tricky? It seems to me we should be trying to spend either on someone who will be an upgrade on what we have, or on a young player or two with the potential to be. I feel okay at the moment about either the present or prospective future of every position except RM. Since we're not going to get Bale back, I think we should get the best couple of youth RMs we can. Any signing is a gamble, but youth players tend to be the only gambles that can turn into big wins. If we start either Yarmolenko or Mirallas, I don't see why we couldn't just have kept Lennon, or continued with Townsend or Lamela. On the other hand, RM would be the spot to gamble on another big signing, if we could find one who both wants to come to us and would be a real upgrade. I can't think of who that might be, though.

 

Yarmolenko mainly plays down the right, so he would address that position pretty well.

 

I hope he'll prove me wrong. We do have a recent history of getting a number of players who fight inconclusively for places, though.

 

The conundrum would be getting the right mix in the attacking trio, though: Eriksen through the middle is a given, Yarmolenko would be on the right - but on the left it's one from Chadli, Townsend or Lamela.

I do wish we tried the line-up that featured against Schalke in pre-season, though: Holtby alongside Bentaleb in central midfield, with an attacking trio of Lennon on the right, Eriksen through the middle, and Lamela on the left - with Lennon and Lamela switching flanks.

 

I guess we dropped Lennon because he seemed injury prone enough, and old enough, to be likely to miss half of every season. But now we need a right sided winger who can burn other teams for pace to complete the team, and Lennon seems ideal, except for his lack of end product (and injury record). I hope we find that right sided winger, whether it's Yarmolenko or someone else, because I think that may be the key piece in the puzzle. Yedlin is a thought, considering Rose looked decent at LM. In addition to wanting to try Eriksen paired with Bentaleb, and Lamela behind Kane, I would also think about Pritchard, Carroll and possibly Alli in central spots. Rose did well at LM when he played there. I'm satisfied with Chadli on the left. Even though he disappears, his ability to create goals has been excellent.

 

There is a flaw in Poch's system, namely how the fullbacks are there to provide width and pace down the flanks, allowing the likes of Lamela and Chadli to cut inside - but if Walker and/or Rose are out for whatever reason, we're missing that key part of the system. Of course, there's an obvious question that needs to be asked about this: if we're playing with Davies or Dier at fullback, who don't provide pace or width, why not put the wingers in their natural position, i.e. Chadli or Townsend on the right and Lamela on the left? There's a similar question that could be asked why they don't switch flanks that often, which surely makes a lot of sense - especially since that was how the team were set up in pre-season.

 

The biggest change I'd like to see in Pochettino next year would be more flexibility. There have been a number of games where we've made it too easy for other teams to play on the counter. Managers are too good at coming up with tactics to be entirely predictable. Pochettino has tried different things, no doubt, but not enough things, not quite often enough. Sitting back, playing a 4-4-1-1 and using outside-footed wingers might help avoid the number of games where we looked completely out-thought. Interestingly, one of the few times Pochettino did use outside-footed wingers was when he started Rose as LM. It worked.

 

That sounds an excellent plan. Eriksen/Bentaleb behind Chadli/Lamela/Townsend or updgrade. Has Eriksen ever played that deep? Mason can cover both Eriksen and Lamela in those systems, Pritchard to cover any of the 3 behind Kane and Alli if he prgressescan play Eriksen role in cups. Like it . And that's without any new signings.

 

I'm a big fan of putting your best players in their best positions. Currently our best players are Kane and Eriksen (and Lloris) and for me they should be playing up top and behind the striker (and in goal. Thats Lloris in case you're reading Mr Kane)

 

Considering how Mason started as a No10, I'm curious to see if he can be used in a Craig Bellamy role next season - a pesky little blighter that makes a nuisance of themselves playing behind the main striker, which will drag defenders out of position and allow other players to sneak through the gaps.

 

Using Mason further forward would also allow him to run around getting after players without compromising our defensive midfield, as he sometimes does with his enthusiasm. He can pick a pass and can strike a ball well off either foot too so he could well have success there.

 

Moving Eriksen deeper might not work, no doubt. But what impressed me most in his highlight videos was the way he brought the ball forward, dribbling and making decisions. He also looked good playing more deeply for Denmark, and excelled, I thought, in the few games where he brought the ball from back to front for us. It would also be interesting to see how Chadli, Lamela and, as you say, Mason work as CAM. Also, putting more distance between Eriksen and Kane might make it harder for teams to shut them both down. Rotating Mason (or Paulinho) and Eriksen backwards and forwards might also be a good idea.

 

I'd agree with what Spurm said, I'd prefer to put our best players in their best positions rather than trying to tinker about trying to get the best out of someone inferior in the squad. Eriksen as the CAM is pivotal in my opinion, he's been out of sorts in recent games but I think that's down to fatigue and he's not the only one struggling for form but overall, I don't think anyone in the squad comes close to Eriksen's level in that role behind the striker. Kane as the striker and Hugo in goal are the other nailed on positions. Jan is our best CB and I'd say Nabil is our best CM, so those guys should be kept in their natural roles unless injuries mean tinkering is needed.

Will be good to see how Alli and Pritchard fair next season, Pritchard can play anywhere across the 3 attacking midfield roles and with RW there for the taking, he could stake a strong claim in pre-season. Alli being a CM will be interesting, not that I'd expect him to make an impact straight away as no doubt he'll need to work hard on playing/ training at a higher level and then breaking into the side but his ability to run from deep and grab goals would be a welcomed addition, it may mean a fight with Mason for the position but if this kid is as good as he looks it'll be a great battle.

 

Not pleased to hear we're being linked with Florian Thauvin, given his history: Lille signed him from Bastia in January 2013, loaning him back for the remainder of the season - but in the summer of 2013 Thauvin went on strike and refused to train for Lille so he could force through a move to Marseilles, meaning he never played a single game for Lille.

With a track record like that, if we did sign him he'd become a complete arseache the second Chelsea started sniffing around.

 

While I'm not sure we could afford his wages: Javier Hernandez?

 

We're being linked heavily with Schneiderlin again, although Southampton are saying they won't sell any of their best players and we'd probably have to join the queue of suitors anyway. He'd be one hell of a signing but I don't think it'll happen.