I think it's no coincidence that our stuttering form over the past three months has been since Ale Faurlin's injury. His place in a 4-2-3-1 was ideal with his tackling ability and his unfussy and precise distribution. We have no-one with that ideal combination of attributes and it has left us disjointed and constantly chopping and changing to get the blend (almost) right. Yesterday was another example of the wrong players in the wrong starting formation. You can see even before kick-off that the line-up won't work, and we're not paid £3 million+ a year to work it out. I don't know what Harry is planning for the rest of this window, but a good defensive midfielder has to be on his list, preferably one who can pick a decent pass...
As much as I’d love to agree, I’m not sure this is so. Ale only played in 4½ league matches, staggered over 3 months, and was only just returning to a level of performance that he would have been happy with, so I don’t think that suggesting that our form has stuttered since his injury adds up. I would absolutely agree that a fit Ale Faurlin is exactly what we need in our team though. Our form has stuttered all season regardless of who is injured, suspended or out of favour.
I think we just seemed to be getting it right when he was injured. Harry seems to take an eternity to see the bleedin' obvious and Ale had just seemed to cement his place in the team when he got crocked...
I was going to agree with the OP, but this is more accurate. Henry, who I think is a pretty good footballer, despite what everyone says - he must be, to get a game... has his limitations. A fit and on form Ale doesn't have as many. He can break up attacks, receive from the back 4, and launch attacks. If he was fit, I could see us playing a 4-2-3-1 system more effectively, and more dangerously, than we currently do (even though I'm limited to the occasional stream to judge).
