Ted Hughes wrote:johnpb78 wrote:The problem with our midfielders is that they are good at one part of the game, and poor at most others.
If you had Andy Gray /Sky technology, you could probably draw a small circle in the middle of the pitch, and 90 times out of 100 you would find ALL of our midfielders in that circle if you stopped play at any point in any of our games in the last 12 months, whether defending or attacking.
They are too one dimensional and therefore whilst we have loads of attacking threat from the wings or old "inside forward" position, it is just entirely predictable that this is where our threat has to come from, because the midfield is being out-thought and sometimes even outfought despite our weight of numbers and talent we have in there.
It is just too easy to defend against that lack of mobility, so if they cut off our wing play, we are fucked, royally.
As much as I hate the revolving door of players, I'd personally rip it up and start again JUST because we have the money, and don't doubt for a minute that either Mancini or a new manager will do exactly that.
I think they're good players but not the best. I don't think we should bin them though, just add a bit more quality & mix it around depending on the oppo. One big problem is none of them particularly want the ball deep, (unfortunately that goes for Ireland too who should be demanding the ball everywhere but doesn't). If they ALL wanted it we could take the ball from the defenders & create space with a couple of short passes like Barca do or Scholes does for the rags but if teams start to hurry us, our lot make sure they position themselves at an angle where it's just about impossible to pass to them without giving the ball away, thus defenders have to take the responsibility or lump it. It's a bit cowardly really but it happens all the time.
I know what you mean about getting the ball from deep - its like a hot potato when the ball is just inside our half. Understandable if we were panicking about losing posession and silly goals from that area, but we are not - we just dont have a single player prepared to carry the ball from that sort of position.
It just makes us too predicatable. All the opposition midfield have to do is close down the angles and we go backwards then hoof it up field because the player on the ball won't or doesnt have the ability (unfortunately this is my preferred option) take the game to the opposition. Any manager with a shred of tactical nous would crack that as our weakness no problem at all, its why we always play shit in the first half - we have done it nearly all season then had to revert to long ball and the forward's sheer talent to pull us out of the shit.
I am being ultra harsh saying bin them, saying it ONLY on the basis that given the chance I think Mancini would replace the lot for a more mobile pair/3. I just think that Mancini has already alluded to the problem when he had a dig at Hughes spending all that money and leaving the midfield in such a mess (his words not mine). He clearly sees the need for the ball carrier, the one who can switch play in a simple but effective Fabregas/Gerrard/Essien way
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