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I think it's fair to say that a number of our existing, ageing players fall a little short of Pep's requirements and might well be gone in a veritable 'cull' next summer.

I just wonder though, rather than a wholesale avalanche of our players going whether, or not, any of them could be tried in new positions to try and re-invent themselves and stay with the Club.

i think we've had a sort of glimpse of this with Kolarov, but there are others; for instance, could Navas carve out a new career as an out and out full-back, or possibly as a wing-back ??

Could Fernando, similarly, move into the back line as a central defender, as well as Fernandhino doing the same.....and could the two of them make a successful partnership there ??

Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

.....and so on.

There could be other possibilities so what does anyone think ??

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

I suggested that before the season started and was spat on.

Mase wrote:

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

I suggested that before the season started and was spat on.

I can't, for the life of me, think why that should be the case, Mase.

Zaba's days at full back are, very sadly, now numbered but he remains such a warrior and contemplating using him in midfield seems a plausible thought.

I appreciate the sentiment MC. But the cold hard facts are that our squad players are not good enough to fill in other roles.

Zabba has lost his pace and brilliant though he has been for us he is not a DM these days. Three years ago maybe. I just can't see Fernando as a centre half. Kolarov has filled in there this season but he is not the answer long term. We will buy one if not two centre backs over the next two or three windows who are already proficient there. Navas as a wing back in a three at the back formation I could see. Indeed I have mooted it on here a few times. At a push, provided we get a replacement in, I could see Fernandinho drop into a back three . But again it's not a longer term option and we could lose his yards in midfield.

It may sound odd, but I actually think our best players are not playing to their best in their favoured positions. Aguero for all his goals hasn't looked as sharp in an alarming number of games this season. KDB has been good but not consistently great. Silva doesn't have age on his side and seems to score more for Spain than us. Sterling still has games where you wonder if he was even playing. If all our best players were on the A game 80/90% of the time we would smash teams

Could certainly see navas at right back or right wing back. Maybe yaya as a centre back.

Navas as a right back would be spot on. Very Dani Alvesesque.

Also Sagna as a centerback worked for us.

Mase wrote:

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

I suggested that before the season started and was spat on.

haha and for good reason as Zaba doesn't have the required qualities to play that role.

Spurge wrote:Could certainly see navas at right back or right wing back. Maybe yaya as a centre back.

I think Pep squashed the idea of Yaya at center back.Aint going to happen.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Spurge wrote:Could certainly see navas at right back or right wing back. Maybe yaya as a centre back.

I think Pep squashed the idea of Yaya at center back.Aint going to happen.

I reckon with good reason, no matter how plausible it may seem.

I always wondered, before he was loaned out, if Mangala could have played left back for us and solved any putative shortcomings in that position, in effect changing positions with Kolarov.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Mase wrote:

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

I suggested that before the season started and was spat on.

haha and for good reason as Zaba doesn't have the required qualities to play that role.

But Fernando does?

Mase wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Mase wrote:

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

I suggested that before the season started and was spat on.

haha and for good reason as Zaba doesn't have the required qualities to play that role.

But Fernando does?

Fernando is clumsy with poor control and little vision, but he has got the legs and the size to do a disruptive role. As much as I love Zabba, I doubt very much he would have the pace for midfield anymore.
He certainly has the heart, but I fear that would be broken all too quickly if he was played there.

iwasthere2012 wrote:

Mase wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Mase wrote:

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

I suggested that before the season started and was spat on.

haha and for good reason as Zaba doesn't have the required qualities to play that role.

But Fernando does?

Fernando is clumsy with poor control and little vision, but he has got the legs and the size to do a disruptive role. As much as I love Zabba, I doubt very much he would have the pace for midfield anymore.
He certainly has the heart, but I fear that would be broken all too quickly if he was played there.

I thought he had a good game yesterday. It was an ideal game for him which is probably why he was picked. Broke up play, made a nuisance of himself and Burnley after twenty minutes barely strung four passes together. He wont play v Chelsea though as he is limited and we have better players. But he is a very capable squad player

nottsblue wrote:I thought he had a good game yesterday. It was an ideal game for him which is probably why he was picked. Broke up play, made a nuisance of himself and Burnley after twenty minutes barely strung four passes together. He wont play v Chelsea though as he is limited and we have better players. But he is a very capable squad player

Totally agree.
Any time Pep has asked him to do a job recently he has done it.

iwasthere2012 wrote:

Mase wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Mase wrote:

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

I suggested that before the season started and was spat on.

haha and for good reason as Zaba doesn't have the required qualities to play that role.

But Fernando does?

Fernando is clumsy with poor control and little vision, but he has got the legs and the size to do a disruptive role. As much as I love Zabba, I doubt very much he would have the pace for midfield anymore.
He certainly has the heart, but I fear that would be broken all too quickly if he was played there.

I don't think that pace is the 'be all and end all' for a midfielder.

It's obviously a great asset if you've got it, but there are other attributes which can go to making a good midfielder, depending on the role required of course and, at the end of the day, GazBaz was never the quickest off the blocks but still did a good job for us.

Zaba still has a decent engine, he can pass a ball well enough and, in correct situations, he can tackle correctly.

I think he'd be worth a try in that area, in the odd game here and there to aid in squad rotation and the change of 'scenery', as it were, might act as a refresher for him.

I'd rather try zaba at cm than keep trying Fernando. It says a lot that one of his better games was one of our worst. Being able to chase a defender is less of an asset than being able to pass a ball in our midfield and he can't do that.

Pretty Boy Lee wrote:I'd rather try zaba at cm than keep trying Fernando. It says a lot that one of his better games was one of our worst. Being able to chase a defender is less of an asset than being able to pass a ball in our midfield and he can't do that.

Nobody doubts that we need an upgrade.
Zabba isn't it for the future. We may get another year out of him as a squad player but that's debatable.

iwasthere2012 wrote:

Mase wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Mase wrote:

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:Could Zaba find a new (albeit short ??) lease of life by moving into midfield as a holding/defensive player there ??

I suggested that before the season started and was spat on.

haha and for good reason as Zaba doesn't have the required qualities to play that role.

But Fernando does?

Fernando is clumsy with poor control and little vision, but he has got the legs and the size to do a disruptive role. As much as I love Zabba, I doubt very much he would have the pace for midfield anymore.
He certainly has the heart, but I fear that would be broken all too quickly if he was played there.

Barry has always had 0% pace. He was quality for us. de Jong had no pace. Zanetti had no pace mate. If he's in a defensive midfield role I don't think he needs it.

Mikhail Chigorin wrote:I always wondered, before he was loaned out, if Mangala could have played left back for us and solved any putative shortcomings in that position, in effect changing positions with Kolarov.

Don”t think so. He is a bid lad, he is made for that position.