end of the midfield problem?

[brite blu sky]

Last season from when Mancini came in and after organising the defence somewhat, the main weakness and problem are was in midfield.. it was plain as day that we struggled to link up play with the forward crew.
Now assuming Balotelli arrives but ignoring the Milner saga, have we now got what it takes to solve that problem?

My take is that Toure Y. when he is on the pitch will buy the players around him time. Add to that the players who will be in front of him, like Silva, Baloteli, AJ, Tevez and hopefully Ireland, all of whom on a good day will take some looking after and can all play relatively free roles ie. interchange positions and alter shape. That quality will also aid Toure Y. as the oppo is having to cover too many bases at the same time and cant afford to press Yaya as much as they would like to stop him making clean through balls or just carrying the ball forward into the space.

So, if it pans out something like this then the problem we had last season of not being able to hold a position higher up the pitch will evaporate. A lot of teams will be stuck just trying to tread water.

If Balotelli turns out to be as much of a handful as Tevez is then we are going to see spaces opening up for the likes of AJ, SWP and Silva to jink into.
In games where the opposition is just about coping with all this, the two fullbacks are going to find they also have space to run into and Kolarov, Micah and Bridge all like to that if they can.. so adding to the troubles of already troubled opposition.

[lets all have a disco]

So basically the long and short of that post is.

Were going to be tricky and dangerous?

[brite blu sky]

So basically the long and short of that post is.

Were going to be tricky and dangerous?

;) yep

in future i will PM you my posts and you can just summerise it and send me back.. ok.

[lets all have a disco]

So basically the long and short of that post is.

Were going to be tricky and dangerous?

;) yep

in future i will PM you my posts and you can just summerise it and send me back.. ok.

Sounds good to me ace,i'll waver the fee.

[john@staustell]

I think you have to ask WHY Bobby still wants Milner, not ignore it.

If we dont stump up the exhorbitant fee, will we go for someone else to fill this perceived gap, or does it mean he'll stick with one of the current players?

Answers on a postcard please.

[brite blu sky]

I think you have to ask WHY Bobby still wants Milner, not ignore it.

If we dont stump up the exhorbitant fee, will we go for someone else to fill this perceived gap, or does it mean he'll stick with one of the current players?

Answers on a postcard please.

im not convinced we will pay anymore than offered for Milner, and so anyones guess as to if we get him.

However your question still stands and it is a good one. my own take is that Bobby must be thinking of at least one team to put out. Toure Y. can't play all games and besides Mancini will want more than one main approach. So given what we saw last half season yes we need players who are more comfortable on the ball and can distribute preferably from deep positions. The obvious problem is where do you find such a player? Alternative english players to Milner are far and few between. Clubs that have such a player will not let go so easy.. Fabregas, Parker, Arteta, Milner.
So it depends what plan B is when Yaya is not on the pitch.. if my ramblings above are in anyway accurate then a better attacking midfield will buy more time and space for say Barry to do a better job than he was able last season, but im not totally convinced yet by Barry, so maybe it will involve reverting to two DMs to compensate, then we are back almost to where we were last season. - which tbh was not that bad, just not title winning form.

As you ask the question, what do you think?

[sweenyuk]

we have struggled in midfield since Didi's one good season. He was ideal for the crabs to pass sideways to and he would then distribute forward. All we need is a quality midfielder to take control and either pass to a runner (AJ, SWP) to get past the defence, or to send in a quality ball to our front line.

[Beefymcfc]

I think you have to ask WHY Bobby still wants Milner, not ignore it.

If we dont stump up the exhorbitant fee, will we go for someone else to fill this perceived gap, or does it mean he'll stick with one of the current players?

Answers on a postcard please.

A good all-round midfield dynamo that can slot in any position, forward or back, at the drop of a hat.

No postcard I'm afraid ;-)

[LookMumImOnMCF.net]

I know not many will agree with me here, but offloading Barry & De Jong would go a long way in resolving said problem.


Imo, of course.

[Mohammed Atta]

Well I am worried, the last Barcelona cast off we got was McManaman. It dont look good.

[9secondlegend]

Well I am worried, the last Barcelona cast off we got was McManaman. It dont look good.

ahem

[Ted Hughes]

I think you have to ask WHY Bobby still wants Milner, not ignore it.

If we dont stump up the exhorbitant fee, will we go for someone else to fill this perceived gap, or does it mean he'll stick with one of the current players?

Answers on a postcard please.

im not convinced we will pay anymore than offered for Milner, and so anyones guess as to if we get him.

However your question still stands and it is a good one. my own take is that Bobby must be thinking of at least one team to put out. Toure Y. can't play all games and besides Mancini will want more than one main approach. So given what we saw last half season yes we need players who are more comfortable on the ball and can distribute preferably from deep positions. The obvious problem is where do you find such a player? Alternative english players to Milner are far and few between. Clubs that have such a player will not let go so easy.. Fabregas, Parker, Arteta, Milner.
So it depends what plan B is when Yaya is not on the pitch.. if my ramblings above are in anyway accurate then a better attacking midfield will buy more time and space for say Barry to do a better job than he was able last season, but im not totally convinced yet by Barry, so maybe it will involve reverting to two DMs to compensate, then we are back almost to where we were last season. - which tbh was not that bad, just not title winning form.

As you ask the question, what do you think?

This is correct & where Milner comes in imo; balance.

Agree that Mancini is going to look at using different formations this season & needs at least some players who can be comfortable changing jobs to make it work. Most of his formations seem to involve the tactic of having players out wide who can cross/shoot/pass balls in on their wrong foot, as well as having players who can adapt to different positions. So far, apart from Johnson v Portland, each player given the job of creating from wide, including Johnson, has stunk heavily of shit with their delivery.

Milner is consistantly good at it, can shoot, works hard & can move easily through several positions including fullback in the same game. Mancini was experimenting with Barry doing that last season. That's a clue imo. SWP is totally inconsistant & can't cross for shite & tends to be used purely out wide (mistake imo), Ireland cant cross at all, is a nutter & went strange when Hughes asked him to adapt, Johnson is playing well but inconsistant when it comes to delivery & still learning to adapt to different jobs, Weiss has no fucking idea, Silva is an attacker.

Milner is reliable in all the roles those players can play & can do other stuff besides. Can be out wide & instantly re-deployed centrally or vice versa. Tactically he'd help Mancini enormously. Most managers have players like that who they use, often to the bewilderment of fans, because they trust them to do a particular job. Milner does it away from home too.

[ant london]

Well I am worried, the last Barcelona cast off we got was McManaman. It dont look good.

ahem

Tut tut

Stick to the Jihad my friend

[Socrates]

Well I am worried, the last Barcelona cast off we got was McManaman. It dont look good.

LOL. Nice one Mo ;O)

[ronk]

Sylvinho

[mcfc1632]

I think you have to ask WHY Bobby still wants Milner, not ignore it.

If we dont stump up the exhorbitant fee, will we go for someone else to fill this perceived gap, or does it mean he'll stick with one of the current players?

Answers on a postcard please.

Well as the OP points out - with Ya Ya we have cohesion / linkage and he single-handedly will solve a lot of last years problems - but therefore without him.....

We are trying for 2 of quality in all positions - Milner would be perfect - and he can fill several other roles as well offering lots of flexibility

A lot of the anti-Milner stuff you read on here comes (IMO) from one-dimensional thinking - i.e. 1st 11 - where does he fit? - at the expense of who?

I think that Mancini will use rotation way beyong what we even contemplate - let alone are used to

So (whilst I do not think that we should overpay for him) Milner could be an important squad signing

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Well I am worried, the last Barcelona cast off we got was McManaman. It dont look good.

dev, you fucking tool. If you are trying to stay under cover you need to try little bit more than 'Erwin Rommell' and 'MoAtta'.