Formations, Tactics, Analysis, and Statistics

[Zanatos3]

DREAMS

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REALITY

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[swipe right]

Auba——Laca—Pepe
—-———-Ozil
—-Ceballos—Torreira

Ceballos: the metronome who orchestrates the attack. Kind of like early days Fabregas or later days Cazorla.
Torreira: the interceptor and ball winner.
Ozil: links midfield with attack. Plays between the lines to get us in behind the opposition.
Laca: the 9.5 who drops into midfield to link up with the midfielders much like prime RVP.
Auba and Pepe: cut into the space left by Laca.
Back line: defend with a back four but build with three as Mourinho laid out on Sky. Ainsley to be the flying winger who drops back to defend when not in possession but gives attacking width when in possession. Allows Pepe to player centrally and deeper.

[thebigbangtheo]

From a starting point of everybody being fully fit and not suffering a slump in form, a back 4 should be our default defensive set up and to that end I'm of the opinion that Bellerin, Holding, Luiz and Tierney are currently the best personnel to execute it most effectively.

Based only on that assessment being agreed, then as we stand right now we are only playing with 25% of our optimum defensive capability. Further to this, the best defensive performer this season so far has been Callum Chambers who has since been omitted from the team in preference to Sokratis.

If the consensus is that we are significantly deficient at full back with Maitland-Niles and Kolasinac deployed there and we simply have nobody else, is that not a circumstance in which playing 3@the back makes more sense?

Now, I am not advocating that we effectively swap one problem for another by now reinstating said full backs further up the pitch as wing backs.

Rather, I suggest that instead of essentially having poor defenders now impersonating wingers, we put another genuine midfielder into midfield and start to defend from there.

Those who are familiar with Italian football from the eighties and nineties will probably recognise this tactic and how effective it can be at snuffing out the opposing attack at its source.

No, I am not suggesting that we go full blown love child of Capello and Simeone, just doffing my cap to the essence of strength in numbers.

Put simply, I would rather a back 3 of Sokratis, Chambers and Luiz right now as opposed to a 4 with full backs who aren't full backs.

Our one and only junk yard dog is Torreira, who to me is our single most midfielder that provides the platform for the other midfielders to play their game.

Both Guendouzi and Ceballos have the game attributes to play both alongside the Uruguayan in a 2 in front of the defence, or a bit further forward in the quintessential central midfield roles. Supplementary to these two in that he is of a similar ilk, is Joe Willock.

With that reasonably solid midfield base behind him, the environment should again exist in which our fabled number 10 should flourish and be able to link our midfield to our attack with some aplomb.

If attack can indeed be the best form of defense, then not too many issues should ever arise for the 3 defenders if we are spearheaded by the Lacca and Auba partnership which comes with a certificate of authenticity as provenance.

I guess I don't go with the flow in thinking that Pepe should be assimilated into the team in forming a front 3 trying to ape that of Liverpool's set up.

Rather, I wouldn't interfere with what definitely works and keep that partnership central where it is most effective and instead hand the Ivorian a free role to play left, right or central were ever the space may be, as he strikes me as having the technical ability, pace, physicality and speed of thought to best supplement them whilst being equally likely to benefit from their style of play which is not a one dimensional Auba & Lacca show just playing the ball to each other kind of gig. Or to put it another way, Pepe should be our Raheem Sterling.

Not only does this offer the opportunity to take our attack to another level and evolve from being a Gatling gun to a Mini gun, it would give the opposition a much bigger problem to deal with defensively and possibly be feared and revered in the same manner the City and Liverpool attacking threats are.

[thebigbangtheo]

Sorry if I'm sounding like a stuck record here, but playing AMN & SK at full back gives as much substance to our defense as Caspar the friendly ghost.

[Ach]

So who would you play? Bearing in mind our first choice RB is injured as is Tierney who isn't that good anyway

[Power n Glory]

This is a coaching problem. The players as individuals have their flaws but we have a manager that adds to the problem. We have no other options in the fullback area until Bellerin and Tierney are fit but they won't fix our defensive problems. We can replace the fullbacks this week and when we get the same shower of shit we'll be looking at the CB's. Then the midfield and so on.

[Sims]

Leno
Bellerin - Holding - David Luiz - Tierney
Torreira
Guendouzi - Ceballos
Pepe - Laca - Auba

absolutely no reason not to finish in the top 4. wipes the floor with united and chelsea - absolute embarassment if we're not playing CL football next season.

[Angelito]

I'd say:

Leno
Bellerín - Sokratis - Luiz - Tierney
Ceballos - Guendouzi
Legend
Pepe - Laca - Auba

[ag6789]

I'm afraid I don't have any confidence in any lineup that Unai will put out going forward. I don't think he communicates with the players much at all, even our Spanish contingent might be pretty confused in what he says or means. It was clear in the Liverpool game, the team didn't understand the strange tactics its manager had planned for them, and got bogged down under pressure. Similar situations against Chelsea in the EL final and hordes of other games end of last season. The players get frustrated when their manager doesn't know what's he doing and will stop playing for the team. The good ones will play for themselves, like Auba and Laca, and try to find a way out. Unai needs to go soon, otherwise serious problems at hand. Pretty soon every Tom, Dick and Harry ( read AVL, Bournemouth, and WH) will have a go at us, easymeat, there to taken.

[thebigbangtheo]

So who would you play? Bearing in mind our first choice RB is injured as is Tierney who isn't that good anyway

No one. As I stated in my initial post, whilst our first choice full backs are unavailable, it makes more sense to me to play a Papa, Chambers and Luiz 3 man defence, have no wing backs but instead an extra man in the midfield with Torreira as the DM.

If nothing else, having only your 4 best defensive players currently available forming the platform of your defence, is a more viable tactical option than a back 4 with full backs who can't play full back. That equates to a 50% maximum defensive capability by default.

In then having them involved as wing backs who would again offer nothing defensively in exchange for a moderate return going forward, again I say no when measured against having 4 men in midfield instead.

I don't think that the loss of their attacking influence at wing back to the team outweighs that of having Ozil as that 4th man to a fairly solid midfield unit of Torrieira flanked by Guendouzi and Ceballos.

Some comments of concern I've seen about Torreira's stature being targeted as susceptible to the long ball so a weakness at DM and why Xhaka is preferred, are easily addressed by having the 3 centre backs primed to the tactic. Besides, it's the size of the Uruguayans' talent why I'm not doubting his ability to play that role to an effectiveness not too dissimilar to Kante.

In that I have made note of Kieran Tierney since his first season at Celtic, I'm afraid I can't agree with that assessment.

[NovaGB]

Right now this....
--------------------------Lacazette
---Aubameyang------------------------------Pepe
-------------Ceballos-----------Geundouzi
--------------------------Torreira------------------------
Tierney----Holding---------Chambers--Bellerin
-----------------------Martinez---------------------------

IMO is our strongest line up.

Leno can't catch the ball
Sokratis play acting, blunders, rash tackles give me nightmares
Luiz is a banter player but might be ok as DM cover
Mustafi banter player get him gone
Xhaka banter player, get him gone.
Kolasinac is a good attacker and a banter defender
AMN is a shite RB and is not good enough to start in midfield

Needed a better CB starter than Chambers, and replacements for all above except for Leno.

[Sims]

David Luiz is our best CB and Leno is light years ahead of Emi

[NovaGB]

David Luiz is our best CB and Leno is light years ahead of Emi

Holding is our best CB and Emi is more commanding and can catch the bloody ball, its only a matter of time before he takes Lenos place imo.

Luiz is a f***ing joke, hes got some nice ball playing skills but other than that hes a complete clown with the hair cut to match.

[VCC]

Like to so attempted

Aubameyang lacazette

Saka pepe

Torrera guindozi

Teirney Luiz Holding bellerin
Have to be rotation atm with players coming back with rotation and hopefully may end up with holding and chambers at CB

[Angelito]

David Luiz is our best CB and Leno is light years ahead of Emi

I haven't watched much of Emi apart from the times he's played for us. But based on the last two games, Emi's shown an uncanny level of maturity and confidence that I certainly didn't expect from the same man who conceded 5 goals against Reading.

Leno's a top quality shot stopper. Emi, in the past two games, has shown more composure in commanding his area and with his distribution. Emi definitely looks more confident than Leno.

I wouldn't say light years. The sample size is smaller for Emi, so I'd watch that space.

Btw he's about to be called up by the national team.