Last season we played an awful lot of matches with Rooney upfront
Wesley Sneijder
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this too qualifies as an anti-jinx.But it's not going to happen. Jinxes or jinxes
We played Rooney alone up front in every big game.
he didn't play vs Chelsea at OT
And Rooney and Berbatov both started in the 4-3 game at City, if I am not wrong.
And we lost.....he didn't play vs Chelsea at OT
We've lost with Rooney too.
Of course, but the loss of him that day especially was visibly huge, the loss of Rooney especially in the big games when we adopt the 4-5-1 is to big really, we dont have another striker at the club whos either comfortable in that role or accomplished enough to succed in it.
Because he was injured?he didn't play vs Chelsea at OT
Chances are we would have lost with him as well.
Don't play with a lone striker then, if we can't.
Maybe, but id have fancied our chances a lot more had he played naturally.
And yes, id agree actually, if our current striking options stay as they are come the seasons opener then id rather see a combination of Berbatov/Hernandez/Owen etc than ‘one of’ as it were in a lone striker role, trouble with that is our midfield is not strong enough to play with just a 2 in there against the better sides hence the need and immediate revert to the 4-5-1/4-3-3 system when the big games come up.
We either need another quality midfielder to allow us to play a front 2 against quality sides or another striker whos accomplished at leading the line in Rooneys absence.
Sneijder!
Buy him!
Buy him!
Hed solve a shed load of problems thats for sure.
I don't buy that we can't play two up front against the better teams. We have done before. It requires us to play a more narrow midfield four though, and leave out at least one, if not both, from Scholes and Carrick.
Possibly a properly fit and on form Hargreaves alongside Fletcher is the only midfield 2 combination we have strong enough to allow a 2 man midfield against the Chelseas and co, and even with that theres a clear and obvious problem.
Obvisously depend on the opposition, but any two from Fletcher, Anderson, Haregreaves, Giggs and possible Park.
Actually, any one from them partnering Fletcher.
Didn't Giggs and Fletcher play against Chelsea a couple of seasons ago?
Please can we bid 245 million for him?
Ridiculous to think Kaka went for £50m, Ronaldo for £70m and £30m would have bought you both Robben and Sneijder last summer. Crazy stuff.
Theres a reason why Sir Alex hasnt lined up in a 4-4-2 against any 'big' side for a long time now, see the results when we have compared to when we havnt, very very few of the big sides in Europe play 4-4-2 anymore, midfields where its won and lost hence the systems allowing an extra man in there, Barca use it, Chelsea use it, Madrid now use it, Inter use it, Milan have done for years, Arsenal now do etc etc etc
And the Fletcher/Giggs combo was a one off against Chelsea at OT, a chelsea under Scolari who were a shambles at the time, it certainly was never a consistent midfield pairing for the big matches.
This is Real Madrid you are talking about. They make no sense.
No, I realise that Sir Alex prefers it, and that there must be a reason for it.
And something has to give, either in terms of one striker or a lack of width from midfield.
I think Fergie likes to think we don't use one holder, one playmaker etc.. but three box to box, which makes us a lot more varied and unpredictable in attack and more defensively solid as well. But I'm not entirely convinced it works in practice as there aren't loads of Ballacks, Vieiras, Davids and Redondos going round who are world class defensively and offensively. Obviously it's still pretty effective but I would like to see us sign a quality midfielder who's on the field only really to attack with perhaps a token defensive gesture.
To be honest it wouldn’t even be an issue if we had someone other than Rooney capable of playing the role to an acceptable level, Hernandez might be a long term option there he looks a nice talent but Owens never a lone striker anymore and its totally unsuited to Berbatovs natural game…..so unless were going to ask a massive question of a young lad fresh from south American football to lead our line on his own against the best sides in the country 2 strikers and a stronger midfield is probably a better option.
Not many strikers could play that role to the level we require.
Many? probably not, but there are some out there better suited and more able to play the role than the ones we currently have, whether they are gettable is arguable, Fabiano is probably the only one out there available at a reasonable price, hed be a great addition for that reason alone.
Fabiano would probaly cost £20m.
In theory, could be a good buy. But being a Brazilian, hot head, no experience from the Premiership - lots of question marks.
There's also the fact that Man City paid more for Joleon Lescott than Arjen Robben.
Indeed there always will be but if you asked those questions about every potential signing youd never buy a player again….theres a risk to every transfer but id back his proven pedigree at top European and international level to bode him well here, hes in the last year of his contract as well so i doubt Sevilla could demand as much as 20 million for him.
I agree re. the risk of transfers.
Personally, I'd never buy a South American or an African player. Money grabbing cnuts, who wouldn't think twice about moving clubs every season.
In addition to that, I have my doubts about how Fabiano would fit in with the group.
We never ever play a proper 4-4-2 (who does?) but we play some interesting formations that aren't 4-2-3-1. I'm thinking especially of Spurs away last year, where we had four CM's strung across the middle and then Berbatov off Rooney. We were brilliant, arguably our best away performance in ages at that point, I was surprised we never saw the same line up again.
Im not the biggest lover of south americans either to tell you the truth, our history with them has hardly been a fruitful one to say the last either, but then you cant really judge one players personality to another simply because they come from the same continent, and Fabiano has stayed loyal to a relatively unspectacular club like Sevilla for the best years of his career.
As for Fabiano fitting in, well we have Anderson, Rafael and Fabio all at the club so in theory that would aid his induction to the squad, always nice to have fellow countrymen around you.
Hes just an example really of the sort of player who could potentially solve a problem without costing a small fortune.
That's a bit much. English players are constantly looking to move around to "win trophies". It's not a symptom of people from one or two specific areas but, generally in any sport i.e. not just football.
P.S. Allforone - you mentioned earlier relying on a young S. American leading the line for us ... that would be N.American. Mexico is a part of N. America.
Edit: Also I realized I may have lied earlier and may be desperate for a signing. Every morning I wake up now reading the news to see if we signed someone or we are linked strongly with a big name.
I do beg your pardon sir, thank you for the correction.
Sneijder's game is a great mix of current Xavi and oldschool Scholes, but I'm still not sure what we'd do with him in 4-4-2.
he was up for grabs for funny 15 mil last year. euro i mean. we should;ve singed him
well if he's like the 2 players mentioned there should be no problems with him playing in a 4-4-2.
No he just din't feel like.
We beat Chelsea 3-0 playing a 4-4-2.
We also beat Liverpool at Anfield 1-0 playing 4-4-2 but yeah we had Hargro and Ando.
He's old. He has one year on his contract. He most certainly would not cost 20m.
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