EPL Season

a striker and a center back, I would imagine.

But I am not the monkey
 
originally posted by .sasha:
a striker and a center back, I would imagine.

But I am not the monkey
Click to expand...

Well, my 1st priority, as it has been for almost a decade, is a central midfielder with a strong defensive knack and ball playing ability.

Scoring goals hasn't been the problem, being exposed by top class players from other squads has been.

Unlike others, I think that Arteta has been a great servant to the cause. He's slow and not particularly defensive minded, but he has done pretty damn well in the role.

It may be that Ramsey will slot into that role next to Flamini. I think the Ox needs more games. I think it may be time to give up on Wilshere as a starter.

Right back would be my 2nd priority. Although his crossing was at best inconsistent, he's been a defensive stalwart and has ably slid into central defense when needed.

I think we should go after Seamus Coleman. He would slide right in and push Jenkinson either to new heights or out of the team. Maybe one of those Southhampton kids?

My third priority would be a center back, maybe two. Do we know if Ignacio Miguel is going to make it? I have no idea who these would be. Really, where do centerbacks come from? Vermaelen looked like a god, then like shit. Koscielny looked like shit and now looks like one of the top centerbacks in the league, if not Europe.

A striker would be nice, although I saw some things from Sanogo that made me think he may take a real step forward next year. Strategically, I'm not sure that anything other than a world class striker would help, and who is selling those? I think you could make Reus into a van Persie type. Maybe Draxler too. Whomever it is, we need trickery and pace up front.

And don't forget, having Diaby back will be like a new signing.

All of my thinking is predicated on the idea that we stick to a 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 type system. This may need changing. As much as I think that Rodgers is a fraud, he certainly showed that the 3-5-2 has to be dealt with. Playing that way could allow Arteta to stay in the team as a deep lying pivot, but could really expose both he and Mertesaker to pace. If you switched to it, I'd play it not as possession so much, but counter attacking. So, no high line. I'm not sure there is any need to change, but I certainly feel like the 4-2-3-1 has become a bit stale.
 
I will need some time to digest this extensive bit of monkey-ism.

But when you say 3-5-2 has to be dealt with, surely you mean defensively. You are not suggesting we try that?
 
originally posted by .sasha:
I will need some time to digest this extensive bit of monkey-ism.

But when you say 3-5-2 has to be dealt with, surely you mean defensively. You are not suggesting we try that?
Click to expand...

I think that it has been pretty clearly shown not to be a novelty. It is a serious tactical set-up. As I said, I'm not sure it would work for us because Mertesacker's extreme lack of pace would be exposed.

I think that, in general, we should overload the left with Gibbs/Montreal surging forward and have the line shift to a back 3 when in possession.
 
First of all, the team has been exposed for lack of depth this year. If you looked at the team sheet in September, you probably wouldn't have thought it possible, but through an unlucky run of injuries and suspensions, here we are.

It may seem like some signings are redundant on paper, but reality is quite different for big clubs playing in 3-4 competitions these days. I am not asking for a front line of Aguero, Dzeko, Negredo and Jovetic (particularly if such luxury is achieved at the cost of having to play De Michelis in the pivot in your biggest EPL home game, ha!!), but The Replacements have to be good enough to step into any game. The Monreal/Gibbs situation is perfect, but the only reason we are in that situation is because Wenger had no confidence in Gibbs' fitness. Well, guess what, Gibbs ain't the only one who gets injured. So yeah, if you think Sanogo will be good enough, or that we can play with a false 9, then fine. You've covered the center back situation pretty well, but same story there.

Say what you will about Mou, but he's got this depth/rotation thing figured out. Of course he has an advantage over the likes of Arsene and Pep in that he simplifies the game to a point where someone like Tomas Kalas can make his league debut away at Liverpool and be part of a clean sheet.
 
originally posted by .sasha:
First of all, the team has been exposed for lack of depth this year. If you looked at the team sheet in September, you probably wouldn't have thought it possible, but through an unlucky run of injuries and suspensions, here we are.
Click to expand...

I never would have imagined a crisis in midfield.

It may seem like some signings are redundant on paper, but reality is quite different for big clubs playing in 3-4 competitions these days. I am not asking for a front line of Aguero, Dzeko, Negredo and Jovetic (particularly if such luxury is achieved at the cost of having to play De Michelis in the pivot in your biggest EPL home game, ha!!), but The Replacements have to be good enough to step into any game. The Monreal/Gibbs situation is perfect, but the only reason we are in that situation is because Wenger had no confidence in Gibbs' fitness. Well, guess what, Gibbs ain't the only one who gets injured. So yeah, if you think Sanogo will be good enough, or that we can play with a false 9, then fine. You've covered the center back situation pretty well, but same story there.
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I think that Sanogo can come in a fill in for Giroud and we won't have to change tactics.

I really like the idea of the Ox as a false 9. He really does have some young Rooney in him and I think that his pace and stoutness (and balance) could cause real headaches for defenses, especially with the rest of our talented midfield buzzing around him.

I also think that Theo still might work up front.

What role do you see for Podolski?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love a striker, I just put it down my priority list a bit.

Say what you will about Mou, but he's got this depth/rotation thing figured out. Of course he has an advantage over the likes of Arsene and Pep in that he simplifies the game to a point where someone like Tomas Kalas can make his league debut away at Liverpool and be part of a clean sheet.
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Mou also has the largest squad in the EPL and they have invested about a billion in building it.
 
originally posted by .sasha:
I am not asking for a front line of Aguero, Dzeko, Negredo and Jovetic (particularly if such luxury is achieved at the cost of having to play De Michelis in the pivot in your biggest EPL home game, ha!!)
Click to expand...

Touché, dotster. If I were running City, I'd be shopping Negredo in the off season and looking for 2 new center backs. De Michelis surely needs to go and I'm concerned about Kompany's long term prospects as well (the chinks in his play were surely evident over the past month or two). It looks like they're targeting Sagna, which I'm sure thrills you no end.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by .sasha:
I am not asking for a front line of Aguero, Dzeko, Negredo and Jovetic (particularly if such luxury is achieved at the cost of having to play De Michelis in the pivot in your biggest EPL home game, ha!!)
Click to expand...

Touché, dotster. If I were running City, I'd be shopping Negredo in the off season and looking for 2 new center backs. De Michelis surely needs to go and I'm concerned about Kompany's long term prospects as well (the chinks in his play were surely evident over the past month or two). It looks like they're targeting Sagna, which I'm sure thrills you no end.

Mark Lipton
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One of the 3 of Negredo, Dzeko, or Aguero has to go. If it were me, I'd sell Dzeko.
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by .sasha:
First of all, the team has been exposed for lack of depth this year. If you looked at the team sheet in September, you probably wouldn't have thought it possible, but through an unlucky run of injuries and suspensions, here we are.
Click to expand...

I never would have imagined a crisis in midfield.
Click to expand...

Where the hell would we be without Rosicky today. Probably not in top 4 ?
 
originally posted by VLM:

One of the 3 of Negredo, Dzeko, or Aguero has to go. If it were me, I'd sell Dzeko.
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It looks to me as if Dzeko fits better into Pellgrini's plans than does Negredo, who lately seems to be odd man out. I've liked Dzeko's play of late but wonder if it is likely to last given his past performances. Truly, given the inconsistency of both Negredo and Dzeko, you'd like to meld them into a single, consistent striker. OTOH, given Aguero's alarming problems staying healthy, perhaps having three strikers of that caliber is a good insurance policy, albeit a costly one.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
If I were running City, I'd be shopping Negredo in the off season and looking for 2 new center backs. De Michelis surely needs to go and I'm concerned about Kompany's long term prospects as well (the chinks in his play were surely evident over the past month or two). It looks like they're targeting Sagna, which I'm sure thrills you no end.
Click to expand...

Based on Negredo's recent form, yes. Overall, I am not so sure.
He was an animal in the first half of the season, and while I am not sure exactly what's up with him right now, I think he remains one.
In fact, I am thinking that he and Diego Costa could revitalize Spain, without forcing a long overdue turnover that would be too invasive so close to WC.
Negredo has always scared the crap out of me, even more so against Bayern than against Arsenal. Don't get me wrong - Dzeko is clinical, as I know all too well from his Bundesliga days, but you can isolate Dzeko much easier, whereas Negredo manages to get the ball under all sorts of unfavorable circumstances. He is like a combination of Torres and Prince, but with an ability to finish, to boot.

de Michelis is a liability waiting to happen, but I was specifically referring to the Chelsea game where he played as a DM. Alone. Yeah...

I don't know what to think about Sagna anymore. I always say we could do much better in that position, but I've had fewer complaints about him this year than ever before.
 
originally posted by VLM:
What role do you see for Podolski?
Click to expand...

It depends. How is that for a lame answer.

Or better yet, I can't answer that question without addressing the Ramsey hypothesis.

What you say about overloading the left side is interesting and will work extremely well with Podolski. Then, as you say, you are looking at a back 3, but also need very strong central midfield for cover. When they overload the right side, which may be less frequent but will happen often enough with Ozil, then you really need cover for Podolski should they give up a diagonal ball. Gibbs/Monreal are decent but no genius in that situation. So you need strong central midfield cover again.

Here is the reason I am going through all that - there are some clever midfielders out there, and yet I saw no one this year with Ramsey's intuition for popping up in the right places at the right times "out of position". In fact, I think he is kind of remarkable at that. So I don't see Ramsey being the deepest midfielder more than 30% of the time. Can Flamini do the job then?

I guess this is a long way of saying that Podolski can be very useful, but only if he is balanced out, particularly against good counterattacking opposition.
 
A friend told me today that Javi Martinez was unsettled at Bollywood and linked with Arsenal. Have my prayers been answered?
 
originally posted by VLM:
A friend told me today that Javi Martinez was unsettled at Bollywood and linked with Arsenal. Have my prayers been answered?
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More unknowns than equations right now. Ask me again.
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by .sasha:
I will need some time to digest this extensive bit of monkey-ism.

But when you say 3-5-2 has to be dealt with, surely you mean defensively. You are not suggesting we try that?
Click to expand...

I think that it has been pretty clearly shown not to be a novelty. It is a serious tactical set-up. As I said, I'm not sure it would work for us because Mertesacker's extreme lack of pace would be exposed.

I think that, in general, we should overload the left with Gibbs/Montreal surging forward and have the line shift to a back 3 when in possession.
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention 3-5-2 and Javi Martinez in the same thread (although perhaps not quite in the same context), because Bayern did play a back 3 yesterday, which started out officially as a back 5 but never really materialized that way. But the main reason it worked was Martinez - he's been between poor and acceptable when thrown into a standard back 4, but outstanding yesterday as an organizer of the back 3 with two full-back attackers dropping back. It's common for a DM to organize defenses, but this was a case of doing it "from within" , and moving the whole show up the field when appropriate. Very effective.
 
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