ricky1985
Established Member
For the love of God stop putting Baines in! That's all I ask.
ricky1985 said:So none of Cahill, Jagielka, De Rossi, Mata, Hazard and Benzema float your boat? Not exactly a poor list for my money.
truth_hurts said:outlaw_member said:I just realised how crazy myself and many others were when we stated a desire to see Arshavin play behind the striker. How we could ever build an attack around that fat, and flaky Russian is now beyond me.
Because he can spot a pass and isn't afraid to shoot, also gets in some great positions. How energetic was Riquelme at Villareal?
outlaw_member said:truth_hurts said:outlaw_member said:I just realised how crazy myself and many others were when we stated a desire to see Arshavin play behind the striker. How we could ever build an attack around that fat, and flaky Russian is now beyond me.
Because he can spot a pass and isn't afraid to shoot, also gets in some great positions. How energetic was Riquelme at Villareal?
The SS role by nature is one of fleeting moments. You can make space for a peripheral attacker like that if you've got a very strong team built around him, as then it'd be perfectly fine when the player is inevitably quiet for large chunks of the game. The older Bergkamp is a perfect example who'd come to life in moments, but was not a commanding or influential figure. It didn't matter, though, because Henry, Pires and Vieira would be the main attackers. However, the older Bergkamp wouldn't have survived in our current team, because the team around him wouldn't have been half as strong, and as such, his lack of involvement would have been a massive problem.
Someone like Fabregas who was influential and constantly involved, was not able to elevate the quality of the team, so a peripheral player would have been doomed for failure. Arshavin would be fine if we had top players around him, as then he can go missing and it wouldn't matter. However, we don't have that luxury, and any player who will assume the SS/AM role will have to be very key to our team. SS's now have to be very involved, as you cannot afford to have such a player, unless he is a cog amongst some really superb players. Rooney is probably the only true SS around, and it only works because his hard running keeps him constantly involved the game.
Yep, which is why I don't want to see Mata and Jadson come in. One or the other + a DM/B2B. And a CB (atm, Jagielka)outlaw_member said:The midfield does need to be addressed, though, and we need to find a balance between offensive and defensive midfielder's.
outlaw_member said:truth_hurts said:outlaw_member said:I just realised how crazy myself and many others were when we stated a desire to see Arshavin play behind the striker. How we could ever build an attack around that fat, and flaky Russian is now beyond me.
Because he can spot a pass and isn't afraid to shoot, also gets in some great positions. How energetic was Riquelme at Villareal?
The SS role by nature is one of fleeting moments. You can make space for a peripheral attacker like that if you've got a very strong team built around him, as then it'd be perfectly fine when the player is inevitably quiet for large chunks of the game. The older Bergkamp is a perfect example who'd come to life in moments, but was not a commanding or influential figure. It didn't matter, though, because Henry, Pires and Vieira would be the main attackers. However, the older Bergkamp wouldn't have survived in our current team, because the team around him wouldn't have been half as strong, and as such, his lack of involvement would have been a massive problem.
Someone like Fabregas who was influential and constantly involved, was not able to elevate the quality of the team, so a peripheral player would have been doomed for failure. Arshavin would be fine if we had top players around him, as then he can go missing and it wouldn't matter. However, we don't have that luxury, and any player who will assume the SS/AM role will have to be very key to our team. SS's now have to be very involved, as you cannot afford to have such a player, unless he is a cog amongst some really superb players. Rooney is probably the only true SS around, and it only works because his hard running keeps him constantly involved the game.
patrick42uk said:Parker, Mata, Cahill, Dann. 4 steps to redemption Arsène.....
ibby said:Carlos ******* Tevez!