julian3129The back four has not been the best this season but I think its much due to the lack of consistent line-up due to injuries.
Ivanovic has to be on the right as he's no doubt better defensively but also hes more direct when attack (as oppose to bosingwa who always slow down the attack).
Cole may not have done well in defence this season but his crosses from the left are vital for some of our goals
Terry Luiz partnership should do well in my opinion. Luiz is not the best centre back in terms of positioning but his tackling ability and his driving run from the back is exactly why AVB has put a great trust on him. He just has to learn to refrain from holding on the ball too long and give the ball away too often as he advance forward, but he is certainly on his way to become a great player. Terry just need to get used to not having a Mr. reliable (Cavalhno), who allowed him to advance and cover his position, along him and become the Mr. reliable himself.
In holding position, bot Romeu and Mikel are too inexperience at that position, or should I say incompetent. Meireles can play well in that position if he is given a firm instruction of staying discipline. Hes good vision of picking up long range passes also makes him the best candidate in that position.
Ramires is by far the best player in the midfield 3 this season. He's enegetic and good at both bring the ball forward and stretch the opponents apart as well as dropping back for defence when we need. He is simply indispensable and if he works on his finishing and strength he can be a true great.
Mata has to be playing in the middle. Everyone knows we lack creativity in the middle and it is just stupid to put your most creative talent on the left which restrict his movement(like putting silva on the wing! Well, unless you have Xavi and iniesta in the middle). I know AVB has given him permission to move in field but this means he will lack options on the left when he try to pick a pass. AVB is trying this in the last couple of games and he only showed how important it is to put him in the middle when his great pass to ivanovic led to the goal.
Sturridge is the only confident attacking player in the squad (doing well and have his place more than guarantteed) and Drogba is still the dark destroyer he used to be (may be not 100% but he certainly hasnt lost his scoring instincts)
Lastly, the most controversial changes I made is to put Torres on the left to support Drogba. The problem is Torres now is not about his form, but his confidence. The more you rely on he to score(starting him in the middle and replace him by drogba unless he scores) the more pressure you are putting on him. If hes doing well in creating chances (as a lot of people argue) why not use him to support Drogba(not to mention how Torres loves to move to the flanks anyway when he plays in the middle). On one hand you are taking pressure away from Torres and have someone who is still as confident as Drogba to lead the attack, on the other hand you have another creative talent on the field (TBH Torres is the second best creator after mata). If eventually the team is playing well and start scoring goals and hes contributing to that, it will only be a matter of time before he picks his confidence up.
This is solely reflecting my own opinion, welcome to comment.
21.02.2012
1sahua I would prefer Essien and Meireles, but not as a double pivot. I would take a 4-3-3, rather than a 4-2-1-3, and put Ramires in there.
21.02.2012
ZolaThe bitter truth is, we won't be able to field this line up on display too often. Some of our players don't seem to age particularly well.
21.02.2012
david1993david luis has been shaky in deference and has made few mistakes.
i remember seen luis play left back for benfica and he was outstanding playing their so my point why not play him right back were their is less pressure and he can make runs forward . you could put terry and ivanovic Center back or cahill but i think lusi would be better right back IMO
24.02.2012
julian3129Re 1sahua: Do u mean u prefer essien to Ramires? But I would say Ramires has been our 2nd best player this season after mata... I did consider essien over meireles but he seems to have dropped his pace since recovery... Although meireles performance against Napoli was less than convincing as well
24.02.2012
julian3129Re David1993: that's interesting But I haven't seen luiz played full back before. Despite his poor mistakes recently, I do believe he possesses excellent 1on1 standing tackle. It will be interesting to see of he can capable of playing right back and become the next Sergio Ramos !
24.02.2012
