aCe' wrote:bigmick wrote:This "Aquilani needs to playn with X Y and Z" couldn't be more wrong if it tried. Look, if you fill the team with Aquilaniesque players, you'll end up looking like Ardiles's Tottenham who got beat 5-3 every week because Alberto doesn't do a tap. I'm no lover of Lucas and Kuyt, but because of the way Alberto plays, these are precisely the kind of players he will have to play with in order to be a success in England.
That's all well and good, providing that the fetching and water carrying which others have to do in order to get him into the team is repaid with game changing contributions in big matches. Back to the same connundrum then, does Alberto do enough? I don't think he does, but some others do. We have a disagreement which is fine, lets just wait and see.
I actually quite like the look of our midfield with Aquilani in it... Granted he does somewhat limit your 'possibilities' because of his lack of defensive qualities... He does however offer something different and i think if the manager manages to get the balance right then he could become an important player in our side..
Like you said, having him in the side forces us to play a 3man midfield.. Which in turn means that we either continue to rely on a superstriker like Torres being there or try to get more out of our wingers..
To me though, it all comes down to how the manager decides to go about his tactics when Aquilani is in the side... Having him in there means that Gerrard would probably have to give up the 2nd striker role which he has been occupying the past couple of seasons.. That will no doubt increase the pressure on Torres, Kuyt, Babel..etc to produce in the final third which is why i think that if we decide to keep Aquilani, we'll have to go for a top winger in the summer..
As things stand, i dont think Aquilani quite fits with our system of play.. He doesnt have the drive and goal-threat of Gerrard in the final third and he certainly cant play as part of a midfield duo especially not against decent opposition.. We're hugely reliant on central positions which is one of the reasons why we fcked this season up..
Get a decent winger in... Get gerrard to play a little depper.. and then this side would have alot more balance to it..
That's a good post mate. He could be a player for us (i think) but only with the right system, style of play, and more importantly, with the right personnel/balance in the team.
