by The Ace1983 » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:25 pm
Surely this debate is an example of Horses for Courses. Real Madrid have Galacticos that must play week in week out because of their talent, which is why Owen found himself on the bench so much. Leaving out Raul or Ronaldo is like leaving out a certain goal (or it used to be). We don't have that, and Rafa takes each game as it comes. Having a set starting 11 is not a good idea anymore, as different teams play in different ways. Some suggested ideas are talking about one upfront, which is fine for the games against Man Ure and Chel$ki when we should be a little more wary defensivly, but what about when we play Charlton or WBA who are likely to play 5 across the back. As Rafa takes things one game at a time, he devises tactics that will work against each of our opponents individualy. Mourinho does this, so does Jol. For example, it is likely that you will see Cisse starting against Boro because Southgate and Ehgiog (spelling?) are getting on a bit and don't have so much pace, whereas Nando will surely start against Sunderland, because his wealth of Experience will take the premiership newcomers on a rollercoaster. Of course, I am not Rafa, and he probably (hopefully) knows more than me about this, but this seems to be his way.
The whole theme of Rafa's summer buys so far has been the different option. Crouch, Sissoko, Gonzales and Zenden all offer alternatives to the players which we already had in their prospective possitions. We now have depth and choice which will allow Rafa to look at the teams and the individuals that we will face, and counter them. Obviously Gerrard, Carra, Riise, Alonso, Cisse and a few others will be making the majority of appearances, but we certainly won't see a set formation or 11 that will come out week after week.
