RedAnt » Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:52 am wrote:That's what you'd do Ace? Not me. I'd have Suarez and another supporting Carroll with a three man midfield. One would be a defensive mid. Our wing play has been real poor this season. I'd perhaps play a narrower game. I'd not get rid of Downing and co. I think they'd be good options on the bench for a wider game. With two wide attackers, plus two men running from midfield, and supporting fullbacks, we could actually have some men in the box for a change. Oh, and Gerrard IS the creative midfielder. I'd like a younger option to learn from him and rest his aging legs on occasions.
I dont think theres a chance in hell we'll ever play that style you suggested. Suarez in a wider role is a big no-no imo. He does most of his best work in and around the box and from an attacking perspective, it makes little sense moving our best option out wide to accommodate Carroll. From a defensive perspective, Suarez lacks the work rate and positioning to ever play a wide role and be expected to track back and make a telling contribution down the other end. Essentially, you'd have Suarez drifting inside on AND off the ball throughout the game and not helping our fullback with the defensive duties. Down the other flank, if you do indeed bring in another Suarez-type forward then you have the same issue. The only workable option is bringing in a more traditional winger who tracks back thus essentially turning it back to a permutation of 4-4-2 of some sort.
To answer your first question though, no. Its not what I would do. We had a relatively working formula towards the end of last season and we screwed it up. This season, for large periods we seemed to try different things with varying results. Makes it harder to judge which style of play suits us best. However, throughout the season, what became abundantly clear to myself and many others is that A) Suarez is more a creative force than your typical finisher, and B) Carroll does not fit with Kenny's pass and move style. To try and force the issue would be further wasting everyone's time. We need our best players playing in their preferred positions under a clear and consistent formation to start seeing the best of them. That for me means Suarez playing as second striker and Gerrard playing alongside a traditional defensive midfielder. We dont need 11 work class players to make a strong team, and in Gerrard and Suarez we have a solid attacking foundation to build on. The missing piece for both players this season imo has been a striker who has the intelligence, pace and finishing to make the runs behind/across the defenders. I'd go with something like this:
NEW RW Gerrard Lucas Downing
Suarez
NEW FW
Obviously, Suarez in this role will still need to put pressure on defenders and defensive midfielders but the new role suits his style of play better than him being down the flank or playing alongside Carroll. We need people making runs in front of him rather than behind him and thats the main reason I think Kuyt (who has better movement than both Suarez and Carroll) should start as our main striker instead of Carroll in the big games. Both Downing and Lucas have enough to do a job when surrounded with better players (regardless of Downing's poor form this season). A right winger with pace and trickery who has no problems carrying the ball is a must imo. All of Henderson, Kuyt, and Maxi have failed to adjust to playing the wide role in a 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1 so a new player to improve the flank is needed.
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