Carroll or suarez ? - Or can they coexist ?!
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 5:30 pm
Having them both in the squad is great..
In the same lineup ? Debatable
With players like Adam, Downing, Henderson and even Kuyt to a lesser extent in our squad, the temptation of playing the long ball or cross will always be there with a big forward like Carroll leading the line. Dont even get me started on the backline who all (Johnson perhaps being the only exception) seem more comfortable hoofing it up the pitch rather than playing it on the ground to start attacking moves..
The Sunderland game was a perfect example of that.. Very little in terms of build up play, and eventually as Carroll stopped winning headers we seemed to run out of options..
Imo, its not a style of play that can get us into 4th spot, and its certainly not a style that can eventually win us the league...
In Suarez, we have a world class player who has always been more comfortable playing as the spearhead of attack.. When he's asked to play deeper or down the flank, he seems like an ordinary player in all honesty.. He doesnt have the space that he thrives on, and he looks like losing the ball every time he gets it.
To accommodate both Suarez and Carroll, we'll have to take alot out of Suarez's game imo and eventually play a very direct style that is hugely reliant on long balls and crosses..
Ultimately, we have 3 realistic options...
1) Play Suarez (bench Carroll) and have players like Meireles, Gerrard, Aquilani, and Johnson playing their natural possession game with little emphasis on getting the ball high up the pitch as soon as possible... For me, it looks like the best option given the players we have... Carroll (our 35mill buy) can come in as an impact sub or be used as backup for Suarez when things arent ticking for the little Uruguayan..
Lucas
Maxi Meireles Aquilani Downing
Suarez
2) Play Carroll (bench Suarez) and have Adam, Downing, Kuyt, and Henderson run the show by putting the long balls and crosses in for Carroll to attack... We wouldnt be very likely to keep much of the possession but all it needs is a couple of crosses/knock downs to connect right ? If we do go with this, I'd suggest playing 2 defensive midfielders to at least try to stop the opposition from looking too dangerous when on the ball
Lucas Spearing
Kuyt Adam Downing
Carroll
3) Play both.. And have a chaotic style of play where some players hoof the ball, some try to connect with players close to them who arent willing to do the same, and some just stand there looking perplexed by the whole thing... It might work at times given the opposition or a moment of brilliance by one of our better players, but more often than not it leaves us looking like we dont have a manager...
Lucas Adam
Henderson Suarez Downing
Carroll
Its a no brainer for me... Drop Carroll, Keep Aquilani, get back to what we've always known best and thats playing it on the ground and passing teams out of the park...
Its a disaster that Henderson would start ahead of Kuyt down the flank imo (and Kuyt isnt that good a wide player to put it nicely)... Its also a disaster when your central midfielders between them cant get 3 decent attacks started through the middle without having to resort to a long ball...
In the same lineup ? Debatable
With players like Adam, Downing, Henderson and even Kuyt to a lesser extent in our squad, the temptation of playing the long ball or cross will always be there with a big forward like Carroll leading the line. Dont even get me started on the backline who all (Johnson perhaps being the only exception) seem more comfortable hoofing it up the pitch rather than playing it on the ground to start attacking moves..
The Sunderland game was a perfect example of that.. Very little in terms of build up play, and eventually as Carroll stopped winning headers we seemed to run out of options..
Imo, its not a style of play that can get us into 4th spot, and its certainly not a style that can eventually win us the league...
In Suarez, we have a world class player who has always been more comfortable playing as the spearhead of attack.. When he's asked to play deeper or down the flank, he seems like an ordinary player in all honesty.. He doesnt have the space that he thrives on, and he looks like losing the ball every time he gets it.
To accommodate both Suarez and Carroll, we'll have to take alot out of Suarez's game imo and eventually play a very direct style that is hugely reliant on long balls and crosses..
Ultimately, we have 3 realistic options...
1) Play Suarez (bench Carroll) and have players like Meireles, Gerrard, Aquilani, and Johnson playing their natural possession game with little emphasis on getting the ball high up the pitch as soon as possible... For me, it looks like the best option given the players we have... Carroll (our 35mill buy) can come in as an impact sub or be used as backup for Suarez when things arent ticking for the little Uruguayan..
Lucas
Maxi Meireles Aquilani Downing
Suarez
2) Play Carroll (bench Suarez) and have Adam, Downing, Kuyt, and Henderson run the show by putting the long balls and crosses in for Carroll to attack... We wouldnt be very likely to keep much of the possession but all it needs is a couple of crosses/knock downs to connect right ? If we do go with this, I'd suggest playing 2 defensive midfielders to at least try to stop the opposition from looking too dangerous when on the ball
Lucas Spearing
Kuyt Adam Downing
Carroll
3) Play both.. And have a chaotic style of play where some players hoof the ball, some try to connect with players close to them who arent willing to do the same, and some just stand there looking perplexed by the whole thing... It might work at times given the opposition or a moment of brilliance by one of our better players, but more often than not it leaves us looking like we dont have a manager...
Lucas Adam
Henderson Suarez Downing
Carroll
Its a no brainer for me... Drop Carroll, Keep Aquilani, get back to what we've always known best and thats playing it on the ground and passing teams out of the park...
Its a disaster that Henderson would start ahead of Kuyt down the flank imo (and Kuyt isnt that good a wide player to put it nicely)... Its also a disaster when your central midfielders between them cant get 3 decent attacks started through the middle without having to resort to a long ball...