False Nine 12:01 - Feb 4 with 6624 views | MerthyrHoop | With conjecture circulating that Remy might be out for the season, and Zamora seemingly decrepit these days, it might be time to think about a tactical shift. In my opinion, we struggled to get going on Saturday mainly because of hit and hope long ball tactics (I lost count of the number of times Samba hoofed it long whilst Adel watched a Norwich player head clear completely unchallenged), and as Taarabt was unable to get close enough to Mackie to put together any threatening exchanges. At times Taarabt seemed to have to do it all by himself, and Mackie seemed to lack the movement of a Remy-type up front. The solution, in my book, is to play Taarabt up-front in that 'false-nine' position he played in against Chelsea and Spurs. I know it was previously used as a defensive measure, but it would mean Adel will get plenty of the ball in dangerous areas rather than dropping deep looking for it and leaving our centre-forward isolated, and with the likes of Townsend, Mackie and a hopefully fit-and-firing Hoilett playing off him then it should give us a bit more attacking impetus. We then also have the option of Zamora from the bench for the last 30 minutes if required, along with alternative defensive options if we managed to edge our noses in front. Team for me would be: Cesar Fabio, Samba, Hill, Traore Derry, Jenas Mackie, Hoilett, Townsend Taarabt Subs: Green, Onuoha, Mbia, Granero, Park, SWP, Zamora | | | | |
False Nine on 17:13 - Feb 4 with 1728 views | QPR_Jim |
False Nine on 16:08 - Feb 4 by daveB | We can't drop Derry, the upturn in results and performances have come since he sat in front of the back four, once he gets dropped we are back to square one |
Perhaps, but having a player so dedicated to defending (Derry) next to another player who's not exactly forward thinking (Mbia) is not going to help us get the goals we need. Personally I'd drop Derry for games like Norwich where we need to go for the win, and I'd have him back for Man U where we need to be solid at the back and then counter. | | | |
False Nine on 20:17 - Feb 4 with 1701 views | derbyhoop |
False Nine on 15:30 - Feb 4 by kensalriser | Bodies in the box, as Baz says. One of our biggest problems is we don't break in numbers quickly enough. There was one instance on Sat where Mackie's badgering left him with the ball by the edge of the area a yard or two from the touchline; he got the ball across the goalmouth but there was literally no-one there. All it needed was a toe to it and most teams would have scored there. Now we have Townsend who looks capable of putting the ball in danger areas, we really need people challenging in the box. |
Either they cannot get in the box quickly enough or the way we set up discourages the midfielders from doing so. Saturday was further confirmation why we struggle to score goals. | |
| "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop and now on Bluesky |
| |
False Nine on 20:23 - Feb 4 with 1696 views | baz_qpr |
False Nine on 20:17 - Feb 4 by derbyhoop | Either they cannot get in the box quickly enough or the way we set up discourages the midfielders from doing so. Saturday was further confirmation why we struggle to score goals. |
We've clearly been focused on our defensive jobs, Derry is not going to break forward and Mbia barely gets in the final third. Not sure Granero is the answer either, if Diakete can recover some form maybe he might be the answer, or maybe Jenas is exactly what we need | | | |
False Nine on 20:56 - Feb 4 with 1687 views | bosh67 | How about we sell Remy now. Get £8m back and then give that £8m to a friendly Far Eastern betting syndicate that helps us win each remaining game 1-0. No need to get in any loans. Now all we need are a few dodgy officials. No problem, leave it to me. Money well spent. | |
| |
False Nine on 22:57 - Feb 4 with 1664 views | westolian |
False Nine on 12:18 - Feb 4 by Northernr | The problems with starting Bothroyd as a lone striker are 1 - He's not very good. 2 - He consistently drifts into a wide area, presumably looking for space to work in but actually rendering himself totally ineffective. If he did this as a lone striker we'd effectively have no striker at all. |
A bit like playing Mackie upfront I suppose | |
| I've found a team sheet for the weekend - anyone interested ? |
| |
False Nine on 23:31 - Feb 4 with 1652 views | Westy75 | Exactly what I was thinking. I'd go with Adel up front vs Swansea, and throw on Zamora at half time if necessary. But he would need midfield to push forward and run off him. | | | |
False Nine on 23:36 - Feb 4 with 1650 views | HollowayRanger | for away swansea we need to be patient tight at back strong in midfield and hit them on the break ceaser onouha samba hill traore fabio jenus derry mbia townsend terrorat zamorro on 2nd half but lets face it ,its a disgrace that we are so messed up in attack didnt they know zamorra was a 45 min man only and if they did WHY THE HELL DIDNT THEY GET IN COVER,and knowing remy was a risk as well why again NO COVER! im a season ticket holder but if i werent i doublt if i would go to many games this season as we have next to no chance we aint scored 3 goals in a premiership game all season van persies got as many goals as our whole team!!!!! | |
| |
False Nine on 23:36 - Feb 4 with 1649 views | Northernr |
False Nine on 22:57 - Feb 4 by westolian | A bit like playing Mackie upfront I suppose |
You can't possibly think Mackie is as bad as Bothroyd? | | | | Login to get fewer ads
False Nine on 13:25 - Feb 6 with 1592 views | Trom |
False Nine on 12:18 - Feb 4 by adhoc_qpr | Adel upfront has worked, DJ isn't the player he was but might get his spark back with a prolonged run in the team - either of those are worth a try. A half fit Zamora or a going through the motions Bothroyd are not the answers. |
A half fit Zamora made a big difference on Saturday. Personally I thought he transofrmed our game and made us much more dangerous. Suddenly we were winning headers and laying it off. | | | |
False Nine on 17:49 - Feb 6 with 1559 views | BklynRanger | I'd definitely play Adel up front on Saturday, but the midfield would have to be adjusted so he's not constantly chasing the ball and dropping back - that would be the False 9 at its worst. Granero in the hole for that (assuming he's fit?...) I'd also stick with Derry but ask him to play further up than he did when he was covering Nelsen and Clint. Basically: Cesar Fabio Samba Hill Traore Mackie Derry Mbia SWP Granero Adel | | | |
False Nine on 20:26 - Feb 6 with 1549 views | Flex | I'm not sure many people in this thread Know how the false 9 should be deployed. While it is an option our transition from defence to attack, the inability to retain possession, break at pace and have effective wingers makes the false 9 redundant. I feel we need a focal point in attack and go with 4-2-3-1. Hell I would even try mbia and the pirate/jenas in a double pivot. Dj - shoulder of last defender Adel in the hole junior and Townsend on the wing Mbia and Granero/jenas attacking from deep. If we go 4-4-2 we cede too much possession in midfield. | | | |
False Nine on 20:42 - Feb 6 with 1543 views | BklynRanger | You may be right about our true understanding of the False 9 thing, Flex. But I don't really want Adel in the hole against Swansea, it'll turn into a midfield quagmire like it did against them last time. | | | |
False Nine on 20:43 - Feb 6 with 1542 views | VancouverHoop | With Samba in defence we can play higher up the field. That ought to mean we don't need Derry playing in front of the CBs, at least not so often. That, in turn will allow who ever our central mid-field players are to push forward more than they've been doing recently. Should mean that Adel and others will see more of the ball. Theories are great eh? | | | |
False Nine on 21:09 - Feb 6 with 1536 views | CanadaRanger | Given Bosingwa's alleged aversion to warming the bench, would that make him a "False #12"...? | | | |
False Nine on 22:25 - Feb 6 with 1440 views | rsonist | This thread really hits home the suspicion that Harry probably does think of Jenas and Townsend as better than Granero and Hoilett. | | | |
False Nine on 06:44 - Feb 7 with 1415 views | Loft1979 |
False Nine on 22:25 - Feb 6 by rsonist | This thread really hits home the suspicion that Harry probably does think of Jenas and Townsend as better than Granero and Hoilett. |
My perception is that HR 'evaluates' them differently; HR knew we needed someone who was a true winger...now we have Andros. We need a midfielder with more passing ability ..he got Jenas. Granero, I suspect he saw a a short side-to -side passer. The Hoilet issue is debateable. My view is that they are treating him the way they did Taarbs last year. He is more of an 'investment' but they value him enough to not move him. | | | |
False Nine on 13:04 - Feb 7 with 1393 views | Flex |
False Nine on 20:43 - Feb 6 by VancouverHoop | With Samba in defence we can play higher up the field. That ought to mean we don't need Derry playing in front of the CBs, at least not so often. That, in turn will allow who ever our central mid-field players are to push forward more than they've been doing recently. Should mean that Adel and others will see more of the ball. Theories are great eh? |
I certainly wouldn't do this against Swansea, as they keep the ball well, and break at pace. We need to suffocate the 'hole' area, namely the space between our defence and midfield. The benefit of 4-2-3-1 is that you have more players in more zones or areas of the pitch. I wouldn't press too high against Swansea, until they are in our half. Generally, we need to break far quicker, and commit men forward. The amount of times we have no one to aim for in the box is embarassing. Also, the less said about our 'movement' the better. I'm not really sure what our coaches do, as we are dreadful in the attacking sense. I dread the day Adel leaves... | | | |
False Nine on 13:17 - Feb 7 with 1388 views | kingo |
False Nine on 13:04 - Feb 7 by Flex | I certainly wouldn't do this against Swansea, as they keep the ball well, and break at pace. We need to suffocate the 'hole' area, namely the space between our defence and midfield. The benefit of 4-2-3-1 is that you have more players in more zones or areas of the pitch. I wouldn't press too high against Swansea, until they are in our half. Generally, we need to break far quicker, and commit men forward. The amount of times we have no one to aim for in the box is embarassing. Also, the less said about our 'movement' the better. I'm not really sure what our coaches do, as we are dreadful in the attacking sense. I dread the day Adel leaves... |
As I said earlier in the thread, I fully expect HR to play the same formation at Swansea as he did against City. With 5 across the back and protection in front of the centre. however he wont have Remy so I expect Townsend to replace him. This will allow us to stifle them and loon to hit fast on the break. Hopefully they have practiced corners and dead balls as Samba gives us a real option in that area, as long as the delivery is good. | |
| RIP: Sniffer, Doug and Pat |
| |
False Nine on 14:54 - Feb 7 with 1371 views | SuffolkHoop | We'll beat Swansea, got a feeling. 0-1. | | | |
| |