Re 'pace'...
I think an awful lot of this has to do with the way we're currently playing. Off the back of a dreadful few months, over the last 6/7 games we've slowly tried to get confidence back, win a few games, and keep clean sheets. The result of which has seen us play some horribly unadventurous stuff in attack and going forward. We look a touch predictable, extremely negative at times, and far too often pass up on the opportunity to take the game on. I can see the rationale behind this - Rafa's obviously made a determined effort to ensure we keep our shape better as a side post-Reading, and as such we're making far more of an effort to be steely and less open. All fine.
It limits our attacking thrust though. We're trying to build our confidence slowly, and hopefully after finding our feet for a few games, the increased confidence will see us go at it a touch more. It's been the modus operandi in previous seasons, I think it's the plan this time too.
It depends on your definition of pace really. Of course it'd be great to have both Ronaldo's, Henry, Essien and a few others in our line-up, but we don't, and neither do 99% of other teams. Give me the option of having a Cisse, a Valencia or a Kuyt on the right wing, and I'd go for the latter everytime. Of course pace frightens defenders, but better footballers frighten them more. Man City spent 70M on 3 strikers this summer - Adebayor, Tevez, Santa Cruz - Not one of them is quick, but they're all good players.
And exactly the sort of players that would help us, because they're clever, they're matchwinners, and they'd make a difference. With 10 minutes left last night, in search of an equaliser, we needed more great footballers in our side, not someone who can sprint like fuck. If you took Maxi, N'gog and Lucas out of our team the other night, and replaced them with Adebayor, Robinho and Ireland we would be exactly the same pacewise, but we'd be a better team and would have greater chance of winning the game. Because they move the ball quicker, they think quicker, and they play better with those around them.
Pace isn't about beating a full-back. Who, apart from Stoke score regularly from crosses anyway? Pace is about speed of ball and thought. We scored an average of 4 goals towards the end of last season. Teams couldn't live with us. The ball was being pinged about everywhere - we were incisive, daring, confident, and one step ahead of the opposition. Raw pace-wise we were exactly the same as we are now. In fact if you stick Alonso in there, we were probably slower in terms of running speed. The best example of this I felt was the Villa game at home. They hardly looked like the touched the ball against us in 90 minutes, and I still don't feel like we were going at it full throttle. We were so high on confidence that the ball moved quicker than I'd ever seen it in our time under Rafa.
And that's what's missing this year. Not someone who can do the 100 metres in 11 seconds.
I take Del (I think)'s point from yesterday that the thrust of a Rooney or Essien frightens defenders - The ability to ghost past players at will will always intimidate opposing players. But good footballers - Alonso, Arshavin, Fabregas, Joe Cole, Robinho, etc etc worry defenders just as much. We're not losing and performing poorly because we don't have speedy footballers in our team, we're shy of confidence and shy of top class footballers more than anything.
Pace of player is about 5% of our problem.
