Re: Jose Enrique - 'Done Deal' says Thommo
[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=44896.msg1377889#msg1377889 date=1313056114]
[quote author=Mystic link=topic=44896.msg1377874#msg1377874 date=1313054813]
[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=44896.msg1377858#msg1377858 date=1313053823]
[quote author=Herr Onceared link=topic=44896.msg1377852#msg1377852 date=1313053217]
[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=44896.msg1377850#msg1377850 date=1313053073]
When we went into the window I'd have said, in order of priority:
LW - Downing
CB - Cahill or Dann (if they come)
LB - Enrique
ST - Kuyt free'd up
RW - Henderson
CM - Aquilani, Adam.
We haven't signed Enrique yet. The one I'm most happy with is Downing, I think he's gonna prove alot of people wrong, but we still lack depth in key areas, we could do with another striker (especially if N'Gog does go) and centre back should have been one of the top priorities.
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Ok, I guess I'm getting at the centre back issue which I think was a big priority (and I'm unconvinced that Cahill or Dann are the answer). As for the striker thing with Kuyt, he's a good foil for Suarez and a similar alternative to Cahill but we still lack a more predatory finisher and would have been worth taking a punt on a young up and coming player. Kuyt is worth about 10 a season, Suarez for all his ability doesn't always look the clinical finisher and Carroll has had injury issues and it's difficult to predict how many he'll score. That said I do think the goals are spread more evenly, but I still think we could do with a plan B, the plan A seems Carroll or Kuyt with Suarez.
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To the contrary, I think we have a Plan A and a Plan B no which we've not had since Torres joined. We have Suarez and Carroll and Suarez and Kuyt. Two very different approaches to attack which was evidenced at the end of last season. With Downing in the side I think Carroll and Suarez will become a lot more effectual that last season, and we all saw what Kuyt and Suarez did again United.
I think Downing and Aurelio/Enrique and going to form a monster left flank this season.
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I think we've got two different options now in attack, as opposed to Plan A of Torres, we've Carroll's aerial ability and hold up play and we've got Suarez' pace and invention. But the partnerships of Suarez/Kuyt and Suarez/Carroll are much the same really, at least on paper, Kuyt and Carroll can do similar jobs. The issue is if we lose Suarez for any length of time, our attack become static and one dimensional, which is where it would be useful to have another player to come in. Even in pre-season without Suarez you can see the same issue, to the extent that when N'Gog has come on it's almost been refreshing to see a bit of movement in attack.
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You're right, the loss of Suarez is too huge for us at the moment and we really need to shift this reliance we seem to grow to players. Suarez isn't as important to us as Torres has been in the past, however if Carroll doesn't hit form, we'll be lost without him(Suarez). Thankfully however I can see Carroll maybe not being Suarez levels of great, but I can see him being in good form this season. Downing I'm sure is going to be fantastic for us, and this will help the entire team. You mention N'gog, and I'm glad, I like him for what he is, he's a fantastic 4th choice striker, which will always help us.
Kuyt's going to have another great year this year too. He's a player that really thrives when playing with good players around. (i know how obvious that sounds) He's such an intelligent and tenacious player, that when teams are worrying about Downing, Suarez, Carroll, Gerrard etc, he'll sneak in whilst they are not watching, and he'll cause a lot of damage, however he's not one to do it on his own ala Suarez. I think what you said early on hits the nail on the head. We're going to have a lot of 10+ players this season. Kuyt, Suarez and Carroll will all score 10+ in the league, probably Gerrard too if he stays fit. As opposed to one 20+ plus like Torres.
Like I said before, the worry still is the reliance on Suarez, if he is out, the team could collapse around him, despite in my opinion us having more than enough players around him to cause damage. It's all down to the form of Downing, Adam and Carroll for me. These are the crucial elements, if these guys even just get into good form, we'll be laughing and be able to hurt teams in many different ways. This game on Saturday should be a great one for us to watch to gauge this. With Suarez not being there, how these three characters are able to pick up the slack will be crucial for our campaign.
In my opinion of course.
