I've been thinking about the new formation that can address our problems in midfield, and I think I found the formation that I like:
In fact, I like it so much, I'd like to see it tomorrow against Fulham.
The biggest change is obviously the midfield triangle of Gerrard, Allen and Henderson. I think of this triangle as highly mobile and interchanging, where any player can find himself at times at the base of the triangle and in other times in one of the attacking positions. We see this kind of constant interchange among midfielders in the best teams of our time: Barca and Bayern. Particularly in Bayern, the likes of Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Martinez and Gustavo could all find themselves at the focal point of attack at any given moment, which made them so much harder to pick up.
Players can also rest more and pick their spots to attack, which can be important for an aging player like Gerrard. To make this work, we will need at least 3 midfielders who have excellent tactical awareness and understanding of each other's game - which at this point, I believe we have. I wouldn't say this a year ago, when Allen was new to the team, Henderson was running like a headless chicken, and Gerrard was still struggling to come to grips with the limitations of post-injury body. But now we have 3 smart, technically sound, versatile midfielders who I believe can play well together. Amazingly, all 3 are Brits. Who would have thought?
The reason Lucas is missing out in my team is not necessarily because he is a worse player than the other 3, but because of our quartet of midfielders he is the only one who is limited to a narrow specific role. That role can be necessary sometimes and I would certainly use Lucas in games or parts of games where we need to defend more. That said, I'd like the team to start evolving in the direction where fielding a Makelele/Mikel/Lucas type player is an option, but not a necessity.
The benefits of this system are obvious: with Gerrard, Allen and Henderson combining in CM we should be able to win the midfield battles in most games. All 3 CMs will offer decent attacking threat, our possession stats would definitely improve with Allen as a part of midfield 3, so we'll be able to control the games more. Defensively, with 1 less CB than the current system and no full-time DM, this system could in theory be more vulnerable - so our wonderful array of quality centre-backs will have to compete with each other to form a truly dominant, mistake-free partnership. May the best one win.
I want to see this team against Fulham. I think it's time to give Allen and Agger a chance and to shake-up our stagnant midfield.
In fact, I like it so much, I'd like to see it tomorrow against Fulham.
The biggest change is obviously the midfield triangle of Gerrard, Allen and Henderson. I think of this triangle as highly mobile and interchanging, where any player can find himself at times at the base of the triangle and in other times in one of the attacking positions. We see this kind of constant interchange among midfielders in the best teams of our time: Barca and Bayern. Particularly in Bayern, the likes of Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Martinez and Gustavo could all find themselves at the focal point of attack at any given moment, which made them so much harder to pick up.
Players can also rest more and pick their spots to attack, which can be important for an aging player like Gerrard. To make this work, we will need at least 3 midfielders who have excellent tactical awareness and understanding of each other's game - which at this point, I believe we have. I wouldn't say this a year ago, when Allen was new to the team, Henderson was running like a headless chicken, and Gerrard was still struggling to come to grips with the limitations of post-injury body. But now we have 3 smart, technically sound, versatile midfielders who I believe can play well together. Amazingly, all 3 are Brits. Who would have thought?
The reason Lucas is missing out in my team is not necessarily because he is a worse player than the other 3, but because of our quartet of midfielders he is the only one who is limited to a narrow specific role. That role can be necessary sometimes and I would certainly use Lucas in games or parts of games where we need to defend more. That said, I'd like the team to start evolving in the direction where fielding a Makelele/Mikel/Lucas type player is an option, but not a necessity.
The benefits of this system are obvious: with Gerrard, Allen and Henderson combining in CM we should be able to win the midfield battles in most games. All 3 CMs will offer decent attacking threat, our possession stats would definitely improve with Allen as a part of midfield 3, so we'll be able to control the games more. Defensively, with 1 less CB than the current system and no full-time DM, this system could in theory be more vulnerable - so our wonderful array of quality centre-backs will have to compete with each other to form a truly dominant, mistake-free partnership. May the best one win.
I want to see this team against Fulham. I think it's time to give Allen and Agger a chance and to shake-up our stagnant midfield.
