28 Jun 2013 23:48:39
If we sign thiago a lot of people seem to think he will play in a 3 in a 4-2-3-1 but I would be very surprised.
For me he is is a cm in the xavi mould and I'm convinced he will play along side Carrick in a cm 2.
I think that would be a great combination as well, much better than Carrick/strootman which as I have said before I have issues with
Jred

1.) 29 Jun 2013
I feel he won't do that and I feel he will give anderson a chance to play on the left and show what he can do. I agree with u that thiago should play as a cm along side carrick and if we get strootman I think he will play carricks role when needed and giving carrick a chance to rotate

2.) 29 Jun 2013
29 Jun 2013 07:50:33
I think he could play in several positions, he could play as one of the deeper two midfielders in a 4231 formation, or he could play as on of the three in that formation. Or he could play as one of the midfield three in a 433 formation. Which is where I think he would be best suited.

My only issue with a midfield of Carrick and Thiago is I would worry about them in the games like Stoke or West Ham. I think they could get bullied off the ball. But we could easily use the squad for games like that and play Jones or someone else stronger in midfield to act as a bodygaurd.

3.) 29 Jun 2013
I reckon it would depend on the opposition.
A midfield 2 of carrick and thiago would be overrun by certain teams which is where strootman and jones would come in.
Thiago signing along with strootman would give us flexibility and energy in midfield as we would have 2 players who can play easily in different midfield formations IMO

BABY FACED ASSASIN

4.) 29 Jun 2013
Football has changed. It's about keeping the ball thiago and Carrick would be fine
How many times did u see Barcelona midfield get overrun

5.) 29 Jun 2013
29 Jun 2013 10:45:27
how many times did you see barca play an overly physical side like stoke or big sam's bolton or west ham? Not saying barca would lose those games but they'd be out their comfort zone. Last season and in other seasons our centre midfield has been physically weak.

6.) 29 Jun 2013
29 Jun 2013 16:29:47
Lol so Barcelona would struggle against west ham.
I would be surprised if west ham touched the ball
Jred

7.) 29 Jun 2013
29 Jun 2013 17:24:18
With a european ref Barca would take the mick out of West Ham, but if Barca were to play them in England with an English ref then Barca would still probably win but it would be a very different match. The Premier league is a much more phsical league where phsicality is accepted as a form of tactics. And out midfield had problems with that last season. Carrick and Cleverley both average pass completion rates of around 90%. So keeping the ball through our passing wasn't an issue, what was the problem was the poor penetration we had with the possession, and the fact that we lacked a phsical presence in the midfield. So to solve this we need a player who can force teams onto the back foot with thier distabution, and a player who's will bring some phsicality to our midfield.

All the best teams in English football history have had a big presence in midfield, from Robson and Keane for us, to Viera for Arsenal, to Essien and Mikel for Chelsea through to the likes of De Jong and Yaya Toure for City.

And the loss of that player for any of those teams instantly weakened that team.


Since Viera left Arsenal they have failed to really challenge for the title, since Chelsea lost Essien they have struggled, Mikel has in glimpses shown ability but isn't consistant enough. Last season they played Luiz or Ramires there but niether had that presence and as such Chelsea stuggled. City won the league with De Jong in the heart of midfield, when they lost him the lost that ability to force themselves on their opponants an as such saw their title challenge diminish.

We are the exception in that without a player of that mould we have managed to continue to win, but we haven't really managed to play great football on a conisitant basis since Keane left, yes we've won but we haven't dominated teams like we used to.

I agree that in europe its not as important to have such a player, Barca have shown this. But then this year Barca were blown to pieces by Bayern who have TWO players like this in Schweinsteiger and Martinez.

So yes Carrick has been excellent for us but we need to bring someone in who will be that presence in the middle for us to build from, especially in the league. And remember good form in the league keeps the confidence up and increases our chances of doing well in europe.

8.) 29 Jun 2013
29 Jun 2013 20:03:51
Jred, Just one question on that, If we play Madrid, Barca, Bayern, Chelsea, Citeh etc are you happy with Carrick and Thiago controlling midfield. Or is it light weight?

I've not seen enough of Thiago playing there to say myself.

I can see Jones or someone like Strootman playing in there for the big games.