The midfield puzzle

[Tortilla9 390]

After the flight from hell yesterday, I finally made it home. Watched the DVR of the Chelsea game, watched City, watched United today. Compared to the latter two, Chelsea's offense is slow moving, ponderous, and about as exciting as watching paint dry. The offense is painful to watch: receive the ball, turn, pass sideways or backwards, repeat, finally go forward. Watch City and United and the speed of play and attack is night and day compared to Chelsea. I don't think teams need to park the bus against Chelsea because by the time the attack starts moving, they have time to settle and its all so predictable and boring.

[warnie_666 1,081]

I suppose so.

I just think we'd be better buying a proper left-winger (such as Perriera for £15million) and then make Mata our playmaker.

Perriera is as good a Winger as Zirkov was. In other words, Both are Wing Backs and Not "Wingers" as perceived.

[Styles 9,790]

Jeez. Watched the Spurs-City and Utd-Arsenal games and they both looked scary. None of our midfield players would make their teams which says it all.

[warnie_666 1,081]

Jeez. Watched the Spurs-City and Utd-Arsenal games and they both looked scary. None of our midfield players would make their teams which says it all.

Man Utd vs Chelsea is the Baptism of Fire for the Young Kids at Man Utd. That game will tell us how good the Kids are and How Shit we are if we dont change things. At the moment Id rather Face Arsenal and Spurs ahead of Stoke. Those two teams are in absolute shambles.

[Joker10 946]

Jeez. Watched the Spurs-City and Utd-Arsenal games and they both looked scary. None of our midfield players would make their teams which says it all.

I disagree, i think all of our midfielders are good enough to make it on any of those teams. Our problem in midfield is the structure, our individual midfielders don't play well off each other.

We should've learned our leason last season. When we saw Essien and Lampard performance drop because of the absence of Ballack, if we properly replaced him with a player with similar attributes we wouldn't had this much of a drop off in midfield. Instead what we did is buy Ramires who is identical to Essien, i am not sure if he was to replace Ballack or a cover for an injury prone Essien. Ballack complimented Essien game perfectly, when Essien ventured forth Ballack stayed back. While Lampard is at his best when scoring goals and playing the final passes.

We have good midfielders but they don't play well collectively. Believing replacing Modric with Lamps will solve our midfield issue is not a realistic expectation. Making Modric like some kinda of savior and Lampard as an scapegoat for our dysfunctional midfield. We have an issue in structure.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Perriera is as good a Winger as Zirkov was. In other words, Both are Wing Backs and Not "Wingers" as perceived.

Might as well keep Malouda around then and hope he'll start.. Playing.

[lionsden 4,689]

After the flight from hell yesterday, I finally made it home. Watched the DVR of the Chelsea game, watched City, watched United today. Compared to the latter two, Chelsea's offense is slow moving, ponderous, and about as exciting as watching paint dry. The offense is painful to watch: receive the ball, turn, pass sideways or backwards, repeat, finally go forward. Watch City and United and the speed of play and attack is night and day compared to Chelsea. I don't think teams need to park the bus against Chelsea because by the time the attack starts moving, they have time to settle and its all so predictable and boring.

I absolutely agree with you. Below is AVB's response to the game

"I think all the players are creative, they just express themselves in different ways"

"I think we looked better overall on our 90-minute performance. We had two good second halves against Stoke and West Brom. We had a good 90-minute performance"

It's extremely worrisome that the manager seem satisfied with that pitiful performance. doesn't it.

[warnie_666 1,081]

I absolutely agree with you. Below is AVB's response to the game

"I think all the players are creative, they just express themselves in different ways"

I am creative too, But I express myself in a different way ie. I Stay Stationary and misplace my passes

[Styles 9,790]

I absolutely agree with you. Below is AVB's response to the game

"I think all the players are creative, they just express themselves in different ways"

"I think we looked better overall on our 90-minute performance. We had two good second halves against Stoke and West Brom. We had a good 90-minute performance"

It's extremely worrisome that the manager seem satisfied with that pitiful performance. doesn't it.

AVB is clearly intelligent. He knows like everybody else that our midfield is laughable now. He isn't going to say "yeah, they're all shit mate. I envy Ferguson and Mancini" when asked about the team.

[Peace. 4,352]

Pass and Move!!

You hit the nail on the head. I've come to think that it's actually our biggest problem. Whenever one of our players passes the ball, he stays where he is like a statue. And the players who are up front of the passer are also doing that. Hence, nobody makes himself available to receive the ball. And as a matter of fact, as the passer is unable to pass to a player in front of him, because they are all marked by their defender, he will have to pass the ball behind him or make a side pass.

If our players were making themselves available to receive the ball, even with our lack of creativity and passing skill, our game would be more vertical. Had Xavi in our team, the problem would be more or less the same, since he will have nobody up front of him to who pass the ball, and will have to make a side pass...

The bottom line is, to my eyes, before fixing our passing skill problem, we should first of all fixe our problem of movement. Of course, I on the other hand think we should also have more skillful players in our starting eleven, especially in our midfield. But with our current set of players, to make them more mobile is a necessity.

[Tortilla9 390]

It's like teaching an old dog new tricks - it's not working for some of them. Some players just don't seem to grasp the concept. Either they can't or won't pass and move, play quicker, press, etc. Winning is definitely the goal but this relatively early start to the schedule is showing that Chelsea still need some work.

[Tomo 21,751]

Is their any point in this season? 90% of you seem to think we have no chance and Utd and City will jizz on us from now to may? If we truly think we cant go above them is their any point in this season?

As ive said in numerous threads if we can beat Arsenal's Invincibles at their peak in 2005 we can more than beat those two. And yes before you say our team aint as good now correct but City or United aint a tad on what the Arsenal team was like then either.

[lionsden 4,689]

I am creative too, But I express myself in a different way ie. I Stay Stationary and misplace my passes

hahaha That's brilliant . Even Turnbull is creative, he just expresses it in a different way.

[lionsden 4,689]

You hit the nail on the head. I've come to think that it's actually our biggest problem. Whenever one of our players passes the ball, he stays where he is like a statue. And the players who are up front of the passer are also doing that. Hence, nobody makes himself available to receive the ball. And as a matter of fact, as the passer is unable to pass to a player in front of him, because they are all marked by their defender, he will have to pass the ball behind him or make a side pass.

If our players were making themselves available to receive the ball, even with our lack of creativity and passing skill, our game would be more vertical. Had Xavi in our team, the problem would be more or less the same, since he will have nobody up front of him to who pass the ball, and will have to make a side pass...

The bottom line is, to my eyes, before fixing our passing skill problem, we should first of all fixe our problem of movement. Of course, I on the other hand think we should also have more skillful players in our starting eleven, especially in our midfield. But with our current set of players, to make them more mobile is a necessity.

+10000000

I said it earlier that the addition of Modric wouldn't have a colossal impact on the team unless we change our style of play to pass and move.

what baffles me is these lot are professionals and get paid ridiculous sums of money just to stand on the pitch like the statue of liberty and pass the ball backward and sideways. Even my 10 year old nephew understands the concept of pass and move football better than our players.

[lionsden 4,689]

Is their any point in this season? 90% of you seem to think we have no chance and Utd and City will jizz on us from now to may? If we truly think we cant go above them is their any point in this season?

As ive said in numerous threads if we can beat Arsenal's Invincibles at their peak in 2005 we can more than beat those two. And yes before you say our team aint as good now correct but City or United aint a tad on what the Arsenal team was like then either.

Maybe if we deviate from the norm and do something differently by putting up impressive performances, that would heighten people's confidence in the team.

in terms of performance, at the moment, we are on par with Wolves- they play boring football and have the same amount of points as Chelsea.

[warnie_666 1,081]

You hit the nail on the head. I've come to think that it's actually our biggest problem. Whenever one of our players passes the ball, he stays where he is like a statue. And the players who are up front of the passer are also doing that. Hence, nobody makes himself available to receive the ball. And as a matter of fact, as the passer is unable to pass to a player in front of him, because they are all marked by their defender, he will have to pass the ball behind him or make a side pass.

If our players were making themselves available to receive the ball, even with our lack of creativity and passing skill, our game would be more vertical. Had Xavi in our team, the problem would be more or less the same, since he will have nobody up front of him to who pass the ball, and will have to make a side pass...

The bottom line is, to my eyes, before fixing our passing skill problem, we should first of all fixe our problem of movement. Of course, I on the other hand think we should also have more skillful players in our starting eleven, especially in our midfield. But with our current set of players, to make them more mobile is a necessity.

Common sense isnt it. Pass and Move is not a game that Lampard or malouda have adapted to.

When I see Lampard or malouda pass , I dont see them quickly moving and making themselves available for a 1-2.

When Players pass and remain in position, it is easier for the opposition to mark them. Hence there is no one to pass the ball to, and they end up passing laterally or behind.

The other thing is, Players like malouda and Lampard and Anelka hold on to the ball far too long which gives time for opposition to get organized and mark our forwards.

People would wonder why the sudden change now while we have been playing the same for 6 years and won 3 titles. The answer is in the question itself. Playing the same way for 6 years with same players and it is not hard for opposition managers to understand our game plan. Add to that Old legs of 33yr old Lampard, 33 yr old Drogba, 31 yr old malouda and 32 yr old Anelka.

[Tortilla9 390]

Winning always masks inadequacies of a team. What is frustrating is this team is supposed to challenge for titles, trophies, etc. The team itself says that's their goal. Every team is going to go through stretches where they grind out wins - fair enough. But Chelsea is grinding out wins against Norwich and West Brom. Have you watched and felt a spark watching the team play except for a few minutes here and there? They are grinding out the offense and its painful to watch at times. The one thing the last three games has reinforced is the need for a creative force (or two or three) on this team and players who can play with a quicker tempo. The slow methodical tempo is mind-numbing, boring, and I don't see it winning titles, trophies.

[Blue Armour 4,468]

After the flight from hell yesterday, I finally made it home. Watched the DVR of the Chelsea game, watched City, watched United today. Compared to the latter two, Chelsea's offense is slow moving, ponderous, and about as exciting as watching paint dry. The offense is painful to watch: receive the ball, turn, pass sideways or backwards, repeat, finally go forward. Watch City and United and the speed of play and attack is night and day compared to Chelsea. I don't think teams need to park the bus against Chelsea because by the time the attack starts moving, they have time to settle and its all so predictable and boring.

Our style of play (from midfield to attack) maybe slow, but it would still work if our front three were more dynamic...

There's hardly any movement up front...Notice the change when Mata comes in...

I don't want to jump on the bandwagon and say Mata is the solution to all our problems, but I don't think its difficult for any of our other forwards to emulate him and show similar efforts..

[Madmax 9,219]

I don't want to jump on the bandwagon and say Mata is the solution to all our problems, but I don't think its difficult for any of our other forwards to emulate him and show similar efforts..

Did you not watch Stoke away?

[Blue Armour 4,468]

Did you not watch Stoke away?

I did...and their movement was poor for periods (especially in the first half) in the match..

But even lesser players can show better off-the ball movement upfront...Why not ours?