Is our midfield good enough?

[Krypt 241]

The system has to change next season.

4-2-3-1 is the only way I can see us being able to cater for all the quality we have in the side:

Cech

Ivanovic/Bosingwa, Luiz/Alex, Terry, Cole

Essien, Mikel/Ramires

Malouda/Ramires, Lampard, Zhirkov/Marek Hamsik

Torres/Drogba

Its a nice and radical thought...

The system could do with Changeing now. Teams have learnt how to cope with us thats why the goals have dried up. They park the but and counter attack , if we changed the system and trained hard at it and dont tell the press that were going to do it , it would suprise teams we need width the 4-3-3 was great last season we played it well , but Carlo needs to change things before its to late.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

4-3-3 works, if you have pure wingers.

Anelka is not a winger, but got by on that pace he had. That's gone now. Malouda was great last season on the left, but now, he's gone back to that same infuriating player we say back in 2007/08. Zhirkov is nowhere to be seen either, and probably wouldn't get his chance at left-wing.

Sanchéz would be a good one if we're serious about playing 4-3-3, so that's the right-wing sorted. Now we need a left-winger. And before someone says it, Kalou is not a winger

[Madmax 9,219]

We knew before the season started that our midfield is too similar, especially after we got Ramires. Lampard's injury and subsequent lackluster performances have just magnified what was already evident. We would have been better with Benayoun around.

[spuz 143]

Until we play a 4 man or even 5 man midfield we'll always struggle. I think the players are good enough,can't understand why we didn't go for Diego when he was available in the summer.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

4-3-3 works, if you have pure wingers.

Anelka is not a winger, but got by on that pace he had. That's gone now. Malouda was great last season on the left, but now, he's gone back to that same infuriating player we say back in 2007/08. Zhirkov is nowhere to be seen either, and probably wouldn't get his chance at left-wing.

Sanchéz would be a good one if we're serious about playing 4-3-3, so that's the right-wing sorted. Now we need a left-winger. And before someone says it, Kalou is not a winger

Malouda/Zhirkov/Sturridge - Torres - Alexis Sanchez ???

[Clevemayer 764]

our midfield WOULD be good enough like this:

-------------------Mikel/Ramires---------------------------------

Ramires/Essien----Josh/Lamps--------Lamps/Zhirkov

[eldo 868]

No it's not good enough. We lack any options there atm.

[Clevemayer 764]

I think we do we can play all this options

--------------------Mikel/Ramy/Essien-----------------------

---Ramy/Josh/Essien------------------------Lamps/Josh/Zhirkov

(and for diamond)

-----------------------josh/Lamps/Zhirkov/Malouda----------------

as for the flat midfield three

---Ramy/Josh/Essien------------Josh/Lamps------------Lamps/Josh/Zhirkov

we need two additions at all, Dembele and Hazard or Pastore, thats it.

[eldo 868]

^Yuri is injured, Lampard and Malouda are not in great form.

On paper it all looks great, but in reality our midfield is very weak.

[Clevemayer 764]

thats why i said dembele and hazard or pastore are needed, two out of this three players... i told everybody dembele would be great for our midfield two years ago, nobody belived me, so let fullham grab him for 7 MIO POUNDS

[Badboy 1,526]

I think our main problem is a lack of wingers, Malouda is the only winger we have at the moment. Next season we should be bold with our decisions and enter a new era for the club, i think Lamps is coming to the end of the road. Ramires and David Luiz are both only 23 and they both are very exciting. I think Sanchez would be good coupled with Zhirkov coming back from injury, then we can try to sign Lukaku and Steven Defour then we will have a young talented core with great skill and strength. Sturridge will come back as a new signing and then we can really push for trophies next season !

[BLionheart 516]

well our problem is not onlt the midfield trio .... we never had xavi , iniesta kinda players back in mourinho's days but we were winning , the only creative CM we had was deco ... and he spent 3/4 of the season injured ...

the problem mainly is our wingers ... we lack creativity and in a 4-3-3 formation wingers main role is to create , they are not supposed to score many goals , nor just play the short simple passes ... wingers have to be creative...

i have always said that we have to get sanchez in jan. whatever the cost is ...... i would have prefered sanchez to torres , although torres is a great striker who would be a great aid in the next 3-4 years ....

we have to get sanchez and may be hamsik in the summer who is also a superb player , i was always one of those who praised luiz before he came here , and i am telling hamsik and sanchez are just as good as luiz in their positions ..

[Krypt 241]

What i think we lack is someone willing to cross the ball , Flo always cuts inside and he sometimes wastes posession ash was on the wind in a great position to cross but he decided to shoot instead we need to get the ball in the box and let torres and Drogba do what there paid for. though Drogba does have a tendancy to drift out wide which is fustrating when no ones in the box...

[EskWeston 696]

Our midfield is a BIG problem. Ramires is the only player who is is any sort of form the rest are just poor and holding us back at the moment. Looking toward the summer is one thing but we are in desperate need of a solution for the rest of the season.

[zolayes 14,489]

Our midfield is a BIG problem. Ramires is the only player who is is any sort of form the rest are just poor and holding us back at the moment. Looking toward the summer is one thing but we are in desperate need of a solution for the rest of the season.

have just posted about this on the boring thread.....my thoughts almost exactly the same as yours