Lewis Cook

I think teams have learnt how to play against Lewis, get tight on him and push him back into his own half. He needs to develop his game a bit and dare i say it cover a bit more ground.
 
When teams do play 3 in the middle one of the 3 can press, and can create problems for us. The answer is to move the ball quickly out wide where we can overload them. Sometimes this doesn't work though
 
To play a 5 man midfield what we're missing is an ACM, a midfielder who can score more than 1 or 2 goals a season and provide through ball assists. This creates a threat through the middle, which pulls defenders and creates more space for the wingers. At the moment this job is done by our forwards who need to drop deep to receive the ball, Wilson does this well but it's not always the strength of forwards and ideally you always want one of your strikers playing off the shoulder of the last defender.

I don't think 4-5-1 is necessarily any more defensive it's just a question of personnel.
 
Red Sky said:
To play a 5 man midfield what we're missing is an ACM, a midfielder who can score more than 1 or 2 goals a season and provide through ball assists. This creates a threat through the middle, which pulls defenders and creates more space for the wingers. At the moment this job is done by our forwards who need to drop deep to receive the ball, Wilson does this well but it's not always the strength of forwards and ideally you always want one of your strikers playing off the shoulder of the last defender.
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Could try Brooks there and King/Stan on the wing. Have Brooks play as a proper attacking midfielder.
 
..Lewis Cook will come good he is just struggling to find some form at present. Surman is dependable and safe but if he is the answer then the question should be who do we buy next ?

I know that January is not the best time to spend money, but as we look nailed on for PL for at least another season, and could even lift a cup of finish in a Europa League spot, then perhaps the club should roll the dice and try for Loftus-Cheek....Mepham...and a right back, Docherty from Wolves would be a punt!

If we could shift the likes of Defoe and Arter from our squad then it would free up some cash?
 
SlowDownDerek said:
Could try Brooks there and King/Stan on the wing. Have Brooks play as a proper attacking midfielder.
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Yeah I'd actually like to see us try this. Also think Ibe and Mousset would be potentially good options for ACM role. We've seen Ibe's vision and through balls when coming central and Mousset looks scary when running at defenders.
 
Red Sky said:
Yeah I'd actually like to see us try this. Also think Ibe and Mousset would be potentially good options for ACM role. We've seen Ibe's vision and through balls when coming central and Mousset looks scary when running at defenders.
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Completely agree both are more suited to the number 10 role than King. King is a brilliant player but in this system he is often left pretty redundant, he's not the type of player to receive the ball on the half turn and look to craft openings for teammates. He is however incredibly effective when we attack on the counter, has pace and great ability to carry the ball. The main issue with him as a 10 is the lack of defensive support he provides to the midfield imo.
 
It'sRicotime said:
Completely agree both are more suited to the number 10 role than King. King is a brilliant player but in this system he is often left pretty redundant, he's not the type of player to receive the ball on the half turn and look to craft openings for teammates. He is however incredibly effective when we attack on the counter, has pace and great ability to carry the ball. The main issue with him as a 10 is the lack of defensive support he provides to the midfield imo.
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Yep his pace is his weapon. Play him off the last defender or use him down the wing.
 
If you watch the highlights tucktoncherry linked to above, you can clearly see that it was Lewis Cook who knicked the ball off the Huddersfield player which lead to the break for the second goal. So although his passing was sloppy and he tried to be too clever with the ball far too often, he was at least instrumental in our second goal. It wouldn't have happened without his intervention. I don't think he is going through the motions, he is trying. He just seems to be a bit sloppy with some of his passing at the moment and makes some poor decisions regarding when to pass and when to take somebody on. It could be a lack of confidence but more likely a lack of match sharpness in my view.
:utc:
 
I mean, Brooks has always been a No10. If we were "trying him out" anywhere, its on the wing. Once our backup wingers get back into form, we could look at playing a more effective 3-man midfield.
 
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