"you should base your team around your best players"



You should also adapt them to the opposition, going 4-4-2 away to City with our midfield in the state its in would be suicide IMO.

What Bales said. We would be slaughtered through the middle this weekend if we went 4-4-2 with Hudd and Carrol

What's wrong with 4-4-1-1 with Defoe supporting Ade?

We've done that before has to be an improvement on Dempsey?

Who have we left to play CM? Sandros back isn't he

Dembele/Huddlestone and Sandro would probably work well in a 442

What's wrong with 4-4-1-1 with Defoe supporting Ade?
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Defoe cant do that he is not an intelligent enough footballer, he has been playing 10 years and still does not know the offside law

If anything Ade would support Defoe. He naturally likes to drop off anyway.

I'd have no hesitation in playing them both on Sunday - Ade will work his socks off against them and offers more than Dempsey in every department

Defoe is actually a better lone striker than Ade. Ade spends too much time on the ball 40 yards from goal. That would be OK if we had the Gerrard/Lampard type mids to move forward and score, but we don't.

We set up as 4-4-2 yesterday but, deliberate or not, Ade made it a 4-4-1-1. It worked OK against a pretty ordinary side. If we want the same formation against Man City, then we have to choose between Sigurdsson, Dempsey and Ade for the role in the hole, or take a punt on Falque.

My money is on Ade and Defoe.

morning kab....

agreed.....just suits that group of players so much more....

but he's already hinted it will revert back to 1 up top for sat...which away...i guess i can understand to a degree....

Defoe up front on his own, will be an unmitigated disaster against City, Adebeyor was brilliant on the ball last night, and took a lot of attention away from Defoe. I know Defoe scored 3 last night, but if we are only going to play one up front, then it has to be Adebeyor.

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Boas

If anything Ade would support Defoe. He naturally likes to drop off anyway.

Well that makes sense but thats not how Harry did it. He had Defoe supporting Adebayor. It worked ok on occasion if memory serves me correctly but fack lads its just playstation positions anyway isnt it. Play 2 up top or 1 up top never mind who supports who they should be able to link up and cover for each other when needed anyway.

Not sure how you come to that conclusion Messiah - one of the biggest gripes about Ade last season was how deep he dropped.

Playing a deeper striker out of thr two isn't a new phenomenon anyway - Teddy used to do it depending on his partner, Beardsley was quality at it too. Most good partnerships have one of the two that drops off.

It's only a proper 442 if you have two out-and-out strikers up front - Defoe and Pavlyuchenko for example, or Shearer and Ferdinand at Newcastle. It's quite rare because it generally doesn't work too well

HRH honestly mate, I remember it clearly from last year bondy was being interviewed after one of the games, everyone on here was saying how Defoe was our main striker with Ade supporting but he said it clear as day that Defoe was there to support Ade as our main striker, I'd have a look for the clip only Im in work mate.

Harry said he'd love to play Defoe but that he played in the same position as VDV so there was nothing he could do.

"Rafa's best position is in the middle, playing just behind the front man," he explained.

"The only problem is that Jermain Defoe plays there too and Jermain is playing very, very well at the moment.

"So, I guess I have got a decision to make, haven't I? I suppose it's now between Rafa and Jermain over who plays in the team."

Bales

Yeah, those comments would suggest that's the case. Not what I've seen with my own eyes though. Did you fellas go regularly last season? Ade dropped deep all the time

Pace & Tempo are key to our game if we are to play well.

Well thats what his job was anyway man I always thought myself Ade is more than a striker, thats why I'd play him at City. I just dont see any other the other likely replacements being more effective than him.

VDV dropped deep all the time leaving Ade isolated. That, and Bale wandering all over the place for the second half of the season.

Glad there's no bad blood junction, I had a bad day and I took my frustration out on here, I just want to see positive performances from the players and a positive atmosphere at the lane, I feel things won't get better unless we start being patient and stop turning on the manager/team.

Last season Ade did drop deep sometimes but he was also there for a lot of tap ins, he can play as a poacher but at the same time he can drop back, hold up the ball and play a good pass. There is a lot to his game, his strength and control is amazing!

No such evidence at all.

All I saw was no decent CM service to the forwards (a must) . And that of a Ade/Defoe combo, Defoe will be the goal-scoring beneficiary cos Ade has much better control and link play.

In fact, my only critique of Ade last night was he tried too hard to look like a "team player" in front of goal (whereas last season he would have took most of his chances on himself) .