The are kind of in the same position so comparisons are inevitable. However, they are different types of players. As I said, in some respects Diaz is better than Mane was but the team needs to adjust to take advantage of that.
Heās also being ran into the ground for club and country, you compare him to Salah who has played half the minutes recently Diaz has for both heās doing very well.
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[quote=ājaffod, post:44, topic:3104, full:trueā] Thought Henderson was really good but doubt heāll get much praise.
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Heās second on the match poll. I thought he was MOTM, personally.
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Hendo was brilliant, a totally selfless performance combined with some exceptional first time long balls behind.
For the first time this season it looked like the players were finally given instructions and told to play in roles which played to their strengths. I.e. Henderson playing midfield and Trent right back. Instead of Hendo being asked to be a right forward yet cover right back on transition and Trent playing center midfield and wide forward on transition.
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Noticeable for me was that Trent had some alongside him when faced with the wide Rangers player (Henderson, then Elliot, or Salah). Trent also stayed wider for more parts of the game, enabling him to whip those crosses in. He came infield judiciously, which I think creates a better surprise factor than making it his stock move.
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Getting throw-in and corner decisions wrong in a game is normal. But the amount last night was abnormal.
Jota is a passionate player, and shows his frustrations out in plain view. But even he just had to inwardly chuckle to himself when the ref/assistant team gave the throw the other way despite an obvious and clear kick out from the Rangers player.
By that point, Jota had gone into acceptance mode.
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Tbf some were very hard to see. Would be good if there was tech like Hawkeye that immediately corrected decisions where there was a slight touch
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I thought the ref and his assistants were poor last night
A good performance for an hour against a very average team. I thought we went very flat for the last thirty minutes. Maybe the substitutions played a part in that. A couple of outstanding saves from their keeper but otherwise most of our shots were straight at him especially in the first half. Undecided about this new system and Sundays game will be much more of a challenge. Martinelli will test Trentās defending capabilities out to the max.
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I hope we continue to build on the 4231. It suits the current players more. As weāve seen all season long, 433 has too many gaps for an aging midfield that has looked leggy from the off, albeit depleted by injuries. With the defence off form too, it has had knock on issues creating too much space for the opposition on the flanks to go at us, and then up front they have looked too isolated and not playing as a unit.
433 has served us really well for a few years, but Iām on the bus saying 4231 is the way to go now.
It suits the midfielders and attackers we have on the books, and more people can play to their strengths. So to my mind, we should build on it.
Playing the current Arsenal team with the way we have executed on 433 this season would make me nervous. Their pace and the spaces we leave does not fill me with confidence. Playing the current Arsenal team with the 4231 boosts our prospects.
Over all that, it is about players more than systems. If the players are off form and playing crap, the system might help a little, but it is not going to alter bad form too dramatically.
So we will have to be at it against the gunners. And I think we will.
Yes, this was only Rangers, but we won, and it gave a sign of hope for something new to come. Based on the way the season has gone so far, we needed it.
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I was only able to listen on the radio but they were pretty clear how comfortable the win was. Theoretically Iām much happier with a 4231 based on our current personnel than persisting with the 433 that wasnāt working. Also not adverse to seeing Henderson & Thiago being given a lengthy run in the team at the base of midfield rather than Fabinho.
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Thiago and Hendo are noticeably more mobile than Fab, but not so mobile as to play in a 3 in midfield the way we used to with Fab mopping up in the middle. Fab needs two midfielders with him with big engines and decent pace and we donāt have that right now. So getting help from wide forwards in a 4-2-3-1 (or a 4-2-4 in possession and 4-5-1 out of possession) should be the way to go.
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So he really went to Anfield? Why?
To watch champions league football.
He played for Rangers.
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If it had been in colour lfti Alex Ferguson would have been a lot easier to spotā¦
He was the one with the Purple Nose :0)
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