I completely agree with this… the formation utilizes the current players we have.
Includes our big money signings.
Both wirtz and dom are advanced 10 roles. Wirtz with tricky passes in close. And Dom shooting from distance.
Dom can utilize his engine and support Grav. Sitting in front defence.
Barcola and munoz ( or upgrade rw) play the mane / salah role.
Bottom line is we won the league playing 433 just 2 years ago.
Ps… if we insist on 4231. We will need a proper DM in the midfield 2 to allow the other player to go forward …
Also we end up in a huge problem of where to play Szoboszlai as he is not suited in the midfield 2. He plays Wirtz role as a 10… and rb is a temporary solution ( end up with a unhappy player.)
I get the feeling that what we’re seeing at the moment is very much this and the first month or so of the season is just an extension of Andoni’s pre-season testing and prepping.
Because if they hold their position, Gravenberch can’t pass so he won’t pick them out, if they have to drop deep they are essentially back to playing a 2 and a 1 again.
It worked differently in the title season as we had the best passing full back the world has ever seen doing the passing for Gravenberch. You want Frimpong to do that?
I understand what you are saying. But my point is using the players we currently have..
In the best positions possible. Nobody protects the back line better than Grav in our team. In a mid 2 though, he always pushes forward too much.
But there is also nobody who can replace TAA long range passing on the team. So thats a moot point. But that doesnt negate Grav playing there. Nor negates using a 433
There is nothing wrong with shorter range passing that Grav can do. Also JJ on defence is showing forward passes in his repertoire…
The original post has Bradley replacing Frimpong. Frimpong should have never been bought.
We knew when we brought Iraola in that he wouldn’t play our old 4-3-3, but instead prefers a 4-2-3-1! So, that shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone now. We’ve played every match so far in the new system, and we’re currently buying and selling players to support that approach. I’d say we should just wait and see how things develop step by step. If we didn’t want this—or if he hadn’t been given the trust to implement it—we wouldn’t have hired him as our manager in the first place. People are always far too quick to complain when things don’t work out immediately, instead of just waiting to see what Iraola has in mind for the team.
If Iraola realizes that things aren’t working out with our current players, he will either change their roles or they will be replaced. Even though that won’t happen overnight, it is certainly the long-term plan.
But it’s not moot because you referenced winning the title as proof what you’re suggesting works. But it only worked partly because we had Trent doing the passing. We don’t have that now so it won’t work nearly as well.
Id argue there is a lot wrong with Grav’s short passing. He is very poor at passing through the lines, which he would have to do in that system.
I feel like the answer is to play somebody like Mac or Nyoni in the 2 to supply wirtz and just put szobo at right back.
I never said he was in midfield. I implied he did a lot of the passing and creative work so our midfield didn´t have to so much. That includes crosses that lead to chances and again, meant our midfield didn´t have to do so much with the ball.