Sorry mate, could not disagree more. He is absolutely NOT that type of player and should never be used that way unless in an emergency (such as yesterday). His best position is in a narrow three through the middle or with at least the option to go left/right. He is absolutely never going to be a Palacios type player (they're nothing alike), ditto Parker.
One thing I find interesting is that despite the hammering you're giving him, we worked our way into a 3-0 advantage with him filling in that role. Our concessions (I think we'd agree) were largely down to other people/another person making mistakes.
Lamelas goal - he is stood like a statue 30 yards out while everyone is on their toes. Made no impact.
Mouras goal - basically the same again.
Harrys goal - similarly positioned.
I can see he might be there looking for the outball, but he is distinctly uninvolved in any of them.
Lets be blunt - I dont think he is a good player, period. I find very few redeeming features in him at this level.
Were he at West Ham Im sure he would fit in just fine, look good even, but here? He is a class apart from everyone else.
When he goes up field, he mostly wastes it. And in doing so he breaks the flow of the team. The attack just doesnt quite work fluidly.
When he goes upfield he leaves us exposed, as was evident at the weekend.
What can he do well? A defensive shift. The boy works hard and is pretty handy defensively.
What cant he do well? Technical stuff, both in vision and execution.
What do you do with a player like that? K.I.S.S. Give him a basic, simple job, that relies predominantly on work rate and simplicity - play to his strengths to get the most out of him.
People talk about these marauding runs as a strength. They arent. Yes, he can cover some ground and it looks impressive - but then what? Almost always nothing comes of it, so whats the point?
Given the choice I simply wouldnt play him. As it seems that choice has been taken away from us, Id play him as above. Let Winks/Alli/Eriksen do the football, let Sissoko provide them the secure base to do if from.
The less invovled he is in general play the better. So absolutely no thanks to putting him in a midfield position where he is in anyway particularly invovled in play.
As a secondary point, our defense is looking poor right now, and its looking exposed. Whether its Sissoko or someone else, I think it would be smart to do something about protecting them properly until we can find a stable footing.
