SUIYHA
Scott Parker
RWF. It seems so obvious now.
We played him in central midfield in a 4-4-2 and he didn't do enough defensive work. We played him on the wing in a 4-4-2 and he drifted into the middle and left the side unbalanced and exposed down the wing (also he didn't have enough pace). We played him up front and he kept dropping too deep, leaving the main striker isolated. Rafa's ball playing ability has never been in doubt, but the conundrum has been finding a position for him that doesn't unbalance the side and also gets the best out of him. I think we've finally found it.
I think Rafa has been arguably our best player over the last 3 games. Not only does it look like he's finally started practising corners in training, he's showing off some excellent passing and vision too. Granted, he missed sitters in the Chelsea and Bolton games, but then he produced a top quality finish yesterday to end our poor run of form. We have created a lot of chances in these games, many of them coming from Rafa.
What's changed? His position. As a right wing forward, he is able to cut in on his favoured left foot and deliver the goods. He also stays up the pitch in attacking positions and doesn't need to worry so much about his defensive duties. As a wing forward, it also doesn't matter if he drifts inside so much as there's an extra DM to cover for him on the right hand side if he does. In fact, it can work in our favour when he drifts inside as we have an extra striker in the box to get on the end of Bale or whoever's crosses. Finally, we've found a home for him and it's been reflected in the huge number of chances we've created in the last 3 games since we've been playing him there in a 4-3-3.
The only problem now is, having seen what a big difference Lennon can make, do we keep him in this formation against Sunderland? Or bring Lennon back to the right wing?
We played him in central midfield in a 4-4-2 and he didn't do enough defensive work. We played him on the wing in a 4-4-2 and he drifted into the middle and left the side unbalanced and exposed down the wing (also he didn't have enough pace). We played him up front and he kept dropping too deep, leaving the main striker isolated. Rafa's ball playing ability has never been in doubt, but the conundrum has been finding a position for him that doesn't unbalance the side and also gets the best out of him. I think we've finally found it.
I think Rafa has been arguably our best player over the last 3 games. Not only does it look like he's finally started practising corners in training, he's showing off some excellent passing and vision too. Granted, he missed sitters in the Chelsea and Bolton games, but then he produced a top quality finish yesterday to end our poor run of form. We have created a lot of chances in these games, many of them coming from Rafa.
What's changed? His position. As a right wing forward, he is able to cut in on his favoured left foot and deliver the goods. He also stays up the pitch in attacking positions and doesn't need to worry so much about his defensive duties. As a wing forward, it also doesn't matter if he drifts inside so much as there's an extra DM to cover for him on the right hand side if he does. In fact, it can work in our favour when he drifts inside as we have an extra striker in the box to get on the end of Bale or whoever's crosses. Finally, we've found a home for him and it's been reflected in the huge number of chances we've created in the last 3 games since we've been playing him there in a 4-3-3.
The only problem now is, having seen what a big difference Lennon can make, do we keep him in this formation against Sunderland? Or bring Lennon back to the right wing?
