Is this seasons team one half of a European juggernaut?

[bmck 117]

alright, "juggernaut" is just far too much.

 

but i reckon if, next season, we kept the exact same formation, and purchased a few genuinly classy attacking players, we would have an almost mathematical model for grinding out results in europe.

 

the attacking 451 that's more like a 433 for games against opposition we should beat; the defensive 451 for games against opposition who are tough.

 

if we can have an as well thought out system in attacking mode as we do in defending, we could afford to tip the balance of the system depending on how a single game was going.

 

i dont think zenit were massively, massively outstanding - they just understood, as a counter attacking and attacking team, that flooding the opposition with runs is how teams are opened up. we havent had that ability, other than on a few occassions, but i think 451 could adapt to it. with a few substitutions the "dont concede a goal" philosophy could be re-adopted to see out games.

[craig 5,199]

I have to admit that I like the 4-5-1 for the very reasons you state Barry - it quickly becomes a 4-3-3 when you are the pressing team.

 

Where it fails is when you have two wide midfielders who are more defensive in nature. You need the wide midfielders to be more attack-minded players (I thought we looked pretty good when playing Burke & Naismith on the flanks for a couple of weeks - not saying that either player looked great but they made the 4-3-3 look how it should - pacy and quick-breaking when on the ball). DMB would have made a big difference too I feel.

 

But I do like this formation - when you dont have the ball you have a 4-5-1 and when you do, with the right players, you have a very attacking 4-3-3. I don't buy all this anti-football shite from the media. Many teams now use this formation, better teams than us use it, but they have better and more attack-minded players than us.

 

I think 4-5-1/4-3-3 is the way forward - BUT for it to work we HAVE to have the proper "5" who will 1) supoprt the lone striker and 2) provide him with the proper service.

[bmck 117]

agreed. i think last night proved ultimately, as well, that barry ferguson is not the man for that just-off-the-striker role. he hardly passed a ball last night. he is injured, and he's done well for us, but he'd be better sitting in beside thomson and getting an actually creative player in that role.

[craig 5,199]

agreed. i think last night proved ultimately, as well, that barry ferguson is not the man for that just-off-the-striker role. he hardly passed a ball last night. he is injured, and he's done well for us, but he'd be better sitting in beside thomson and getting an actually creative player in that role.

 

Agreed again - that isn't BF's best position. He should be dictating play from further back where he gets a bit more time on the ball.

 

Time for a truly creative player to play in front of him and KT. Besides, I think he and KT would complement each other very well in there and a Ronald de Boer type would be the final piece of that 3 in midfield jigsaw. Hemdani is done as far as I can see, just not at the races.

[calscot 0]

I think Beasley could do a job on the left with Naismith for the future and we still have McCulloch and Adam too, who should be fit next season.

 

We're weaker on the right as Davis is not the best in that position and Novo doesn't seem to get enough of a shout there. Burke is just too inconsistent and injury prone for me.

 

I agree about the middle role though - Barry just isn't quite up to it and drops too deep too often. It's a priority position to fill.

 

Darch is pretty good up front but we could do with someone to replace Cousin. Hopefully that player could be a class striker who can hold the ball up with Darch as backup.

 

We need a striker who has a combination of Darch's ability to hold the ball and take it right up the pitch, Boyd's predatory instincts, and Novo's tenacity, work rate and ability to track back and win the ball. That would be some player.

 

Hopefully Stevie Smith can get back to his previous form or even up to Hutton's later form. That would give us far more attacking options on the left.

 

I do admit now to regretting selling Hutton - if I knew we would get to the UEFA final I would have wanted to keep him at least till the summer. Walter is probably thinking the same.

 

We either need a new right back, or to get Whittaker playing well in that position.

 

I'm not sure if Weir will last another year and even if he does we need a backup and successor. Is Webster good enough or should we look for another Cuellar?

 

Goalkeeping is a position that is looking good.

[alexscottislegend 2,306]

Deco and Gudjohnson are available apparently - wouldn't they just solve our problems? Seriously, I think we should spend most of our budget on just 2 quality players; we already have a strong SQUAD.

[craig 5,199]

Neither Deco nor Gudjohnsen would come to Scotland IMO.

 

I think though that we need the following :

 

CB - to replace Weir

CM - attacking CM with creative spark

CM - may need additional cover too given our 3 CM's we play

RM - we need a proper attack-minded right midfielder

CF - we need a clinical centre-forward to play the lone striker role

 

Other positions we look fine in :

 

GK - McGregor & Alexander, both dependable

LB - Papac has been great of late and Stevie Smith will be pushing

CB - Cuellar, nothing needs said. We have other CB's but may need a starter if Weir doesnt continue or even if he does (Webster ??)

RB - Whittaker should work out well there, Broadfoot will be ok as cover (not the greatest but adequate cover)

LM - Beasley, Adam, McCulloch, even Naismith - plenty cover

 

Deco would be an amazing addition but NEVER going to happen. Gudjohnsen would too but, again, never going to happen - too much interest and money from England and Italy and Spain for both.