Taarabt is not a centre midfielder

[JackyFulham90]

He is just like Ruiz but even more attacking he won't track back he is a very attacking player, Ruiz & Kacaniklic are most at risk with his signing,  he will feature off the striker or on the left. He is a very exciting player & a great signing but he does certainly not solve our central midfield problems

[Zu-Meister]

i was hoping he will be able to fullfill the role of CM alongside boateng. and maybe jol might be able to convert him. however, if we do get a nother cm in(i think we need 2), then i hope jol plays taarabt behind the striker with ruiz dropped. dejagah has to be on the right, his partnership with riether is our best weapon.

[KP_FFC]

jol did say we lack creativity in the midfield so im sure he'll be played there

[bmasar]

Who here thought Dembele would be a cracking CM when we bought him? So time will tell about Taraabt.

[horse1031]

I was thinking about this as well today.  He isn't going to track back at all and is not going to be a midfield enforcer  (i hope he proves me wrong!).  I almost think that he could sit behind Berba and take defenders on.  Who knows if he'll pass the ball.  I can imagine there are going to be fireworks with those two in the front.

I think this makes it even more vital to have our midfield be strong defensively.  This is going to be a very intriguing lineup that we have this year.  Games could be 5-4 or 3-3.  I think Jol has a mess on his hands.  BUT, if he gets it right, this could be the most exciting attacking group we have ever hard.  It probably is the most talented attacking group we have ever had.  Maybe he will do like he did with Dembele, Dempsey, and Ruiz as the top of a 4 3 3 but with Berba, Taarabt, and Ruiz???  If Diarra was ever fit he would fit nicely behind him with Boateng and then have Dejegah or Kaca on the wings.

In this case Taarabt is a hybrid Dembele\Dempsey where he can take players on and shoot from distance.  I wouldnt say Dempsey passed the ball incredibly well but he scored a ton.

Ruiz                Berba           Taarabt

Kaca              Boateng         Dejegah

Briggs        Hangeland        Amorebieta       Reither

                      Stekelenburg


I feel like we need more midfield balance but I know Jol will want Ruiz and Taarabt to both play but they play the same position.  Make no mistake, this is now Martin Jols team.

[Captain Fulhamerica]

Who here thought Dembele would be a cracking CM when we bought him? So time will tell about Taraabt.

Was thinking the same thing.  Wouldn't bet on Taarabt becoming anything close to Dembele in terms of strength and consistency, but I think he could occupy a playmakers role just ahead of a defensive midfielder.

I actually wouldn't be surprised to see Ruiz play more of a true CM role while Taarabt it pushed further forward or out to the wing.

[YankeeJim]

I was thinking about this as well today.  He isn't going to track back at all and is not going to be a midfield enforcer  (i hope he proves me wrong!).  I almost think that he could sit behind Berba and take defenders on.  Who knows if he'll pass the ball.  I can imagine there are going to be fireworks with those two in the front.

I think this makes it even more vital to have our midfield be strong defensively.  This is going to be a very intriguing lineup that we have this year.  Games could be 5-4 or 3-3.  I think Jol has a mess on his hands.  BUT, if he gets it right, this could be the most exciting attacking group we have ever hard.  It probably is the most talented attacking group we have ever had.  Maybe he will do like he did with Dembele, Dempsey, and Ruiz as the top of a 4 3 3 but with Berba, Taarabt, and Ruiz???  If Diarra was ever fit he would fit nicely behind him with Boateng and then have Dejegah or Kaca on the wings.

In this case Taarabt is a hybrid Dembele\Dempsey where he can take players on and shoot from distance.  I wouldnt say Dempsey passed the ball incredibly well but he scored a ton.

Ruiz                Berba           Taarabt

Kaca              Diarra\Boateng         Dejegah

Briggs        Hangeland        Amorebieta       Reither

                      Stekelenburg


I feel like we need more midfield balance but I know Jol will want Ruiz and Taarabt to both play but they play the same time of game and the same place.

I can see the right wings of the Prem salivating. Not much defense on the left here.

[horse1031]

I was thinking about this as well today.  He isn't going to track back at all and is not going to be a midfield enforcer  (i hope he proves me wrong!).  I almost think that he could sit behind Berba and take defenders on.  Who knows if he'll pass the ball.  I can imagine there are going to be fireworks with those two in the front.

I think this makes it even more vital to have our midfield be strong defensively.  This is going to be a very intriguing lineup that we have this year.  Games could be 5-4 or 3-3.  I think Jol has a mess on his hands.  BUT, if he gets it right, this could be the most exciting attacking group we have ever hard.  It probably is the most talented attacking group we have ever had.  Maybe he will do like he did with Dembele, Dempsey, and Ruiz as the top of a 4 3 3 but with Berba, Taarabt, and Ruiz???  If Diarra was ever fit he would fit nicely behind him with Boateng and then have Dejegah or Kaca on the wings.

In this case Taarabt is a hybrid Dembele\Dempsey where he can take players on and shoot from distance.  I wouldnt say Dempsey passed the ball incredibly well but he scored a ton.

Ruiz                Berba           Taarabt

Kaca              Diarra\Boateng         Dejegah

Briggs        Hangeland        Amorebieta       Reither

                      Stekelenburg


I feel like we need more midfield balance but I know Jol will want Ruiz and Taarabt to both play but they play the same time of game and the same place.

I can see the right wings of the Prem salivating. Not much defense on the left here.

I totally agree, we have no defense in this formation...  too many attacking players and not enough positions!  I didn't know who to pick for left back.

[Bassey the warrior]

He is just like Ruiz but even more attacking he won't track back he is a very attacking player, Ruiz & Kacaniklic are most at risk with his signing,  he will feature off the striker or on the left. He is a very exciting player & a great signing but he does certainly not solve our central midfield problems

Nevertheless I do think Jol will play him there. If we sign someone like Chantome it may not come to that but Jol realizes a creative central midfielder is an imperative. He tried Ruiz in the role last season and it didn't work out.

[Bassey the warrior]

Who here thought Dembele would be a cracking CM when we bought him? So time will tell about Taraabt.

I did. Well, I wasn't on here at the time, I was over on Cottage Corner. I've now departed from there though, far too many trolls.

[PaulJ123]

It took Dembele 2 years to really develop into a CM though, doesn't happen over a matter of weeks like some people seem to think on here.

[alexbishop]

Dembele wasn't greedy as far as scoring goals was concerned, he just liked dribbling. Taarabt is completely different, he wants to score goals, get assist, be the centre of attention. He does not have the discipline to sit in central midfield nor the intelligence to decide when to make runs and when to sit back. Listen to his interview, he is a pure attacking player. Dembele was just as strong defensively as he was at going forward with the ball. Taarabt is not the same player.

[Bassey the warrior]

It took Dembele 2 years to really develop into a CM though, doesn't happen over a matter of weeks like some people seem to think on here.

Well, not entirely true. First season he didn't play there at all so couldn't develop. Second he didn't initially and when he did he did really well. He did develop his strength and decision making but the natural ability and work rate was always there.

[JackyFulham90]

Taarabt next to Boateng would be a disaster as would Ruiz both need to be further forward linking with the striker

[Big Martin Jol]

It's very hard to envisage Ruiz being dropped and it's also difficult seeing Taarabt coming here and not starting.

I would hope that when Jol went in for Taarabt he had a clear role in mind for him. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[Brown@FFC]

I believe if we sign a creative CM, Chantome hopefully, and a forward, Bent or otherwise, Ruiz will have no place in the team, neither will Kaca. They will definitely feature, but will not be classed in our best Starting XI. With this:

Stekelenburg

Riether Hangeland Amorebieta Richardson

Dejagah Chantome Boateng Taarabt

Bent Berbatov

I will be very happy with this as our line up, and Ruiz and Kaca would alternate with Taarabt and Bent.

[farfouille]

Taarabt next to Boateng would be a disaster as would Ruiz both need to be further forward linking with the striker

I agree, even Ruiz has more defensive skills that Taarabt. I think that Jol has realized that Ruiz+Berba is not working and that's why he tried to move Ruiz on the right wing in the last friendly hoping that he will have the opportunity to test Taarabt+Berba up front. Now, he must have seen that the exercise with Ruiz hasn't worked once again (shocker, right?) so I am very curious what his next move would be. This is like watching a fly trying to get though a window - you just wonder "will this fly finally get it... ever?".

Bad times for Ruiz. I hope that Hamburger rumour isn't true...

[JackyFulham90]

Ruiz will still start come Sunderland I like Ruiz I just prefer Dejagah he is a quality player

[JackyFulham90]

Taarabt will probably be like Dempsey cutting in on the left but I really rate Kacaniklic

[f5shooter]

Here's a scary article about him.....

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/queensparkrangers/id/1161/taarabt-takes-easy-route-to-stay-in-the-top-flight?cc=5901