If we resigned Ross where would we play him....

[colinwhite]

I hope we dont resign Ross, who I think is a very good player and a proven goalscorer. To me he has always been a luxury player, scores goals and has assists which no-one can dispute ,but always on his terms. We all know the many arguements against Ross playing in our current side so I wont go into that ,but i have been thinking that if there is any credance in these stories of a return to the cottage for Ross , how would joka use him?
It is clear to us all that Slavisa is no mug and i trust his judgement. This got me thinking about how we could sucessfully use Ross  as things stand now.
Well he wouldnt play him as alone forward thats for sure so it would have to be in the Piazon ,Aluko role behind Martin. Actually if Ross had played in Piazons position against Barnsley with the shooting opporunities that the brazilian got I would have fancied him to score a couple of goals. We would  however have been a man short on the left helping out malone so may well have conceded one or 2 as well.
Thinking about it , for me the most important difference between us now and last year including all the fantastic football we have been playing, is the fact that we now have defensive cover for our full backs in the shape of Aluko ,Piazon and Ayete, as well as full backs who get forward (and back !!), and the abillity of Macdonald to slide into a back three when we get turned over, and countered. We also transition to defence with ALL our players when we lose the ball in forward positions.
I cant see any advantages of getting Ross back that arent at least equalled by the problems this would cause. Then again I wouldnt have Dembele back either as a lone forward as he lacks the team link up play of Martin which is so crucial to our all action attacking play.

[filham]

If Newcastle manage to take Cairney the money could be spent on Ross as a direct replacement perhaps. OK not an   ideal exchange but believe me we are capable of doing a lot worse.

[westcliff white]

McCormack would not be far neough up the field for us to pas sit in to him. Thats the main difference with Martin.

Our style is different now and I struggle too see Ross fittin gin. Greta player for us, loads of goals and I dont soubt he can still do that, but we wouldd need to change styles to fit him in and that may harm the players around him.

Really tough call as I like him as a player

[toshes mate]

I think the major difference between Fulham last season and this is the added guile, pace and movement to the possessional play we have.  There is an argument that McCormack could accentuate that guile but the cost may be in having too many cooks and not enough food on the table.  As cover for injury, drops in form, a late in game substitution and other absenteeism, as Statto says, are possible pluses, but I cannot see how McCormack would fit in easily as a natural line up starter.   I just don't see the transfer happening anyway. 

[HamsterWheel]

Stick him on the bench and bring him on just for penalties.

[westcliff white]

McCormack would not be far neough up the field for us to pas sit in to him. Thats the main difference with Martin.

Our style is different now and I struggle too see Ross fittin gin. Greta player for us, loads of goals and I dont soubt he can still do that, but we wouldd need to change styles to fit him in and that may harm the players around him.

Really tough call as I like him as a player

Does Martin play any further up the field? He hardly even gets in the box. Certainly he never seems to get on the end of crosses. The only thing I'll concede is when we need to hoof it upfield he seems to win a lot of that, whereas wee Ross McCormack won't win anything in the air

Ross used to come too deep into our own half almost 18 year dbox and we had no outlet. Watching Maritn at the weekend hsowed what we need a forward that will stay up move to the channels, h9old the ball up, and get in and aorund the box. All of these things Ross can do but so very rarely did he do it as he was always behind the play.

I ma not having a go at him, far from it, our style was different when he wa shere, its a shame but right now I think we need to move on. As someone said on the transfer thread if we signed him he would have to play the Cairney role.

Pains me to say it but it maybe best for everyone that he doesnt come back.

[dannyboi-ffc]

Piazon drifts inside, doesnt take on players but allows Malone to overlap. Isn't blessed with pace. Doesn't create an awful lot. But works hard and is a team player. His finishing is pretty tidy for a wide player too. But if we are honest he's a squad player.

If we put Ross on the left side,  we'd still have no pace running down that wing. We'd still have someone who drifts inside which would still give Malone more room to overlap. McCormack would create more. We'd be much better at freekicks and pens. He's right footed so he would be dangerous cutting in and shooting. His crossing would be better for Martin. But he wouldn't have the work rate and team ethic. That last point is the easiest to change, you cant magic up talent but you can encourage a better attitude.

I was adamant Ross needed to leave. He was a big reason why we were a poor team. But had Ross been worth 1million id have kept him because he is so good in front of goal. The main reason he had to leave was because his stock was at the highest it could be and we needed the cash to create a team.

He is no longer needed by us, isnt wanted by Villa and would be returning to a team that is doing fine anyway. Different scenario altogether. Plus if it was a loan how can it not ve worth it? Plus again a much better 2nd choice to Martin than Smith is.

Ross would have to fit into our system and it wouldnt be to jeoperdise our midfield or Martin. But if Joka feels he can fit him in then Id go along with that.

It wouldnt be my first choice but it certainly wouldnt be a bad signing imo. Things are different now.

[westcliff white]

Danny can see the value if of playing him from the left for sure.

If on loan even better

[Bassey the warrior]

We should only re-sign if he agrees to play lone striker and not drop deep as he would be filling up the space Cairney uses. He'd on merit be a sub but obviously if Martin's form drops dramatically we could give him some starts.

The pro's would be he's a great finisher, he works hard to chase things down. He has good set pieces.
The cons are he's poor in the air, quite weak physically, quite slow (as is Martin to be fair) and too ponderous with ball (as is Cairney).
If there's a loan opportunity we should take it, but he'd need to fit in with our style and formation.

[Carborundum]

It won't matter where we play him if he treats positional discipline as something the others need to worry about whilst he bags the goals.

The last few months will have been a bit of a chastening experience.  New city, new team mates, two new gaffers and not a lot of love from the fans.  That might be enough to turn him into the hunt-in-pack operator we need (and he most certainly wasn't on occasion last year).  Because when all is said and done, if you put our match day squad against the schoolyard wall and have two captains start picking, he would be an early selection.  He's a very good footballer with plenty of physical strength and a low centre of gravity.  He converts chances more reliably than anyone we have.  I don't care that his teams have never truly prospered, because having seen him play rather a lot, stats aren't especially persuasive.

[Samsara]

I really think Ross with THIS team will be a different player than who he was with our previous squad. He was a selfish player sure, but we needed him to be selfish. He single handedly created goals without this type of support and I think rejecting him on that basis is harsh to say the least. I personally think he'll easily adapt. He's incredibly talented and if he understands his role as a cog rather than the machine itself, then our potential this season has dramatically improved.

[Horsfield_No9]

Inside forward when any of Piazon  / Aluko / Ayite are unavailable / off form

Centre forward when Martin is unavailable / form. Pass it to his feet instead of his head.

On the bench when everyone else is available and in form

Same for me. From the bench only. He isn't good enough to get in our current best 11. If he's willing to move from one bench at Villa to another then fine.

[Horsfield_No9]

Still not seen a single reliable source report on this one anyway, just bookies moving their odds which doesn't often mean much. I personally don't see this happening.

[westcliff white]

Still not seen a single reliable source report on this one anyway, just bookies moving their odds which doesn't often mean much. I personally don't see this happening.

Actually there are, you cannot move someone from a long odd to a short odd without reason, they have to follow very similar rules to traders. So the only way they could have moved that much is if a large some (porportional to that laid in the market to date) money is placed on him to move to any given club. I would suspect this is a low betting market so the sum may not be that large compared to other markets.

[Fulham Tup North]

Still not seen a single reliable source report on this one anyway, just bookies moving their odds which doesn't often mean much. I personally don't see this happening.

Skybet showing 4/7 now. But a lot being said about Ross not fitting in with our current squad, but if SJ wants him back, then he clearly see's him fitting in. Of course if he is being brought back without SJ's support, many questions will need answering and one could see this causing SJ to potentially walk away.

[Horse]

Personally I wouldn't take Ross back, but I would definitely take Dembele back.

[Jonaldiniho 88]

I'd have him back. He can play out wide and drift in as our wingers currently do. His assist record isn't a coincidence and I think he will deliver better end product than our current wide men. When he drifts in he is a far more accumplished finisher than our current wide men. He could play up top on his own as we flood the box with players so wouldn't really be on his own. He is somewhat a replacement for cairney if injured or move cairney back if Johanson is injured. Decent at dead ball situations. Also if chasing the game play a back three and stick him up top with Martin. I do believe joka would need to speak to him before signing to explain what he expects of him and where he would be playing (possibly the bench). We make so many chances a player with his skill in finishing and assists could be great for the squad if not starting 11