Game plans.

[colinwhite]

After the superb performance on monday against Leicester its going to be very interesting to see how we play against Man city on saturday.
We go into the game with some solid performances behind us where  we were arguably very much `in` our last 4 games ,which also saw the start of the new defensive partnership in the middle of our defence. Its no coincidence that the upturn in our performances over these games (if not points tally ) has seen a sweep of the broom with regard to players . Out with the old and in with the new so to speak.
Watching our opening game of the season against Arsenal it became abundantly clear that many of the players responsible for getting us back to the promised land were simply not up to the class of the Premier League. Whilst the jury may still be out on some of these players it was striking that only two players picked to start against the Foxes started aginst Brentford in the play-off final.

Scott Parker has remained calm in his post match interviews despite some poor results and no little criticism from many. His immediate reaction to the Everton defeat was very telling however. He talked about players not getting it and not doing the "basics " you need to do to win football matches or "give yourself a chance ".
In lots of ways Parker has been a hostage to the players he inherited and in particular our most popular players , Cairney and Mitrovic.
The abscence of these two players in our last match suggests to me partly that he is unconvinced of Cairneys  consistancy in doing the basics despite some sterling performances this season. Whilst Mitro is clearly out of form i believe he was left out in our latest match mainly because he restricts the way the team can play, particularly when pressing opponents.
Playing through Mitro and Cairney gives us creativity and goal threat but restricts our ability to counter attack at pace , not only because both players lack pace but more importantly because both players slow down the play. This enables us to keep possession but has made us easy to pick off at times.Parkers solutution of playing both players in our 442 press when out of possesion was a solution that in many ways worked but also hampered our abillity to break quickly when turning the ball over as we did so successfully in our last outing.

I believe both Tc and Mitro will get game time moving forward but it is in some ways Parkers catch 22 dilema of selection. Both players strengthen us in terms of possession but simultaniously limit us in how we can both press ,defend and counter attack.

[Twig]

Sorry but in my opinion it's lazy thinking to repeat the view that TC slows down our play. In his preferred more forward role he gets his passes away quickly and they often create or sustain our forward momentum. As another poster pointed out on a previous thread, a player doesn't have to be quick over the ground to contribute to quick play.

[filham]

It was a big surprise on Monday that Cairney and Mitro were dropped, suspect they will both find their ways back into the team but really can't see how we can drop anyone  after that great victory over Leicester.
We all wait with interest to see Parker's line up for Saturday.

[colinwhite]

Sorry but in my opinion it's lazy thinking to repeat the view that TC slows down our play. In his preferred more forward role he gets his passes away quickly and they often create or sustain our forward momentum. As another poster pointed out on writers to thread, a player doesn't have to be quick over the ground to contribute to quick play.

Agree with idea Twig . But a player doesnt have to be slow to slow the play down either. Cairneys strong suit is still is passing in the final third,but we are not going to transition as  quickly with him in the team, and its not so much a question of his lack of pace but more a mind set with him in that role. Parkers criticism of the team after the Everton game seemed to me to be directed at TC as his team selection would tend to bear out.
Im a big fan of TC and my post didnt set out to criticise him. He is good enough to play his games against the west Broms but possibly not the Leicesters was point, at least in SP s eyes .

Also i did not state that Cairney slows the play down (even if he does at times with benefit ) ,but was making the point  that if Mitro and Cairney are in the side dont expect oss to counter attack in numbers because they arent mobile nor quick enough .

[Statto]

Have to agree with Colin. TC kicking the ball up the pitch isn't a counter-attack, no matter how quickly he does it. Getting the ball up there is easy, but ineffective unless there are bodies swarming up there in greater numbers than the opposition have kept back. It's the bodies getting forward that constitute the threat.

[H4usuallysitting]

We must make teams fear us.... doesn't matter how we play