The Midfield Three

[The Fun Factory]

I would be surprised and disappointed if the plan was to really wait until January to bring in the mystery extra midfielder we clearly need.  The result of that could be a poor first half of a season and clubs holding us to ransom in January.

[Philosopher]

15 hours ago, TRO said:

My view on their best positions :

• Luiz..........no8
• Sanson....no 8
• Ramsey...no 8
• McGinn...no 8
• Young... Left Back
• Buendia.....Don't know

So I think this is a little too simplistic.

For me Luiz is a dynamic 6. His best position 6 as a regista. So he won't simply sit, he will get further into midfield when we have the ball, and be our main distributor from deep, look for shooting opportunities, but get into position to screen the defense when without the ball, rather than press. His pressing isn't great.

Sanson is an 8 not simply a  box to box 8 he is more of a mezzala. Which is taking up positions to support the wide player (who is usually a playing as an auxiliary striker looking for goals like muller).

Ramsey is an 8 but rather than straightforward box 2 box he also exhibits playmaker qualities. Which is  a roaming playmaker. He could also probably play as a regista like luiz. Luiz could probably play roaming playmaker too.

Now McGinn is a curious one. When played as a 6 he plays as one of 2 6's as the most offensive of the 2. Sort of like a box 2 box coming from even deeper. Problem is he has to make longer runs as a result. He also has to come deeper, making it harder to support the attack. It also puts more emphasis on his decision making as a result. Problem is he is more of an instinctual than a clever player so he often leaves us exposed or without support going forward. This also affects how Cash and the right winger do their jobs, but that's a next discussion.

if you look at McGinn's positional history he started out as a DM. So he certainly knows what it takes to play there.  However his energy and all action style certainly suits the more dynamic always in the thick of things box 2 box role. For me you either tell him to be a proper DM or a proper box 2 box, don't halfway house him cos you're just f'ing with his head. 

Young is a fullback or wing back on either flank. Could play him as a left midfielder or right midfielder in a 442 as his auxiliary positions.

Buendia is a right midfielder. Not right forward! Not a number 10. Could be a central midfield playmaker if given the right midfield partners (athletic, energetic, and combative players that will do the dirty work and support him going forward).

Positions aren't as simple as such and such play this position. These days the roles players play in particular position is as contrasting as night and day. It's up to The manager to find the best way to use players that fits into the system, how they want to play, and that's complimentary to the players around them. Smith is making a hash of this at the minute.

 

 

[Delphinho123]

So then, who’s our best three?

[DCJonah]

I think the three tonight. 

[MaVilla]

3 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

So then, who’s our best three?

im gonna say something i never thought i would ever say, but:

the 6 role: Nakamba (after seeing how Gerrard's system and instructions seem to suit him down to the ground), he looks like a totally different player.

 

Now to the more non "what the heck am i saying bit":

The 2 x 8's : honestly, im not sure, i think it could be any combination of Sanson, McGinn, Luiz and Ramsey, i think all of them are capable, maybe who is selected may be game/requirement dependant.

Edited December 1, 2021 by MaVilla

[Delphinho123]

2 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

I think the three tonight. 

That started? 

Personally I’d have Luiz at the base and then Ramsey and Sanson/McGinn in front. 

I really like Nakamba but we’d be a better side with Luiz in there and we have to start keeping possession better. 

[DCJonah]

1 minute ago, Delphinho123 said:

That started? 

Personally I’d have Luiz at the base and then Ramsey and Sanson/McGinn in front. 

I really like Nakamba but we’d be a better side with Luiz in there and we have to start keeping possession better. 

Maybe. Nakamba has been very good last few games. 

[nepal_villan]

Think tonight showed that Luiz is better as an 8.  Chuck still raw - should go out on loan. We have good options in  Ramsey and Sanson.

[WooJung]

30 minutes ago, nepal_villan said:

Think tonight showed that Luiz is better as an 8.  Chuck still raw - should go out on loan. We have good options in  Ramsey and Sanson.

Depending on the game Luiz can be brilliant at both. He's been sublime playing as a 6 during project restart and at the beginning of last season, but he's shown what he can offer as an 8 tonight and against Everton.

I'm happy with him playing in either role, depending on the opposition

[villa4europe]

42 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

That started? 

Personally I’d have Luiz at the base and then Ramsey and Sanson/McGinn in front. 

I really like Nakamba but we’d be a better side with Luiz in there and we have to start keeping possession better. 

Agree 

Nakamba serves a purpose, Liverpool away is his game, Burnley at home isn't 

We need to rotate them based on what our game plan is, Nakamba shouldn't be playing in games we look to go north of 55% possession 

We could end up with 2 capable CMs on the bench and a youngster full of potential, SG has some management to do 

[May-Z]

I think it's important we've got 4/5 CMs that look starting quality. 

The formation we have means that CMs will get rinsed physically during a game, so having replacements ready at a high standard will mean they all get a decent amount of playing time.

[gwi1890]

51 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

So then, who’s our best three?

Rotation is the best three

[KentVillan]

I don't think many top sides have a fixed midfield 3. Usually it's 5 or 6 players who rotate, because they're expected to cover so much grass once or twice a week, inevitably they need to be rested occasionally.

We now have Nakamba, Luiz, Mcginn, Sanson, Ramsey, Chukwuemeka who I would all trust to start a game in the middle in various roles. This is good. The best 3 will vary from game to game.

[villalad21]

Nakamba, Luiz, McGinn for me. 

Harsh on Ramsey but you cannot ignore Luiz performance today. 

[MattVillaPortsmouth]

I would like to see, 
         Nakamba

Luiz                 Sanson

 

next game, Ramsey/Chuck can come on for luiz/Samson or emi/LW

[MWARLEY2]

10 hours ago, nepal_villan said:

Think tonight showed that Luiz is better as an 8.  Chuck still raw - should go out on loan. We have good options in  Ramsey and Sanson.

We do not have enough midfielders in the club to let Carney go out on loan. 

[rodders0223]

We've gone from none of them is good enough combination to genuine excitement over which one is better than the other.

What a difference a bit of coaching and a different few voices makes.

Not a dig at Smith but it always surprised me for a football man he could never get a system to play genuine football as a collective unit.

[Vive_La_Villa]

1 hour ago, MattVillaPortsmouth said:

I would like to see, 
         Nakamba

Luiz                 Sanson

 

next game, Ramsey/Chuck can come on for luiz/Samson or emi/LW

Where does it leave arguable one of our best players?

[villa89]

12 hours ago, Delphinho123 said:

So then, who’s our best three?

Sanson, Luiz and McGinniesta.

[Vive_La_Villa]

Next 2 games I’d go with the same midfield that played yesterday.  After that we have Norwich and Burnley so could probably rest Nakamba and bring in Sanson or Ramsey.