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Red Rufus

Mbokani

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I thought he acquitted himself very well as an attacking threat but was not putting himself about defending from the front, certainly not to the level of Jerome. I know the majority of threads are bashing the usual culprits / scapegoats but defending starts from the front ! Easy to be blinded by the final score line which flattered Newcastle but the lessons need to learned by management and the players.

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I was having similar thoughts. Looks like Mbokani is more clinical and provides more of a threat in and around the box which is necessary. But Jerome gives the defence more to think about, dragging players around and making a nuisance of himself. A change in approach is necessary. We definitely need a holding midfielder to shield our creaky defence. And we need to box a bit more clever when full-backs are pushing on because other teams have analysed our weaknesses. If possession is lost, defending starts up top.

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After seeing him play he does have a large presence upfront like Jerome so it''s no surprise to see him ahead of Laff''s, Hooper and Grabban immediately.

I also couldn''t imagine him being played with Jerome either, made the same kind of runs and played in a similar style.

Hard to judge off one performance but looked like a good signing and took his goal well. Without Wes I think it always has been the case as we''re used to his luxury of being so far forward, but he did look isolated a lot like Jerome has for large chunks of the game.

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He had a good game, and glad he got his goal. But I think Jerome brings more to the overall team effort though.So either Mbokani tracks a bit more to help the cause of defending from the front, or Jerome starts finding the net.Either works for me.

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Think he could be a real star.

Strong, athletic, intelligent - & with an amazingly deft touch for such a big guy. I''d want to see more before judging his overall work rate though.

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Just had a thought; I''m no fan of 4-4-2, but would Jerome & Mbokani (DM) be worth trying together? DM kept popping up all over the place on Sunday & he played a lovely through ball for Jarvis'' goal the other day; Jerome can work the defence & provide assists. Two big physical front men might surprise & confuse some defences.

Might be worth a try (against some teams).

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[quote user="ron obvious"]Just had a thought; I''m no fan of 4-4-2, but would Jerome & Mbokani (DM) be worth trying together? DM kept popping up all over the place on Sunday & he played a lovely through ball for Jarvis'' goal the other day; Jerome can work the defence & provide assists. Two big physical front men might surprise & confuse some defences.

Might be worth a try (against some teams).[/quote]You would have to do it without Wes.He''s really not so good in a 4.

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I think AN needs to play 2 up front this week, much as I hate to see Wes left out I think we should play 2 wide men to support the 2,strikers and supply them with decent crosses. This would possibly mean less onus on the 2 FB''s getting forward meaning we might be more solid defensively.

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You would have to do it without Wes.

He''s really not so good in a 4.

---------------------------------------------

Diamond??

Controversial!

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[quote user="Red Rufus"]Yes, I think Wes needs to be sacrificed so we can play 2 up top.[/quote]On the contrary, I''d like to see Wes and Mbokani together, from the start. Mbokani is clearly a great deal more than just an energetic physical presence allied to better finishing than CJ.  He is, as I see it, a cut above our other strikers, very intelligent and with a greater richness to his game. He needs intelligent players round him.

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[quote user="westcoastcanary"][quote user="Red Rufus"]Yes, I think Wes needs to be sacrificed so we can play 2 up top.[/quote]On the contrary, I''d like to see Wes and Mbokani together, from the start. Mbokani is clearly a great deal more than just an energetic physical presence allied to better finishing than CJ.  He is, as I see it, a cut above our other strikers, very intelligent and with a greater richness to his game. He needs intelligent players round him. [/quote]

I did feel he had a penchant to drop back behind our attacking midfield 3 during the game last week which left us a bit out of shape when he was the lone striker as well as drifting out to the wings when he needed to be in the centre of the park. A few times he crossed the ball in and due to Howson''s magical ability to be in the wrong place at all times there was no one in the middle to get on the end of it.

The above is not necessarily a bad thing and Mbokani''s movement may be a bit "Holty" in it''s style. However it would be interesting to see if he started a game with Hoolahan behind him if he would be prone to maintain his position more with a more competent number 10. And whether as others have said playing with Jerome would suit him as Cameron prefers to stay central on the last line of defence. Another quick strike partner who looks to drop in the hole and get crosses in from the wing may actually work well. Of course it may also be awful, but it would be interesting to see.

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Holtcanshoot wrote: "I did feel he had a penchant to drop back behind our attacking midfield 3

during the game last week which left us a bit out of shape when he was

the lone striker as well as drifting out to the wings when he needed to

be in the centre of the park. A few times he crossed the ball in and due

to Howson''s magical ability to be in the wrong place at all times there

was no one in the middle to get on the end of it."His greater range of movement creates more opportunities for our wide midfielders to attack the penalty area (as Brady and Redmond did time and again on Sunday) and, in dropping deeper, adds to the overload on the opposition midfield. Against Newcastle Mbokani had 43 touches, which is almost 50% more than Jerome averages, indicating how much more involvement Mbokani has over and above pulling the opposition defence about with running. (By full time against Leicester, coming on as a sub, he had already had half as many touches as Jerome had in the whole game.) Judging by Sunday his team mates are understandably still adapting to playing with him, but there''s no doubt he adds something exciting and different.

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