Bassong and Bennett

[ron obvious 1,499]

Excellent, thoughtful & balanced post Paddy. Look forward to more from you.

I''m going to be controversial here, & suggest that Martin contributes more to the team than Bennett. Bennett is stronger & a better defensive header, but he''s just not very bright, in footballing terms at least. Martin has more awareness & generally better positioning - I don''t think he would have been dragged into the tackle by Ozil for example.

I am by no means suggesting Martin is a good PL defender, but I don''t think he''s the worst - certainly not the worst in our squad. And he does weigh in with a few goals.

[NCFC198 2]

if Bennett and Bassong are our best pairing, but we miss Martin, why not play all three? seemed to do ok at Man City. would also allow full back to get further forward. Martin could step out and join midfield when needed and Tettey can drop back when needed, essentially meaning the opposition would need to beat four men, six with full backs.

not saying this is what we should do, but its an option, what are peoples thoughts?

using attacking full / wing backs would also allow for the no 10 / attacking mid fielders to get closer to the striker when attacking

[Ray 111]

NCFC198,

Grre with you and been saying this for a while, and if we are going to play a ''sweeper'' or ''utility player'' then this individual has to be able to read the game. Currently RM is probably the best for the position.

If the rest of the team can play the system then it provides far more flexibility in style on the pitch.

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="Ray"]NCFC198,

Grre with you and been saying this for a while, and if we are going to play a ''sweeper'' or ''utility player'' then this individual has to be able to read the game. Currently RM is probably the best for the position.

If the rest of the team can play the system then it provides far more flexibility in style on the pitch.[/quote]

A lot has been written about why 3-at-the-back has fallen out of favour -- here''s one sample article. Since Watford play 2 up front it might well have been worth a try on Saturday, but as that article indicates, football has moved on since the days when the system was in vogue. 

[Ray 111]

Hi westcoast,

Fortunately styles go in and out of vogue, think of the mini skirt!!

May be we will be trend setters and bring this system back successfully?

Hope all is OK?

[lowlyfendweller 0]

I quite like the idea of RM in back 3, and progressing into midfield if apprpriate. Not sure if its more than just a nice idea though. Hard to pull off for all involved. Don''t think Tettey could work in that system because you need some serious ball players in midfield to get forward.

RM does present options (not necassarily good ones) as a roaming defender almost. Sometimes Sweeper, sometimes DM sometimes CB. But let''s face he''s no Beckenbauer.

[YorkshirePudding 0]

Good post paddy, but I''d start with Mbokani, much better on the ball. And then I''d bring Jerome on towards the end.

It is really puzzling why Mulumbu hasn''t featured more recently, as he has looked good when he has played. I do agree that him and O''Neil would be the best midfield two.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

[quote user="ron obvious"]Excellent, thoughtful & balanced post Paddy. Look forward to more from you. I''m going to be controversial here, & suggest that Martin contributes more to the team than Bennett. Bennett is stronger & a better defensive header, but he''s just not very bright, in footballing terms at least. Martin has more awareness & generally better positioning - I don''t think he would have been dragged into the tackle by Ozil for example. I am by no means suggesting Martin is a good PL defender, but I don''t think he''s the worst - certainly not the worst in our squad. And he does weigh in with a few goals.[/quote]

 

I think RM has a lot more experience which means he is sometimes better with his positioning but I''m not convinced how much better he is at CB - he still has the instincts of a right back, whereas Bennett is a natural CB and I think it shows.  With more experience I expect Bennett to improve in this area - CB is probably the position in football where experience is most important of all.  Bennett has shown up well against some of the top Prem teams since he has come in, which I think is as much as you can ask of someone with his experience coming into the first team (he''s never been a regular first team player before).  Ozil is one of the best players in the Prem !

 

Going forward I noticed Bennett pick out quite a few accurate long balls on Saturday, once was a superb pass that went to Brady in a great position (didn''t come to anything - Brady had an off day as we all know).  I don''t think Martin is as good at this.

 

It is true that Martin does have quite a knack for getting goals.  But I don''t think that compensates for his weaknesses.  Bennett is definitely ahead of him as a CB right now IMO.

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="Ray"]Hi westcoast,

Fortunately styles go in and out of vogue, think of the mini skirt!!

May be we will be trend setters and bring this system back successfully?

Hope all is OK?[/quote]

Good evening Ray. Yes AOK thank you. Rodgers tried it briefly at Liverpool, didn''t start any trend! We''d be doing it for the same reason as Rodgers -- player limitations -- rather than tactical reasons -- effective against two strikers -- so to me smacks of desperation (some might argue desperate measures are needed, but I don''t think we''ve yet reached that stage). Also neither RB nor SB is particularly comfortable when drawn out wide, essential for playing a back three. 

I don''t care what anybody says, but IMO benching RM (and to a lesser extent Whittaker) has markedly reduced our fluency in building right-side attacks. Maybe grefstad can produce the stats to back me up or otherwise ..... [;)]