Midfield

[chiropracticcanary 5]

If we are going to go three in midfield and ultimately deploy a holding / anchor midfielder in there with two number 8's, then why don't we just go with Sorenson for now in this position?  He is the closest we have to this type of midfielder and will help facilitate both Gilmour and Lees-Melou to adapt to their longer term roles. 

I appreciate you could argue it is better to go with your more experienced pros such as Rupp or Mclean in the short term, however these first two games are in my mind turning into pseudo warm up games as we are unlikely to win and we need to use them to gain our fitness for the Leicester and Arsenal games. 

Just a thought.  OTBC 

 

 

[dylanisabaddog 5,015]

People have been bringing this up for ages which is not surprising as I thought it was why we signed him. I can only assume that Farke sees things in training that puts him off

[Alfie54 76]

Hard to understand, he’s never let us down and always looks very comfortable

[Deptford Yellow 260]

I thought the suggestion was that they see him as more an 8 himself rather than a 4 ...

[Petriix 2,853]

Sorensen is hardly far away from the first team having been named on the bench whenever he wasn't starting last season and again on Saturday.

That central midfield area is the biggest challenge for us to overcome this season. It's arguably the overriding tactical conundrum in football. We saw on Saturday how the 3 gives us cover at the expense of an attacking option. We saw last season the benefits of playing a true number 10 but without having the threat of Premier League quality attackers exploiting the space behind.

Personally I hope the 3 is plan B rather than our main tactic. We obviously have a Skipp shaped hole, but I'm confident that Gilmour and Lees-Melou can combine successfully to allow us an extra AM. Otherwise we may continue to look a little toothless up front. We've got plenty of options either way, we just need a little time for the new players to click. 

[Jim Smith 2,345]

Yes I really don;t get the reluctance to use Sorensen and I would also play him on Saturday. I on;t see why the pinkun guys keep saying they see him as more of a "box to box" midfielder. From what I saw of him at full back I would say that is tasked with the role of sitting in front of the defence and providing them with a screen he would be more than capable of doing that. A very intelligent player and more physical than Rupp. 

[RobertRosariosBeefTomatoes 31]

Couldn't agree more about this. I thought Sorensen was signed as a DM. He's clearly assured in his defensive work and to me has always looked cool under pressure. Maybe we will see it.

[Ken Hairy 3,782]

Yep, agree too regarding Sorensen, I'd have him instead of Rupp in the starting line up, with Gilmour and Lees-Melou further up. 

[Google Bot 3,329]

I'm not the biggest fan of Rupp, but i can see why Farke puts him in.  He's of a consistent standard in a team with a lot of unknowns.

Replacing him with Sorensen (My preferred choice at DM) and bringing Gilmour forwards a little is basically loading midfield with unknowns.  Sorensen needs at least 3-4 games in that position to see if he can do a job, do we have that to spare?

As Billy is one of the first names on the team sheet, much depends on where Farke see's his ideal role I guess.  To me, his assets are on the ball and making things happen vs breaking up play which Sorensen is physically better equipped.

[Aggy 766]

Why is the defensive midfielder traditionally 4? From one of the old systems where the 4 was some kind of sweeper who could get forward beyond the defence presumably and now just stays beyond them?

 

I’d have no issue with Sorensen in that role as suggested above.

[RugbyCanary 94]

Yes, confused as why he doesn't seem to fit. Or is it more long term Aarons replacement? If Aarons was to go, why would (if happened) he move from a successful midfield to fullback, and we get miffed. I suppose if he's not starting he can come in......

[Essjayess 307]

Has always seemed a bit of a mystery why Sorensen is mostly on the bench and not on the pitch, it feels like DF views him as a kind of utility player  who can fill in at a few positions, but then only if for whatever reason those also on the bench beside him cannot fulfill DF's tactical changes during any game scenario.

Personally feel Sorensen should have by now cemented a starting place in City's matchday first 11, but if the above has any ring of truth then i guess Sorensen is destined to be a bench warmer. Only DF knows what DF wants.

[Segura 84]

I like the look of Sorensen from what I've seen, however I fear we may be falling into the trap of over-rating players because they don't play very often - see Declan Rudd, Adrian Coote as past examples.

Also, how many times last season did Sorenson play in midfield? I can't recall many, which leads me think he's not the required quality in that position, certainly not now anyway.

Still think Billing would be a very good low-risk signing for us.

[FenwayFrank 2,469]

3 hours ago, Aggy said:

Why is the defensive midfielder traditionally 4? From one of the old systems where the 4 was some kind of sweeper who could get forward beyond the defence presumably and now just stays beyond them?

 

I’d have no issue with Sorensen in that role as suggested above.

Wasn’t number 4 right half ?