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Starting Line up V Villa

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Thank god for that - I was beginning to think that I was the only one who could see how poor Eddies distribution is - you only really noticed how bad it was when Helveg did appear and suddenly balls from the right were landing at yellow shirts feet for a change. He is not even phenomenal as a defender - he frequently reads the game poorly and gets caught out of position.

Eddies main advantage over Helveg is his ability to bomb forward. Without that Helveg is far superior. If we play a diamond again - and why would worthy change it after last weekends success - then Helvegs distribution becomes invaluable.

Anyway how is Helveg supposed to get up to speed with the prem football with only 30 sec appearances from the bench?

OTBC

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Think we''ll be seeing a lot more of both Jonson and Helveg in the starting 11 after they get 90 minutes under their belt in the cup. You can''t keep the captain of Denmark on the bench...

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I agree. Helveg is not here to warm the bench. His time will come and Edworthy will move down to the bench.

A quick point on wide defensive cover -- yes, with a diamond formation, you lose some of the cover on the flanks but when you look at how we have played all season, I don''t think it makes much difference. Our approach has been using our fitness to get behind the ball and defend. We''ve let the other team run at us and only when they get near the 18 yard box, do we push and hold our ground. When McVeigh and Bents were on the flanks, this didn''t stop the wide men from other teams -- they just are not good defenders. In fact, I think that against Spurs, we looked BETTER at stopping the wide men because it wasn''t McVeigh and Bents, but rather, Holt and Francis getting back to help the full backs. Safri provides this ability.

Our midfield looks tougher with the diamond. And yes, our width is hurt while going forward but when you have Hux, Bents in the hole and the Doc isn''t your #1 option, then you can sacrifice some of that width for the extra possession won in midfield. Besides, if we''re really suffering, we always have the option of being flex and changing during the game. A benefit to Worthy''s squad -- they are versatile. Either Bents of McVeigh can play the hole or move out wide and allow us to back to a flat midfield.

Some people on the board have discussed that other players in the squad can play in the hole. I disagree. It''s a specialist position that can only be used effectively by a player with special talent. We only have Bentley for that (and while he hasn''t completely sparkled yet, I just feel that given time, we''re going to see some real magic). It just wouldn''t work as well with other players.

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I must say I agree with a lot of what you say NY, but I really didn''t enjoy the diamond much. I felt we were lacking in key areas, but this may have been because Bentley played like Malky Mackay.The only other thing I can add is that McVeigh could, I''m sure, play fantastically in the hole. He was by far our most creative player before the loanees arrived last season, and looked very classy as a deep striker.

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I''d go with McKenzie instead of Bentley and play Hucks as a left winger/striker like we did last season. Otherwise i''d keep it the same.

 

Green

Edworthy

Drury

Fleming

Charlton

Holt

Francis

Safri

Huckerby

Doherty

McKenzie

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I can''t belive you bananama drop fleming what the hell u on about i guess u don''t go to many games then. And most of ya to drop Eddy what  is that about he has been quality last season and so far this season, helveg played two games and was poor on both and he was at fault for man u first goal.

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this concept that many players can playin the hole is weird to me. it''s one of the most difficult positions to play well. from what i can tell, the player must be able to:

a. move into spaces between midfield and attack extremely well. he has to almost sense the accordion like effect of formations tightening and breathing and find the spot where he should be to collect, and distribute the ball. position play is immense for this role.
b. he must have great vision. to get the ball and give himself the time and space to look up, evaluate, and if necessary distribute...and distribute well. more often than for any other player on the team, it''s the final pass to put someone in a great scoring position -- the most difficult pass to make. so you best be a good passer.
c. you have to be a good dribbler. once you''ve found the space, it''s your job to move the ball forward, either by dribbling or passing. how you hold and move the ball will help define how far forward the other midfielders move. if you hold on and lose it, and our midfielders haved move forward, we are exposed at the back. and of course, being a good dribbler means you can create. and as the player who may bring the ball forward into the final third, you''re going to get some heavy tackles -- you must be able to evade them well.
d. you must have a good long distance shot. part of being a good shot in this role is to be recognized as being a good dribbler so that defenders really dont know whether you are going to shoot or try to go past them. that unknown gives the player the extra micro second to create that little bit of space.

it''s not an easy position by any stretch which is why so many teams would LOVE to have a player who can play that position but not many do. Henry can do it but then again, as superman, he plays the role from his striker position. Rooney can. Scholes can. Okocha can. Who else plays it well?

The thing is that, when it comes to raw talent, Bentley can. And possibly, to a much lesser degree, McVeigh could cope altho he''s better at getting to the ball first to get past his man as opposed to actually facing up and going past them routinely. In my opinion, Leon cannot -- not even close. He''s a poacher. That''s what he is. And frankly, I don''t think Hux can play it either -- he''s too much of a head-down dribbler...it''s best when he drops deep to start on a mazy run as opposed to consistently being in the hole.

Anyway, I just think it''s a tough position to excel in and we should feel lucky that we have 1 player who can play this role....let alone 2 or more.

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I think we have 3 who could play in the "hole": Bentley (though he didn''t do so well against Spurs but looked promising), McVeigh who can also score from distance and Mulryne although his weakness is on the dribbling.

I too agree that Hux would be better down the left sometimes with Leon and Doc/Sven up front, but only when the oppo''s right midfield has little threat as Hux cannot defend even in emergencies.

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First of all, i''m in heaven here in Norway - Canal+ has screened ALL of our games until now, and are showing Villa tomorrow.

 

On that note:

Green

Edworthy-Fleming-Doherty-Drury

Bentley-Safri-Francis-McVeigh

McKenzie-Hux

The weak spots are Bentley & McVeigh''s defensive capabilities, but at FCR it should be all about going forward.

I''d also like to see Helveg and Jonsson given 30 min.+ during the game.

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Well, Mr Svensson is great, I have been to the Palace game, the Spurs game and the Arsenal game - and I watched the Newcastle and Man U games on TV due to my not living in London.

During those games I saw Fleming get turned easily by Shearer, and by Smith leading to goals. Also he didn''t cope particularly well with Johnson in the Palace game.

In that time I have seen Charlton make NO mistakes at all.

I love Flem, but we need to bed in the best defensive pairing we can, and I think the Doc and Charlton will be great. However, Fleming is fine by me if he gets picked.

As for Edworthy - WHAT?!?!?! The guy is a total nightmare. You obviously don''t understand that passing is crucial. Yes, passing to your team mates. He wasted possession so many times at the Spurs game, I started to wonder if he was playing for them. Helveg has had two average games - OH MY GOD, DROP HIM HE''S USELESS!! Don''t be silly, Helveg will prove to be a graet signing for us, and he can even pass.

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