Redmond in the hole?

[coachkemp 0]

Now, I have my own opinion on this idea but I am intrigued to see if anyone else has considered it, and if not why or if they feel it could be good or not?

[MancCanary 0]

Aye, worth a shot. I''m surprised we haven''t tried him or Snoddy there yet.

[Aggy 944]

Put our one player with genuine pace in pretty much the only position on the pitch which doesn''t need pace? His final ball is fairly poor, his technique isn''t amazing, basically he is quick and direct. So suits the wings perfectly, doesn''t suit in the hole at all. Snodgrass may be better in there, as his game is more about cutting in and not about pace.

[Surfer 1,547]

Yeah, I''d prefer to see him on the wing, preferably on the right, he clearly scares the defenders out there.

Then IMO it''s Hoolahan or Snodgrass in the middle, Tettey with either Johnson or Howson as the holding midfielders. For the other positions, one out of RvW, Elmander or Pilkington to partner Hooper.

[iron_stan 0]

redmond right, olsson or pilkington left you can try snodgrass in the hole but hed be better off on the transfer list

[ZLF 335]

Snoddy seems like a natural candidate for an appearance there to be honest,  esp as it accomodates redmond right and someone else left (not wes though) while allowing snoddy on the pitch for set pieces,  puts him in a position where he can still demand play through him but gives him more options than a poorly delivered cross. It also removes him from slowing down wide attacks.   I thought he has played there for scotland so I am not sure why we have not given it a go.

 

Redmond I am less sure about,  pace through the centre could boost our counter attacking threat but who knows - it seems to work for walcott so maybe worth a try.  

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

No

[Guest]

Raheem Sterling played at the tip of Liverpool''s diamond yesterday to good effect against Man Utd.  If you are playing a team where the opposition centre backs are known to drop deep, it creates space for your midfield to run into.  Defenders hate being run at with pace, as once they step out they''re vulnerable to the pass in behind or can give away penalties with mistimed challenges.I recall Lambert deploying Benno in that role away at Swansea when we tore them a new one  (Brendan Rodgers was manager at the time, incidentally, so he might have picked up that tactic from Paul).As for Redmond''s passing ability, he played a peach of a through-ball to Snoddy against Cardiff (or was it West Ham?).  So there is ability there.

[GJP 79]

I see the right side as being best for Snodgrass. But I also think it makes us very predictable. Everyone knows he will be playing there and everyone knows how he will try to play.

 

So I''d probably play Redmond on the right. He''s looked dangerous there the odd time we''ve seen him out there but we haven''t seen enough of it.

 

I''m not sure about Snodgrass "in the hole" though. Snodgrass getting on the ball and making things happen quickly = Yes. Snodgrass holding the ball too long and running into someone or giving the ball away cheaply = No.

 

[Gingerpele 0]

[quote user="GJP"]

I see the right side as being best for Snodgrass. But I also think it makes us very predictable. Everyone knows he will be playing there and everyone knows how he will try to play. 

[/quote]

Isn''t that the same for every player though?

So you play Redmond on the right, you know he''ll be there, you know how he''s going to play.

We know how Hooper will play, Wolfie, Pilks, Howson, Johnson, Olsson etc etc. We know how Ronaldo is going to play.

Surely the only problem becomes wether what Snodgrass is going to do is going to be good enough, not wether the opposition can guess what he''s going to do. Because most players are predictable, even the very best. Its just the ability to use the different tools at their disposal at the right time to create the right end product. Something Snodgrass seems to get wrong himself too often, rather than the defenders just knowing what he''s going to do.

[The Butler 0]

Put all 11 in the hole,with the management team.......then fill it in[:D]

[Holtcantshoot 0]

Personally I think Snodgrass''s lack of pace but good passing range and ability to get in the box and score (something our strikers don''t have) makes him a good choice to play in the hole. He''s also willing to drop back and battle for the ball when needed and he wouldn''t be expected to use out and out pace on the wings whilst allowing us to utilise his free kick ability.I feel Redmond is too lightweight to play in the middle of the park. He also can''t read the game and just reacts to things and tries to do everything at full pace a bit like Theo Walcott at that age (or a 10 year old...or a dog). However I do think he may be of use playing as our main striker off the last man. His pace would force defenders to drop back and open up space in the middle of the park and give us a chance to push the midfield forward. I''d be intrigued to see him and Elmander in a 4-4-2 or diamond formation.

[coachkemp 0]

The reason I say this is very much due to Redmonds ability to to run with a ball and his pace, and especially that at the minute his crossing is lacking and he tends to cut inside anyway. at least by counter attacking quickly and giving him the ball centrally to run at centre halves we can get them to either commit and go for a tackle or drop off and allow space to play. And whilst I admit his final ball has been poor coming in from the left, in the centre he wont have players screening him as he runs forward like he does normally coming inside. It also allows him to shoot (point him at goal one is bound to go in) and also allows the striker up top to play off the shoulder a bit more. It means as well we can inject pace into the wings as well as in the centre with potentially gutierrez and Snodgrass or Pilkington  to play on either side and offer a threat coming inside or pumping the ball in.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Gingerpele"][quote user="GJP"]

I see the right side as being best for Snodgrass. But I also think it makes us very predictable. Everyone knows he will be playing there and everyone knows how he will try to play. 

[/quote]

Isn''t that the same for every player though?

So you play Redmond on the right, you know he''ll be there, you know how he''s going to play.

We know how Hooper will play, Wolfie, Pilks, Howson, Johnson, Olsson etc etc. We know how Ronaldo is going to play.

Surely the only problem becomes wether what Snodgrass is going to do is going to be good enough, not wether the opposition can guess what he''s going to do. Because most players are predictable, even the very best. Its just the ability to use the different tools at their disposal at the right time to create the right end product. Something Snodgrass seems to get wrong himself too often, rather than the defenders just knowing what he''s going to do.

[/quote]

To an extent, yes.

 

But in our team there is little variety to our play. Snodgrass doesn''t have a lot of pace so defenders know he isn''t likely to knock it past them and leave them standing. That same lack of pace doesn''t make defenders too wary of committing themselves further up the pitch to join in their own attacks. And of course with the inverted wingers the crosses are always likely to be the in-swinging type which are harder for forwards to read and get on the end of. Again, because we play that way all the time, defenders know that is the type of ball we''ll be looking to put in.

 

I should add that I''m not intending to single Snodgrass out, as such. It''s the problem with our whole team. Not giving the opposition enough to worry about.

 

It''s like when we''re defending a corner or something and we have Redmond back in the box. Leave him up the pitch to give us a possible outlet and to make it difficult for the opposition to throw as many numbers forward as they like.

 

 

[The Great Wall Of Tettey 0]

I would have elmander in the hole ahead of everyone but fer to be honest.

It''s his proper position and he plays there for Sweden. Actually got pretty good feet despite the criticism and his 4 assists this season make him 2nd highest to snodgrass!!

Also hooper benefited playing with him, I remember an article saying he was enjoying the service he was getting from him. Also adds some height in the box, countless times this season we''ve booted the ball in and the other people are wes/hooper/RvW.

So yeah, I''d have snodgrass tettey Howson Redmond in midfielder with RvW & Elmander as the forward 2

[Sir Blobfish OBE 0]

How about Redmond on the right for once? Has Hughton ever even considered swapping Redmond and Snodgrass so they can cross with their stronger foot to avoid slowing down play by having to cut in (and then, more than not, losing the ball)?

I feel this would then give Redmond less inhibition to push towards the byline and whip crosses in for a counter attack. I rarely see an effective counter play at pace because it takes us too long to get the ball into dangerous areas after winning it back.

[ZLF 335]

GP - you are right,  most players styles are known so moving redmond does not change too much.

 

But GJP is spot on,   our club approach is to attack through snodgrass;  disproportionately so (something like just under half our attacks go that way) which means a defending team knows how to set up;   kicks go that way so a aerially strong defender means they pick up second ball,   full backs and midfielder know how to channel snodgrass to make him less effective;   ultimately its the lack of variety/change that makes us easy to defend against with snoddy right. It allows their whole defence to contract to their left restricting space and making teh defending team job so much easier.     Add in how significantly he slows the attack down and the stunning lack of success from his crosses its hard to see why we persist with such a preference.    The stat of snodgrass having more incomplete crosses than the rest of the teams combined attempts to cross show how much of a preference it is to attack through him.   It is out of proportion to his ability or delivery.   Given that much of the ball his goal and assist return is too poor.    

 

Getting some balance and attacking through the middle and left as well as through snoddy adds uncertainty to the defence, stretching the play and hopefully allowing more space for the attacker that gets forward...