Having secured our primary target and looking at the other players, we're heavily linked with got me thinking about our set-up next season.
I cannot help feel, we might just see a major shift in our base tactics, and I'm curious to the thoughts of you guys.
My sneaky suspecion is, we might go something along the lines of 3-5-2, which is enough of a hybrid to see one of the CB's stepping into midfield making it more of a 4-4-2 with a diamond in the middle. I'm basing this on a few things. Oh, and I'm basing it on Toby and Eriksen being here. The reasonings doesn't change much at all, should they leave, especially if we replace Eriksen with another centrally-minded mid as all the talk is on. Finally, humour me in my assumption that we'll sign Sessegnon, as it seems nearly a given at this point.
- Last season saw us play a lot more matches than previously under Poch with no clearly assigned defensive mid. Key is that if NDombele is all he's cracked up to be, then this should be possible even more so this season in this sort of formation.
- Last season saw us play a lot more matches than previously under Poch with two strikers, or at the very least a secondary striker role who stayed forward a lot when out of possession.
- We're not very well suited for what we've seen most under Poch in a 4-3-3 and varitions of five at the back, with very few players ideally suited for wide positions, as well as Poch seemingly insisting on playing both Eriksen and Dele when fit for important fixtures, when they're both best starting centrally. My personal take is even Lamela (as the player he is now) and Son are, marginally, better starting centrally and then maybe drifting wide at times, rather than starting wide and then invariably drifting in. Which, disregarding def mids, gives us six mids who're better as an 8, 10, or as a secondary striker than out wide, plus two, arguably, equally effective in both.
- We have four CB's who Poch clearly trusts and wants involved. Plus Dier.
- Three of four fullbacks are vastly better going forward than defensively (four of five if you want to count KWP, and five of six if taken one step further and counting Sessegnon), which will be better utilised in a hybrid five at the back.
- It would accommodate bringing in Sessegnon, with the best of all worlds. Given that Poch can give him minutes, without tying ourselves down to having him as number two LB, and keep both Rose and Davies (who I believe strongly Poch both value highly as squad members) since Sessegnon is well better suited in a five than a four, plus Davies can get minutes as the LCB in a five.
- It would make signing a striker an easier sell to potential incomings, as they won't be forever behind Kane as the one and only striker. Still would have to displace Son and Moura as the secondary, but an easier sell all the same.
This comes now, because NDombele is/could be the key cog in the machine that could make all this click. It'll give us a big up in dominating the middle of the park, plus plenty of versatility to create overloads out wide as all of our mids plus Kane can drift with no problems.
I cannot help feel, we might just see a major shift in our base tactics, and I'm curious to the thoughts of you guys.
My sneaky suspecion is, we might go something along the lines of 3-5-2, which is enough of a hybrid to see one of the CB's stepping into midfield making it more of a 4-4-2 with a diamond in the middle. I'm basing this on a few things. Oh, and I'm basing it on Toby and Eriksen being here. The reasonings doesn't change much at all, should they leave, especially if we replace Eriksen with another centrally-minded mid as all the talk is on. Finally, humour me in my assumption that we'll sign Sessegnon, as it seems nearly a given at this point.
- Last season saw us play a lot more matches than previously under Poch with no clearly assigned defensive mid. Key is that if NDombele is all he's cracked up to be, then this should be possible even more so this season in this sort of formation.
- Last season saw us play a lot more matches than previously under Poch with two strikers, or at the very least a secondary striker role who stayed forward a lot when out of possession.
- We're not very well suited for what we've seen most under Poch in a 4-3-3 and varitions of five at the back, with very few players ideally suited for wide positions, as well as Poch seemingly insisting on playing both Eriksen and Dele when fit for important fixtures, when they're both best starting centrally. My personal take is even Lamela (as the player he is now) and Son are, marginally, better starting centrally and then maybe drifting wide at times, rather than starting wide and then invariably drifting in. Which, disregarding def mids, gives us six mids who're better as an 8, 10, or as a secondary striker than out wide, plus two, arguably, equally effective in both.
- We have four CB's who Poch clearly trusts and wants involved. Plus Dier.
- Three of four fullbacks are vastly better going forward than defensively (four of five if you want to count KWP, and five of six if taken one step further and counting Sessegnon), which will be better utilised in a hybrid five at the back.
- It would accommodate bringing in Sessegnon, with the best of all worlds. Given that Poch can give him minutes, without tying ourselves down to having him as number two LB, and keep both Rose and Davies (who I believe strongly Poch both value highly as squad members) since Sessegnon is well better suited in a five than a four, plus Davies can get minutes as the LCB in a five.
- It would make signing a striker an easier sell to potential incomings, as they won't be forever behind Kane as the one and only striker. Still would have to displace Son and Moura as the secondary, but an easier sell all the same.
This comes now, because NDombele is/could be the key cog in the machine that could make all this click. It'll give us a big up in dominating the middle of the park, plus plenty of versatility to create overloads out wide as all of our mids plus Kane can drift with no problems.