KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Roy's Team Selection....

The subject name is a bit vague, but really this is just a comment on what i want Roy to do:

- Play 4-4-2
- Start Stevie in the midfield with Meireles
- Eventhough he has played well stick Lucas on the bench
- Don't play Meireles on the right, keep him in the middle to form a prtnership with Stevie
- Get Agger back in the starting lineup with the Greek
- Play Aurelio at left back

it is so frustrating when he plays players out of position just to accommodate players, just like Rafa did

Can't agree with much of that, I'm afraid. With your formation no one is hitting the byline, because we don't have capable wide players and 4-4-2 relies heavily on width, whether it comes from wingbacks or wide midfielders who are strong on the ball. Since we lack anyone with any of those attributes outside Johnson (who Roy seems hesitant to play because he's hardly a rock in defense), 4-4-2 simply won't work with our squad.

I agree that Meireles should be in the middle, and that Agger+Soto is our most promising CB pairing against teams that don't run it along the ground at us.

----------Reina---------
-Kelly-Soto-Agger-Konch-
-----Meireles-Lucas-----
-Gerrard---Cole---Kuyt--
---------Torres---------

Train them to switch seamlessly from 4-5-1 to 4-3-3. Press high up the pitch, close the ball down, and don't stop giving 100% until after the final whistle. Be proud of the shirt, and play to win.

thundyr - agree with you except Kuyt on the left will be useless. He doesn't have the pace to shield the ball when on the left so he will get robbed endlessly. Unfortunately, I can see no other to fill this position from out team.

agree with the comment above, would put Maxi in there or perhaps give young Ecclestone a go.?

The only reason I chose him is that he is tireless, and that will assist Konchesky. I would rather have a Turan or someone in that mold on the left; heck, even Reira, average skilled and disruptive as he is. But we don't have these players, which is why I keep saying we need a winger. That spot is our largest hole in the squad.

I think Maxi is better suited on the right, but in all honesty I feel he's better suited to cups and games we can afford to rest the strongest players in anticipation of those difficult weeks where we have a tough away tie in Europe with an awkward EPL game immediately after/before.

Having said all that, we do have younger players who play the position naturally, and having seen that Jovanovic isn't really cut out for the role, and that Babel continues to fail to put in enough effort, I would think that someone new needs to be given the opportunity to step up and show he's good enough to be seriously considered there. If that's Ecclestone, then so be it; we need answers to this question, not inaction.

I would rather play a team like this

--------------Reina---------------

--Kelly--Carragher--Agger--Kutchesky--

----------Meriles--Gerrard---------

---------------Cole----------------
---Johnson--------------Kuyt-------
-------------Torres---------------------


433 Diamond. Sorry im new to the dash formation thing

I think KUyt would not cut it on the left, by putting gerrard on the right you are taking the engine out of the middle of the team. If you were to play that formation then I would go with Jovanovic on the left and Maxi or kuyt on the right, then have a middle three of Gerrard, Meireles and cole a bit further forward.

I'm just not sure Gerrard is best suited to playing alongside Meireles - one player is trying to release other players with his quick feet, one is trying to do it all himself while looking for the killer ball all the time - so I'm not sure it's the best CM partnership we could have. I would prefer Gerrard somewhere where his ability to go it alone is an asset to the side, and those two positions are in the hole or on the right. If he's going to be behind the striker then there is no place for Cole in the team, and I think that might not be cunning given how few players of quality we have out wide. I would rather put Gerrard on the right with Cole in the hole, than Gerrard in the hole and Cole on the left; at least with my way we have two players mostly comfortable in their positions, rather than one really comfortable and one who might as well not be there.

I just want us to field a team with as many players as possible playing in positions where they are comfortable - and Kuyt plays on the left for Holland. Don't forget the goal we scored against WBA had Kuyt-Torres-Gerrard in that line all forward on the break. That way we will have something resembling quality across the whole pitch rather than essentially playing with 10 or even 9 men; we handicap ourselves with our team selection and we really shouldn't still be doing that midway through the season.

-------------Reina---------------

--Kelly--Carragher--Agger--Kutchesky--

----------Lucas-Meriles---------

-------------Gerrard---------------
---Johnson--------------Kuyt/Cole-------
-------------Torres---------------------

I say, no need for holding midfielder's the best defence is attack

There are other options of course - not saying the formation I presented earlier is the only way, it's simply one I feel we can build from. If we're desperate to play 4-4-2 then:

-----------Reina------------
-Johnson-Agger-Soto-Aurelio-
-----------Lucas------------
-----Gerrard---Meireles-----
------------Cole------------
-----------------Torres-----
-------N'Gog----------------

Johnson with licence to roam as far forward as he likes, Gerrard a free role. Torres as a play-maker - he's probably our best wide player actually, when one considers that he gets a lot of chalk on his boots when he makes himself available out wide. N'Gog/Babel/Kuyt/Jovanovic/whoever as a finisher.

Again this can become a fluid 4-3-3 with practice, but Torres must then move to the middle because he's best there, where his presence will keep both CBs in check (we have no other player who can do that - though Gerrard-N'Gog-Torres could be an interesting front 3).