And if you are on the wings, you have responsibility to track all the way back and help defend wide.
Plus, there is nobody to play in front of Sweat at the moment. Not the same with Lewis, especially after the formation change.
Jonathan Lewis [Forward]
- Thread starter Falastur
- Start date
Plus, there is nobody to play in front of Sweat at the moment. Not the same with Lewis, especially after the formation change.
What Gotham is saying is key. Due to poor roster construction and abundance of good CBs and wingers, plus now a very good 9, we're being very successful in a 343. If Mitrita lives up to potential, that formation will leave Isi as a sub. That notwithstanding the fact that every time he steps on the field he shows he has some exceptional qualities. His shot to goal ratio looks less and less to be a fluke. But he's probably a sub.
Meanwhile Sweat has many times won the starting spot over a healthy Mata in the last 2 years. Part of it is the lack of continuity that Mata has because of his frequent injuries but also the fact that Mata isn't that great either. In summary, we've had so many good wingers that Lewis lack of playing time is not a head-scratcher really and we've lacked since forever even 1 good and consistently available LB.
Kind of makes you wonder if Isi should be tried at LWB. He's naturally left footed and the defensive responsibilities are less crucial than in a 4-man backline. Still, crossing is not his strong suit.
I’ve said the same in past posts. (Maybe not as eloquently as you). I really want to see that with our full squad of starters.
Mitri heber maxi
Isi ofori ring tin
Callens sands chanot
Johnson
We can score a ton with that lineup.
Obviously the frequent injuries still comes into play here, and I definitely agree that in the past Mata wasn't that great.
But I do feel that in the switch to the 3-4-3, we've seen some of the best of Mata we've ever seen here (granted, small sample size so far). He's more of a LWB than a LB, so this switch caters to his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses.
I think this is a bad idea but I need a little data to confirm. I think the vast majority of Isi's goals come from the right side of goal where he can curl the ball effectively with his left foot. I'd love to see a map of where his scoring strikes have come from.
If we are going to rearrange, I'd do this first (which I also think is crazy):
Mitri heber maxi
Tin ofori ring isi
Callens sands chanot
Johnson
You'd need to give Isi and Tinny both freedom to cut inside instead of playing them primarily to overlap straight to the endline 90% of the time. But now when they do cut inside they are both on their dominant foot for scoring purposes. (Though TinnerBOOM has struck well from the right side of goal.)
For the record I'm a big fan of Isi and want him to see the pitch. I just don't like the idea of putting him out left.
Discussed in another thread but I want to see the Bielsa 3-3-1-3.
It's crazy, unpredictable but always entertaining.
Mitri - Heber - Isi
Maxi
Mata - Ring - Tinny
Callens - Sands - Chanot
We get to retain Isi in a position he seems to adore, and we make room for Mitri without dropping Maxi. This is arguably an even better fit for Maxi's skills than his current inside forward position.
It's crazy, unpredictable but always entertaining.
Mitri - Heber - Isi
Maxi
Mata - Ring - Tinny
Callens - Sands - Chanot
We get to retain Isi in a position he seems to adore, and we make room for Mitri without dropping Maxi. This is arguably an even better fit for Maxi's skills than his current inside forward position.
It’s harder for a defender to flip sides than a winger. Wings just worry about beating their mark. Defenders use the sideline as an extra defender/boundary and their tendency to how they defend/shade an attacker is predicated on the sideline. If you’re always used to it being over your right/left shoulder and now everything is mirrored, that can created a hesitation as to how to close down space. Some players have no issue, but many do.
Yup. I remember Jack Harrison as an inverted RWB in Paddy's 3-2-2-3 and it was an ugly fit.
Harrison as a RWB was ignoring what his strengths are.
Yup. It would probably be a similar situation if we were to make Isi a RWB.
I agree with you. As I said initially, I didn't like my idea either. I just liked it (slightly) more than
adam 's. Though I like
Christopher Jee 's 3313 the best.
You're not wrong about the mechanics of it, but he actually scored the majority of his goals last year from left of the penalty spot.
That's what I was looking for. And happy to discover I was wrong about the data. I guess I'll buy in then to
adam 's suggestion to put him in at LWB.
