Ireland line-up under Trapattoni

[Stuttgart88]

I sure hope that he doesn't go with that system.
I hope he plays players in roles that get the best out of them and makes the most balanced team. I don't care what "system" it is.

[cavan_fan]

Whatever system you want to play I hope to see Reid, Reid, Ireland, Duff and McGeady in the same team.

Maybe I'm a defensive old sod but I think you can only have 3 of A Reid, Ireland, McGeady and Duff, especially without a good one up front player.

[dublinmick]

Paddy Agnew has a piece in the Irish Times today in which he quotes Trapattoni saying he prefers 3-4-1-2 *.

What would that mean for us?
Could it be something like:

Given

Kelly Dunne O'Shea

McGeady S Reid A Reid Duff
Ireland
Keane Doyle

Or is that far too attacking for him?

Personally, I'm extremely excited about Trapattoni.

* Here's the quote: On the many occasions he has been accused of playing too defensive a game, Trapattoni has often replied by pointing out that his sides nearly always feature three men up front. Look at the statistics, he will say. Six times between 1981 and 1989, sides coached by him topped the goalscoring chart in Serie A: "My ideal lineout is a 3-5-2 in which one of the midfielders is really an inside forward, so it would be 3-4-1-2."

EDIT: Oops, I see this has been mentioned in previous pages. Chiedo scusa...

[eirebhoy]

Yeh he plays a defensive system but with quite a lot of attacking players.

3-5-2 sounds attacking but 99% of the time it'll be 3 centre halves with 2 full backs playing a more advanced role. Barca tried the 3-5-2 last season with 5 proper midfielders. One of the midfielders would tuck in at full back when they lose possession. It failed badly.

[BigmanCas]

Yeh he plays a defensive system but with quite a lot of attacking players.

3-5-2 sounds attacking but 99% of the time it'll be 3 centre halves with 2 full backs playing a more advanced role. Barca tried the 3-5-2 last season with 5 proper midfielders. One of the midfielders would tuck in at full back when they lose possession. It failed badly.
EB - Ireland do not have three centre backs - simple as that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[eirebhoy]

:confused: I don't think I'm the person that suggested playing a 3-5-2.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Scram]

Paddy Agnew has a piece in the Irish Times today in which he quotes Trapattoni saying he prefers 3-4-1-2 *.

What would that mean for us?
Could it be something like:

Given

Kelly Dunne O'Shea

McGeady S Reid A Reid Duff
Ireland
Keane Doyle

Or is that far too attacking for him?

Personally, I'm extremely excited about Trapattoni.

* Here's the quote: On the many occasions he has been accused of playing too defensive a game, Trapattoni has often replied by pointing out that his sides nearly always feature three men up front. Look at the statistics, he will say. Six times between 1981 and 1989, sides coached by him topped the goalscoring chart in Serie A: "My ideal lineout is a 3-5-2 in which one of the midfielders is really an inside forward, so it would be 3-4-1-2."

EDIT: Oops, I see this has been mentioned in previous pages. Chiedo scusa...

Kelly Dunne O'Shea !! That would be comical :-)

O'Shea can't hold his own as part of a back four never mind three and Kelly was on the right as part of a back three in a ridiculous attempt by Stan at a new formation especially given Kelly's relative inexperience.

Hope to see a 4-3-2-1 formation myself.

[jmurphyc]

I hope Trapattoni lines up with something like this:
Given
Finnan(?) Dunne XXXX XXXX
Reid Reid
McGeady Ireland Duff
Keane

I don't like the sound of 3-4-1-2. I doubt Trapattoni will play this, as we don't seem to have the personnel for it but if he feels he can get the best out of us with that formation then I trust him.

As for a Carsley-Ireland central midfield; whoever said that should re-watch the Slovakia away game. We were completely overrun in midfield with those two during that game.

[the doc]

EB - Ireland do not have three centre backs - simple as that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We do have the centre backs, Lets hope the new manager goes out and watches them instead of listening to Givens who just keeps on pushing for the likes of the very limited McShane and Bruce.

[Superhoops]

We do have the centre backs, .....
And they are who exactly?

[Delbertt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Doherty

[backstothewall]

If anyone thinks Stephen Reid can play as a defensive midfielder they seriously need to sit down and watch him play. He is the closest we have to Steven Gerrard. He is a box to box player who wants to make powerful runs carrying the ball towards the opposition box. He does not have, and should not be asked to show, the discipline to do the job Carsley is doing for us. At Blackburn he has always had either Robbie Savage or Aaron Mokoena doing that alongside him.

Both Reids together would be over run in midfield. Carsley is essential, and once he goes Joey O'Brien will be essential

[Nipper]

If anyone thinks Stephen Reid can play as a defensive midfielder they seriously need to sit down and watch him play. He is the closest we have to Steven Gerrard. He is a box to box player who wants to make powerful runs carrying the ball towards the opposition box. He does not have, and should not be asked to show, the discipline to do the job Carsley is doing for us. At Blackburn he has always had either Robbie Savage or Aaron Mokoena doing that alongside him.

Both Reids together would be over run in midfield. Carsley is essential, and once he goes Joey O'Brien will be essential

If so, we are in deep trouble. The lad is not a CM. Remember the Cyprus home game?

[eirebhoy]

If anyone thinks Stephen Reid can play as a defensive midfielder they seriously need to sit down and watch him play. He is the closest we have to Steven Gerrard. He is a box to box player who wants to make powerful runs carrying the ball towards the opposition box. He does not have, and should not be asked to show, the discipline to do the job Carsley is doing for us. At Blackburn he has always had either Robbie Savage or Aaron Mokoena doing that alongside him.

Watch him again. He's a completely different player now. Reid's 5 games he played for Blackburn before the Arsenal game was in a midfield with Dunn, Pedersen and Bentley. He played the holding role. Against Arsenal he partnered Tugay and he played more of a playmakers role. Kept things simple but moved around a lot. Got forward the odd time. Reid-Reid is the idea partnership for us on paper imo. Both positionally sound.

[tetsujin1979]

If so, we are in deep trouble. The lad is not a CM. Remember the Cyprus home game?
He came through the ranks at Bolton as a central midfielder, and played there on loan at Sheffield Wednesday alongside Glenn Whelan.
He was only shunted out to right full when Nicky Hunt got injured and they needed him to fill in there. He was back on the right of a midfield three before getting injured recently. I've read a few times that it is his preferred position.

[backstothewall]

He had a bad game v Cyprus that i didn't think was terrible. A lot was made of it by Dunphy as a stick to beat Stan with. He could maybe do with spending time in the weights room but that will come. He is still only 21.

I could be wrong on Reid, I'll watch Reid next chance i get, but i still can't see him in that role.

[Nipper]

Hmm, bit of a difference between Bolton reserves/ Sheffield Weds and WC Qualifiers. He looked woefully out of his depth against Cyprus.


Not of international standard really. Would like to be proved wrong, but if I saw him lining out in central midfield against Italy or Bulgaria I'd be fairly apprehensive.

[jmurphyc]

I don't personally buy into the 'international standard' player. Are Cyprus better than most EPL sides? If a player is good enough to play well in the EPL, then he should be good enough to play for us.

[Nipper]

I hear ya, but if he looked lost against Cyprus it doesn't bode well for more testing internationals. I'm not slating him outright, he looks a useful full-back, and did great as an emergency CB against Germany, just don't think he should ever get the nod again in the middle.

[Stuttgart88]

Well, not until he has more experience there. Isn't he playing on the right of a midfied 3 thses days, at least until his recent injury?

[SkStu]

i want to see him use the under-estimated and misunderstood 3-7 formation. Works a treat in subutteo.

[Nipper]

Well, not until he has more experience there. Isn't he playing on the right of a midfied 3 thses days, at least until his recent injury?

Yeah he needs a good run of games in that position before coming anywhere near consideration. Plus, Bolton aren't exactly pulling up any trees at the moment. They're terrible to watch.

[dr_peepee]

Well, not until he has more experience there. Isn't he playing on the right of a midfied 3 thses days, at least until his recent injury?

He made his name in the middle on a season long loan at Shefield Wednesday... Owls fan would be in a better position to comment

[NeilMcD]

I think its vital that a young player is playing week in week out before they are thrown into competitive games. Experienced players can get away with it but if you are young and up and coming you need to have a run of games at whatever level but you need to be sharp and used to playing week in week out.

[bigmac]

Didn't Trapattoni discuss with Givens and Houghton his various line-ups under 3 systems? Correct me if I'm wrong but I though I saw those line-ups in one of the papers over the weekend?

[NeilMcD]

He actually mentioned 5 different systems.

[blobbyblob]

I'd give the man the benefit of the doubt in the first game anyway and see how he gets on.

Football is a simple game made complicated by men with nothing better to do.

If he has a plan, hes able to communicate that to the players, the players buy into it and they can execute it, we're half way there.

[bigmac]

He actually mentioned 5 different systems.

My mistake - only saw 3 of them publsihed though - think it was 4-4-2, 4-3-2-1 and maybe 4-3-3.

I mainly remember that his back 4 was Kelly, Dunne, O'Shea and Kilbane

[NeilMcD]

Ha ha, the lads did not release that detail, that is the papers speculating at what players he was putting where.

[Dr. Ogba]

would agree with a lot of the lads advocating the 4-2-3-1 here. I think the following team would be great at keeping the ball:

Given

J O'Brien Dunne StLedge O'Shea (I cannot trust KK at full back)

Reid Reid

McGeady Ireland Duff

Keane

I suppose that the only worry would be that they're a bunch of short-arses but whats new?! :) That formation also can have a lot of variations with Keane dropping into the Ireland role and Morrisson/Doyle playing up front and Hunt/Duff/McGeady being interchangeable depending on form and injuries.
Obviously this relies heavily on the Reids staying injury free (not exactly guaranteed) but I would be very excited if Trap was to go for something like this.

[eirebhoy]

I watched the Roma - Madrid match tonight and Roma played the 4-2-3-1 system that they played last season.

----------------Doni-----------------
Panucci----Mexes---Juan----Cassetti
--------De Rossi----Pizarro-----------
----Giuly-----Perrotta-----Mancini----
---------------Totti-----------------


I've seen loads of Roma with this system and I'd love to see us play it. They sit back and play on the break but it's far from boring football. And they haven't got the strongest defence in the world either while Pizarro is very much an Andy Reid type player. As well as that you're not going to see Totti, Mancini and Giuly chasing back much off the ball. Roma still had 3 players on Robben at times without getting caught short in other areas.

[paul_oshea]

i think im with ye on this EB, at least to try it out, the only problem is whats the midfield?!

reid, reid, mcgeady, ireland, duff?
keane?

Keane plays too deep as it is so that would be like a 424 with no actual striker!

[eirebhoy]

Just tell Keane to stay up front. :) Totti's certainly not a textbook lone striker either but it works. Even then he still drops deep often. It works when you play on the counter. Probably not if you want to dominate a game against a weaker team.

[finnpark]

Well I heard from a good source that hes going to play a 2-1-2-1-2-1-2 with both Given and Henderson in goals. Sounds good to me.

[NeilMcD]

Danger here George Hamilton dicusses Opera and Trappattoni.


http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/index.html

[dr_peepee]

i think im with ye on this EB, at least to try it out, the only problem is whats the midfield?!

reid, reid, mcgeady, ireland, duff?
keane?

Keane plays too deep as it is so that would be like a 424 with no actual striker!

I'd be inclined to drop one or even two out of McGeady, Duff, Ireland Andy Reid, Keane....

One, it gives us a chance to absorb hits in availibility while minimising impact. We're seldon if ever gonna have all five of our technically best players available to us so I think it's dnagerous to base a formation around them
Two, to Promote competition and avoid complacency. For example I want Andy Reid and Steven Ireland, Or Duff and McGeady to know they're battling for the same spot in the starting 11.
Three, most importantly for me, I think we'd need to re-inforce that line up of our best technical players with more than just SReid and a Back four if we're gonna compete.

[jmurphyc]

I'd be inclined to drop one or even two out of McGeady, Duff, Ireland Andy Reid, Keane....

One, it gives us a chance to absorb hits in availibility while minimising impact. We're seldon if ever gonna have all five of our technically best players available to us so I think it's dnagerous to base a formation around them

I have to say I completely disagree with this. You line up with your best team and worry about injuries or suspensions later. We'll need our best players players playing if we're to qualify. You can always give the potential replacements game time in friendlies or in one of the easier competitive games. Besides, our best 11 needs to play with each other as much as possible to learn how to adjust to each other's playing style.


Two, to Promote competition and avoid complacency. For example I want Andy Reid and Steven Ireland, Or Duff and McGeady to know they're battling for the same spot in the starting 11.

I agree that we need with this, but we have a competent manager in Trapattoni and he should be able to discourage these traits without necessarily dropping players. Besides, I don't think either of those two players should be competing for the same spot. I assume Ireland will play in the hole behind the striker, and Andy Reid will play as a central midfielder or as a deep lying playmaker, and there's no reason why Duff and McGeady can't play on opposite flanks.


Three, most importantly for me, I think we'd need to re-inforce that line up of our best technical players with more than just SReid and a Back four if we're gonna compete.

I think at home, when we (hoepfully) should be dominating possession, it shouldn't be a problem, but maybe away from home we could do with a more orthodox holding midfielder than Steven Reid (although from people's comments on here it sounds like he's excelled at that role whenever he's played it this season). If we get the right tactics then we could still potentially play this line up; if everyone in midfield was pressing heavily then it might prevent us from needing a holding midfielder.

[dr_peepee]

I have to say I completely disagree with this. You line up with your best team and worry about injuries or suspensions later. We'll need our best players players playing if we're to qualify. You can always give the potential replacements game time in friendlies or in one of the easier competitive games. Besides, our best 11 needs to play with each other as much as possible to learn how to adjust to each other's playing style.



I agree that we need with this, but we have a competent manager in Trapattoni and he should be able to discourage these traits without necessarily dropping players. Besides, I don't think either of those two players should be competing for the same spot. I assume Ireland will play in the hole behind the striker, and Andy Reid will play as a central midfielder or as a deep lying playmaker, and there's no reason why Duff and McGeady can't play on opposite flanks.



I think at home, when we (hoepfully) should be dominating possession, it shouldn't be a problem, but maybe away from home we could do with a more orthodox holding midfielder than Steven Reid (although from people's comments on here it sounds like he's excelled at that role whenever he's played it this season). If we get the right tactics then we could still potentially play this line up; if everyone in midfield was pressing heavily then it might prevent us from needing a holding midfielder.

The over all point of my post is that the best 11 players don't necessarily make the bast team. Not doubting the talent of our "big 5" just questioning the merrits of including all five and acknowledging the potential benifits of excluding one or two of them.

It's all down to perception, but I don't like the idea of Andy Reid and another as the only central midfeilders as such. I'd prefer him in a free role roaming from deep to behind the front man, with the protection of two sitting midfielder that protect the back four and free up Andy Reid to do what he does best. I don't see Andy Reid and Ireland combining well without detriment to one or both of them.

Obviously I feel Duff and McGeady can play in the same team and it may well happen, but only in the case where Keane is the lone front man (or absent). Keane may well do a the job alone but it will be at the expense of his own merrits. He's clearly better playing a little deeper or off someone else.

Point is something will have to give to include all 5 of our technically best players. England had the same problem in the latter days under Erikson.

[jmurphyc]

The over all point of my post is that the best 11 players don't necessarily make the bast team. Not doubting the talent of our "big 5" just questioning the merrits of including all five and acknowledging the potential benifits of excluding one or two of them.

It's all down to perception, but I don't like the idea of Andy Reid and another as the only central midfeilders as such. I'd prefer him in a free role roaming from deep to behind the front man, with the protection of two sitting midfielder that protect the back four and free up Andy Reid to do what he does best. I don't see Andy Reid and Ireland combining well without detriment to one or both of them.


I agree about the team vs individuals argument. But I do think that all of these players can be accommodated, and Trapattoni will hopefully find a way of doing it without sacrificing anything else. It might not work, but only time and games will tell and I do think it should be given a chance before being written off. I'm still not sure about Ireland's readiness, so I think if Trapattoni feels we need more cover, then he'll be the player sacrificed, and may just be brought on late in games if we need more impetus in the final third. I disagree on the point about Andy Reid though. I think he can help out with the defence. Perhaps if he's told to roam far up field alot we may need an extra man, but in games where he's asked to sit deep and dictate play (which is his best position IMO) he can help break down attacks due to his ability to read the game.

[Seagull-4-life]

If you were Trapattoni, what would yours be?

[OwlsFan]

Already covered here

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=83473

[Stuttgart88]

Yet again, I agree very much with the Doctor.

I can't comment on Roma as I don't know their players so well, but for me 4-2-3-1 offers us two important things given our lack of physicality & height and our abundance of lightweight but tricky and pacy "creative types":

1. Solid, well balanced defence. This doesn't just refer to the back 4, it refers to defending collectively and protecting the defence. This for me is best served by having Carsley and S. Reid sitting in front of the defence, almost like a traditional 2 man central midfield but playing very cautiously. Carsley has bite, Reid has presence, mobility and a very good range of passing. It struck me yesterday, on the basis of just one sighting admittedly, that Martin Rowlands would play this role very well - do De Canio and Tardelli /Trapattoni know each other? Joey O'Brien may be useful in this role too.
2. Maximise the attacking potential of the creative players given this solid defensive foundation. This for me would be a traditional back 4, the 2 aforementioned cautious midfielders and then a 3-1 of Duff-A. Reid- McGeady fronted by Keane.

Hunt could easily play the left sided role if more aggression was required, Daryl Murphy could maybe play the left sided role too. Stephen Ireland* could play in Andy Reid's central advanced playmaking role or the right sided role. Keane could also play a variant on the advanced central role if we played Doyle upfront. Duff & McGeady can interchange, Andy Reid is also comfortable wide. All of this supports Dr.Peepee's point about not depending on all being available.

There's no reason for the full backs not to have attacking license in this system.

I think this team would be a handful but it really places pressure across the team to get goals. Goals from midfield are always crucial - you'll find successful teams get more than their share, plus the oft mentioned set piece output too. For this reason I'd have Andy Reid pulling the strings further up the field though I agree that he can be very tidy from deep too.

It's a mantra of mine that you don't pick a formation or a system and then pick the players. You pick a system that suits your players. There's not one square peg in a round hole in what I've written above as far as I can see, and anyway, it's not table football, players can move all over the place, not just laterally! It's only marginally different to a Danish style 4-3-3, Ciaran being correct that a lone striker need not be a beanpole, look at Tomassen in the past.

Sometimes flair may need to be sacrificed for a bit more steel, hence players like Lawrence or Jon Walters who has really impressed me may have a role in a more solid system.

*I still have difficulty mentally coming to terms with Ireland in any starting XI. For me he's still a "hypothetical" international.

[Wolfie]

Yet again, I agree very much with the Doctor.

I can't comment on Roma as I don't know their players so well, but for me 4-2-3-1 offers us two important things given our lack of physicality & height and our abundance of lightweight but tricky and pacy "creative types":

1. Solid, well balanced defence. This doesn't just refer to the back 4, it refers to defending collectively and protecting the defence. This for me is best served by having Carsley and S. Reid sitting in front of the defence, almost like a traditional 2 man central midfield but playing very cautiously. Carsley has bite, Reid has presence, mobility and a very good range of passing. It struck me yesterday, on the basis of just one sighting admittedly, that Martin Rowlands would play this role very well - do De Canio and Tardelli /Trapattoni know each other? Joey O'Brien may be useful in this role too.
2. Maximise the attacking potential of the creative players given this solid defensive foundation. This for me would be a traditional back 4, the 2 aforementioned cautious midfielders and then a 3-1 of Duff-A. Reid- McGeady fronted by Keane.

Hunt could easily play the left sided role if more aggression was required, Daryl Murphy could maybe play the left sided role too. Stephen Ireland* could play in Andy Reid's central advanced playmaking role or the right sided role. Keane could also play a variant on the advanced central role if we played Doyle upfront. Duff & McGeady can interchange, Andy Reid is also comfortable wide. All of this supports Dr.Peepee's point about not depending on all being available.

There's no reason for the full backs not to have attacking license in this system.

I think this team would be a handful but it really places pressure across the team to get goals. Goals from midfield are always crucial - you'll find successful teams get more than their share, plus the oft mentioned set piece output too. For this reason I'd have Andy Reid pulling the strings further up the field though I agree that he can be very tidy from deep too.

It's a mantra of mine that you don't pick a formation or a system and then pick the players. You pick a system that suits your players. There's not one square peg in a round hole in what I've written above as far as I can see, and anyway, it's not table football, players can move all over the place, not just laterally! It's only marginally different to a Danish style 4-3-3, Ciaran being correct that a lone striker need not be a beanpole, look at Tomassen in the past.

Sometimes flair may need to be sacrificed for a bit more steel, hence players like Lawrence or Jon Walters who has really impressed me may have a role in a more solid system.

*I still have difficulty mentally coming to terms with Ireland in any starting XI. For me he's still a "hypothetical" international.


Very well thought out post there, Stuttgart. There's a lot there that would certainly be worth putting into practice - (hopefully in the Algarve and the May friendlies).

Who actually populates the full back slots has been bothering me for a while particularly given the fact that Finnan is most likely gone for good.

Who starts alongside Dunne at centre half?

Given McShane's current stagnation at club level and if Andy O'Brien is indeed retired - Joey O'Brien could feasibly slot in to partner Dunne at Centre Half.

I think Kilbane at left full could deliver on the attacking licence offered the full backs as outlined above.

Its then a flip of a coin re Kelly / O'Shea at right full. Kelly certainly has more aggression in the tackle although his positional sense is still a bit wayward at times. O'Shea has tried the patience of everyone for years. You know what you get with him - but you also know what you don't get.

[Stuttgart88]

I think the Brazil match showed that Dunne & O'Shea is a solid CB pairing, KK is our only option (yikes) at left full unless Kelly plays there and until maybe O'Halloran or Delaney stake a claim. RB is between Kelly and Joey O'Brien I reckon. McShane may provide cover at RB or CB and maybe Foley will emerge as proper RB cover.

That all assumes Finnan and AO'B stay retired.

[Kingdom]

A few things. The lineups mentioned while all have their own merits, they are extremely lacking in a physical sense at set pieces. While we don't have to lump balls into the box for set pieces we most certainly need strong players to defend them. And of the players listed above (AReid Duff keane, McGeady, Hunt) we'd be really relying on Dunne OShea and Reid as aerial threats. That is a big issue.

daryl Murphy seems to have been playing superbly for Sunderland. He is a decent sized lad and skillful enough too. COuld he be a genuine CF option for us, if Robbie is allowed to drop off?
We have a couple of dodgy areas and how he fills them will be key. The open positions for me are full back (both sides) one centre back spot and both central midfield spots.

[jmurphyc]

A few things. The lineups mentioned while all have their own merits, they are extremely lacking in a physical sense at set pieces. While we don't have to lump balls into the box for set pieces we most certainly need strong players to defend them. And of the players listed above (AReid Duff keane, McGeady, Hunt) we'd be really relying on Dunne OShea and Reid as aerial threats. That is a big issue.

daryl Murphy seems to have been playing superbly for Sunderland. He is a decent sized lad and skillful enough too. COuld he be a genuine CF option for us, if Robbie is allowed to drop off?

I'd pick Doyle to spearhead the attack. If Daryl Murphy can play to his current level on a consistent basis then he could challenge for a starting place, but Doyle has scored more regularly in the Premiership (and of course, he's done it for us too) and can be a threat from set pieces. We have him, Dunne and Kilbane (if he starts) as the players to utilise from set pieces. It's not a great amount, but there's no point in sacrificing better players for tall/physical players just for set pieces. If Trapattoni can get our set pieces up to scratch then this hopefully won't be a major issue.

Doyle's strength in the air is part of the reason why I think Ireland shouldn't start. For me, Doyle and Ireland are competing for one place.

[cavan_fan]

I'd pick Doyle to spearhead the attack. If Daryl Murphy can play to his current level on a consistent basis then he could challenge for a starting place, but Doyle has scored more regularly in the Premiership (and of course, he's done it for us too) and can be a threat from set pieces. We have him, Dunne and Kilbane (if he starts) as the players to utilise from set pieces. It's not a great amount, but there's no point in sacrificing better players for tall/physical players just for set pieces. If Trapattoni can get our set pieces up to scratch then this hopefully won't be a major issue.

Doyle's strength in the air is part of the reason why I think Ireland shouldn't start. For me, Doyle and Ireland are competing for one place.

Where do you see Robbie in this. Is he the central one of the 3. This would suggest no place for Andy Reid as I'd like Duff and McGeady in the wider positions.

[Stuttgart88]

Where do you see Robbie in this. Is he the central one of the 3. This would suggest no place for Andy Reid as I'd like Duff and McGeady in the wider positions.Yep, in a way it's very harsh on Doyle not to have him leading the attack. But, it's very unlikely all of the smaller attacking players will all be fit so it goes back to Dr. Peepee's point about not depending on availability. Reid can play centrally or wide either side - or in eb's favoured role for him, deep playmaker - Duff can play either side, McGeady can play a few roles, Hunt or the bigger lads could play a role, Robbie can lead the attack or play withdrawn and so on.

In an ideal world I'd like to see a regular Doyle / Keane combo upfront but our CM struggles in a 4-4-2 so that probably only leaves 4-3-1-2 but that'd mean giving up one of our relative advantages - width. However, Trap has gone on record as saying that 3-4-1-2 is his favoured line up!!

What's so interesting about the heavyweight management team we now seem to have in place is that they've seen it all before, know all the configurations and roles and (hopefully) will optimise the output from the available inputs.

[jmurphyc]

Where do you see Robbie in this. Is he the central one of the 3. This would suggest no place for Andy Reid as I'd like Duff and McGeady in the wider positions.

There's a place for all of the players you've mentioned. Robbie would be the central player and Andy Reid would be playing deeper alongside Steven Reid. Perhaps it's too unbalanced in terms of attacking personnel, but I think it could work as Andy Reid would be able to help out defensively seeing as he'd be playing deeper. I think it's definitely at least giving this set up a try in one of the friendlies. If it fails, it fails. I think it could definitely work as our preferred line up at home and possibly even away.

[eirebhoy]

I like to keep a close eye on Blackburn's results because they have Steven Reid playing in a very attacking system. They won again away from home against Newcastle at the weekend. Dunn was injured.

--------McCarthy--S.Cruz-----------
Bentley---Reid---Emerton---Pederson

Just out of interest. Would anyone think replacing Dunn/Emerton with A.Reid would make that team more attacking?