Tomkins: Rafa going Dutch?

[Steve101]

It would be a very long article if he would agree with me on everything and he would also lose some reputation.

AF you are a legend mate, cracking answer!!!!

[Joe Le Toff]

Not so much the formation for me but rather that he has played a settled side with 1 or 2 minor changes per game and i think its beginning to show.
I thought we looked really fluid at times yesterday and the team looked like they had more understanding of each other than ive seen in a long time, thought we played some great stuff.

This formation does allow fluidity in our play of course, and its definitely playing a part and seems to suit us.

[Scratch]

how many defenders do you want? we've already got 2 defensive midfielders and yesterday played carra at right back, now as much as i like our jamie i wouldn't describe him as an attacking full back.

When the opposition full backs push up as the oppostion attacks, if Kuty/Babel don't get back, it leaves our fullback having to contend with both the attacking wing player and the overlapping full back...

If our wide player drops back to help out, then it makes it less likely the opposition will exploit the gaps.

And yes, Mascher or another DM could come across, but that would leave us out manned in the middle.

And as for Carra, he got forward a fair bit yesterday, even provided the cross for Babels goal. Not bad for a part time fullback.

[Shaggy]

I love it when people call him Kuty.

[Scratch]

I love it when people call him Kuty.

Hmmm, i'm doing that more and more often at work as well. I think my fingers are going faster than my brain...yes, this wouldn't be hard, before anyone else comments.

[carheex]

I like this new formation.

We just need to upgrade the RWF spot and we will be great

Nothing "new" about it. We used it earlier in the season and then abandoned it for no apparent reason. Who's willing to bet with me that it's not abandoned again before too long?

[lfcchris]

I am by no means his biggest fan, but wouldnt pennant be an exciting prospect on the right. How fast would our forward line be then with Babel, Torres and Pennant.

Something worth thinking about!!

Am seriously happy that Babel got 90 mins yesterday. He deserved to. On a number of ocassions he has been one of our best players, only to be brought off after 50/60 mins. He showed yesterday, glimpses of what he is really capable of and next year, he could become such a good player.

[Scratch]

Think we also saw why Rafa's been pulling Babel off (yes, i know!) after 60 odd minutes, cos the poor lad looked absolutely knackered by the end of the match.

[The_weatherman]

Think we also saw why Rafa's been pulling Babel off (yes, i know!) after 60 odd minutes, cos the poor lad looked absolutely knackered by the end of the match.

He was yeah but I also thought his movement was a bit odd when he was up top.

[Taffy]

... and there's me hoping we were about to do a deal for Huntelaar ready for the summer! The thread title got me all excited then, but after reading it there wasn't a mention of Huntelaar at all! *






























*Good article though.

[steveheighwayrobbery]

[QUOTE=Taffy;973943]... and there's me hoping we were about to do a deal for Huntelaar ready for the summer! The thread title got me all excited then, but after reading it there wasn't a mention of Huntelaar at all! *
QUOTE]
or prorn?

[flyboy]

a few good pts...but wins against bottom sides and that win against 10 man inter doesnt mean that rafa has turned the tide. A draw against a chelsea side missing their star players also points to that.Still not convinced . As for kuyt i hope he plies his trade as a 'winger" somewhere else next season. good luck to him

[Fiddy]

This is another gem:

"I keep hearing that Kuyt is not a natural wide player, but it's not only where he has played for Holland but also where he started out at Utrecht. Rather than a winger with silky skills (Babel is doing that role nicely on the other flank), he is a wide attacker.

He has the energy and intelligence to make a nuisance of himself in dangerous areas, and with two goals and an assist via the post in his last four games, he has shown he can get into the box as much as when playing as the second striker. His wide work is tidy and terrier-like at worst, but at best he can put balls into the box with the knowledge of the way a striker likes to receive them."

So on one hand, he's a wide attacker, a right sided player. Then in the next paragraph, he knows how a striker likes receiving crosses, because he's a striker...

Priceless.

No...because he has 'knowledge of the way a striker likes to receive them', i.e he has experience playing as a striker but not necessarily exclusively...you've outdone even yourself with semantics there

[JohnDoe]

You can take that entire article and summarize it in about three sentences.

Rafa went 4-2-3-1 to accommodate Gerrard in the middle.

It's offered relative success, but it's still not good enough because if you want it to work consistently and against top sides you need top wingers.

Since we have no top wingers he put Kuyt and Babel there, who aren't as good but they're both Dutch and the 4-3-3 is popular in Holland, so it sounds sexy.