Roy Hodgson's footballing philosophy

[jono]

above all, the above quotes seem to be a million miles from Rafa's Approach and of all the players to benefit most i can see Stevie G responding to Roys style of management.

I am genuinely excited

This is the first thread I've come across in a long time that has given me some confidence this coming season.

[vonk]

this to me is the most interesting thing about roy. i'm not whinging about him getting the job. even if i wanted to, it's done. what i do want at the moment is to understand more about what he wants from this team. i am very interested to know who he wants on the field, in which positions and how he intends to use them.

We really have no idea how he will play. With Fulham he had poor players overall and so had to work to their strengths but he has a team fully of internationals to work with now, so it will be interesting. If he gets to start with Torres and Gerrard I will be genuinely excited by the new season as I think a lot of teams will underestimate us.

But I'm not encouraged by his statements on Gerrard and Torres today.

[the rev leeroy brown]

all i'm hoping for with roys tactics is to let the players off the leash.

we basically are at a cross-roads and i say let the players play freely and attacking and see what happens.

4-4-2 or 3-5-2 is what i'm hoping he goes for. . . . . . basically a 2 man attack with no more 2 defensive midfielders.

[The_weatherman]

Given our personel I think we will play 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 or some variant of that. Nice to see that he believes in letting players play in their actual position and he seems to be a no-nonsense type of guy, probably won't over complicate things.

I wonder what effect Roy can have on the career of Babel, will he use him as a forward or a winger? Babel just might be given a clean slate there.

I feel a bit better about Roy, but if we have a slow start I think he will have hard job with the fans.

[billy_mac]

"I would always hope my players are happy because I am a great believer in putting round pegs in round holes. If you move players around and play them out of position, then there is a risk they might react negatively.

This is great. Exactly what is needed.

[Vermilion]

nothing pops into my head when i think how do his teams play.

i wonder how long it will take to get our team how he wants.

'Boring football' pops into my head. i just can't believe so many fans put so much store in one bloody season, one bloody season!

[DannyMan2006]

I think it is pretty clear he will play with 4 at the back, with only one full back getting forward at any time. I like this approach. I'm all for pressing teams but three at the back at anytime keeps us solid.

He also likes wingers who keep to their position. Anyone who watched England will see how Gerrard on the left wing sometimes had England over exposed or short of width. This will not happen under Hodgson.

It also has me question on whether or not Kuyt will be employed as a winger. I think his days on the right are numbered tbh and I for one would be delighted with this. He likes mobile players on the wings who can stick position but also get in the box when the ball is on the other flank to provide options. I'm not sure Kuyt fits the bill.

He has the two central midfielders as equals. He does not have a ball winner and a ball player. both get involved. They provide cover for the back four but they also get attacks started. Does Mascherano fit this system? Would Gerrard be an ideal player for this position? All questions that need answering.

After that it is down to whether he goes with two strikers up top or just the one. He mentions he prefers two, but only if they are good enough and available. Again this could lead me to think that omeone like Kuyt or Babel could be moved to a more forward role, or possibly have him purchasing a striker or two.

I think if we were to deploy a system that played two strikers, LFC would be a bit short in that area. With limited cash funds that could cause a problem. As I said we have the likes of Babel, Kuyt and also Jovanovic who could be moved to a central striking position to add to Torres and N'Gog, but moving them there would leave the wings short, especially if Yossi was to leave.

Also, are Kuyt, Babel and Jovanovic good enough to play as central strikers?

Plenty of questions that need addressing.

[ric.williams]

I wonder what effect Roy can have on the career of Babel, will he use him as a forward or a winger? Babel just might be given a clean slate there.

agreed, if he can get babel playing to his supposed potential he'd be like a new signing

[tsb]

Do his teams normally use zonal or man marking?

[DannyMan2006]

Do his teams normally use zonal or man marking?

Zonal, but not sure about set-pices.

[el matador]

i think its zonal as apparently he was the man to introduce zonal marking to the swedes i think.

if he can get babel playing anywhere near his best then it would add a lot to us but i still dont know what his best position is one thing is clear though i cant see him playing any more games on the left.

if they can get him playing up front or on the right then we might have a player. kuyt is under threat for me unless he moves up front with torres but he doesnt have enough pace to threaten in behind and i can see him being one of the victims of hodgson.

another interesting one is lucas. will he get more freedom under hodgson to go forward.

there are lots of questions and hodgson is trying to figure out the answers. lets give him some time and see what he comes up with.

[tsb]

Cool, was fearing there would be a wrench for the existing players moving from zonal to man which could have lead to some errors early in the season

[red g]

Cool, was fearing there would be a wrench for the existing players moving from zonal to man which could have lead to some errors early in the season

pretty sure if it was changed, sky would be telling us how great zonal was for Liverpool

[BobTheCharmer]

'Boring football' pops into my head. i just can't believe so many fans put so much store in one bloody season, one bloody season!

where the **** are you getting one season from? He's just had two outstanding seasons at fulham.

[Fernandinho]

i think we might be seeing gerrard and lucas in midfield next season