MikelBlue, on 24 February 2012 - 09:37 AM, said:
Zaffo, you point is very well taken. However, my qualm is on a team where we have specialist players (read competent for specific roles), why are we relying on a player (Merieles) who is not particularly good at anything in midfield - I guess apart from mobility? The only answer I can think of is AVB promised Roman attacking football by any means necessary even. What is the club's objective? Surely CL football next season is a bare minimum unless that expectation has been reduced by Roman. At this rate we are closer to finishing 8th than 4th. Clearly, we don't have many midfielders with mobility/ball possession combination. Based on that definition only Mata and Essien will start in central midfield which obviously won't suffice. So it goes without saying that a professional manager for an ambitious club is expected to adjust his tactics & philosophy to fit the best tools in his box rather than relying on a half baked option like Meireles in midfield solely because he is mobile and can interchange at the expense of Cech & the defenders running for their lives.
Well as touched on before, those who are to be deemed specialist players for that deeper role have all had their own issues. Mikel with injury and form, Essien with injury and returning to fitness, and Romeu inexperience (and injury for the Napoli tie). So again, choices aren't exactly plentiful. Another factor will be that Meireles is a player who's playing for the team, AVB, and doing as he's been instructed. Unlike someone such as Lampard, who appears to have very little interest in actually listening to the coach and would have possibly been another option for the role, with Ramires being a bit more defensive himself.
AVB has adjusted though, he's pulled back the reins more with his fullbacks etc. So it's not like he's done nothing at all. That's not to say there isn't room to do more, because there is. But he shouldn't also have to bend and conform to every whim of his players either. It's not his formation is that greatly different from under previous coaches, the difference is simply roles. A less ridged system has made way for one that's a little more expansive and encourages players to move around. Which is one exact reason as to why Meireles gets the nod.
Don't get me wrong, I think AVB could adjust things more with his formation setup but he'll still be as restricted in the end regardless. A formation with more central midfielders, stretches our stocks more in that area. Mikel and Romeu are deeper players. Essien and Ramires are a mix of deeper and more central players, Meireles fills all three, and then Lampard central or more advanced. The latter role being more reserved for Mata than anyone else. While a change might look good on paper, we'll still encounter issues. Thus the 4-3-3 is stuck with because that is seemingly the formation of choice and what AVB used quite effectively at Porto.
AVB's hands are quite tired really because of the limited nature of quite a few players we have, thus he's making do. That aside though, the players need to be just as, if not more responsible for the current state of the club. There's been many a game where we've lost games down to individual mistakes and nothing to do with tactics or what not. Yet, AVB still takes the heat for that.
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