Against an admittedly very average West Ham at the weekend, the 4-4-2 system with Ngog and Torres seemed to work pretty well as the Reds scored three goals in the first half. In the formation, Torres seemed to appreciate the extra support Ngog provided and managed to open up space for himself as defenders were also troubled by the runs and presence of Ngog. It is a stark contrast to the Reds playing away from home though, where Torres is very isolated playing as a lone striker.
Away from home, there is no doubt that the team are more negative and defensive, demonstrated by their solitary away win against Bolton this season. The defensive mindset has led to a far more conservative five man midfield with Gerrard, or anyone else who plays the most attacking central midfield role, being drawn back into the centre of the park, leaving Torres solely to deal with the opposition backline. The success of the team’s display are solely down to the work rate of our Spanish striker, and with his fitness in question for most of the early part of the season, it has led to some abject performances; none more so than the Stoke performance a couple of weeks ago.
Against Tottenham, who will surely play 4-4-2, could this be the best opportunity to utilise Ngog? Playing like for like formations should encourage a competitive game and also give the Reds some much needed attacking bite against a shaky defence. Roy may opt again for the more defensive approach and go with five to combat the threat of players such as Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale. Redknapp chose to play Jermaine Jenas and Luka Modric in central midfield against Arsenal, both forward looking players who leave space in midfield, and they were found wanting in the first half at the Emirates. The same occurrence could occur at White Hart Lane, and with two strikers we could capitalise on their frailties. It will be interesting to see the starting line up against Spurs next Sunday.
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Lemmy and his band Motorhead at a French bar
This week it is even more of former Liverpool WAG Edita Hortova.
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Well yes, we do have away day blues. But why treat the symptom and not the cause?
Hear! Hear!
Since we have no choice, let’s get before Roy for now. Who knows, he might surprise us all at White Hart Lane…
PS All the same, how I wish we could rely on Rafa’s astute tactics for a challenging match like this!
To win away from home, we need to drop Carragher as he forces the team to play too deep because of his lack of speed. Put Mavinga at leftback, put Wilson alongside Soto, sell Skyrtel in January as Wilson is younger and better. Put Kelly at rightback, put Johnson rightwing. The team is better off without Gerrard. Push up to half way line and play an offside trap. This is the only way to create chances for Torres.
how old are you 7?
We should definitely play 4-4-2 at home and be more offensive against lesser opponents but away against Spurs I think 4-5-1 would be a better option. We need a stronger midfield to battle with Modric and VDV and I’d make one chance to the team and that would be Lucas replacing Ngog with Torres up front on his own. And I do remember last time we played 4-4-2 away we got raped by Man C…
Play Pacheco FFS! The boy is listed for the Golden Boy Award yet he can’t get a game under Hodgson. That’s just plain idiotic.