Babel's cross for the goal

[Snoeker]

Go on, who else thought that after beating the defender on the outside and then cutting back on his right he'd spurned the opportunity?

 

"what the %^7 are you DOIN. oh"

[John am Rhein]

Go on, who else thought that after beating the defender on the outside and then cutting back on his right he'd spurned the opportunity?

 

Exactly what I thought - and said

[Snoeker]

Nice to be wrong, isn't it

[Beardsley]

Correct. Couldn't pass wind lest pass the defender, so I was rightfully (or so I thought) moaning when he started to cut back.

[Igors Uncle Dave]

I thnk once Riera has settled into the left hand side of midfield we will be seeing Babel on the right. He does not favour his left foot and wants to drift inside to get a shooting chance on his right all of the time. By putting him on the right he will use his pace to hit the by line and produce the crosses for Torres/Keane/Kuyt to feed on

Edited August 28, 2008 by Igors Uncle Dave

[John am Rhein]

I think it's exactly because Babel favours his right foot that he should play on the left. He can cut inside and shoot and, as we saw last night, a cross on the 'inside' foot can be every bit as effective as one from the 'outside' foot.

 

Since both Dossena and Aurelio are (AFAIK) left-footed, it makes sense to have a right-footer on the same side as them.

[Nerik]

However isn't the fact that our wide players cut inside too often one of our problems?

[Stevie G]

I thnk once Riera has settled into the left hand side of midfield we will be seeing Babel on the right. He does not favour his left foot and wants to drift inside to get a shooting chance on his right all of the time. By putting him on the right he will use his pace to hit the by line and produce the crosses for Torres/Keane/Kuyt to feed on

 

There's no chance in hell of babel getting ahead of kuyt at RM. Rafa loves kuyt way too much for that.

[John am Rhein]

However isn't the fact that our wide players cut inside too often one of our problems?

 

No

[magneto]

Our wide players are cutting in because they're not wide players to begin with or they're wide players playing on the wrong f***ing side of the pitch.

[John am Rhein]

Our wide players are cutting in because they're not wide players to begin with or they're wide players playing on the wrong f***ing side of the pitch.

 

You're right....assuming it's 1952

[Stevie H]

got no problem with wide players cutting inside so long as the formation and movement is set up for that and the fullbacks take advantage of the space vacated by them out wide.

[Nerik]

It is a problem whichever way you put it John. The cutting inside part on it's own is not a major problem but when you couple it with scant success in beating a player down the line and getting a cross in then it becomes one. Babel delivered a fantastic cross for the goal last night but we were never a threat out left before that and with a crowded centre a player cutting inside more often than not is rarely gonig to create any trouble. You'd also expect professional footballers to be able to cross with both legs. That is where Finnan excelled.

[briant2001]

Thought Babel was woeful last night - cursing his every move and then...

 

Brilliant! Same with Kuyt - how many times are we going to hear "one thing about Kuyt is he's a hard worker!" this season?

[John am Rhein]

but when you couple it with scant success in beating a player down the line and getting a cross in then it becomes one

 

That doesn't need to be a part of our game and, with occasional outstanding exceptions, the players who are good at that tend to be so sh*t at everything else that they subtract more than they add.

[Swipe]

I was shouting "use your f***ing left peg" at the screen!

 

Was a brilliant cross. Thought he was fairly poor when he came on - even a bit lazy.

 

But that was a fantastic cross. s*** defending from their full back but a wicked cross.

[Nerik]

That doesn't need to be a part of our game and, with occasional outstanding exceptions, the players who are good at that tend to be so sh*t at everything else that they subtract more than they add.

 

It should be an option though. I am not talking about our main tactic but if defenders always know that our wide men cut inside that is part of their problem solved. The best wide men can do both and effectively.

[John am Rhein]

It should be an option though. I am not talking about our main tactic but if defenders always know that our wide men cut inside that is part of their problem solved. The best wide men can do both and effectively.

 

Well if we ever have one of these best wide men, maybe we can think about using them. The last one was John Barnes.

 

If we want to have the tactic available of having the player go outside rather than inside the defender then we just need to switch Babel to the other wing.

 

Gerrard can also offer crossing ability that's second to none from the 'outside' foot without even needing to beat the defender to do it. This is far better than 'beating the man' since it produces far more consistent and accurate crosses and doesn't result in possession being lost anywhere near as often.

[Nerik]

Well we do not need one of the best wide men ever but we need better wide men which is something most fans agree upon, unless you are happy with our wide players.

[Hassony]

Well we do not need one of the best wide men ever but we need better wide men which is something most fans agree upon, unless you are happy with our wide players.

 

Who are chelsea's and Arsenal's wide players?

[John am Rhein]

Well we do not need one of the best wide men ever but we need better wide men which is something most fans agree upon, unless you are happy with our wide players.

 

Gerrard's as good a wide player as we're ever going to get. Babel's reasonably good and likely to get better over the next 2 or 3 years. If we can get someone better then all well and good, but I reckon the likes of Reira, Downing, etc. are unlikely to make much difference. Better to concentrate our resources in the center of the field, get the full backs resonably far forward into positions they can cross from (no need to 'beat the man') and exploit spaces in wide areas by having the attacking players make runs there when the opportunity arises.

[Romario]

Go on, who else thought that after beating the defender on the outside and then cutting back on his right he'd spurned the opportunity?

 

"what the %^7 are you DOIN. oh"

 

He was always going to. He's as one footed as Riise. Agreed though I was screaming at him when he cut it back only to cheer him a second later.

[Alonso]

Who are chelsea's and Arsenal's wide players?

Bosingwa and A Cole

 

Clichy and Sagna

[Hassony]

Bosingwa and A Cole

 

Clichy and Sagna

 

thats why we bought Dossena (who has shown that he wants to get forward) and Degen then

[Alonso]

thats why we bought Dossena (who has shown that he wants to get forward) and Degen then

Yep but it's early days so can't comment on them really but strange why Dossena was "rested" last night. Hopefully Degen can get himself fit and prove that he's able to get forward effectively.