Originally Posted by
Kev0909
Exactly, we have salah VVD....... some real top of the class players, then you have the midfield..... -_-
For me our midfield was the best in the league through 18-20, it was their reading of the game and playing of Jurgen's system at the time and their positioning off each other and our forwards positions to allow our full backs to attack or take equally brilliant positions off them that made us so brilliant and hard to play against. And I never moaned about our midfield, my only critique was that we needed another player in the same mould of being brilliantly astute without the ball who could play the switches and attempted balls over the top when we were positioned for them to be attempted.
When we were at our very best, the highest levels we've ever been at, as a team, it became apparent to me that we were even better without Fab, as he didn't read it as well, play the system as well or position himself as expertly, he didn't have that understanding with Gini and Hendo they had with one another, knowing exactly where he needed to be and position himself and he still doesn't, so to improve on what we had, we needed better, I know it's unpopular, but he still doesn't have that.
As much as the owners haven't invested enough of what's being made back into the playing staff, I actually think Jurgen has tried to evolve how we play and got it wrong. There wasn't much wrong at all with how we played for me, Fab needed to be worked with to get with the program and understand the importance of reading it and the positions he took in conjunction with our other midfielders and to improve his passing and that still needs to happen.
How the full backs played needed to be evolved, we've seen some of that, in the balls played in from deeper from Trent against certain defensive set ups, and the balls attempted through the lines, down the line, in behind and over the top, but we didn't need to employ a more lightweight attacking midfielder to make that evolution happen, and doing that has been part of the problem. And we needed a bit of work on the forwards doing more to make space and gaps for the full backs to deliver also. Running a defender to the corner, taking 2 or 3 there, to play it back to a full back to deliver to 2 or 3 in the box. Playing on the defender to move him inside or outside to create gaps and open channels for the full backs, and again that didn't require a more lightweight, let's the positioning and press down midfielder's inclusion
Sid was talking about City the other day, how they boringly saw games out by controlling it and their possession game, we had that in 18-20, it was just a different style to how they do it, with players using different skill sets, we'd keep it and patiently pass it around between our No6 LCM controller and CBs just the same, and our forwards, full backs and other midfielder would either make runs or keep altering their position off the runs to be in positions to be released, with a player in a position to support that and other players positioning themselves to be placed to win any second ball, and we kept making the runs and repositioning and when we were set to try one of the medium balls over the top, or switches to release either a forward or full back, as in, were it to be cleared or intercepted, we were set to win any second ball or quickly win the ball back quickly before it was played, we'd play it.
The only thing our midfield needed was a couple more players who could do the same as Hendo and Gini and have the understanding with them and each other and of the system, who could also constantly position themselves and reposition themselves as expertly in conjunction with all the other players who were a bit better with the ball and able to play the balls to release the forward and full backs together with the further development of the play of the forwards and full backs and the movement and interactions between them to make us a bit cuter when needed, to be able to test teams and open them up and create in different ways, without really having to change the fundamentals of how we played that had proved so successful
Now we have no width or attacking threat on our left, when we used to use the entire width of the pitch on both sides when at our peak, creating opportunities for switches to release a forward and/or full back in loads of time and space on the opposite side, or play a ball over the top which if not successful we'd win the second ball from, we don't have Gini and Hendo to use in combination who understand the system, the absolute importance of their positioning and each other so well, to improve on that we needed a third midfielder to be able to operate at the same levels of that, instead we have midfielders who can't coordinate doing what they need to at all and who don't listen to instruction on what they need to be doing and where they need to be positioning themselves.
If our midfielders positions aren't right, then it makes our forwards positions not right and our full backs positions not right and our CBs positions not right, whether we're pressing high or sitting deeper, the midfield, as much as it was maligned by most here, was the key to our success and to me, we've gone backwards a long way and lost sight of what worked and how to improve from there and there is perhaps an element of so many voice in Jurgen's ear while we were practically invincible, of different types of midfielders being the way to improve and perhaps he has tried to appease those voices and it's been a fucking disaster
We have the great man for 2 more seasons after this, unless he gets back to basics with midfield and gets backed to bring in players of the right type, the same type as Gini, Hendo and Milner, but with a bit better range of passing and variation of types of passing and re-establish and build that formidable understanding and reading of the game and positioning and the consistency of it, get back to using the entire width of the pitch also, I fear we're never going to reach the heights of 18-20 again.
Ultimately, we could have tried to evolve differently from how it has been attempted and be a far better side than we were in 18-20 and even better at opening sides up and even more solid and inpenetrable for teams to try and play through, run through or get time on the ball, but for me, whoever was in Jurgen's ear, or maybe a culmination of all those voices who knew better, we've chosen entire the wrong path and direction to try and evolve and laid to waste far too much of what made us so damned good, because it didn't looks sexy enough for some people, and it redefined the role of the midfielders in a way they just couldn't accept or understand - Shame, we could have had a period of great dominance
"If Everton were playing at the bottom of my garden, i'd close the curtains”
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