Put Knockaert in the number 10 role?

martin tyler · Aug 20, 2017

If we are going to play a number 10 I think it is likely to be Gross or Brown. Baldock is the only other option but he is not really a 10.
Personally I think it is all down to the striker we bring in.
If he can play on his own then so be it number 10 will be Brown or Gross.
If he can't at this level (Murray and Hemed can't by all accounts) then they must have someone else alongside them like Baldock who will drop in as and when, but will actually be on the move so the Midfield has options when they get the ball, which is currently the biggest problem. The Midfield look up they see our wingers being marked by decent full backs and they see Murray or Hemed who are never going to run in behind so it is a ball to feet or nothing.

Personally if the striker can play on his own then id go

Ryan
Bruno
Dunk
Duffy
Suttner
Knockaert
Stephens
Propper
Izquirdo
Brown
New striker

Use Gross as an option for CM or number 10 off the bench but have Baldock on there as well if we want to change shape at any time. Obviously this is all dependent on Baldock being fit any time

chaileyjem · Aug 20, 2017

Lower West Stander said:
So you think that would work against Premier League defences? That attack was never balanced and a 2-1 home win against the might of Wigan or the reliance on a fantastic piece of skill from Pocognoli makes it justifiable?

Papered over the cracks

Bit premature to start making judgements on this years squad after 2 games.

Even harder to argue last years squad weren't up to it with a straight face but plenty, I guess you included, want to find massive flaws in 2 seasons of 180+ points . I'm not one of em.

chaileyjem · Aug 20, 2017

Icy Gull said:
Why do you keep insisting that Gross is a number 10?

Probably because Hughton and his team mates described him as such when he bought him, and perhaps because he's played him in that position both in every preseason line up and in our first 2 league games.
Whether you think he's up to it not, I'm concluding not, is a different question. As is also the option of whether he can or should play in a deeper role which Hughton has also acknowledged he can , especially as BK is injured.

Hughton

Rosenior

Mike Small · Aug 20, 2017

I have been concerned with Gross. He isn't quick enough to go past people in that position and although he is up against it he seems really isolated. He runs around a lot which may be the reason he seems to give the ball away extremely quickly plus the lack of options. I'm sure he'd be more effective with AK, Iquizerdo and a new powerful attacking forward if this happens. Just hope CH doesn't persevere with him in this position if we're playing the same inferior way by time we play Newcastle.

Icy Gull · Aug 20, 2017

chaileyjem said:
Probably because Hughton and his team mates described him as such when he bought him, and perhaps because he's played him in that position both in every preseason line up and in our first 2 league games.
Whether you think he's up to it not, I'm concluding not, is a different question. As is also the option of whether he can or should play in a deeper role which Hughton has also acknowledged he can , especially as BK is injured.

Hughton

Rosenior

Are you suggesting that I might have trouble seeing the printed word Chailey ? :lolol:

Just bigging up the size doesn't mean he can play no 10, I can't say I know better than CH and LR but my eyes told me yesterday that they may be clutching at straws! Let's see what happens next time out. He is nothing like Baldock though, can we agree on that?

chaileyjem · Aug 20, 2017

Icy Gull said:
Are you suggesting that I might have trouble seeing the printed word Chailey ? :Lolol:

Just begging up the size doesn't mean he can play no 10,

Ha ! I'm the one who needs the reading glasses unfortunately Icy. And i keep reading he's a #10 !

GT49er · Aug 20, 2017

Icy Gull said:
Are you suggesting that I might have trouble seeing the printed word Chailey ?

Just bigging up the size doesn't mean he can play no 10, I can't say I know better than CH and LR but my eyes told me yesterday that they may be clutching at straws!

£3.6M (or however much we paid for him) is an awful lot to pay for straws to clutch at!

Arkwright · Aug 20, 2017

Gross had a poor game yesterday but it's only one game. I think he has potential and we need to persevere with him. Give him and the team a chance at the moment the problem is we haven't had much possession in advanced areas thats not really the fault of the attacker's.

sjamesb3466 · Aug 20, 2017

chaileyjem said:
Criminal ?

PS: So what exactly have Izquierdo, Brown, and Gross been signed for do you think ?

My point was that having not addressed this issue last season has meant that extra signings were needed this season who all need bedding in to the squad. Izquierdo is a winger, Gross is an attacking midfielder who can play number 10 but was not always that advanced for previous clubs and Brown is an excellent prospect and is seemly being played on the left wing if the Madrid and City games are anything to go by. Not really solving our desperate need for a second striker

Kaiser_Soze · Aug 21, 2017

Wardy's twin said:
Not sure what this 'no 10' role really is, we need someone up who has pace and can score goals AK has both those attributes. However I guess he is not playing because he has been seen as not fit enough.

It's not about fitness. As a winger you're likely to be taking on a fullback and can use pace to exploit the space. As a number 10, you're potentially holding off 2 centre halfs and a defensive midfielder. You need to be more physical. Bigger and stronger. AK is an out and out winger. Simple as.

Megazone · Aug 21, 2017

Kaiser_Soze said:
AK is an out and out winger. Simple as.

I have to disagree with you there. Out and out wingers like hitting the byline and drilling in crosses. Knockaert prefers to cut in and dice with the defenders with dummies and disguised crosses. Often he ends up getting a shot off. AK of all our wingers is the most likely to succeed playing more central.

perseus · Aug 21, 2017

Bakero said:
Haven't we tried this before? If I remember rightly it wasn't successful.

We tried it against Huddersfield at home ?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37282506

From memory Hemed had a good game. I do not think we put out the correct team to play it properly?

Kaiser_Soze · Aug 21, 2017

Megazone said:
I have to disagree with you there. Out and out wingers like hitting the byline and drilling in crosses. Knockaert prefers to cut in and dice with the defenders with dummies and disguised crosses. Often he ends up getting a shot off. AK of all our wingers is the most likely to succeed playing more central.

Except he hasn't.

You're right in the fact he cuts in well. But he's never succeeded in playing that central role all game.

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Megazone · Aug 21, 2017

perseus said:
We tried it against Huddersfield at home ?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37282506

From memory Hemed had a good game. I do not think we put out the correct team to play it properly?

This Ghanian bloke we're after has bags of pace, hangs in the air, holds the ball up we'll and has lots of physical strength. If he was playing alongside Knockaert upfront, it would be a much more potent combination than AK alongside a slow centre forward like we tried last season.
I'm not trying to compare them but Knockaert could do for us what Alexis Sanchez does for Arsenal. He could be our Maverick who finds space in-between the oppositions defence and midfield and makes things happen, especially if there's players around him making quick runs.
Don't forget, Alexis Sanchez was a winger at first.

Stat Brother · Aug 21, 2017

Megazone said:
This Ghanian bloke we're after has bags of pace, hangs in the air, holds the ball up we'll and has lots of physical strength. If he was playing alongside Knockaert upfront, it would be a much more potent combination than AK alongside a slow centre forward like we tried last season.
I'm not trying to compare them but Knockaert could do for us what Alexis Sanchez does for Arsenal. He could be our Maverick who finds space in-between the oppositions defence and midfield and makes things happen, especially if there's players around him making quick runs.
Don't forget, Alexis Sanchez was a winger at first.

But every time he's been asked (forced through injury

) to play that role not only has he been ineffectual it has greatly reduced the teams threat from his wing.

Why would now be any different?

Square pegs in square holes is the only way to get a toe hold in this, or any other, division.

Eric Youngs Contact Lense · Aug 21, 2017

I'm not sure what people mean by a "No.10". Groß , in our current system ( I wasn't at Leicester, so maybe something different I guess) is a midfielder who sits centrally when we don't have the ball, making us hard to break down. The closest thing we had to this last year, in my mind anyway, was Sam Baldock, who played as second striker with a job to drop into midfield areas when we lost the ball. Both have the duty to try and burst from these areas when we win the ball.. against Man City, Groß did this whenever he could. The lack of possession, lack of players around him will nullify that When I think of a No 10 I think of Pirlo, David Silva, Zidane, Deli Ali who have limited defensive duties but are their to be creative when they have the ball, which tends to be a lot in the teams they play(ed) with. Pirlo often picked the ball up in very deep areas. In either system, AK wouldn't appear to be suited to either role - .. his pace and trickery just nullified in more crowded central areas, and not one I would want to rely on for the defensive duties we are asking of Groß, Propper etc..

brightn'ove · Aug 21, 2017

Gross has played at 'this level' for two years, in a very competitive and high-quality league. Give him time, imo.

Whoislloydy · Aug 21, 2017

You obviously didn't watch us last season then?

We tried this with both Knockaert and Solly and it failed miserably.

Megazone · Aug 21, 2017

Stat Brother said:
But every time he's been asked (forced through injury ) to play that role not only has he been ineffectual it has greatly reduced the teams threat from his wing.

Why would now be any different?

Square pegs in square holes is the only way to get a toe hold in this, or any other, division.

How many times was AK played in that position (number 10) last season?

Commander · Aug 21, 2017

brightn'ove said:
Gross has played at 'this level' for two years, in a very competitive and high-quality league. Give him time, imo.

This. Incredible how people are writing him off already, have they learnt nothing at all from being a football fan? He looks like he'd being played too far forward as we don't have a 'number 10'. The answer is for us to buy a number 10, not try and play our existing players out of position there.

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