Why not LuaLuya AND Buckley on the Same Pitch?!

[David Baboulene]

Can anyone tell me a good reason why a manager wouldn't play both LuaLua and Buckley at the same time? I'm not complaining - In Gus We Trust - but I'd be really interested to understand the logic.

I can see why you wouldn't want two players doing the same job in the same area of the pitch - CMS and Dobbie up front, or Gerrard and Lampard for England - but teams have two centre backs who are similar, two wing-backs doing the same job but in different areas of the pitch, so why not two wingers?

Both players are great at pulling the other team's defensive structure around and making things happen for us in the box. Both are worth millions, both are fantastic players who can really change a game and make things happen, neither can be substituted by any player we have who can be nearly as effective. In a word, they'd bring us GOALS! Surely they should both be on the pitch doing their thing, right?!

I know if I was a striker, I'd want to see Bridge and LuaLua piling down the left, and Buckley and Bruno piling down the right - premiership quality making things happen, and I'd know for sure I'm going to get some delivery.

So can anyone give me a good reason why Gus doesn't play them both at once?

David

 

[Diego Napier]

Gus has played 2 wingers when we've been chasing the game but I think that he sees most teams we play in this division as too strong to start with a reduced presence in midfield.

 

[JBizzle]

I can see where you're coming from but I think Gus worries that it would leave us too open at the back. Lua Lua is still coming back to his best and can be inconsistent and Buckley's hamstrings mean he is maybe not asked to track back that often.

It also leaves us open tactically in the middle of the park. On Saturday for example, when we were being overrun, Gus moved Barnes out wide to provide more protection for calderon but what Barnes also does is move into a more central midfield role when need be to help out the midfield. Neither Buckley or Lua Lua have that tactical flexibility about their game so we lose the ability to change shape when both are playing.

That's my opinion anyway. Could be balderdash.

 

[Birdie Boy]

Because he won't play 4-4-2
Because he would have to drop one of Barnes/Orlandi/Lopez
Because we have nobody, at the moment, in the box to receive the ball from them.

 

[Quinney]

Have noticed massive improvement in Lua Lua defensively. Alway tracking back and getting in some very good tackles. Also Buckley does well defensively - great tackle 1st half Sat just as bloke was going to shoot. Seems to work well at moment, playing one and then fresh legs after 70mins.

 

[dingodan]

Because the universe would implode due to FLAIR OVERLOAD.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

You don't really think Dobbie and CMS "do the same type of job", do you? If so, that is absolutely laughable.

I really don't understand why we keep having these threads appear though. Genuinely, I don't. We play with control, and that means being quite patient and safe in posession. If you play to the strengths of wingers like LuaLua and Buckley, you need to play with a lot more speed and stretch the game a lot more to give them a fair chance to actually make the type of impact they're capable of. Which is why LuaLua often comes on late, when teams are more open and players less likely to want to get back and double up on him. I've always preffered wingers like David Beckham to wingers like Aaron Lennon, for example. Lennon on his day is devastating and used well he is unstoppable. But inconsistent. Wingers like Beckham provide something specific, there is a lot more quality if a lack of pace and dribbling ability. We have Orlandi playing on our left now instead of Noone, and it's meant changing the style, but massively for the better in my opinion. Orlandi is my type of winger, really classy and skillful with amazing technical ability. Exciting as though Noone was, I prefer this type of winger.

 

[banjo]

Lua Lua has always been more effective coming off the bench.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Because we have nobody, at the moment, in the box to receive the ball from them.

Apart from Barnes who scored a tap in on saturday from a cross into the box and Orlandi who headed in on saturday from a cross in the box that went over Barnes's head (who was also in the box) and orlandi again who scored from a cross on the saturday before from Bridge's cross?

Yep. No one in the box.

 

[Acker79]

They've been on the pitch together for 180 minutes
Lualua scored 2
Buckley scored 0
The team conceded 3

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Lua Lua has always been more effective coming off the bench.

This and 4-4-2 is overrated.

 

[Mellotron]

1. LuaLua isn't generally as good when starting a match.
2. It leaves the midfield pretty vulnerable.
3. One of our best assets is our full backs bombing on. They would not be able to do this with less protection.

 

[Marshy]

1. LuaLua isn't generally as good when starting a match.
2. It leaves the midfield pretty vulnerable.
3. One of our best assets is our full backs bombing on. They would not be able to do this with less protection.

Its all about the full backs. Bridge is totally wasted if he has a genuine wide man in front of him as it stops him getting forward.
1 winger is the way to go for us I believe, however I would like to see Orlandi in that left sided role and Viente central when/ if they play together ;-)

 

[Mellotron]

Its all about the full backs. Bridge is totally wasted if he has a genuine wide man in front of him as it stops him getting forward.
1 winger is the way to go for us I believe, however I would like to see Orlandi in that left sided role and Viente central when/ if they play together ;-)

That would make sense, although only if Crofts or Hammond are on top of their game alongside Brids, as we would miss some of Barnes' physicality.

 

[perseus]

Because you can't play on both wings at the same time. Teams with a straight back four tend to pull over towards the player with the ball, which gives our full back on the opposite side the opportunity to push forward. So it is a waste of resources to play two out and out wide men.

Of course, if Buckley plays as a striker, Lualua can play on the wind, and Lualua could conceivably tuck in and play as an interiore or even as an out and out striker in the Peter Ward style (not tried). Playing as an interiore and Orlandi is better. Needing a goal and Lualua I prefer.

 

[perseus]

Because you can't play on both wings at the same time. Teams with a straight back four tend to pull over towards the player with the ball, which gives our full back on the opposite side the opportunity to push forward, if play is switched suddenly. So it is a waste of resources to play two out and out wide men.

Of course, if Buckley plays as a striker, Lualua can play on the wing, and Lualua could conceivably tuck in and play as an interiore or even as an out and out striker in the Peter Ward style (not tried). Playing as an interiore and Orlandi is better. Needing a goal and Lualua I prefer.

We could use the whole width of the pitch and play it around but it might leave us one man light in the middle. OK if we keep hold of the ball, but if we lose it the other side has a counter attack with a spare man.

But saying that with our second goal against Derby we were playing on both wings, but with an advanced full back in Calderon.

 

[Philzo-93]

Because we sold Nooney and never replaced him with another winger.

 

[Surf's Up]

This and 4-4-2 is overrated.

Hardly any teams play 442 these days and certainly not for whole games, which is strange because the general consensus is that your average British player struggles to adapt to other formations

 

[Munchkin]

Quite simply because our fullbacks are encouraged to get forward and subsequently need protection.

As much as you may like to see it, you simply couldnt play Buckley in front of Bruno and Lua Lua ahead of Bridge at the same time.

 

[Turkey]

Because football isn't the same as FIFA 13?

Because LuaLua is an impact player who needs to develop his overall game?