Zola's post match comments suggest that he still hasn't grasped that our poor form is down to his inept tactics. He is talking about the players needing more self belief; bollox, what they need is a system of play that chimes with their abilities. At the moment we have a bunch of square pegs forced into round holes and when you are asked to play out of position, on the wrong flank and in a system you don't believe in, it is going to manifest itself in tentative play or, in Zola's words, a lack of belief.
The sooner we get Collison and Behrami back in the starting line up, the better. Zola must then revert to 4-4-2 but who plays where will remain a worry. Collison out of position on the left still? Behrami on the right or back in the middle? What do we do with Noble, Parker, Jimenez and Diamanti? For all our midfielders, we still don't have somebody naturally suited to playing wide on the left, which is why Zola keeps poncing around with his 4-3-3 formation and with using right footers out on the left flank when he does eventually and belatedly revert to 4-4-2 in an effort to save a game he has lost by starting with the 4-3-3 mess.
The brutal truth is that we have a pantry of ingredients that cannot be blended together to make a decent dish. With what we do have, I would favour the following team (though I think it will still struggle because we lack a leader and steel):
Green: Spector Upson Gabbidon Ilunga; Faubert, Behrami, Diamanti (or Jimenez), Collison; Cole and Hines (or Stanislas).
Spector? Faubert back in midfield? I know, it is desperate but beggars can't be choosers and that's the best combination I can come up with. Any better ideas?
Green,faubert,gabbidon,upson,ilunga:stanislas,behrami,parker,jimenez: cole,diamanti
ReplyDeletethis would give us a bit of pace wide, a solid centre, and somebody up front to help cole
tonyboy
Spector and Gabbidon should never play for West Ham no matter how deficient we are in certain positions. They are just not up to it. They make mistakes, fall over and do not fit with any team 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. Anyone would be better than those two. Sorry to be so blunt but someone has to say it.
ReplyDeleteHow about a Chelsea diamond:
ReplyDeleteGreen; Faubert, Gabbidon, Upson, Ilunga; Behrami, Parker, Jimenez (or Diamanti), Collison; Cole, Hines (or Franco)
This side would need to get Ilunga and Faubert up the flanks to give us width going forward so Behrami and Parker would need to be alert to the needs to fill in any defensive gaps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QAVtFuN9Cg
ReplyDeletekevin in manchester wirtes.. nice to see a reasoned peice minus the conspiracy theories .. i agree with all of it except that perhaps parker in midfield instead of faubert and I think Tomkins is worth perservering with
ReplyDeleteanon, respect your opinion and agree with you about spector, but Danny Gabbidon is a fine centre half. he has been missing because of major injury and a bit short on matches, but a fully fit Gabbidon will make a big difference.
ReplyDeletetonyboy
One point all this seems to make is that Mark Noble has been promoted above his level of ability.Not included in anyone's eleven!This must be a big season for him to step up to the mark if he is ever to step into the Fat boy's shoes.
ReplyDeleteJohn V P
Mark Noble, good player that he is, is not at his best just now and a rest will do him good. after his efforts with the U21s in the summer he hasn't had enough of a break.
ReplyDeletetonyboy