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West Bromwich Albion FC / missing link between the midfield and the striker(s)
« on: August 06, 2018, 06:37:54 PM »
so I've been following the club for 3+ seasons now and it's baffling to me that for most of it the club has seemingly shown very little concern for this. A central attacking midfielder (CAM) is seldom used. WHY???
When I first questioned this it was explained to me the reason was Pulis and his dinosaur ways. I accepted this even though I disagreed with his philosophy 100%. We finally let go of him last season but too late to do anything about this issue even in the winter transfer window in which we were apparently handicapped by our budget.
Now another transfer window is nearing an end, and although I was unable to watch Saturday's game it seems clear to me the issue remains the same. Our attack is too one-dimensional: heavy on the wings, rarely through the middle. The reason is clear, we don't have a link (CAM) between Livermore/Brunt (or, insert whatever midfield tandem of your preference) and our front man. Pardew already tried the 4-4-2 without much success, because you can't just throw any two strikers out there and expect that it'll work. We do NOT have the skill set upfront to be running a 4-4-2, never mind the depth which is nonexistent.
Either bring in additional strikers to run a 4-4-2, or bring in players who can serve as the link ahead of Livermore/Brunt and in between the wingers (this currently consists of Morrison ONLY, who has been injury-prone as of late and was sorely missed on Saturday). HELP create scoring chances.
I understand reinforcements were needed at the back this summer but we were relegated in large part to our lack of scoring (only Swansea/Huddersfield scored less than us) and all we have done to address this issue is add Barnes (replacing McClean) and now swap Gayle for Rondon. I think we all know the definition of insanity - can't keep doing the same (stuff) and expecting different results. And in order to do something different you need different players.
When I first questioned this it was explained to me the reason was Pulis and his dinosaur ways. I accepted this even though I disagreed with his philosophy 100%. We finally let go of him last season but too late to do anything about this issue even in the winter transfer window in which we were apparently handicapped by our budget.
Now another transfer window is nearing an end, and although I was unable to watch Saturday's game it seems clear to me the issue remains the same. Our attack is too one-dimensional: heavy on the wings, rarely through the middle. The reason is clear, we don't have a link (CAM) between Livermore/Brunt (or, insert whatever midfield tandem of your preference) and our front man. Pardew already tried the 4-4-2 without much success, because you can't just throw any two strikers out there and expect that it'll work. We do NOT have the skill set upfront to be running a 4-4-2, never mind the depth which is nonexistent.
Either bring in additional strikers to run a 4-4-2, or bring in players who can serve as the link ahead of Livermore/Brunt and in between the wingers (this currently consists of Morrison ONLY, who has been injury-prone as of late and was sorely missed on Saturday). HELP create scoring chances.
I understand reinforcements were needed at the back this summer but we were relegated in large part to our lack of scoring (only Swansea/Huddersfield scored less than us) and all we have done to address this issue is add Barnes (replacing McClean) and now swap Gayle for Rondon. I think we all know the definition of insanity - can't keep doing the same (stuff) and expecting different results. And in order to do something different you need different players.