[han2503]

Who: Parma FC vs. AC Milan



(IMG:https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/392x184q90/538/nbrPfC.png)



Where: Stadio Ennio Tardini



(IMG:http://www.fotbalportal.cz/www/images/stadiony/338-stadio-ennio-tardini-580-250.jpg)



When:
14th September 2014 @ 8:45pm CET


Head-to-Head Record



(IMG:https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/636x194q90/631/xOfeTD.png)

[han2503]

I must be one of the few here who think he cannot play in the mid three. Our formation hasn't allowed for a pure creator in the mid three for a long time. And truth be told we can't.

Not since Rino lost his legs, did we have the freedom of playing both Seedorf and Pirlo in the midfield three. If you remember once Rino lost his legs, we immediately put in Ambrosini and pushed Zee up while taking off an additional striker.

I wonder if we're making the mistake of thinking De Jong is a Gattuso type who can do the work of two people in midfield. Because he absolutely isn't.

For me I think Honda in his current position is fine. He 'starts in position' on that right wing, but the system has allowed him a lot of freedom to make runs at will, and run in to the centre. I notice that is very different from Zee who had a very rigid implementation of the 4-2-3-1.

Probably to get his 'best' which is to say to get the best position he has played in from past record, we'd have to go to an X-Mas tree or a Pyramid/Diamond 4-3-1-2.

I don't like that personally, because to play Honda in position we often end up having to play 2 players out of their favoured position. I'm more hopeful Honda will be able to stylise his play to become more effective where he is.

Simply cannot disagree more Jack!

"Our formation hasn't allowed for a pure creator in the mid three for a long time." No, that's our coaches, Allegri was the one who didn't like having a pure creator in the midfield, he used f@cking Boateng as a trequartista FFS!! That's how allergic he was to playing a creator in midfield. He ousted Pirlo and mostly relied on Seedorf who I wouldn't call a pure creator like Pirlo or Kaka were under Carlo. He even used 3 DMs at times.

It is actually the complete opposite of that, our midfield is absolutely DESPERATE for a creator, someone who can actually use the ball smartly and not pass it sideways/backwards or lump it forward. This mentality was only introduced by Allegri.

Carlo reverted to using both Ambro and Rino when we sold Sheva and started using the xmas tree. He pushed Seedorf up and played Kaka as a SS behind the poacher (Pippo/Gila). And that's why we started struggling a lot in Serie A because we just couldn't break down opposing teams when they parked the bus.

With Seedorf we're talking a completely different system so he shouldn't factor in the discussion. Pippo is going to be using a 3-man midfield, just like what Carlo did and what Allegri did.

The Rino type of player is extinct these days, and no top team can afford to have someone who's just in there to break down the plays, they want all rounders, players who are great on both sides of the ball. Look at Barca, they have Busquets, every other pure DM they ever had they used in the defence, Real have Khedira, Chelsea have Matic or Ramires, etc, etc.

This obsession we have with DMs is incredibly ridiculous, we have De Jong, who's a pure anchor player, no need for any other player who does the dirty work and makes the simple pass. Ideally our midfield should be De Jong, 1 pure creative CM (Monto, Honda, Jack) and 1 two-way player who's good on both sides of the ball, that obviously MvG for me and Poli his immediate sub with Muntari being able to sub for all 3 when needed.

Any combination that involves De Jong and Muntari or Essien is just over kill, especially for Serie A, when you need your midfield to be fast and fluid to break stubborn teams down

I think it's X Off that's the only one who wants Honda as CM rather than the majority.

Actually I'm all for it.

He's a relatively slow player who is pure shite at dribbling imo. He absolutely shouldn't be used on the wing. Yes in an ideal world he'd be used in the traditional AM/trequartista role, but we're not going to be playing with a system that makes use of that position this season, so imo, if we want to get the best out of him he needs to be in an area where his best attributes can be put on show, and imo, he'd be great at CM. He's capable of tracking back, probably even better than that lazy @ss Muntari. And he'd be in a position where his passing and vision can be of great use to the squad, because I do think he's probably our best passer and creative mind in the side