Midfield

Thought McCowan was poor yesterday tho..

 

Seen a stat saying he lost possession 23 times. That's brutal

 

He was really poor yesterday. Gave it away loads, ball going under his foot and out for a throw in. It was just one of those days. Hatate was our best midfielder. The bar was very low however.

 

Right now I'd prefer McGregor, Bernardo, Hatate, with Engels and McCowan being rotated in.

 

Aye, nobody in the midfield is making themselves difficult to leave out, which is the frustrating thing.. want them to start seizing their chances and saying, look I'm the main man here.

 

I'd love to see us try a midfield three of Engels in the 6 with Hatate and Bernardo ahead of him, either for the last 30mins of a game we're coasting to rest Calmac or to start one of our easier games.

 

Was so poor in front of goal aswell. Still think he might be the answer if he can get his shooting boots on. Or Engels deep with Hatate and McGregor slightly more advanced .

 

None of them have been outstanding this season.

McGregor is still at his best when he has license to roam. Prefer him in one of the two advanced positions.

Bernardo should be starting. Who else completes the midfield…not sure.

 

Aye, he was trying to make things happen tbf, that's why his loss of possession stats would have been so high. Just didn't happen yesterday in tricky conditions..

Really like all of our midfielders, they all have something to offer.. bur none of them seem to be going out and owning it.. I thought Bernardo would be the one to do that but he hasn't really either..

BR needs to address it and find the right starting blend as its not clicking as we've seen it..

Our best performances this season have been with McGregor, Engels and Hatate as the three.. but Hatate and Engels have been inconsistent.. so I honestly don't know..

 

I think the answer as has been suggested by some, including me, is to move McGregor forward to No.8, because he is not a natural CDM imo, he's more an improvised CDM. Bernado, McCowan or Engels should be given an opportunity to hold down the No.6 position, and then we can see which blend of midfield gives us the best options.We may need to buy a CDM in January if there is movement in the transfer market. For me, any midfield with Hatate in it, is the weak link, because his form has fallen off a cliff this season.

 

I'm not feeling much optimism about having McGregor operate in that advanced role these days.

Don't get me wrong I wouldn't mind seeing it tried in Europe with a proper DM behind him, but he hasn't played as an 'attacking' midfielder for about 5 years now.

He's noticeably slower at times and not that positive with his passing anymore. He keeps the ball well but he's not really that creative type, whether that's under instruction or not who knows..

Personally I don't think he's good enough in advanced positions anymore, he isn't a Rogic/O'Riley who will create that bit of magic and thread a pass through the eye of a needle. He still has a good strike on him though so I think we should utilise that a bit more.

We should have been peppering shots at their goal yesterday when it was clear we weren't breaking them down, seems like we're obsessed with creating the perfect goal at times.

 

We need a kayal. Someone who receives the ball, beat a man and run forward. Suddenly the other teams entire block will be broken. Free wingers, panic everywhere. Instead we pass it back to the CBs. Only hatatte tries to atleast advance the ball.

 

I think all our midfielders are more than capable of playing forward - if anything we have too many attacking midfielders and not enough/any defensive.

But since Leipzig and really kicking in with Brugge, our entire midfield seem to have the fear.
Previously positive thinking players are suddenly passive, negative, slow and only pass sideways or backwards - too scared to lose possession.
It kills the pace of the game, makes it easy to play against and also very tough for forward players if they are constantly starting from a standing position.

Is that the manager over emphasising 'taking care of the ball' as he puts it?
Or did Brugge spook everyone and we've just lost our mojo and confidence?
I think it's the latter, many of the squad seem to be lacking confidence right now - but we are getting away with it results wise....so far.

It's a worry that we need to put right, but I think we can as it's not ability - it's mentality and confidence.

Top drawer #6 is absolutely critical.

 

With respect, the sooner people realise CM isn’t a number 8 and hasn’t been for 4 years the better.

I also don’t think it would suit him playing as an 8 in this style these days. I think he’d get a lot of goals box crashing but the same problems would exist creating imo.

Dont think people appreciate how hard that 6 role is for us, CM plays it to perfection in build up.

There’s a reason nobody else has had a game in the that position for 3-4 years, only competence has come from Matt O’Rliley in that area.

 

No doubt in my mind that McGregor is still able to prosper with more freedom further forward. The thing is, there’s no doubt in my mind we can’t get a player as a deep lying playmaker that will make us better than having Calmac pulling the strings. Somehow his full career at us no matter the role he’s excellent in, he’s somehow underrated at doing it. Before he nailed down the deep lying role he played loads of different positions and roles and everytime it was labelled finally found out his best role. He was an 8, the 10 a LAM, a winger. It happened every time. * we played him LB once against the Huns and he was our best player, we didn’t have another Calmac in midfield to replace him made that an issue.

 

Aye Cal Macs days as an 8 are over and like u said the role has evolved to the way he and Armstrong played it under Rodgers previously.

We don't play with a defensive midfielder we play with a deep lying playmaker. Iv long since given up on is signing 1.

I really liked Iwata and thought he was perfect alternative to McGregor and also a good option to bring in as a 2nd 6 next to McGregor but he was under utilised by both Ange and Rodgers.

I also think Engles would be best suited next to Cal as a 2nd number 6, especially in Europe but out with Atalanta which was arguably his best performance we haven't played him there. Think Rodgers wants to develop him into a box to box 8

 

Iwata wanted an age in the ball and kept getting robbed of it , couldn't get to grips with the pace and physicality . Getting dispossessed in the deep midfield role is a no no . Wasn't right for us .

 

Not a dig at McGregor but the midfield looked far more fluid today. Shows you he can actually get a break now and again as well.

 

Zero awareness too. Hated seeing him on the teamsheet.