Quote Originally Posted by Alberto Balsam Rodriguez View Post
I think someone on here said that 3 at the back seems to have helped us stop being so easily counter attacked. I couldn't really see that as in all the games so far, we have been caught stone cold on the counter attack in every game. The problem is clearly how quickly we empty out the midfield. There is a total lack of discipline on the pitch so formation changes are not going to have a great deal of impact if we cannot do the basics. Referring more to Stoke and Leicester (which I watched), we conceded goals because we gave the ball away and we were very quickly outnumbered in the final third. I can only assume that yesterday was more of the same?

I see Ramsey getting lots of **** but Xhaka loses his position very easily as well. He was brilliant in the cup final and did everything correctly but seems to have gone back to the indiscipline he showed far too frequently last season. If Ramsey is going to go forward, Xhaka must stay put. This is what does not seem to be happening. Of course there are serious question marks about why Ramsey is bombing forward at Liverpool at 0-0 when we are struggling to get a foothold in the game?
Three at the back does help against counter-attacks if you play the right three players at the back and if your wing-backs do their defensive duties. Gives you the extra man down the middle basically. Your 3-5-2 - if that is what it is - quickly becomes a 5-3-2