Alfred C. Jolibois, PhD
12-15-2013, 04:15 PM
strategy (so, against team who press hard to get it), Mikel and Tomas will always be preferred options.
I know this is all hindsight, but these two rarely if ever give the ball away, distribute well and do two important things (press high a keep the ball for Thomas, stay in front of defense and keep the ball for Mikel). Flam is faster and more dynamic than Mikel. If we play both, then great (though that means we lose the runs of Ramsey in the middle). if we only play one, against teams that will seek more possession than us, it should be Mikel. He will give it away less and will distribute astronomically out of defense. Against such teams, jack, who is a positive player and who more often than not seek an individual option (dribble or running past) should not play, at least not until his sharpness goes back to what it was when we beat Barcelona. (But even then, seems like he passed the ball faster and more accurately than he has been doing now.)
Now, Chelsea is not a team that presses and wants the ball--like Southhampton, City and Everton were) so all this may not be valid for that game. Still. Seems to me that Mikel should definitely anchor, and that Rosicky's return on the left would be a good thing.
Goes without saying, if fit, Theo and Ozil should always start, and the other midfield pieces should be organized based on the nuances of the game we plan to play that day.
I know this is all hindsight, but these two rarely if ever give the ball away, distribute well and do two important things (press high a keep the ball for Thomas, stay in front of defense and keep the ball for Mikel). Flam is faster and more dynamic than Mikel. If we play both, then great (though that means we lose the runs of Ramsey in the middle). if we only play one, against teams that will seek more possession than us, it should be Mikel. He will give it away less and will distribute astronomically out of defense. Against such teams, jack, who is a positive player and who more often than not seek an individual option (dribble or running past) should not play, at least not until his sharpness goes back to what it was when we beat Barcelona. (But even then, seems like he passed the ball faster and more accurately than he has been doing now.)
Now, Chelsea is not a team that presses and wants the ball--like Southhampton, City and Everton were) so all this may not be valid for that game. Still. Seems to me that Mikel should definitely anchor, and that Rosicky's return on the left would be a good thing.
Goes without saying, if fit, Theo and Ozil should always start, and the other midfield pieces should be organized based on the nuances of the game we plan to play that day.