Snow
Somewhere down the lane, a licky boom boom down
Sure, but everyone makes it sound like the absence of a winger makes a good fullback redundant, which is nonsense of course.
If I am Forlán or Luis Enrique attacking the space and see a choice of Cannavaro or Kelly, and Carvalho or Capdevila, other things equal, I know which way I will go (somewhere in between depending on where my own fullback is).
If I am Nesta and I have Zanetti next to me I am confident he can deal with someone heading that way, if I have Kelly I may end up in two minds regarding what to do.
Look at Cahill and Smalling last night, communication and trust between defenders is a huge part of defending effectively. Will Cling have that with such a disparate backline? I doubt it.
Of course it has an impact.
I didn't see the game yesterday so I can't comment. Who wasn't supposed to trust who?
Why should there be trust issues? Nesta has Abate next to him at Milan. I don't see him make any more special precautions than when he had someone who was better. And Abate attacks a lot.
It's not about defenders being redundant. It's about what you have in midfield as well as the role you give to your full back.
You have Zanetti but you don't have a right winger. If you then play Cling you've got Overmars to deal with. So far you haven't played many teams with wingers. So. What is Zanetti's role in this. Is he free to roam forwards? Kelly's role is clear. He's there to defend. Cling's front three are all players who are not afraid of taking their man on.