I’ve solved our striker puzzle. Bench Zirkee and Hojlund.

IrishRedDevil

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What to do with Zirkzee and Hojlund?
Bench both of them!


—————Garnacho

———-Mainoo - Amad

Dorgu——————————Dalot

————Bruno - Ugarte

Martinez - De Ligt - Mazraoui

——————Keeper


Garnacho isn’t a striker, he can’t hold the ball up, blah blah blah…
I bet you anything he will score more than the 2 clowns combined.
We will have an actual threat in behind and a player than understands the aim of football is to kick the ball at the goal.

I haven’t solved our goalkeeper puzzle yet. Leave that one with me. Maybe Vital.
 
IrishRedDevil said:
What to do with Zirkzee and Hojlund?
Bench both of them!


—————Garnacho

———-Mainoo - Amad

Dorgu——————————Dalot

————Bruno - Ugarte

Martinez - De Ligt - Mazraoui

——————Keeper


Garnacho isn’t a striker, he can’t hold the ball up, blah blah blah…
I bet you anything he will score more than the 2 clowns combined.
We will have an actual threat in behind and a player than understands the aim of football is to kick the ball at the goal.
Click to expand...
I've said this over and over on here. Garnacho will pester defenders all game, he'll press, he'll run the channels, and he'd actually score.

I missed the game tonight and haven't watched it back yet, so unaware whether it was tried today or not. But I just feel he'll be an absolute nightmare of defenders as long as we don't ask him to hold up the ball
 
If the opposition was playing a high or relatively high defensive line I actually think Amad up top would be a legit option
 
IrishRedDevil said:
What to do with Zirkzee and Hojlund?
Bench both of them!


—————Garnacho

———-Mainoo - Amad

Dorgu——————————Dalot

————Bruno - Ugarte

Martinez - De Ligt - Mazraoui

——————Keeper


Garnacho isn’t a striker, he can’t hold the ball up, blah blah blah…
I bet you anything he will score more than the 2 clowns combined.
We will have an actual threat in behind and a player than understands the aim of football is to kick the ball at the goal.

I haven’t solved our goalkeeper puzzle yet. Leave that one with me. Maybe Vital.
Click to expand...
Get what you’re saying but he just isn’t clinical enough. Missed a great chance today. And misses easy chances every game. He will pose a bigger threat though but for that position you need more than just someone who runs in behind because what happens when we play a team that sit deep?
 
We'd have to recognise with that front three there is absolutely no long ball option - none of the three of them have aerial presence or can physically hold up the ball against CBs. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is an option we try fairly regularly which would have to be abandoned completely.

Hojlund's failing to do it at the moment anyway, of course. But while Zirkzee isn't scoring, he is doing a decent hold-up job when asked to.
 
Is there anyone who can play as a false 9 aside from Bruno? if Mctomminay was still here I'd have him up there over either of them in a heartbeat.
 
DJ_21 said:
Get what you’re saying but he just isn’t clinical enough. Missed a great chance today. And misses easy chances every game. He will pose a bigger threat though but for that position you need more than just someone who runs in behind because what happens when we play a team that sit deep?
Click to expand...
No different to what we get with either Hojlund or Zirkzee. They’ve both been useless against teams that sit deep.

At least Garnacho would get some shots in.
 
DJ_21 said:
Get what you’re saying but he just isn’t clinical enough. Missed a great chance today. And misses easy chances every game. He will pose a bigger threat though but for that position you need more than just someone who runs in behind because what happens when we play a team that sit deep?
Click to expand...
While some of that is true. Hojlund and Zirksee are too bad for this not to be at least tried
 
Yeh I’ve been thinking about either him or Amad there. Hojlund & Zirkzee are just so pointless.
 
Sorry but no matter how poor a player looks at times, they’re still at the very top of their profession. Stop calling them clowns. Such hyperbole.
 
Ole'sgunnarwin said:
While some of that is true. Hojlund and Zirksee are too bad for this not to be at least tried
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Garnacho is getting used to that left sided 10 role. why change it now? If we really want to mix things up then give that 17 year old a run in the team up front. Can’t be any worse can he?
 
Garnacho would flop hard as a striker. He hasnt even been good on the flank this season. He’d be atleast as bad as zirkzee and hojlund

The top scorer of Ligue 1 wouldve been perfect for that number 9 spot. If only..
 
DJ_21 said:
Garnacho is getting used to that left sided 10 role. why change it now? If we really want to mix things up then give that 17 year old a run in the team up front. Can’t be any worse can he?
Click to expand...
That's fine. 17 year old, Garnacho, I don't mind. I'm sick to death of seeing them 2, really feel they're holding us back.
 
He's not actually all that clinical for this to work. Would be interested to see what he can do with a proper left wingback though.

The reality is until we buy a new striker Zirkzee has to start. He's not very good, but he's better than Hojlund.
 
Ole'sgunnarwin said:
That's fine. 17 year old, Garnacho, I don't mind. I'm sick to death of seeing them 2, really feel they're holding us back.
Click to expand...
Couldn’t agree more. Feels like we’re 1 piece away from completing the puzzle. Obviously we still need more positions strengthening but ST should now be the priority after we’ve sorted the LWB out
 
DJ_21 said:
Get what you’re saying but he just isn’t clinical enough. Missed a great chance today. And misses easy chances every game. He will pose a bigger threat though but for that position you need more than just someone who runs in behind because what happens when we play a team that sit deep?
Click to expand...
Again, he’s a better option than our two strikers ultimately. Doesn’t mean he’s the solution.
 
dubplate warrior said:
He's not actually all that clinical for this to work. Would be interested to see what he can do with a proper left wingback though.

The reality is until we buy a new striker Zirkzee has to start. He's not very good, but he's better than Hojlund.
Click to expand...
Except Zirkzee doesn’t even shoot, so Garnachos relative lack of clinical finishing is a moot point.
 
Have the feeling Garnacho would stretch a backline as a striker and at least make them work, keeping an eye on him etc. and about being clinical, that's the least of our concerns up top. Someone simply threatening a backline all game would be huge for us.
 
Is this the "play McTominay up front" of the season?

Getting chances as someone who arrives into free space is a completely different skillset to, well, playing with your back to the goal and creating said space for others, which is what a striker in Amorim's system does. Not that Højlund in his current form or Zirkzee are well suited for that role but Garnacho would be equally hopeless and you'd be denying him the chance to actually influence the game in a way that he does now. For him to find these gaps of free space (which is probably his best ability to date) you need for someone to hold the opposing defense back. It would only work if we completely give up on the hope of controlling the game at all, sit back in a low block and rely on transitions where the attacking system doesn't matter that much.
 
JezChan said:
Didn't EtH do this at one point, kind of late in a game, when we were in our "Bruno-as-false-nine" era?
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No idea. I just think with his pace, running behind and pressing….he could probably do that role
 
Both Hojlund and Zirkzee are not getting service. Our game is not set up for creating chances for the strikers. Its just strange. I think there is a good player in Hojlund, but nothing gets to him. He's usually alone v two defenders.
 
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