Martinez in midfield…

IrishRedDevil

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I never got my Antony at left back prediction, so moving onto my next one.

Do we already have our Casemiro replacement?

Can pass between the lines, plenty of bite in him, decent shot and goal scoring ability. Dropping back into centre back to provide cover would be naturally easy. Would have to work on his positioning but it’s not impossible.

Beside Ugarte in the big away games, or to replace Ugarte when he needs rested.
 
I don't think we necessarily need to play him directly in midfield to get him in there, since he has the ability to move out of defence and go further up the pitch anyway. If we play him directly in midfield, we will then need to put another player into that back three to cover for him, which means another defender on the pitch. By playing Martinez in a back three and allowing him to step into midfield and the attack, it seems like we're getting the best of both worlds already.

We seem to be playing Collyer more and more to rotate with Ugarte, so I think we'll just see more of that.
 
He's excellent stepping into midfield from defence, as well as general playing out from the back. If we ever actually manage to build a functioning team, he will have even more opportunity to do so.

On paper he's perfect for the LCB role in a 3. Had a bit of a dodgy start this season but has been looking better the past few games.
 
No, in a functioning team that's more attack minded we should have a centre back who is coming forward like this and adding to attack and build up. Hes very good there and moving him means creating a problem there with no guarantee he'll be any good elsewhere
 
Not in a midfield 2 and probably not in a midfield 3.

He's been a useful attacking outlet at times though. He'll need to keep doing it until we have decent wingbacks.
 
He's one of the players who our new system best suits, pushing forward from centre back is what creates the space for him to be dangerous.

Why would we move him?
 
OverratedOpinion said:
He's one of the players who our new system best suits, pushing forward from centre back is what creates the space for him to be dangerous.

Why would we move him?
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Yeah, this is exactly where I am at with him. I do wonder if we'll eventually see more of this sort of thing from Yoro, with maybe De Ligt being the one in the centre who 'holds' that defensive line together.
 
We need to bolster midfield for sure but he's not the answer except in case of an injury crisis where he simply comes in to do a job as an absolute last resort.

Hopefully we can sign Hjulmand or someone similar to add a little more stability there and Collyer can continue to play a part.

He's good technically but it's a specialist role and we can't afford to ruin him as a defender. Being a midfielder is just so much more difficult than it sounds, it takes so much more awareness and speed of thought. The deep-lying threat he gives us as a defender who can pick a pass is what we need to preserve and he can push up more than the other two, definitely, but he cannot play in that two.
 
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James AWB Fellaini Antony
Lindelof Martinez
Zirkzee
Lukaku McTominay Pogba​
 
I believe the Amorim 3-4-3 system technically does allow him to play midfielder as one of the CBs who moves forward into the midfield area when we’re on the attack, especially against a low block.
 
Don't think he's got the pace or stamina to cover the distances but him stepping in like he's done the last few games might be the closest you get. I think it really suits him.
 
Feckin groundhog day with this Martinez in midfield shit.

He can step into midfield from defence and play a pass or take shot but he can't play in midfield.

He wasn't good enough to play there in the Eredivisie for Ajax, so he hasn't a hope in the PL.
 
You gotta realize that Martinez is used to having everything in front of him, when he has the ball or is about to receive it. Playing in midfield is another thing entirely. You don’t convert a mid twenties CB into a midfielder at this level. It’s a pipe dream.
 
Mike Smalling said:
You gotta realize that Martinez is used to having everything in front of him, when he has the ball or is about to receive it. Playing in midfield is another thing entirely. You don’t convert a mid twenties CB into a midfielder at this level. It’s a pipe dream.
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It’s remarkable how people watch football (pretty much) their entire lives and can’t grasp a simple concept like this.
 
Mike Smalling said:
You gotta realize that Martinez is used to having everything in front of him, when he has the ball or is about to receive it. Playing in midfield is another thing entirely. You don’t convert a mid twenties CB into a midfielder at this level. It’s a pipe dream.
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Exactly, playing with the back to the rivals net is an entire diff proposition.

Yet even if he can do it, that he might in time becasue he is very talented. WHY?

The team just needs to play better, to have a better mid, to have a prolific goaslcorer in order for him arrive by surprise more often and also be capable of still puting his thorugh balls.

Yet what he has to do more, it's to carry the ball upfront when a space is avaiable, he is very compose when he does it and he creates space for the mids and forwards. While also demand teh ball more when he actually goes upfront, he has a mean shot in him.
 
DWelbz19 said:
It’s remarkable how people watch football (pretty much) their entire lives and can’t grasp a simple concept like this.
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It’s the FM’ification of football fans. You just look at his attributes and then put him on extra training in that position. Maybe a coach even recommends it to you. Half a season later, your player is light green in that position, which is basically good enough.
 
Superunknown said:
Yeah, this is exactly where I am at with him. I do wonder if we'll eventually see more of this sort of thing from Yoro, with maybe De Ligt being the one in the centre who 'holds' that defensive line together.
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You'd they could alternate who goes at different times, him or Mazraoui at eight centre back occasionally. I don't think Yoro is quite as incisive on the ball as Martinez but very few centre backs are.
 
It's like how people used to wonder about Evra playing at left wing since he was "so good at attacking". Evra didn't have the attacking quaities of an actual winger and Martinez isn't right for a midfield role. It's their ability to go forward from their LB/CB positions as an extra man on the wing (Evra) and midfield (Martinez) that gives them an edge. Push them forward on a regular basis and you'll neutralize that advantage.
 
Martinez might have the atributes, qualities to do a job in the mid. In fact he did a bit of that in Argentina in some matches in the past.

But it's a pretty unnecesary bet when he does not have A LOT OF TIME doing it, a real experience doing it, worse in an already disfunctional team.

Quite different it's the other way around when a player another litte feisty fella like Mascherano it's turn into a CB, because suddenly he'll have to face diff challenges, but he already had: the passing, he will feel very comfortable with the field almost always in front of him, he'll feel calm with so many options to pass, he'll have a better view to when and how anticipate, etc etc and MORE in a Barca team with everyone offering himself as an option of pass...the transition its way more logical than the other way around.
 
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Withnail said:
Feckin groundhog day with this Martinez in midfield shit.

He can step into midfield from defence and play a pass or take shot but he can't play in midfield.

He wasn't good enough to play there in the Eredivisie for Ajax, so he hasn't a hope in the PL.
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This.
 
Just play him anywhere near enough for him to take constant shots at goal - feels like Bruno is the only one who tries to shoot so lets add Martinez spamming shots from the left somewhere as well, can't exactly hurt our attack :lol:
 
Amorins system when played the correct way has one of the CBs stepping up to midfield when the team is in possession. So we will see him there in a way eventually but it will be from the CB role.

He's probably the only CB we have who is capable of doing so as Maguire and De Lights game don't suit it. Yoro might be able to as well tbf but Martinez seems the best fit.
 
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