Steve McClaren

[Ronaldo]

Promising if true. Siem's got to start in there somewhere, ideally in the withdrawn forward role.

[Parsley]

I was always under the impression that 'keeping things ticking' was simply about keeping the ball moving and feeding the more creative players with short passes. It's a phrase/cliché/however you feel about it more suited to a  water-carrier type midfielder than a deep-lying playmaker. Along those lines, I don't think it's too bad a description for Anita tbh. I could well be just talking shite however.

[STM]

I was always under the impression that 'keeping things ticking' was simply about keeping the ball moving and feeding the more creative players with short passes. It's a phrase/cliché/however you feel about it more suited to a  water-carrier type midfielder than a deep-lying playmaker. Along those lines, I don't think it's too bad a description for Anita tbh. I could well be just talking shite however.

 

It was me that started the whole "making things tick" bollocks. What I meant was that McClaren has identified it as a role in his team,  regardless of the individual. Anita is the man who he picked for that position.

 

Personally I think Anita's role in the team is vital in how McClaren wants to play.

 

Colback on the other hand is in an expendable position. Both Sissoko and Wijnaldum could both play there and offer more to our team. Where as neither could play in Anita's deeper role, nor would be suitable to it IMO.

 

I'll pretend Tiote doesn't exist because he offers nothing in this set up. He certainly couldnt do Anita's job and would offer even less in terms of creativity in Colbacks position.

 

At least we have options for a change.

[TRC]

If McClaren does drop Colback I'll be impressed.

[Guest ElCid]

I was always under the impression that 'keeping things ticking' was simply about keeping the ball moving and feeding the more creative players with short passes. It's a phrase/cliché/however you feel about it more suited to a  water-carrier type midfielder than a deep-lying playmaker. Along those lines, I don't think it's too bad a description for Anita tbh. I could well be just talking s**** however.

 

It was me that started the whole "making things tick" bollocks. What I meant was that McClaren has identified it as a role in his team,  regardless of the individual. Anita is the man who he picked for that position.

 

Personally I think Anita's role in the team is vital in how McClaren wants to play.

 

Colback on the other hand is in an expendable position. Both Sissoko and Wijnaldum could both play there and offer more to our team. Where as neither could play in Anita's deeper role, nor would be suitable to it IMO.

 

I'll pretend Tiote doesn't exist because he offers nothing in this set up. He certainly couldnt do Anita's job and would offer even less in terms of creativity in Colbacks position.

 

At least we have options for a change.

 

Said it before if Colback and Anita are both kept in the team over a period, we will be bottom of the league and fighting a relegation battle - watch and see if he does. This Anita 'love in' is totally hilarious to be honest although I would have him in before Colback and that is really saying something though.

[Chicane]

Calling it a 'barren run' seems a bit odd when we've played the majority of 2 of the 3 games with ten men, thus consigning us to only really being able to defend for the most of the time.

[midds]

Wouldn't describe it as a 'love-in' at all. More a case of preferring one over the other if we change formation a bit. Anita is far from perfect but he offers more in that role than Colback, Tiote appears to be 3rd choice at best.

[Guest]

Colback definitely doesn't keep things 'ticking over'. The opposite imo. 'Ticking over' for me means keeping our fluidity or keeping possession to build something. Colback very often plays a little ball back to Coloccini, or Haidara, or Anita because he hasn't got the confidence and/or ability to actually make something happen.

[STM]

Wouldn't describe it as a 'love-in' at all. More a case of preferring one over the other if we change formation a bit. Anita is far from perfect but he offers more in that role than Colback, Tiote appears to be 3rd choice at best.

 

El Cid talks utter hoop tbf. Especially looking at his last post.

[Guest ElCid]

Wouldn't describe it as a 'love-in' at all. More a case of preferring one over the other if we change formation a bit. Anita is far from perfect but he offers more in that role than Colback, Tiote appears to be 3rd choice at best.

 

El Cid talks utter hoop tbf. Especially looking at his last post.

 

Mr Clueless speaks

[Dave]

Hey, leave me out of this.

[Ronaldo]

What's going on in here?

[greydos]

Colback should be our left back. He'd make a decent(ish) old school 1990s full back that can pass but not get further than 3 quarters of the way up the pitch and put in deep crosses when needed. Would help to free Thauvin a little from having to bust a gut after losing possession, as a counter-attack down his flank would be well defended (in terms of a body there, rather than the ability of the defender).

 

It would also have the advantage of keeping a "Geordie" on the pitch and in theory better ball-playing ability in defence. Having played centre-mid for a few years Colback should be more calm and composed under pressure than Haidara and so passes on the floor rather than hopeful channel balls should follow.

 

(I appreciate a lot of this post is optimistic as to Colback's abilities a but at least it gets him out of centre mid.)

[DJ_NUFC]

Colback should be our left back. He'd make a decent(ish) old school 1990s full back that can pass but not get further than 3 quarters of the way up the pitch and put in deep crosses when needed. Would help to free Thauvin a little from having to bust a gut after losing possession, as a counter-attack down his flank would be well defended (in terms of a body there, rather than the ability of the defender).

 

It would also have the advantage of keeping a "Geordie" on the pitch and in theory better ball-playing ability in defence. Having played centre-mid for a few years Colback should be more calm and composed under pressure than Haidara and so passes on the floor rather than hopeful channel balls should follow.

 

(I appreciate a lot of this post is optimistic as to Colback's abilities a but at least it gets him out of centre mid.)

 

http://panditfootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/467150260_3286127-470x271.jpg

 

Moar leff-bax!

[ilikenewcastle]

Colback and Anita are both meh players. I don't see why Anita is considered far superior tbh (assuming we're actually judging players on what they contribute to the side).

[Ronaldo]

Yeah. Both have strengths and weaknesses, neither good enough to help us really control games.

 

I do lean towards Anita if we have to include one (and we do), though.

[mozy]

Colback should be our left back. He'd make a decent(ish) old school 1990s full back that can pass but not get further than 3 quarters of the way up the pitch and put in deep crosses when needed. Would help to free Thauvin a little from having to bust a gut after losing possession, as a counter-attack down his flank would be well defended (in terms of a body there, rather than the ability of the defender).

 

It would also have the advantage of keeping a "Geordie" on the pitch and in theory better ball-playing ability in defence. Having played centre-mid for a few years Colback should be more calm and composed under pressure than Haidara and so passes on the floor rather than hopeful channel balls should follow.

 

(I appreciate a lot of this post is optimistic as to Colback's abilities a but at least it gets him out of centre mid.)

 

Dummett would literally offer all of this, and actually knows how to play left back.

[Altamullan]

I was always under the impression that 'keeping things ticking' was simply about keeping the ball moving and feeding the more creative players with short passes. It's a phrase/cliché/however you feel about it more suited to a  water-carrier type midfielder than a deep-lying playmaker. Along those lines, I don't think it's too bad a description for Anita tbh. I could well be just talking s**** however.

 

It was me that started the whole "making things tick" bollocks. What I meant was that McClaren has identified it as a role in his team,  regardless of the individual. Anita is the man who he picked for that position.

 

Personally I think Anita's role in the team is vital in how McClaren wants to play.

 

Colback on the other hand is in an expendable position. Both Sissoko and Wijnaldum could both play there and offer more to our team. Where as neither could play in Anita's deeper role, nor would be suitable to it IMO.

 

I'll pretend Tiote doesn't exist because he offers nothing in this set up. He certainly couldnt do Anita's job and would offer even less in terms of creativity in Colbacks position.

 

At least we have options for a change.

 

Do we know that SMc sees them as having different roles? I had assumed that he wantefd them to be the 'two' in the double six (i.e. the two who join the four attacking roles, or the four defensive roles).

[mozy]

Anita certainly plays deeper than Colback, although at times they have occupied the same role and position.

[TRon]

Colback definitely doesn't keep things 'ticking over'. The opposite imo. 'Ticking over' for me means keeping our fluidity or keeping possession to build something. Colback very often plays a little ball back to Coloccini, or Haidara, or Anita because he hasn't got the confidence and/or ability to actually make something happen.

 

I'm not a fan of Colback, but he does usually retain the ball and make the pass 9/10 times. Of course it will be a safe pass, which would be fine if he was the midfield holding player and he could do that job without Anita or Tiote there as insurance. As it is, he's not a defensive or attacking player, just another body in midfield doing nothing much. At least with Anita or Tiote you could say your job is to protect the back four and get the ball out from there. If they can't do that then they shouldn't be here.

[The College Dropout]

Colback and Anita are both meh players. I don't see why Anita is considered far superior tbh (assuming we're actually judging players on what they contribute to the side).

Yeah. Both have strengths and weaknesses, neither good enough to help us really control games.

 

I do lean towards Anita if we have to include one (and we do), though.

 

This.

[mrmojorisin75]

I was always under the impression that 'keeping things ticking' was simply about keeping the ball moving and feeding the more creative players with short passes. It's a phrase/cliché/however you feel about it more suited to a  water-carrier type midfielder than a deep-lying playmaker. Along those lines, I don't think it's too bad a description for Anita tbh. I could well be just talking shite however.

 

It was me that started the whole "making things tick" bollocks. What I meant was that McClaren has identified it as a role in his team,  regardless of the individual. Anita is the man who he picked for that position.

 

Personally I think Anita's role in the team is vital in how McClaren wants to play.

 

Colback on the other hand is in an expendable position. Both Sissoko and Wijnaldum could both play there and offer more to our team. Where as neither could play in Anita's deeper role, nor would be suitable to it IMO.

 

I'll pretend Tiote doesn't exist because he offers nothing in this set up. He certainly couldnt do Anita's job and would offer even less in terms of creativity in Colbacks position.

 

At least we have options for a change.

 

i see "making things tick" for us as being the link between keeper/defence and midfield/attack...his role is to constantly find space, look for the ball, keep the ball, move it on to the next player, move into space to give options for a pass to the player he's passed to or just where there is natural space...his role is the cog that enables the rest of it to work, it's pretty fucking obvious what it means tbh

 

if you watched our games in the last two seasons under pardew/carver then under mclaren there's a definite role there and a definite change in style that we've adopted with anita central to this

 

my apologies to TCD for not being able to come out with some shite like gegenpress or shuttler but if you watch the games it's fucking obvious that anita does make us tick when we have possession of the ball

 

now there's clearly an argument that this is being applied too deep and we'd be better off with the way cabaye "made us tick" in his last few months from a more advanced position but that's something else entirely

[Guest]

Colback definitely doesn't keep things 'ticking over'. The opposite imo. 'Ticking over' for me means keeping our fluidity or keeping possession to build something. Colback very often plays a little ball back to Coloccini, or Haidara, or Anita because he hasn't got the confidence and/or ability to actually make something happen.

 

I'm not a fan of Colback, but he does usually retain the ball and make the pass 9/10 times. Of course it will be a safe pass, which would be fine if he was the midfield holding player and he could do that job without Anita or Tiote there as insurance. As it is, he's not a defensive or attacking player, just another body in midfield doing nothing much. At least with Anita or Tiote you could say your job is to protect the back four and get the ball out from there. If they can't do that then they shouldn't be here.

 

That's my point though. He doesn't build play, he sets us back by giving it to a defender or Anita. Most average footballers would have a high pass percentage doing what Colback does. I'd sooner see his stats dip 10-15% and see him try and actually do something.

[buzza]

problem Mclaren has is that both of them are so similar and he really needs one of them to push on up the field a little bit. The fact that our centre backs now pull out wide and the full backs move up and past the half way line means that the "pivots" (two holding CMs) drop into that space between our area and centre circle to receive the ball, our problem is that both of them seem to play only sideways and drop far too deep, one of them should be playing a more "cabaye" like role slightly further forward.

The solution is simple, and by what is being prnted about de jong, and may come about on Monday:

Drop one of anita/colback, bring Wijnaldum back into midfield and put de jong into the No10 spot.... VOILA!

[The College Dropout]

I've never seen ANita make us tick with the ball.

 

It looks like SMC wants he and Colback in there to fulfil similar functions. Mostly around ball retention and defensive solidarity. With Colback more licence and ability to get forward... but only marginally so. Would like one of them benched. Pref Colback.