Centre midfield

[TBM]

This is the position we need to strengthen in January - Karacan & Leg just dont offer enough going forward....

Anyone agree? - if so, who (realistically) should we go for?

[melonhead]

would prefer a new winger and a new striker tbf

quite happy with the CMs

especially if howard stays, and taylor continues to shine at exeter

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

The midfield lacks creativity Karacan and Leighterwood are both holding players.

Move Karacan to right back, play McAnuff in the middle with Leighterwood is an option.

Time to give Obita a run out as the lad can do no worse than what has been delivered from the wings so far this season.

[leww_rfc]

When Howard returns why not give him a run of games, he's been doing alright for Millwall

[Wycombe Royal]

Myself and Hoop Blah have been saying this for ages. Play one or the other, not both. Our midfield is one dimensional.

[sandman]

Sometimes a player goes to a club where they're happy, settle straight away and it works out for them. Sometimes, for whatever reason, they go somewhere and it doesn't. It happened for us with Leigertwood last season and it looks like the same thing is happening with Howard at Millwall. You just need to read his interview in the Post a few weeks ago for confirmation of that.

[Ian Royal]

If we want to change our central midfield pairing, we have to do one of two things.

1) Find a player with strong defensive qualities who is also a creative passer and regular goal threat, or
2) Change the way we play to accomodate a creative central midfielder.

I can see two realistic different approaches for option two, one being switching to one up front and adding someone into a Sigurdsson style role, or alternatively stay with two upfront, sacrifice one of Legs / Karacan in the middle and going with only one main attacking winger, putting a more defensive minded player on one of the flanks.

I completely agree our major problems come from very little threat to the opposition being present through the middle. Combined with a misfiring Kebe and McAnuff, and strikers who have yet to justify themselves as automatic first choice, in a pair or individually, this is why we're failing too much.

We don't have rubbish players, we've just not got the right blend, which to be perfectly honest has been our problem since our first season in the Premier League. There doesn't seem to have been a workable and coherant long term plan from anyone. Coppell just tried to paper over the cracks and mostly failed. Rodgers tried to start from scratch and McDermott has just been trying to fill holes as they come up rather than building towards something. IMO anyway.

[melonhead]

tbf, i dont see why, since we only have the one decent striker, 2 Defensive midfielders, and either howard/taylor to play behind the striker why we cant go 451/433

[winchester_royal]

It only works if our wingers are firing. However the problem with relying on that is that we have no plan B. Howard should at the very least be on the bench to offer a different option later on in the game.

Karacan
Tabb
Ledge
Gunnarsson

Is there a less inspiring set of CM's in the division?

McD needs to do something about it, whether that be starting to bring in some of the youngsters, or finding new players to come into the squad.

[TBM]

tbf, i dont see why, since we only have the one decent striker, 2 Defensive midfielders, and either howard/taylor to play behind the striker why we cant go 451/433

Cos Alfie won't run channels like Long and Doyle used to

[Ian Royal]

tbf, i dont see why, since we only have the one decent striker, 2 Defensive midfielders, and either howard/taylor to play behind the striker why we cant go 451/433

We don't have Howard, and Taylor is extremely green.

I agree in theory, but much like we don't have the right combination of players in any semblance of form to make 4-4-2 work, neither do we have the players to make 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1 or whatever you want to call it work.

Personally I like the idea of that sort of system, with the potential for bringing on the likes of Manset with 20 to go and switching to 4-4-2 to kill teams off or make a comeback.

[PistolPete]

Our most successful midfield pairing was Sidwell and Harper and I don't see why Legs and Karacan should be much different (just a bit inferior).

The issue is that Doyle, Kitson and/or Lita were 10x the players that ALF, Hunt and Church are.

Furthermore, Murty and Shorey Vs Cummings and Mills or Kebe and McAnuff Vs Hunt/Convey and Little isn't worth discussing. Yet.

IMO, we need to be patient this season and hope to bring through Taylor, Obita, Mills and Cummings properly and have a good go at next season. A striker of the class of Kitson or Doyle would be necessary and I can't see any of our crop being the right one - maybe HRK if he can be converted!

[melonhead]

good point- maybe he deserves a go up front too.itys his preferred spot
hes gone right off the boil recently on the wing
and as a sub hes offering nowt currently


agree totally about sids and harps.
never the most creative.
the problem is strikers/wingers

[melonhead]

tbf, i dont see why, since we only have the one decent striker, 2 Defensive midfielders, and either howard/taylor to play behind the striker why we cant go 451/433

Cos Alfie won't run channels like Long and Doyle used to

when chelsea/arsenal play 4-3-3/4-5-1 they dont lump it into the chanels, so that appears to be a rubbish argument

[KEBEISTHEGREATEST]

Personally Reading team would be:
Feds
Cummings Pearce Gorkss Harte
Kanu/Obita Karacan Ledge Mills
Hunt ALFIE


Our service into the box is really poor therefore with Harte's excellent set plays and crosses he should start. However Mills has done nothing wrong therefore he should play LM. He will run all day.

McAnuff: If he wasnt captain he would have been dropped by now. Kebe was rubbish yesterday (Goal hides failures)

[SCIAG]

tbf, i dont see why, since we only have the one decent striker, 2 Defensive midfielders, and either howard/taylor to play behind the striker why we cant go 451/433

I agree with this, no problem with a midfield pairing of Legs and Karacan as long as creativity comes from other areas. Have Taylor play behind Le Fondre, and bring in Obita when he recovers from injury, and we'll have two creative young things with loads to prove, unlike Kebe and McAnuff who have proven themselves as two of the best wingers in the division in the past (read: last two years) and are seemingly living off that reputation in the hope of a move and a long spell on high wages respectively.

Taylor is nearly 20- Karacan was 18 when he had his first run in the Reading side, Sigurdsson was the same age as Taylor in his breakthrough season. Jordan Obita is still quite young, but frankly our three first choice wingers have had about four good games between them this season. Worst case scenario, he looks totally lost and we stick with Kebe or McAnuff for another six months.

[TBM]

tbf, i dont see why, since we only have the one decent striker, 2 Defensive midfielders, and either howard/taylor to play behind the striker why we cant go 451/433

Cos Alfie won't run channels like Long and Doyle used to

when chelsea/arsenal play 4-3-3/4-5-1 they dont lump it into the chanels, so that appears to be a rubbish argument

LOL but we're not Chelsea or Arsenal.......until you tell our centre halfs to stop lumping it in to the channels then we need someone who will run it, in that formation - the fact is when Doyle and Long played it, they did it well - Alfie is a box player.

[Simon's Church]

Not sure we've got the money to sign anyone that can offer what Jem or Ledge do plus being an attacking threat. I think we'd be better off switching to 4-2-3-1 and giving Taylor/Antonio/Obita a go off ALF, I think that it would get the best out of Kebe and Mcanuff as well.

[Ian Royal]

Our most successful midfield pairing was Sidwell and Harper and I don't see why Legs and Karacan should be much different (just a bit inferior).

Because their scoring record, and likelihood of scoring more than 2 or 3 goals a season each is poor.

Sidwell: /, 2, 9, 5, 10,4, /, /
Harper: 1, 2, 2, 3, 7, 3, 6, 1
Jem : 2, 0, 3, 1
Legs: /, /, 2, 1

Sidwell certainly posed a significant threat through the middle that had to be countered and gave us another dimension. Freeing up space and opportunity for the wingers who were obviously our primary threat.

[melonhead]

Cos Alfie won't run channels like Long and Doyle used to

when chelsea/arsenal play 4-3-3/4-5-1 they dont lump it into the chanels, so that appears to be a rubbish argument

LOL but we're not Chelsea or Arsenal.......until you tell our centre halfs to stop lumping it in to the channels then we need someone who will run it, in that formation - the fact is when Doyle and Long played it, they did it well - Alfie is a box player.

hardly the point. you dont have to lump it into the channels to play 433

loads of times we played out of defence yesterday