Good morning.
Our tight lipped, ashen faced supremo Arry Redschnapps has decided to confound his critics and implement a managerial masterstroke.
“Aaron’s been in good form lately. I think he’s better on the left than on the right, in all honesty. When he comes on the left, like he did at Fulham
and against Bolton, he can score.
He likes to duck inside on his right foot, or he can take it past you.
“I think he gets more opportunities to score goals when he plays on the left. On the other side he tends to go one way.
When he gets on the left side, he squares people up and he can come inside around the box and he’s got that shot on all the time. I think he’s happier on the left.
Now I’ve seen this work on a couple of occasions. I admit that. But I’ve seen it not work more frequently.
Yes, Arry has done brilliantly, but he’s got this wrong. This is the same guy who thought the boy Bale was in his best position as a left back. Mixing it up mid game is a good idea but swapping Bale and Azza over on a permanent basis is surely going to generate play as ‘predictable’ as it is right now.
This is all about facilitating Azza who appears to routinely lack inventiveness and of course a decent final ball. Harsh? Well we spend every season watching essentially the same spiel. Gets the ball, hares off like a lunatic, crosses into row G. That’s if he’s not recovering from some injury at a pace that would put an octogenarian to shame.
No, what’s needed to greater variety in Azza Blud’s play opposed to accommodating his weaknesses.
Lennon – on his day – is an exceptional player but to my mind he is at most exciting when he breaks from the clock work mouse drill of pelting up the wing. I’m not suggest he knock that stunt on the head, rather he add more moves to his rather limited repertoire. 
When they’re fit and while they’re fit put Gallas alongside King, move Kaboul to RB and put Walker where Lennon is – then sit back and enjoy.
Lennon’s good on the left? This from the bloke who signed Peter Crouch…not once, not twice….but 3 times…Give me strength… :shocked2:
He can be effective there Harts, but it should be used sparingly. Oh, and don’t rule out a 4th time!
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! :-( :-( :shocked2:
I agree with you, and I disagree HH. On the one hand, yeah, Lennon should look to improve certain areas of his game (variety and inventinveness, crossing). On the other hand, we shoudn’t expect him to ever become a Hoddle/Beckham hybrid (just as neither of them was ever going to be as quick as Lennon). And when it works, Azza Blood is a real goal threat from the left.
You’ve also taken ‘Arry’s quote out of context. He went on to say that it was a bit of a problem to put Lennon on the left, because Bale was also bleedin’ effective out there.
Wrote a post the other day about just this. It is stilll my contention that switching Bale & Azza is a good idea in games where we are heavily dominating possession. They play a bit narrower and add bodies and options more through the middle, giving the center mids/defenders even more of a handful than they already have trying to mark Modders, Parker, VdV and Adeboy. It also frees up space on the wings for our fullbacks to overlap to great effect, meaning we don’t lose our threat from crosses.
In games where we are less dominant, or even struggle to get hold of the ball, I am decidedly against this modus operandi. The full backs struggle to get forward, meaning we lose any threat around the sides. This, in turn, makes us very predictable, and the opposition can effectively block us out by clogging the middle of the park when we have the ball.
great point. Even A&E is getting to the byeline. He only seems to do that when Lennon is playing in front of him due to the space he creates drifting in-field
On the other side Walker doesnt need an invitation no matter who is playing RM.
One last point; I think Lennons overall game is improving; his first touch and passing really are top drawer now. In the game v Stoke make a point of watching how fast he passes the ball (by that I mean the actual pace of ball); always along the ground too. This enables him to set off quickly for the return (leaving the defender on his heels)
I’m a fan of Harry’s, a big one. But this is the sort of thing that sticks in my throat a bit. As you say HH its good to have the option if things aren’t going our way, but to start like that would in my opinion be foolish.And my biggest gripe, why even mention it. Now every club will be making contingency plans for exactly this scenario either at the beginning or during the game. Come on Harry you’ve been great so far don’t spoil it.
“every club will be making contingency plans”
Maybe that’s what he wants; for other teams to spend time preparing for this. And then we don’t play like this, so they will have wasted their time.
In other words, he doesn’t want the opposition managers to know WHAT to prepare for, because they don’t know how we’ll line up.
That point has cheered me up a bit! There’s still no reason to mention it though.
erm….I dont think Arry is saying he will play him there all the time H?
This is backed up by recent games where Bale and Lennon were swapping throughout.
As for Bale; he was bought as a left back
As for Lennons form; check your own player ratings. He has been up there with Modders and Bale for me in the last three games or so (not quite at PNB’s I’ll grant you). A lot to do with his fitness levels I’d suggest….oh and playing alongside a team brimming with confidence
Maybe its all going too well and this is the best you can come up with to bring us back down to earth?
Sorry H but IMHO you are way off the mark here and inciting a Arry bashing session. Just saying xx