By Zeno
September 1 2006

Overall, our signings have improved the squad, yes we have failed to land a left-winger, but we must remember that a left-winger doesn't guarantee success. Arsen*l and Man USA have won the title without two wingers. + Berbatov - Potentially world class, good signing - Happy

+ Assou-Ekspoddo - Looks a decent prospect, must improve to have me completely convinced - Happy

+ Zokora - Looked awesome at the World Cup, really hope he can replicate that form in the premiership. Needs more starts - Happy

+ Spodbranque - Proven premiership performer, wanted him to join us for ages. Very decent fee (circa 2 mil apparently). - Happy

+ Mido - Questionable attitude, but it looks like he is happy here and always wanted to come back. Completes an impressive quartet of strikers. - Happy

+ Chimbonda - Got into the team of the season last year, must have done something right. Big, fast and can head the ball. Didn't impress me in the games that I saw last season. - Undecided, on the fence, willing to be proven wrong

Overall, our signings have improved the squad, yes we have failed to land a left-winger, but we must remember that a left-winger doesn't guarantee success. Arsen*l and Man USA have won the title without two wingers. Spodbranque will offer us the option of a creative left sided (albeit being a right-footer) player that has the skill to beat his man, cut inside, make a decisive pass and shoot from distance. Make no mistake, having two out and out wingers would leave a hell of a lot of defensive work for our two central midfielders, and would thus make us quite predictable. Having a player who can alter his attacking style will benefit the squad and give us an added attacking dimension.

The line up may look something like this (based loosely on Jol's previous selections)


------------------------------------ Robbo ------------------------------------------------

---- Chimbonda ------ Daws -------------- King ---------------------- Assou-Ek ---

---- Lennon ---------- Jenas --------------- Davids ------------------- Steed -------

------------------------- Keane -------------- Berbatov ---------------------------------

Bench:
Cerny
Tainio/Zokora
Lee
Mido/Defoe
Davenport

Personally, however, I would prefer the following...

------------------------------------ Robbo ------------------------------------------------

---- Chimbonda ------ Daws -------------- King ---------------------- Assou-Ek ---

---- Lennon ---------- Tainio --------------- Zokora ------------------- Steed -------

------------------------- Defoe -------------- Berbatov ---------------------------------


Bench:
Cerny
Jenas/Davids
Lee
Mido/Keane
Davenport


I would say that Jol will play a flexible 4-4-2, meaning that players can interchange and that some players will be given relatively free roles (such as Malbranque and Tainio). What we will get from this formation is a good straightforward attacking threat in Lennon, someone who will run at the defence looking to beat his man and whip a cross in for Berbs. However, we won't get much defensive muscle from the little guy, so Chimbonda will play a big part. On the other side we will have something different in Malbranque, a player that can beat his marker but also play a smart ball or two. He is also known to make runs into the box and shoot from distance.
So now we have two completely different, and in their own way effective, attacking outlets...sure beats Davids running around like a headless chicken on the left. Malbranque will also track back more, giving Assou-Ekotto and opportunity to get forward more in the Ashley Cole mould.

In the middle we have pace, power and passion. I have Tainio in my team because he plays with passion and skill and determination, which is more than can be said about Davids and Jenas combined. We seem to play well with him in the team. He can play the role of a midfield terrier and at the same time support the front two. He will also give us an added attacking option as he is known to make good forward runs and slip a smart ball through for the strikers, he will combine this with good defensive stability.
Zokora, will have a far simpler job, sit, defend, be aggressive, dominate and play the easy ball out.

Up front we have two out and out strikers, give them a sight of goal and they will shoot. Berbatov is also known to hold the ball up (very well I might add) and play in his strike partner or the late-arriving midfielder (Tainio + Malbranque). The new attacking options will allow for those two to do their thing - score goals and the added unpredictability will give them more room to operate.

We now have a very good squad, should plan A fail we have the option of a number of different qualities. Mido, Keane, Jenas, Davids, Lee, Murphy can all come on and add something different to the team. It's the beauty of having a big squad.

How to keep them all happy? Well, I'll leave that for another time.