Arfield

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,543]

He's not a wide midfielder imo, always comes inside, quite often jack or davis had to go out to the right to help tav defend cause arfield was out of position

I like him and think he should start in the middle everygame, playing off the striker, but for me that's it, he cant play out wide, either in the middle or not at all

 

[Lloyd 10,756]

Arfield is in position. It’s his job to drift into the centre of the pitch and find pockets of space then Tav gets forward to provide width 

[Junior Soprano 22,428]

I can’t see much wrong with Arfields positioning.  Ojo drifts infield as well, it’s how he got his goal

[pcbear 10,913]

He can go just where he wants if assists like last night are part of his game, that break inc the tackle and bounce up to thread the ball through was outstanding.

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,543]

27 minutes ago, Lloyd said:

Arfield is in position. It’s his job to drift into the centre of the pitch and find pockets of space then Tav gets forward to provide width 

Fine when we have the ball, but when we dont he has to play right mid or left mid and help his fullback

22 minutes ago, Junior Soprano said:

I can’t see much wrong with Arfields positioning.  Ojo drifts infield as well, it’s how he got his goal

As i said above, if he comes inside when we're attacking then fair enough, however plenty of times they switched the ball out to their left back who waa in acres of space as our right mid was far too central, it meant jack or davis had to go across to cover and it disrupts our shape a good bit

[scottyc06 6,915]

14 minutes ago, Jimbeamjunior said:

Fine when we have the ball, but when we dont he has to play right mid or left mid and help his fullback

As i said above, if he comes inside when we're attacking then fair enough, however plenty of times they switched the ball out to their left back who waa in acres of space as our right mid was far too central, it meant jack or davis had to go across to cover and it disrupts our shape a good bit

That's generally what happens when your attacking players lose the ball, they leave gaps that others will then move across to fill in. 

 

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

2 hours ago, Jimbeamjunior said:

He's not a wide midfielder imo, always comes inside, quite often jack or davis had to go out to the right to help tav defend cause arfield was out of position

I like him and think he should start in the middle everygame, playing off the striker, but for me that's it, he cant play out wide, either in the middle or not at all

 

.... and yet was in with a shout for MoM for me - some of his vision and passing was superb and his determination amazing - an asset to have no matter where he plays. 

[WilliamMunny 3,237]

He played exactly how it was intended and it worked well.  Drifting inside from wide area was the whole idea.  I hope it continues. 

[BlueMe 25,327]

Didn't look like he was playing on the right to me tbh.

Looked like we played a 4312 and he was the CAM, with Tav and Flanagan (supposed to be) providing the width and Jack/Kamara were tucking in when they got forward.

He played a huge part in two goals from a central position, so whatever position he's in, keep him there, imo.

[McEwan's Lager 30,522]

2 hours ago, Jimbeamjunior said:

Fine when we have the ball, but when we dont he has to play right mid or left mid and help his fullback

As i said above, if he comes inside when we're attacking then fair enough, however plenty of times they switched the ball out to their left back who waa in acres of space as our right mid was far too central, it meant jack or davis had to go across to cover and it disrupts our shape a good bit

It’s pretty clear that he’s been instructed to play narrowly and that whoever is on the right hand of the midfield is to provide cover for Tav.

Jack drops in to that hole even when we have the ball, especially from goal kicks when we are building from the back, because Tav has been instructed to be so far up the park and looks like he has been given a free role to run about wherever he wants. That’s been happening every game this season and was apparent for a lot of last season.

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,723]

Imo  the reason Ojo got motm last night was due to more opportunities with much of the play down his side.  No right winger on the other side. Previously with 2 natural wingers others got more involvement so Ojo wasnt as impactive on the game. It worked well last night, really well. Ojo got 2 assists and a goal.  Same stats as Sunday, but a much better overall impact.

Arfield at times was a 4th man added to the Davis / Kamara / Jack triangle. He made 2 goals with excellent passes to the goal assister. Hecwasnt wide right. We went for a bit more strength than flair and it made sense.

No issues with tactics last night, nor would I have if a game warranted 2 wingers and him centrally. Horses for courses.

[Del 667]

4 hours ago, Jimbeamjunior said:

He's not a wide midfielder imo, always comes inside, quite often jack or davis had to go out to the right to help tav defend cause arfield was out of position

I like him and think he should start in the middle everygame, playing off the striker, but for me that's it, he cant play out wide, either in the middle or not at all

 

Arfield is playing in the same position/role that he was at the end of last season when he was brilliant for us, which isnt as a wide midfielder...

Gerrard was asked about this last season and answered pretty resoundingly that Arfield is not playing out wide - 7:55 in the video below!

I would agree though, I dont think his best position is out wide, but at his time with Burnley and Huddersfield (over 300 games) he played 90% of his games as a wide attacking midfielder, so  you cant say he cant play there!

Thankfully for your sake and mine, the manager isnt playing him out wide so we dont need to worry about it 😄

[TheMotor 2,208]

Plenty of teams line up asymmetrically depending on personnel. It can be a powerful tactic in its own right.

I think Arfield is comfortably the best judge of where he can be most useful at any given moment out of all the players in our team. Davis is the only one to even come close to having that level of intuition and tactical nous.

I wouldn't be surprised if Arfield's instructions from Gerrard before each game are just to go out and make things happen.

[nik2402 1,319]

 

4 hours ago, Jimbeamjunior said:

He's not a wide midfielder imo, always comes inside, quite often jack or davis had to go out to the right to help tav defend cause arfield was out of position

I like him and think he should start in the middle everygame, playing off the striker, but for me that's it, he cant play out wide, either in the middle or not at all

 

Clearly that’s how the formation is intended to work. Whoever is widest of the 3 midfielders covers wide and Arfield will drop into the centre of the park. 

Its would be virtually impossible for Arfield to be inside when we have the ball and then sprint out every time we lose it. This way he saves energy and is ready to go when we win the ball. See the his part in the first goal last night as an example.

[The Beast 9,224]

1 hour ago, SeparateEntityMyArse said:

Imo  the reason Ojo got motm last night was due to more opportunities with much of the play down his side.  No right winger on the other side. Previously with 2 natural wingers others got more involvement so Ojo wasnt as impactive on the game. It worked well last night, really well. Ojo got 2 assists and a goal.  Same stats as Sunday, but a much better overall impact.

Arfield at times was a 4th man added to the Davis / Kamara / Jack triangle. He made 2 goals with excellent passes to the goal assister. Hecwasnt wide right. We went for a bit more strength than flair and it made sense.

No issues with tactics last night, nor would I have if a game warranted 2 wingers and him centrally. Horses for courses.

We don't have a natural wide right player any more; Ojo, Jones, Murphy if he returns, also Middleton and Hastie if they ever get close to the team all prefer or have a track record of playing on the left.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

He’s not meant to be out wide. 

Wish folk could sit and actually understand what the team are trying to do. 

[rangersross 6,530]

Arfield's positioning over the last 5-6 months is one of his best assets and, maybe more importantly, one of our coaching team's most impressive tactical decisions. 

[graeme_4 34,526]

4 minutes ago, Courtyard Bear said:

He’s not meant to be out wide. 

Wish folk could sit and actually understand what the team are trying to do. 

Part of the problem with football fans in general. Haven’t played the game, watch on a stream and don’t have a clue what they’re on about. 

Arfield is doing a great job in behind the striker. He has license to roam in dangerous areas. Brilliant at picking the ball up in the space between midfield and the striker. Wouldn’t be changing how we plays at all. 

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,723]

32 minutes ago, The Beast said:

We don't have a natural wide right player any more; Ojo, Jones, Murphy if he returns, also Middleton and Hastie if they ever get close to the team all prefer or have a track record of playing on the left.

Ojo is right sided. If he plays right with say Jones on the left then I reckon that's less likely to get as much from Ojo as last night did. I think Barker is right footed too. 

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

We aren’t playing with out and out wingers. 

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,723]

2 minutes ago, Courtyard Bear said:

We aren’t playing with out and out wingers. 

No but the like of Ojo, Jones, Hastie work largely between the inside channel and the outside touchline. Barker operates this area too. Not out and out wingers, but certainly wider players with the intention of getting at full backs than Arfield does when he takes a similar position on the right (coming inside far more and linking more centrally with the 3 behind him.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Just now, SeparateEntityMyArse said:

No but the like of Ojo, Jones, Hastie work largely between the inside channel and the outside touchline. Barker operates this area too. Not out and out wingers, but certainly wider players with the intention of getting at full backs than Arfield does when he takes a similar position on the right (coming inside far more and linking more centrally with the 3 behind him.

Would actually say Arfield has been asked to play in behind Mo to be the link. Hampers Tav a little as he doesn’t have anyone directly in front to play off but he’s still getting the job done. 

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,723]

Just now, Courtyard Bear said:

Would actually say Arfield has been asked to play in behind Mo to be the link. Hampers Tav a little as he doesn’t have anyone directly in front to play off but he’s still getting the job done. 

Whether asked or natural intelligence of Arfield that's how it seems to be. Tav is hampered, the loss of Candeais is evident. We're a bit imbalanced by it as Tav marauds forward, whichever left back plays doesn't. But the front left player is a typical speedy forward player (a winger but not necessarily on the wing) whilst on the right Arfield, Aribo or Stewart tend to come inside rather than attack wide.  It's certainly not a mirror image on our left and right.

Hopefully it continues to pay off though and better players come in especially left back as we hit more transfer windows.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Just now, SeparateEntityMyArse said:

Whether asked or natural intelligence of Arfield that's how it seems to be. Tav is hampered, the loss of Candeais is evident. We're a bit imbalanced by it as Tav marauds forward, whichever left back plays doesn't. But the front left player is a typical speedy forward player (a winger but not necessarily on the wing) whilst on the right Arfield, Aribo or Stewart tend to come inside rather than attack wide.  It's certainly not a mirror image on our left and right.

Hopefully it continues to pay off though and better players come in especially left back as we hit more transfer windows.

I actually think we look more balanced going forward. As you say Goldson and the midfield have to cover over for Tav but they seem to be getting it done so fingers crossed so far. 

[The Dude 20,026]

6 hours ago, Lloyd said:

Arfield is in position. It’s his job to drift into the centre of the pitch and find pockets of space then Tav gets forward to provide width 

I was talking about this with someone the other day. Arfield is probably the best player to fill in there and get the most out of tavernier going forward - particularly if Jones/Ojo are on the opposite side with Flanagan/Halliday at full-back. It makes our shape a bit asymmetrical but would basically be an attacking winger on the left with a defensive full-back and an attacking full-back with a 'defensive' wide midfielder. Arfield moving in also lets Jack slip into right-back to fill the gap left by Tav while Arfield takes up the space left by Jack.