Antony

comment by Sat Nav (U18243)
posted 5 minutes ago
I think what we’re seeing is a hybrid option giving teams flexibility whereby previously anointed traditional no 9s are being asked/expected to be able to swap around.

It’s a move away from the Mourinho specialist Drogba/Lukaku type and moving away from the smaller skilful forwards who are wholly interchangeable to a mixture of both.
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Good comment. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule who are having good careers despite a more basic tool kit, but at the top of the game coaches seem to be looking for centre forwards with a broad skill set in knitting together an attack outside the box as well as moving dangerously inside it.

It's why I like the look of Tammy Abraham even though he's unlikely to ever score as many goals as the modern greats.

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by Sat Nav (U18243)
posted 5 minutes ago
I think what we’re seeing is a hybrid option giving teams flexibility whereby previously anointed traditional no 9s are being asked/expected to be able to swap around.

It’s a move away from the Mourinho specialist Drogba/Lukaku type and moving away from the smaller skilful forwards who are wholly interchangeable to a mixture of both.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Good comment. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule who are having good careers despite a more basic tool kit, but at the top of the game coaches seem to be looking for centre forwards with a broad skill set in knitting together an attack outside the box as well as moving dangerously inside it.

It's why I like the look of Tammy Abraham even though he's unlikely to ever score as many goals as the modern greats.
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Yeah I think it’s to adjust to different game types with oppositions with a low block vs more open teams.

It’s quite a tall order, to be a physically strong player but skilful and versatile enough to play out wide also.

Mad to think back to our 99 days where we had 4 out and out strikers and now most top teams only have one that you could possibly label as such.

comment by Sat Nav (U18243)


Mad to think back to our 99 days where we had 4 out and out strikers and now most top teams only have one that you could possibly label as such.

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To be fair though, those four players had a wonderful mix of skillsets and probably only Cole could be classified as an out and out #9. The other three were more flexible. Ole played wide a fair bit and even more so when Beckham was sold, Teddy was more of a 2nd striker who linked the play and Yorke had a bit of everything - dropping deep, could take people on or pull out wide. He was good in air as well.

I think if I could take one of those players to come into our current squad it would be Yorke for exactly those reasons you mentioned: he was a bit of a hybrid forward, maybe more so than the others.

comment by Sat Nav (U18243)
posted 11 minutes ago

Yeah I think it’s to adjust to different game types with oppositions with a low block vs more open teams.

It’s quite a tall order, to be a physically strong player but skilful and versatile enough to play out wide also.

Mad to think back to our 99 days where we had 4 out and out strikers and now most top teams only have one that you could possibly label as such.

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This comment got me thinking. You're right, having those four players in our squad now would be pretty unthinkable - and that made me wonder what kind of footballers they would be moulded into if they emerged today.

Sheringham - reminds me of Kane in the way he could drop deeper and create, as well as finishing moves. Could see him playing as a centre forward with two mobile forwards either side of him.

Solskjaer - good all-round skills, and briefly took Beckham's spot on the right wing. I could see him playing as a wide forward, who gets into the box to finish moves originating on the other flank.

Cole - very mobile, increasingly good in hold-up play. Not a fantastic dribbler. Reckon he'd be a centre forward in the modern game.

Yorke - all-round footballer and goal scorer. The kind of player who could maybe play across the front line.

Maybe my memories are letting me down though.

comment by Frenkie van de Hag (U22703)
posted 1 hour, 45 minutes ago
Greenwood would be a wide option.


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Didn't ETH say that he was an option wide, through the middle and as a false 9?

I see BK's train of thought was similar to mine. Not for the first time, someone else got there first and said it better.

Berba & RR

Yes I agree that those players weren’t one dimensional and whilst Ole did play on the right in his later years , I don’t think any of them could fulfil the interchangeable role in a 433 as is expected of the current crop of forwards.

Yorkie would be the closest out of the four, I agree with the Teddy/Kane comparison. No idea how any of them would play in a current team; my imagination is very poor tbh.

Antony makes up for his end product issues with his flair. This is all that matters.

comment by BerbaKing11 (U6256)
posted 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
comment by Sat Nav (U18243)


Mad to think back to our 99 days where we had 4 out and out strikers and now most top teams only have one that you could possibly label as such.

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To be fair though, those four players had a wonderful mix of skillsets and probably only Cole could be classified as an out and out #9. The other three were more flexible. Ole played wide a fair bit and even more so when Beckham was sold, Teddy was more of a 2nd striker who linked the play and Yorke had a bit of everything - dropping deep, could take people on or pull out wide. He was good in air as well.

I think if I could take one of those players to come into our current squad it would be Yorke for exactly those reasons you mentioned: he was a bit of a hybrid forward, maybe more so than the others.
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Would he work that well with Bruno? That’d be my concern.

Personally, I’d take Cole. I’d love to see Bruno and Sancho feeding him.

Ajax manager today;

Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder tells @ZiggoSport on Antony’s future: “We are assuming that we can keep this squad together. But I know, and everyone knows, that in football you never know”.

His last interview last week he was quite stern that no more players would leave, so a little change in tune.