Our midfield is far too one dimensional.

When fully fit our midfield is fine, as we have seen this season at times. Next season it will need looked at IMO, Davis and Kamara are two that will probably keep their place but we need a third who will play most games and help dictate a game
 
Mezzala said:
This is the third game in a row that our midfield has been very unimpressive against teams that don't give them loads of time on the ball.

Jack, Davis and Kamara have all been very good over the course of the season. Aribo and Arfield have been brilliant for spells and not so good the rest of the time. The issue is that 4 of the 5 are virtually identical in terms of the job they'll do, we can recycle possession really well when everyone is on form but that's about it.

The way we play means most of our attacks are built around giving the ball to either our fullbacks or our 10's, there's nothing inherently wrong with that but we really need some more dynamism in the middle of the pitch. There is a very real danger that we will stagnate if this isn't addressed.

We need to go from strength to strength rather than taking sideways steps and saying it's ok because it's good enough for most games in Scotland.
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Complains that a midfield of Davis, Arfield, kamara, aribo and Jack that cost us a combined £350k only managed to take us in 3 years from the 3rd place in the SPL and getting humped by Luxembourg (not even) best team to winning 55 and getting to the last 16 of the europa league 2 years in a row.

Mate, I'm still too busy celebrating to care! Is it an area to improve as we "let's go for more!"? Aye. Can we critisize our value for money or their impact? Hell no!
 
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We miss Jack badly but need another 1st team midfielder imo. It's where I expected Zungu to step in, unfortunately hasnt happened.
 
Mezzala said:
This is the third game in a row that our midfield has been very unimpressive against teams that don't give them loads of time on the ball.

Jack, Davis and Kamara have all been very good over the course of the season. Aribo and Arfield have been brilliant for spells and not so good the rest of the time. The issue is that 4 of the 5 are virtually identical in terms of the job they'll do, we can recycle possession really well when everyone is on form but that's about it.

The way we play means most of our attacks are built around giving the ball to either our fullbacks or our 10's, there's nothing inherently wrong with that but we really need some more dynamism in the middle of the pitch. There is a very real danger that we will stagnate if this isn't addressed.

We need to go from strength to strength rather than taking sideways steps and saying it's ok because it's good enough for most games in Scotland.
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It’s been good enough for the vast majority of the season but I agree they were poor on Thursday and today. Jack is a massive miss and it’s been a long hard season. SG will have it all in hand.
 
Suppose it wouldn’t be FF unless someone was complaining about our midfield or something else off the back of 33 games unbeaten and having league wrapped up before the 3rd old firm game...
 
Without trying to apear negative towards the team, they have been brilliant this season but an upgrade is need next season if slavia are potentially the level of opposition we have to face to reach the group stages.
 
Mezzala said:
This is the third game in a row that our midfield has been very unimpressive against teams that don't give them loads of time on the ball.

Jack, Davis and Kamara have all been very good over the course of the season. Aribo and Arfield have been brilliant for spells and not so good the rest of the time. The issue is that 4 of the 5 are virtually identical in terms of the job they'll do, we can recycle possession really well when everyone is on form but that's about it.

The way we play means most of our attacks are built around giving the ball to either our fullbacks or our 10's, there's nothing inherently wrong with that but we really need some more dynamism in the middle of the pitch. There is a very real danger that we will stagnate if this isn't addressed.

We need to go from strength to strength rather than taking sideways steps and saying it's ok because it's good enough for most games in Scotland.
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No shit Sherlock

You should try to get a job at WyScout
 
Bigbluebeard said:
A lot of this was said before the start of last season, Arfield came in and played a very pivotal part, Davis was written off before the season started, of course it can't last forever.

I can believe that wanting to upgrade is a natural progression but then I believe that writing people off after a season like this is ludicrous.
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As good as Arfield was for that 3 month period, all the evidence points to that being a ‘purple patch’ (that sounds derogatory but it’s not intended that way) as such. Of course, he has shown over his period here he has loads to offer us and can still contribute lots more but for the CL we need a level or two higher than Arfield.
 
Had the league not been won already, I believe we would be playing different. With the league won we looked as if we had lost that edge and urgency.
 
I said at half time that we where off it and with Jack injured again who could we bring on, it was either Arfeild who is still not fully fit after his injury or Zungu, so I feel especially in midfield we still have to strengthen the squad.
 
We need to improve the midfield. That's evident. Keeping Kemar Roofe fit will be massive as well and give us an extra cutting edge in the final third.

The last few weeks have showed how big a player Tavernier is for us as well. We haven't been as fluid going forward and we have been extremely vulnerable defensively down our right hand side.
 
Think we lack a good balance in the midfield without Ryan Jack, he gives the other 2 CM’s freedom to get further forward
 
Mezzala said:
This is the third game in a row that our midfield has been very unimpressive against teams that don't give them loads of time on the ball.

Jack, Davis and Kamara have all been very good over the course of the season. Aribo and Arfield have been brilliant for spells and not so good the rest of the time. The issue is that 4 of the 5 are virtually identical in terms of the job they'll do, we can recycle possession really well when everyone is on form but that's about it.

The way we play means most of our attacks are built around giving the ball to either our fullbacks or our 10's, there's nothing inherently wrong with that but we really need some more dynamism in the middle of the pitch. There is a very real danger that we will stagnate if this isn't addressed.

We need to go from strength to strength rather than taking sideways steps and saying it's ok because it's good enough for most games in Scotland.
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Goalkeeper midweek. Midfield today?
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
We need to improve the midfield. That's evident. Keeping Kemar Roofe fit will be massive as well and give us an extra cutting edge in the final third.

The last few weeks have showed how big a player Tavernier is for us as well. We haven't been as fluid going forward and we have been extremely vulnerable defensively down our right hand side.
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The lack of jack causes the issues down the right hand side
 
Papasmurf said:
The lack of jack causes the issues down the right hand side
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I like Jack but everytime he gets injured (which is often) he turns into a prime Ngolo Kante on here. A good player but no better than what we have playing in there at the moment.

Davis, Kamara and Arfield was our first choice midfield in the early parts of the season and in Europe etc and we were getting great results and performances.
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
I like Jack but everytime he gets injured (which is often) he turns into a prime Ngolo Kante on here. A good player but no better than what we have playing in there at the moment.

Davis, Kamara and Arfield was our first choice midfield in the early parts of the season and in Europe etc and we were getting great results and performances.
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All you need to do is watch jack when we play. He’s is vital to our way of playing. He provides cover to our right side that no other player does. We don’t concede when jack plays.
 
Whilst there is clearly always room to improve, and for next season we should definitely look to strengthen our squad for the CL, I'm just not sure I get on board with the idea that our midfield has all of a sudden become as poor or as "one dimensional" as some are making out off the back of two poor performances.

This midfield have so far won us a league title in March, remain unbeaten and got us to the last 16 of the EL.

Arfield and Zungu can be upgraded. Davis, Kamara, Jack and Aribo for me are more than good enough.
 
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M@x said:
And ? You think we could have done better this season?

20 points clear and league won before clocks go forward.

Dominated 90% of games this season. But our midfield isn't good enough?
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Spot on. It’s a nonsense. I just think some folk want it so much they have no idea what they’re watching mate. I understand in a way but it’s frustrating to read. They think we should dominate everybody for 90 mins of every game. There’s no helping people who think a midfield with Davis and Kamara, supplemented by Joe Aribo, is one-dimensional.

Scumbags that they are, Slavia are very physical and quick. They have made it difficult for Barca to play ffs. The problem today ( such as it was as i think it’s being overstated) was Joe had a poor game and as a team we were knackered playing v a team who had 2 weeks off and whose system gave them an extra man.

We need bodies as Ryan Jack’s injury record is worrying and Zungu will go back but one dimensional? Dear god.
 
If it’s about getting better players in for next season how about waiting until the end of the transfer window before whining B-)

As for the right now, we’ve extended our unbeaten league run to 33. I think massive praise is due for that. We’ve not lost all season in the league I’m delighted with that. Not lost at the crime scene for 2 years, not that long ago we were ecstatic getting a draw there. I was delighted when we ‘only’ lost 5-0 there when it could have been 10. Within 7 months of that Gerrard had us beating them again.

If course I want better players, but that’s because we should always seek to improve and I’d literally replace anyone in the team if better was available within our budget. Anyone at all.

Im finding immense joy in what we have right now, though. Champions of Scotland, 55 secured and 5 games away from going an entire season unbeaten.

Not bad, eh.
 
wayoutwest said:
Fair point but I'm sure Gerrard, Wilson, Beale etc will all be aiming to push the team forward, they know fine well what they have to do. Both Gerrard and Wilson have been quoted along the lines of 'we cannot ever stand still, we must look for ways to improve'. The right people are at the club, relax and enjoy your summer.
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Doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it though.
 
All on form our midfield is excellent which saw us dominate European ties home & away like I have never seen before.
The problem is keeping that midfield on the park asbJack & Arfield have both missed a number of games.
I also think Tav is actually part of our midfield & he is a massive influence on how we play at our best (on the front foot)
Take Tav & Jack out any midfield & you would have a drop in quality.
But, to get through today with a squad that have achieved what we have this season, of the back of 2 hard games & our first major disappointment against our main rivals at full strength with no recognised right back, missing the influence of Tav & Jack in how we play & I am pretty happy with today's result.
That doesn't mean we can't improve the midfield but Gerrard himself without pecifically saying it knows they must be gutted that they couldn't beat us today with just about everything being in their favour.
 
only yesterday we had comments on here about today being a free hit, not bothered after events on Thursday. I did read them fully expecting to read a thread like this on Sunday if we didnt win today.

Despite being off it for long periods today, we easily could have won that. Its March and we're already champions. The last few weeks have been very emotional, give the team a break, They have been absolutely relentless all season. Take a day off FFS
 
The fact is we cannot stand still. A Davis replacement needs found and we have to upgrade Zungu, although we do have the lad from Bournemouth still to Arrive. A real top CM could make a big difference to us. I think we’ll sign two in the summer.
 
Could the coaches try and convert Hagi into a CM?

With his pace he might be more suited to a deeper role that needs less pace, if he had the same pace as Kent he would be phenomenal in his current position.

He is only 22 so is probably still young enough to learn to play in a deeper role that needs less pace. Davis doesn't have a huge amount of pace and is usually top class.
 
We definitely need someone who can drive at defenses successfully. The passing game is fine when it works, but we dont seem to have an option when it doesn't. The early break is one variant we have but you cant always play that if a team sets up to deny it.
 
Been an emotional two weeks; emptied the tank all season, won the league on the 7th March, partied hard, back to back games against a very tough opposition in Slavia Prague. Captain injured, Helander carrying a knock, Patterson carrying a knock, Roofe not long back from injury, Jack injured, 36 year old Steven Davis playing 3 matches a week, players form dipped, Goldson, Kamara, Aribo and every one associated with Rangers absolutely torn apart after disgusting, vile racist abuse from an opposing player and support.

Midfield and other areas will be addressed in the summer for obvious reasons. Until then we stand by the group of players that have taken on a European adventure, held together an unbeaten run in the league, won ‘55 and have a Scottish Cup to try and win.

I’m tired, drained, emotional and I’ve only been giving my all, kicking and heading every thing in sight in my living room. I know how the players must feel.

Shattered, drained, on our last legs, emotions running high, far from our best yet our players went down fighting and still remained undefeated away at Parkhead - we even had the best chance in the second half but Wright just couldn’t find his pass.
 
When we have a fully fit and on form midfield we would control these games, Jack and arfields injuries and fitness will limit the amount of games they play, we shouldn't be leaning on an ageing Davis to play constantly either so certainly it's a position we need to bring in an improvement. I'd love to see someone with real drive on the ball and willing to shoot in the team
 
Mezzala said:
This is the third game in a row that our midfield has been very unimpressive against teams that don't give them loads of time on the ball.

Jack, Davis and Kamara have all been very good over the course of the season. Aribo and Arfield have been brilliant for spells and not so good the rest of the time. The issue is that 4 of the 5 are virtually identical in terms of the job they'll do, we can recycle possession really well when everyone is on form but that's about it.

The way we play means most of our attacks are built around giving the ball to either our fullbacks or our 10's, there's nothing inherently wrong with that but we really need some more dynamism in the middle of the pitch. There is a very real danger that we will stagnate if this isn't addressed.

We need to go from strength to strength rather than taking sideways steps and saying it's ok because it's good enough for most games in Scotland.
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I agree but expect a pretty binary response.
the fact that we have done really well will turn your post into a negative rather than the perfectly reasonable observation that we need to improve
 
OP is correct. Celtic sprung their presence on our full backs today and we should have played centrally, our midefield is too keen to offload the ball to full back / centre half when the space today was in the middle.

We’re a well drilled side but it was one dimensional today.
 
JCDarcheville said:
OP is correct. Celtic sprung their presence on our full backs today and we should have played centrally, our midefield is too keen to offload the ball to full back / centre half when the space today was in the middle.

We’re a well drilled side but it was one dimensional today.
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We had a centre back at full back, Goldson and Kamara didn’t look at the races - no bloody surprise - Davis playing almost every minute of every game, Jack injured, Arfield badly off form (on the bench), Hagi and Aribo empty shirts.
 
CaptainCourageous said:
We had a centre back at full back, Goldson and Kamara didn’t look at the races - no bloody surprise - Davis playing almost every minute of every game, Jack injured, Arfield badly off form (on the bench), Hagi and Aribo empty shirts.
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I don’t really get your post to be honest.

Its not an attack on our players, but we need to have another way of playing which isn’t so heavily relaxant on the full backs. If the opposition push out there we should be able to play long / centrally.
 
JCDarcheville said:
I don’t really get your post to be honest.

Its not an attack on our players, but we need to have another way of playing which isn’t so heavily relaxant on the full backs. If the opposition push out there we should be able to play long / centrally.
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The brightest moment of the second half was a central run from Wright, they couldn't defend it.

We need CM's that can do that.
 
SouthCoastLoyal said:
Could the coaches try and convert Hagi into a CM?

With his pace he might be more suited to a deeper role that needs less pace, if he had the same pace as Kent he would be phenomenal in his current position.

He is only 22 so is probably still young enough to learn to play in a deeper role that needs less pace. Davis doesn't have a huge amount of pace and is usually top class.
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We were having that discussion earlier this year and also today , could Hagi be a guy who becomes a version of Steven Davis in that orchestrator role . I would be intrigued to see him get some games in that position too .
i also think he has found a little more pace this year not sure what you guys think
 
Mezzala said:
I'm not even unhappy with the result, I just see something that I'm scared we will gloss over because we've won the league.
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People on here might but there's no way Gerrard will overlook anything he will want to take this team to another level. He'll know Jack can't managed a season without being out for 3/4 months or that Davis might slow down and will have to play less or that Arfield is also getting older and Zungu won't be here next summer. He won't compron style he'll want midfielders that can play our system but the quality will increase
 
Kingdom Bear said:
Porto just made the QF of the CL and couldn’t beat us last season .. so not really a good barometer

I agree we need at least 1 additional quality midfielder for next season though
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I understand that but we will be playing the champions of these countries now so will be there best and will be tough.

Recruitment needs to be good and as Gerrard said we cant stop we always have to keep getting better and improving.

Automatic place in CL up for grabs next season so need to get that place after all our hard work this year in Europe.
 
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