Our central midfield situation

I can’t see dorrans featuring much next season. Assuming we play a midfield 3 it will be Jack, Rossiter, airfield, Ejaria and Docherty vying for 3 spots.

We should get rid of the rest.
 
If we dont sign a player who can knit midfield and attack we wont the league I feel.

We need someone can set a better tempo for our team and find the passes that get the best out of Windass and Morelos - its what we really lack.

Someone who will kick a lady's front bottom, lie on the ground for a minute and slow a game up - basically Fergusonesque...easier said than found.

Even with improved tactics and shape I still feel games will just run away and snow ball at times unless we add a player of that ilk.
 
Sam English said:
Dorrans' is going to struggle to get into the starting XI next season
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And so he should!

But he and more or less everyone else will have a clean slate to prove their worth.

Being an ex-EPL player or rangers fan won’t be (and shouldn’t be) enough to get game time this season.

Gerrard will raise the bar and there will be no more “pals” in the dug out for the players now!
 
I still think our central midfield options at the moment are dreadful overall. There's a severe lack of quality.

I can't see any of them going and grabbing an Old Firm game by the scruff of the neck and bossing it.

There was a League Cup Final at Hampden against Celtic when we were in horrendous form for months and Davis literally won the game against them all by himself, dragged us to victory that day and we kicked on and won the title after it. We need someone like that to come in and transform our midfield.
 
cav said:
McCrorie,Docherty,Ejaria and Rossiter are still very young with the latter having a lot of injury issues.
Dorrans likewise with a bad injury and struggled badly after that.I think Arfield will play if fit.
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He was poor before his injury with us .

He’s also played less than half the games since signing for Norwich, Injury prone and no legs he’s just not good enough.
 
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Believe it’s been indicated to Arfield he’ll occupy the 10 position in the main so might put paid to a 3 in midfield idea unless the other two are defensive and he’s playing just off the striker further up. He’s certainly not a central midfielder as such.
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
I still think our central midfield options at the moment are dreadful overall. There's a severe lack of quality.

I can't see any of them going and grabbing an Old Firm game by the scruff of the neck and bossing it.

There was a League Cup Final at Hampden against Celtic when we were in horrendous form for months and Davis literally won the game against them all by himself, dragged us to victory that day and we kicked on and won the title after it. We need someone like that to come in and transform our midfield.
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I mentioned trying to get someone like Lewis Holtby mate that’s the level needed imo
 
Lots of valid points in this thread about different players, physicality and creativity.

But we shouldn’t underestimate the influence of a good manager and confidence!

The sheep and hibs clearly didn’t have better squads than us but they had better managers and were riding on confidence as the season progressed (though our lack of confidence probably helped boost their confidence). Resulting in hibs running us close and the sheep coming out on top.

Hopefully Gerrard will prove to be a good manager and I’ve no doubt he’ll make our players ooze confidence. That transforms us right away! Add a little bit of quality then who knows what might happen! ;)
 
adidasler said:
What's Arfields's preferred position?
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Left mid, not a winger as such just on the left but he can play anywhere in midfield and even behind the striker according to most of the info i have seen.

Very versatile which is good, itching to find out how Gerrard is going to setup.
 
Recoba's Miracle said:
My feeling is Arfield will be playing in midfield, he isnt a winger as such and if he plays 433 he will be one of the 3 central mids with 2 more attacking wide men and the striker.

Sounds like he is a Milner type who can play anywhere really.
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Bang on, he can play wide on either side, but is probably more effective as one of the middle three.
 
I wouldn't be putting too much expectation on Arfield. He's a good player but he's not a game changer as such. He's a grafter and does the simple things well.
 
SuperGers07 said:
I could see McCrorie going out on loan down south truth be told.

He's not a cb
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Really? I would be utterly amazed if he went anywhere on loan.

Talent is so thin on the ground when you look at our squad i just cant see us letting one of the only guys who looks to have genuine talent away. A guy who can potentially play in three positions as well, cant see the plus point in letting him go.

I think for both parties it would be better to keep him and develop him ourselves.
 
I can see us lining up very much like celtic do now. Fast tricky wingers and high pressing.

For those writing off Dorrans just yet, I would give him a chance and a right good pre season with the new coaches. A right good pre season is vital for any player... Just look at Barton.
 
If we manage to sign 2 new CB's, a winger and an att mid, I would be delighted. We may even need a LB...

McRorie is a DM all day long. He's not got the physical presence to be a CB at the minute. Him doing the sitting with Rossiter and Arfield grafting could work well.
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
I wouldn't be putting too much expectation on Arfield. He's a good player but he's not a game changer as such. He's a grafter and does the simple things well.
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Not every player is a game changer though, someone who can give us a 7/10 every week will be most welcome to the team, we have had too many invsisible midfielders and we need a grafter, the attackers can be the game changers and hopefully the kid from Liverpool or a new attacking mid can be the key to unlocking defences.
 
Arfield I hope will replace Candieas in the starting 11. Arfield is a wide midfielder rather than a winger which I think we need as our midfield was constantly getting over run.
I still expect 3 other midfielders in there. Not sure if the new boy will start, after that you have Jack and Dorrans and Rossiter and Docherty.
If all fit I would play Jack, Docherty and Rossiter and use the boy from Liverpool on the bench for now.
I still expect and hope Gerrard though will spend a bit of cash on a quality midfielder or even 2 as I don’t think any of our current midfield is better than any of Celtic’s. Docherty and Rossiter (if fit) have the potential to be but for now aren’t consistent enough.
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
Can't see I have seen much of him in recent years mate, he played with Spurs a few years ago I think?
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Yeah,been at Hamburg a while now but contracts just ran out-don't think he's enjoyed all the uncertainty surrounding the club as it's been a bit of a clusterf.uck for a while but I've seen him live a couple of times as well as on the telly games when played and he's still got fantastic ability.Still only about 28-29 too.
Whether he'd want to come to the Sphell and accept our wages is another matter,fwiw I'd offer him a great whacking signing-on fee to try and tempt him given he's a bosman.

Players like him when under contract,are way out of our price range I'd suggest.
 
We need a hard as nails ball winner in midfield. Somebody physical, breaks up play, distributes well and can take out shitebags like the Lego Eater.
 
donka said:
Not sure I would be dropping Candieas for anyone. Consistent with a high work rate, he is that payer that can give us at least a 7/10 each week.
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If we continue to play two wingers and two attacking fullbacks we will continue to lose loads of games to the middle and bottom 6 teams and the scum.
We need a solid defensive unit with one full back at least who isn’t always attacking.
We need a solid defensive midfielder with at least two midfielders in front of him.
After that especially at home I would rather have one wide player and 2 forwards.
Our home has to become a fortress and it will never be even with SG in charge if he continues with this formation.
 
Much as I reckon McCrorie has a huge future for us, it may be that for next season he will find himself in and out the team depending upon who Gerrard signs. He is still young and, as you'd expect, for every good game there is one that passes him by. He will get his chances, I've no doubt, but patience may be required. I don't think it's a 'given' that he will start.
 
Jaws II said:
If we continue to play two wingers and two attacking fullbacks we will continue to lose loads of games to the middle and bottom 6 teams and the scum.
We need a solid defensive unit with one full back at least who isn’t always attacking.
We need a solid defensive midfielder with at least two midfielders in front of him.
After that especially at home I would rather have one wide player and 2 forwards.
Our home has to become a fortress and it will never be even with SG in charge if he continues with this formation.
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We need discipline. As you say, when one full back pushes on, the other side needs to sit and the defensive midfielder drops in to cover that area - something that Jack was doing really well until he was out injured. With better central defenders and a more solid core in midfield, I think we can still field two wingers. Candieas put more balls into the box than any other player in the top flight last season I believe and look how many chances we missed in front of goal. A more clinical striker would almost necessitate Candieas starting.
 
Jaws II said:
If we continue to play two wingers and two attacking fullbacks we will continue to lose loads of games to the middle and bottom 6 teams and the scum.
We need a solid defensive unit with one full back at least who isn’t always attacking.
We need a solid defensive midfielder with at least two midfielders in front of him.
After that especially at home I would rather have one wide player and 2 forwards.
Our home has to become a fortress and it will never be even with SG in charge if he continues with this formation.
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I really wish you'd give up with this idea.

If anything your idea makes us predictable as teams will read which side we consistently attack down and just flood that area.

We need, as other have highlighted above, a disciplined midfield of 3 where midfielders know when to tuck in to allow the full back to go forward on each side. Wingers on either side of a 3 up front is pivotal, and the only way to fit in a less mobile player is to play 3 at the back, which i think will happen from time to time - allowing the 3 up top to play narrower.

We need players who understand when to press and when not to. Players who will follow a signal from another player to initiate the press. We need mobile centre halves who can intercept a high ball.
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
I wouldn't be putting too much expectation on Arfield. He's a good player but he's not a game changer as such. He's a grafter and does the simple things well.
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Agreed.
There's a common misconception that having played in the EPL you'll automatically stroll it up here.

There's a world of difference between playing for Huddersfield or Burnley and then playing for Rangers. It's almost a different game. Then there's the expectation levels to be factored in,which can weigh heavily on players.
 
Super-Ally216 said:
I really wish you'd give up with this idea.

If anything your idea makes us predictable as teams will read which side we consistently attack down and just flood that area.

We need, as other have highlighted above, a disciplined midfield of 3 where midfielders know when to tuck in to allow the full back to go forward on each side. Wingers on either side of a 3 up front is pivotal, and the only way to fit in a less mobile player is to play 3 at the back, which i think will happen from time to time - allowing the 3 up top to play narrower.

We need players who understand when to press and when not to. Players who will follow a signal from another player to initiate the press. We need mobile centre halves who can intercept a high ball.
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Two wingers is suicidal.
 
Jaws II said:
Arfield I hope will replace Candieas in the starting 11. Arfield is a wide midfielder rather than a winger which I think we need as our midfield was constantly getting over run.
I still expect 3 other midfielders in there. Not sure if the new boy will start, after that you have Jack and Dorrans and Rossiter and Docherty.
If all fit I would play Jack, Docherty and Rossiter and use the boy from Liverpool on the bench for now.
I still expect and hope Gerrard though will spend a bit of cash on a quality midfielder or even 2 as I don’t think any of our current midfield is better than any of Celtic’s. Docherty and Rossiter (if fit) have the potential to be but for now aren’t consistent enough.
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Liverpool won't be happy if he's constantly benched.

We,as you say,need a much more solid midfield,that neccessitates three centrally. It also means we need better full backs than Tav and John.
 
davmcc said:
We have a real lack of quality in the middle of the park that needs to be urgently addressed. Arfield and Rossiter (ifhe can stay fit) might help with this.

I still feel we need another midfielder.
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The issue is paying for the others if they are surplus. We can not justify that size of squad. I’d certainly be looking to punt Dorrans at the very least. This situation sums up the issue for SG and why we would should temper expectations. He is left with a lot of baggage to sort.
 
Southsideblueblood said:
The issue is paying for the others if they are surplus. We can not justify that size of squad. I’d certainly be looking to punt Dorrans at the very least. This situation sums up the issue for SG and why we would should temper expectations. He is left with a lot of baggage to sort.
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Be very difficult to shit Dorrans I suspect. Nobody in Scotland could afford him and he moved here to 'come home'. English Championship would be best bet but would he want to go - and would they pay him the salary?
 
All fit I’d start with Jack, Rossiter and Arfield in the middle.

I can’t see where Dorrans fits in, Ejaria and Docherty on the bench alongside McRorie who can cover a few positions.
 
McCrorie was outstanding against the sheep at the end of the season. But if I am been honest and I love young Ross, he has it all to prove, Jack has it all to prove, Rossiter has it all to prove as does Docherty.
Arfield will play because he presses high and hard, new young kid will play so the four above are fighting for one position.
 
I think Arfield always was predominantly a central midfielder who was pushed out to the left due to his athleticism and work rate.
 
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