Comments for Dots&Crosses

Comment on The rise of the ‘nine and a half’ by Mikel Arteta,the Media Puntas and the False 9s | Goal | Football | Sport News

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:38:15 +0000

[...] a media punta,RVP. Robin Van Persie is a different type of media punta,he is a false 9 or a nine and a half. RVP drops back into space to create play,he is one of the few players who can both score and [...]

Comment on Who can be England’s destroyer? by Joss Bennett (@JossBennett)

Joss Bennett (@JossBennett) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:37:03 +0000

If I may interject, I wrote a piece for my blog in the summer about possible options at defensive-midfield; analysing rumoured targets from the top 5 leagues as well as our own options…

http://www.arsenalreport.com/discussion/are-arsenal-really-in-desperate-need-of-a-new-defensive-midfielder/

Comment on Who can be England’s destroyer? by Dots&Crosses

Dots&Crosses — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:38:45 +0000

Well, it’s a bit of a mixed bag at the moment. Each of those players offers something different. Song is strong and tall, whereas Coquelin is quicker around the pitch and arguably better on the ball. Frimpong offers a mix of both, and arguably the best of the three in possession.

Song is still young, and learning fast. Frankly, I think that the power and physicality he offers helps offset the relative smallness of Arsenal’s midfield (and indeed team in general) and he has the ability to drop in as a centre-back, which is invaluable for tactical flexibility.

The accepted way to stop a 9 1/2 is to cut off supply to them, restricting them from influencing the game. In this, a destroyer can definitely help, by nicking in front of them to steal passes and working the angles to make balls through to him unfeasible.

Comment on Who can be England’s destroyer? by Oliver Ashton

Oliver Ashton — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:49:37 +0000

Hey there, great article as always on destroyers.
I was wondering if you could do one an article on who could be Arsenal’s next destroyer?
I realise Song is the current Arsenal destroyer, and Frimpong has a great future ahead of him. I’d love an article on this, as there’s Coequlin in the mix also.
I like Frimpong as a fan, but on your article about the 9 and a half’s how can we stop them if our destroyer can’t? We can’t?

Comment on Five points on United 1-6 City by Dots&Crosses

Dots&Crosses — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:02:42 +0000

Maybe, but you can definitely see why they’re making so much of it. A 1-6 loss, to your cross-city rivals, at home, at a time when both clubs are vying for dominance in a way never seen before. It was a huge game, and a huge result.

They only came into play when Evans was sent off? Don’t think so. City’s fluidity was obvious from the start, as was United’s lack of it. United’s unbalanced midfield pairing started the game and played for the whole half looking uncomfortable. Milner was, from the the start, everywhere. And even early on Richards and Clichy were having extremely good games. Evans’ sending off undeniably changed the game, but United were hamstrung from the start. Ferguson got things wrong.