...Dembele over Lamela on the right from now on, please...
COYS
I agree. I think we can rotate a bit if Dembele starts to slow down as his injuries are piling up and Lamela is on the cusp of getting some form going.
But even then, I would not play Eriksen and Lamela together away from home in the prem as it's not fair on our wing backs.
We need an advanced midfielder to boss the final third. I believe this will actually help out Eriksen long term. If Eriksens starts to slow down (which is physically a certainty since his running is insane) Lamela can also be a like for like switch for him.
So it's a good issue to have. We just need to close at least one of the soft channels we are cursed with. I think Eriksen making one wing soft is OK because going forward/set pieces he will score more than his paper thin defense will concede.
There is one drawback: Alli will have his work cut out and will possibly see poor form. Eriksen is so dire off the ball, he throws his covering players (like Rose and Alli) under the bus.
It's one of the reasons why Poch's stubbornness irritates me. He's doing the equivalent of giving Ginola tracking back duties. Eriksen should be given a free role, but I've given up on Poch in that aspect. He is an all hands to the pump style manager. If by some miracle Eriksen, Lamela, Chadli, Son, Njie etc becomes well rounded and can close down like Alli, Dembele, Bentaleb etc...It won't be 4th we would be scrabbling for, it will be the title.
I just can't see it. Poch is running Eriksen into the ground when he's not suited for it. If we give up one key player when it comes to pressing, we can kick on IMO.
Kane should carry on doing it because he's excellent at putting keepers etc under pressure.
Having Eriksen and Lamela closing down and water carrying in a team vs Eriksen given a free role and a tougher player like Alli or Dembele sliding further forward to an advanced midfielder role will be as strong as Eriksen and Lamela IMO. But the positive will Eriksen will be taking WAY more shots at goal and putting WAY more through balls for Kane and co.
I'm famous for wanting steel, but I'm not dumb enough to think that Ginola, VDV, Eriksen etc can track worth a piss. So why ruin their form making them do something that is alien to them after 20+ years of playing attacking roles?
Literally counter productive.