Mancini's Midfield Dilemma

[Ziyad]

i dont know im caught in 2 minds.

having the hammer with chucu is exellent. They control the game and can cancel any pair in the world (i.e. Pirlo and Kaka)

but does that mean we keep Veron on the right? idunno.

Having 2 dm has looked good this year becase both dm are doing great plus we have Veron and one hell of an attack...

However we shouldnt play with them in every match. We only need 2 dm from the start in big games when we are playing away so that we dont concede. Otherwise an extra DM should come from the bench if we are ahead in the last 15 minutes.

IMHO there should be 3 formations for Inter that we use depending on the adversary.
They are:
3-5-2 (Which i think would have won the second game against Milan)
4-4-2 With 1 DM
4-4-2 With 2 dm (used away to the Juve's and Milan's)

 

[snake]

hm so basically back to inter and their always changing team?

lets hope Mancini decides to use 2 DM's agaisn teams like Juve and Milan.

------C.Zanetti----Cambiasso--------
----Veron---------------Stankovic----

but agianst teams like Palermo, Cagliari (who are sitting back to defend against US) we could use...

-----------Cambiasso-----------
ZeMaria----Veron----Stankovic

bellissimo :star:

that means we keep either VDM or Kily as a backup. But does that mean there is no room for Davids and Emre? cause dont forget the important Hammer!

 

[Ziyad]

I think if the role is defined it shouldnt matter who plays if we change a player because of tiredness or suspension... :star:

After all we have depth,lets use it to our advantage.

 

[Pravesh]

This is the wrong mentality, cancel other midfields. It should be the other midfields trying to cancel you, not the other way around. This mentality is pure italiana, safety first, it doesn't work anymore, we got rid of it with Cuper.

We have to initiate everything, we should focus on winning, not dominating midfield. It can work if you have two offensively gifted DM's, like Costinha -- Maniche or Baraja -- Albelda and maybe Gerrard -- Xabi.

However, we all know about CZ. God bless him, he is improving, but asking him to start offensive movements is like asking a penguin to fly. He might have the tools, but it just doesn't work.

We can use the two DM's in some cases like I mentioned. But to base our midfield that way is wrong. Also, you are trying to build our midfield to accomodate players. That is wrong, you have a plan, then look for players to fit in it. Unless of course you have exceptional players, then you could build the midfield around them.

With all due respect to Stan and Veron, they aren't players you build your team around.

Totally agree with everything, including the last sentence when you said that Stan & Veron aren't the players we build our team around. True Indeed. We should play as a team, coz those 2 players are not capable of doing everything on their own unlike some few players who can do it.

hm so basically back to inter and their always changing team?

lets hope Mancini decides to use 2 DM's agaisn teams like Juve and Milan.

------C.Zanetti----Cambiasso--------
----Veron---------------Stankovic----

but agianst teams like Palermo, Cagliari (who are sitting back to defend against US) we could use...

-----------Cambiasso-----------
ZeMaria----Veron----Stankovic

bellissimo :star:

that means we keep either VDM or Kily as a backup. But does that mean there is no room for Davids and Emre? cause dont forget the important Hammer!

That's also not what I want. Why should we go defensive against big teams all the time ?? I know that many here in the forum loves Inter to play with 2DMs' (against Juve/Milan included), but I am not with that. Why should we stop them by playing with 2DMs ?? Let them make us stop !!

 

[snake]

the 2 dm's isnt to 'stop' them. it just means we hold possesion better, while we cancel them.

we have 2 midfielders infront of them who will do the attacking while the 2 dm's do tthe stopping. Just cause 2 dm's are on doesnt mean we wont create as much chances, its just to hold the ball better and dictate the game.

 

[BlueBacchus]

the 2 dm's isnt to 'stop' them. it just means we hold possesion better, while we cancel them.

we have 2 midfielders infront of them who will do the attacking while the 2 dm's do tthe stopping. Just cause 2 dm's are on doesnt mean we wont create as much chances, its just to hold the ball better and dictate the game.

You know that is why I think that if Mancini wishes to play with 2 DM's he needs to be using 2 real wingers.
Finally he is be doing that.
So far it has been working great for us.

 

[Devious]

Over the course of this current season, inter have changed its shape in midfield more then any team out there. This is understandable when a new coach has to play around abit before finding the right formula.

At the start of the season mancini wanted the last piece to his jigsaw puzzle, that was Cesar. After failing in gaining the services of the Brazilian, Mancini then set out on finding the best midfield with the current players he had and one that had the right balance. However this would prove harder than initially thought...

He begun with the flat 4 in midfield, with the pair of Veron and Davids in the middle, sadly this didn’t work. Once the season got to the 3rd round, mancini ditched the idea of the pair in the middle, in came Cambiasso and Ze maria was then forced out of the team to make way for VDM.

Cambiasso only had once chance and that was away to Atalanta where he did quite well, but once again (at home to Parma) Mancini went back to the pair of Veron and Davids. The game resulted in another draw and Mancini went back to the drawing board.

After the problems in the midfield Mancini decided to stick with the diamond type midfield with Cambiasso playing the holding role in front of the defensive 4. This continued for most of the games until against Udinese and Fiorentina C.Zanetti came in and played alongside Cambiasso to give stability in midfield, as Inter were giving up so many goals that they had led the league in Goals Allowed.

Since then there has been changes but lately Mancini believes the defensive midfielders have given the right balance for the team. But many argue (including Doctor Moratti himself) that against the smaller teams we need to impose our game more and use the ability of our players as an advantage.

The problem Mancini faces is which midfield to play and when to play it… Too much change and it will unsettle the team.

Many other teams can switch between the shape and position of their midfield but in the end they end up using mostly the same players,
at Inter it’s a different case as when we change the shape of our midfield, so do most the players who get picked.

Mancini must choose now which midfield he wants. He has these choices

Flat midfield (2 DMs, with wingers)
========C.Zanetti===Cambiasso======
VDM========================Deki

Split midfield (2DM's, 2 AM's) no wingers
=======C.Zanetti===Cambiasso======
=====Veron===========Stankovic===


Daimond midfield (DM and AM, with wingers)
===========Camibasso===========
VDM=========Veron=========Stanky


Diamond midfield (1 DM, 3 CM) no wingers
==========Camibasso=========
====Veron====Emre====Stankovic


Certainly a change in formation will result in a player losing his place in the starting 11. If theres no wingers there will be no room for VDM or Kily and with the inclusion of wingers there will be less room for the likes of Emre and Davids.

I personally think, that Mancio must make his decion soon, so that next year the players that don’t fit in his formation should be allowed to leave.
Because with the knowledge of knowing what the coach wants, he keeps the players he needs so he can stick to one set of players to keep people happy, and at the same time, cutting down the size of the squad.

Lately we have been succesful using the 2DM's of Hammer and Chu-Chu and then using the attacking midfielders in Stankovic and Veron. The coach and players have agreed that when a substitution is made during a match that changes the shape of the midfield, they lose their edge for the 'adaption' time.

Another problem that faces Mancio is, his likingness to playing with Wingers. It hasnt been all to succesful with us, but its almsot certain in the off season we will be purchasing a winger. Wether its Cesar, Jankulovski or Taddei. The latter has been confirmed with the management not denying there quest to sign the player.

It seems were starting to find consistency and thats hard to come by at Inter. This seems to have come when we have excluded VDM and wingers from our setup. Most noticable is how our defensce seems more secure without them.

I forsee us having a succesful season with the midfield we have adapted in the last few games. What scares me is, if we leave it like that for the season and it works well, but come transfer market time Mancini buys new wingers and were back to square one, which is...

- New players.
- New midfield.
- Trying all the different combinations of midfield. Which means taking that extra bit of time to find out perfect formula.

Is that where we have been behind Milan and Juve? Have our coaches had to much change which takes to much time to finally find the right balance? Lets hope this year Mancini finds the right balance and then in the market he wont change that.

So come Serie A 05/06 were battling for the scudetto from game one and not at the half way point.