Is The Future Strikerless For Spain?

When Spain played Scotland last month in Alicante,two goals and an assist from David Silva killed off any hope Scotland had of making the Euros via a playoff. One may say that this was a typical Spain performance and an expected win,it was,but for one important change. Vicente Del Bosque played David Silva as a false 9 against the Scottish and it paid off. With Fernando Torres out of form and Llorente,Negredo and Soldado lacking international experience,can we say that this move is a permanent one?



Another option for Del Bosque is to play Villa up front and bring in Pedro to play wide left, but for quite some time now Villa has been starting out wide left and then cuts in for both club and country.With the number of world class midfielders Spain have got,their best option maybe  is to play one of their midfielders as a withdrawn forward. If Del Bosque was mulling over this option in the past few weeks,he got another reason to implement the strikerless formation,as Pep Guardiola played Fabregas in a similar sort of a role against Bilbao last weekend.

Cesc Fabregas started among the front three in a 4-3-3 ish shape,but was rarely the most forward player for Barcelona.As we can see below his average position is almost at the halfway line.

But more importantly Fabregas got forward at times,and scored a typical striker's goal. So it makes perfect sense for Del Bosque to include another part of Barcelona's successful style of play. His experiment with David Silva against Scotland was certainly a success as Silva stamped his class all over Scotland's defence. This move can make Spain even stronger and it will also result in a better utilization of resources. As Del Bosque prefers playing both Alonso and Busquets as the holding midfielders in a double pivot,that leaves room for only four more attacking players. And as Xaviesta are a must,so there remains only one more midfield slot. With the likes of Villa,Silva,Fabregas,Mata,Cazorla,Pedro,Thiago all competing for that slot, it is a pity that we get to see some of the best talents sitting on the bench. So including an extra midfielder for an out and out striker must be too a great tempation for Del Bosque to resist. If this is the case then there are more dark days for Fernando Torres ahead.

Certainly if  Del Bosque plays Silva in the "Messi Role" against England,then we will know for better whether Spain can play with a false 9 or not. With some of these tactical changes,it takes a lot of game time to adjust,as Manchester United found out with their interpretation of the stikerless formation with Rooney-Ronaldo-Tevez. They did manage to attain the understanding and fluency which led them to great success but national managers have far more less time with their team than club managers. So against England(supposedly a better team than Scotland), we will know for sure if this move will work for Spain.

With all of the front four with the ability to play anywhere in the final third,Spain may be moving closer to Johan Cryuff's total football. Certainly with players like Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique who have very good abilty with the ball for defenders, Spain have the talent to emulate the great Dutch team of 70s. Carlos Puyol and Xabi Alonso more traditonal players who play in specific roles are on the wrong side of their 30s and replacing them with players like Javi Martinez and Santi Cazorla will only mean another step in the direction of Total Football.

And it would be a travesty if we don't thank Pep Guardiola and Barcelona for their contribution to Spain's National Football Team. Although Real Madrid fans would hate to admit it,Spain certainly wouldn't be the same without Barcelona. Not only does Barcelona provide majority of the starting line-up,but also the style of play,the tiki-taka which helped Spain become the world champions was perfected first at the Nou Camp. And now if Spain implement the false 9,then the only difference over the past few years of Spain playing and out and out striker and Barca playing with Messi,will also be eliminated. David Silva certainly is no Leo Messi but as a part of a strong 4 man attack,he will be devastating as his second goal against Scotland shows

I would love to see Spain line-up this way

North London Derby - A Preview.

This Sunday, Spurs host Arsenal in what could be one of the defining games of both clubs’ seasons. Harry’s Hotspurs missed out on Champions League football last season, but are still one of england’s most improved teams over the last few years. One of at least six teams fighting it out for the coveted top four slots of the league. Arsenal on the other hand, are close to the wilderness. Losing big names over the summer such as Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy would hurt any team – the replacements signed by Wenger have a lot to live up to, and in Arteta’s case a hell of a lot. Wilshere’s extended absence has also hit the club hard.

Wenger’s policy of bringing through young players with bags of potential has also taking a pounding recently – epitomised by the young Manchester United team (Jones, 19; Welbeck, 20; Smalling, 21; Cleverley, 22; among others) thrashing their rivals 8-2. Perhaps it’s a better indictment of Arsenal’s predicament that they’re better described as “former-rivals” of Manchester United – it would be a big surprise to see them challenging for the title this year.

Arsenal have been lining up in a Barcelona-esque 4-1-2-2-1 formation this season, and they can be expected to put out a similarly shaped team on Sunday. Injuries, suspensions and woeful performances have meant that Wenger has fiddled with his back four more than is healthy for a defensive unit. Alex Song was played at centre-back against Olympiakos in the Champions League, as the only fit centre-back is the lumbering Per Mertesacker who is still settling into the Premier League. Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou and Squillaci are currently keeping each other company in the treatment room. Song had previously been playing in (to continue the Barcelona comparison – ha!) in the Busquets role, screening the back four, but if he’s played at centre-back again, expect the effervescent Frimpong to return, and promptly get himself sent off for snapping Modric’s back in two, or kicking him 20ft into the air.  Wenger has declared that Squillaci should be fit fro the Spurs game, and Djourou and Koscielny are rated as doubts, so it might not come to that. Regardless, Wenger will be forced to name a 7^th different back four in 8 games.

Further up the pitch, the injury woes continue for Arsenal. Abou Diaby is definitely out, Benayoun is a big doubt, but Gervinho and Walcott could make a return. Arsene Wenger will hope to have at least one of those two wingers back, and will soon face a selection decision over whether the emerging talent of Oxlade-Chamberlain should play in front of the strangely detached Arshavin.

Ramsey and Arteta will be doing their best Xavi-Iniesta impersonations – nwever an easy one to pull off, but they’re both good technical players with great passing skills. Surely Wenger would prefer to have either kept Fabregas at the club or to have Wilshere back from injury, but Arteta isn’t a bad signing at all, and Ramsey seems to be relishing the extra responsibility. Any captain of their national side should be able to step up to the mark mentally.

At least up front, Wenger has a player who isn’t susceptible to injury – Robin Van Persie… oh. He’s fit at the moment, keep those fingers crossed Gooners.

Interestingly, both the 8-2 defeat to Manchester United and the 4-3 loss at Blackburn followed Champions League games – suggesting that Wenger’s heavily depleted squad is struggling with the fixture list very early in the season. Tottenham Hotspurs have no such worries before this crunch game – a trip to Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League will simply give Redknapp the chance to rest first team players as he gives some of his squad players such as Danny rose and Giovanni dos Santos a run out.

Not that Tottenham aren’t without their own injury concerns, Dawson, Kranjcar and Defoe are all expected to return from injury, or at least report fit by the 2nd of October, but Gallas and the Hudd are both out.

Redknapp has also been fairly consistent with his formations so far this season. A good old English 4-4-2, varied on occasion to 4-4-1-1 to accommodate Rafael van der Vaart. Redknapp has been using the 4-4-1-1 in games which could be perceived as “bigger” – away to Manchester United, and at home to Manchester City, as well as the potentially tricky trip to Wigan, which has actually been the only time spurs have gained any points in the league with van der Vaart in the team. Redknapp will view this derby game as a big one, therefore, expect van der Vaart to be dipping the metaphorical arrows in poison and placing them in Adebayor’s quiver. Ah yes, Adebayor… a departed forward might normally expect a tough time from former colleagues, but looking at Arsenal’s defence, it’s him that will be dishing out any rough stuff. Redknapp’s renowned personal management techniques seem to be paying off with the roaming hitman.

Redknapp’s team are perhaps one of the most archetypal “traditional English” sides in the Premier League at the moment. Whether 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1, he generally deploys out and out wingers on either flank (Although sometimes Modric and Krancjar have played on one wing or another) and his first choice central midfield partnership is a creative player in Modric and a destructive harrier in Scott Parker. Lennon hasn't been the most productive of players, and two whizkids on the wing might be considered a bit of a risk for the Arsenal game - Harry might be tempted to go with a more rounded player on one of the flanks.

Kaboul has been an ever-present in the league for Tottenham, and looks set to man the barriacades with the incredible Ledley King, who will be one of those rested ready for this game.

Brad Friedel has been as reliable as anyone between the sticks this season, but in fairness despite some shocking results, Szczesny has generally played well.

Expect a poor tempered game with plenty of cards, a patched-up Arsenal back line, and a Tottenham win.

By @ffootballer