He needs a run of games. I could see him getting Poldi a few goals if he played down the right. The Chambo/Theo/Gervais spot is really the one up for grabs in this team (unless you put Giroud on the bench).

He's right footed isn't he.

He is better on the left.

Very rarely does a player leave me divided as Gervinho does; it's extremely hard to make a definitive call on him. Shows some absolute flashes of brilliance at times and then will follow up it up with some terrible decision making. One on one the guy is absolutely brilliant, there is probably no one better in the squad at taking players on and i think once we see him get that killer instinct in front of goal everybody will be singing his name. He was the type of player we were desperate for a few seasons ago with his direct attacking style. With that being said there is not enough room in the squad to feature both Theo and Gervs at the same time. Someone has to step up.

Biggus wrote:

He's right footed isn't he.

Ya. He's an idiot in front of goal but he could pull 'em back for Poldi to knock 'em in from the right side. He always makes those dangerous runs down the inside channel of the 18 yard box beating players, needs to learn to cut it back to someone who can actually finish.

So playing on the left gives him a tendency to cut inside rather than rather then stretch the defence wide for the cut back.
He'd be better on the right, even Giroud couldn't miss from 2 yards- could he?

Okay it's settled then, Pod on the left Gervais on the right, Theo to Anfield.

This whole defence-stretching touchline-running bit is quite inadequate against a committed, settled defence as we've found with Walcott and plenty of others over the years. It may be good on the counter, but once the bus is parked there just isn't the space.

Gervinho can be a decent player for us if and only if he improves the calibre of his attempts on goal and the calibre of his final pass - whether it's via the touchline or elsewhere.

Burnwinter wrote:

This whole defence-stretching touchline-running bit is quite inadequate against a committed, settled defence as we've found with Walcott and plenty of others over the years. It may be good on the counter, but once the bus is parked there just isn't the space.

Well it's a hell of a lot better then trying to tippy tap through the 8 men at the edge of the box like we have been for the past 6 years, err last year excepted.

Everything I've just said applies to last year. Song chipping it long to Van Persie may be "direct", but it is certainly not a pacy winger whipping it in from the touchline.

The claim that last year was a stride forward in the quality and character of our football is false. We got the same result as previous years with a chancy, low percentage brand of football heavily reliant on players who have since fucked off.

If last year's "brand" of football is relevant to anything as you so frequently argue at the moment, they and their absence are highly relevant.

Edit: never mind, see you deleted your reply.

And yet we finished higher last year without Fabregas and Nasri than we did with them.

I have total faith in Wenger to keep us "there or thereabouts", I have absolutely no faith that he will do what it takes for us to be champions again.

Having topuchline hugging, cross merchant wingers and full backs could be of a lot more benifit now we have a giant fuck off centre forward. We'll have to see how things develop. In the first 3 games of this season I think we've hit Giroud with one cross.

Having a big target man doesn't mean you have to use him as Sam Allardyce would. There is a reason why touchline hugging wingers are a thing of the past, that style of play isn't very effective.

Gibbsy and Jenko have to answer for that. Gibbsy's crosses never go to that area of the goal anyway, so he has to buck up and stop aiming for the far post all the time. Jenko already can and just needs to sort himself out.

Not suggesting we play like a bloody Allardyce team for a second. One way of breaking down a packed defence is to mix your game up and hit a big centre forward with decent delivery, just as we did when Adebayor was up top for us.

Statistically we put in a huge number of crosses last season, but we had low numbers in the box and nobody who really wanted to attack them with any conviction.

Biggus wrote:

And yet we finished higher last year without Fabregas and Nasri than we did with them.

We finished off better still with Hleb in the side.

Anyway, I just don't think the likes of Gerv and Theo, or our fullbacks over recent years for that matter, have produced much against a settled defence by trying to run beyond the fullback.

They may win the odd corner, but without the complete package of receiving the ball, beating one or two men for skill or speed, and delivering a seriously good cross or cutback, or scoring - what do you end up with? We've gotten jack shit that way in the last few years against teams that park the bus.

Mind you, we didn't really have a solution via other routes either I guess.

More and more effective runners into scoring positions when there's a spill or a break on would be a good start, as Tim suggests.

Burnwinter wrote:

Biggus wrote:

And yet we finished higher last year without Fabregas and Nasri than we did with them.

We finished off better still with Hleb in the side.

Not really, 3rd too as I recall......

You'd be claiming it was a better finish if there were even a tenuous fit with your theory of direct football

Biggus wrote:

Burnwinter wrote:

We finished off better still with Hleb in the side.

Not really, 3rd too as I recall......

4 points off the top of the league as opposed to 19 points