Tommy_Fent Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I've just seen it on the Football League show and it's a perfect example of how to play the role behind the Striker, he dropped off at exactly the right time to leave himself in acres of space. I know a few on here have been complaining about not playing 2 up front but 4-4-1-1 can work when you've got a player of Baxters quality in there who can run into the right areas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStationLatic Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Noticed Simpson quite far forward too. Another thing of note is that with Simpson in midfield, he naturally drifts forward (because he's used to playing the number 10 role) as well as offering height. This helps our high-pressing tempo game as, with Wes sitting, we appear to end up playing a sort of 4-1-3-2, with lots of movement and fluidity, involving Baxter, Simpson and Derbyshire. In this system, if we do win the ball in midfield, we have plenty of forward passing options available and it's difficult for the opposition to pick everyone up. In the past with 4-4-1-1, with two centre-mids sitting a bit, when we have won the ball there haven't been many options apart from knocking it sideways to the wingers, who just get cramped out, or trying to thread it to the number ten, who would also be under pressure from midfielders while the opposition's centre-backs man-mark an isolated front-man. We end up being too deep, basically, and it invites the opposition to press us. Flexibility and movement is key to high-tempo pressing; if you are too predictable and static positionally (which a basic 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 can cause), it's easy for teams to press and pass around you in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Yep. I thought Simpson played well. Put himself about a bit, was always there to pick up the leftovers from interceptions or mistakes, and pushed forward. I was very skeptical about him as a central midfielder but we were a lot more attacking and focused with him there than Furman (not that I think Furman is a bad player). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie_J Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I've just seen it on the Football League show and it's a perfect example of how to play the role behind the Striker, he dropped off at exactly the right time to leave himself in acres of space. I know a few on here have been complaining about not playing 2 up front but 4-4-1-1 can work when you've got a player of Baxters quality in there who can run into the right areas It helps having a striker of Derbyshire's quality up top too, like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyres_28 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 he does go missing in games but this goal is a perfect example of his importance to the team. The movement of him and Derbyshire if we can play high tempo ala' Preston and Crewe (with either Simmo or Furman) then we will win most games at this level Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I'd take a player who goes missing if he scores most games and creates goals in games where he doesn't hit the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyres_28 Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 indeed. It's been a LONG time since we've had such an influential player. First touch and movement is out of this world at this level. Lets hope he keeps enjoying himself. Massive 2 months in Latics short-term future IMO. If him and Matty D can fire us towards the playoffs then Jose Baby might decide to extend his time at BP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBigDog Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 (edited) indeed. It's been a LONG time since we've had such an influential player. First touch and movement is out of this world at this level. Lets hope he keeps enjoying himself. Massive 2 months in Latics short-term future IMO. If him and Matty D can fire us towards the playoffs then Jose Baby might decide to extend his time at BP. Normally I would agree but Baxter was caught in posession a number of times on Saturday - granted it was a heavy pitch and the ball stuck on occasions but it shows that the lad is still not playing to his maximum - still needs a few games to hit that peak. Having said that, he and Derbyshire (and also Croft and Simpson) played extremely well on Saturday. But for me it's still all about tempo - when we up the pace of our game we are very very good. Edited October 29, 2012 by TheBigDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losesome Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Baxter certainly has a greater impact at home than away in the matches i have seen. Having said that when he scores like he does at Crawley than you have to play him no matter !!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmer1 Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 indeed. It's been a LONG time since we've had such an influential player. . surley at this stage of his Oldham career Kuqi was more influential than Baxter has been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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