Ferdinand in midfield for England

Martynt74 · 25 Feb 2006 at 14:38

Linky

Terrific, i know lets move one of our best centre backs into a role he's pretty much never played before just to really unsettle the team before the WC.

Only people i can see liking this move is pool fans since Carra will finally make it into the team

cheets64 · 25 Feb 2006 at 14:42

We have lost it already.

red11 · 25 Feb 2006 at 14:46

WHY??? WHY ??? England have plenty of midfielders for pity sake. Why would they need to play a central defender in midfield? It's bad enough Ferguson is doing it, but he forced his own hand into doing it.

Ripper · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:05

i just hope ferdinands CB spot in the england lineup isn't under threat should ferguson continue to occasionally play him in midfield. Just push rooney back to midfield and play saha up with RvN, and ferdinand in defence, better solution imo.

HangTime · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:14

I think the logic behind this is that England have an excess of top drawer centrehalves and unless we change formation more significantly (i.e. a 3-5-2 with Cole and SWP at wingback) we can only fit two in the team at once.

However, while I think Rio could be capable of filling a holding role in midfield given enough practice, in general I'm not a fan of playing players out of position unless I can help it. Given that Campbell and Woodgate are injured anyway, for the upcoming games, Carrick or Parker might be better options.

If Rio can get enough games in midfield between now and June, then fair enough, maybe he would be an option to use in some fixtures.

PinkFloyd · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:14

The sooner we get rid of Sven the beter, his managerial decisions get worse game by game.
I could list a whole load of English players I would play in that role before choosing Ferdinand.
I still think we should just keep Gerrard and Lamps in their. Get us a few more goals anyway.

Big Kev · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:15

It's fair enough for Fergie to do this, but as previously stated, we do have other options, so this is a stupid move in my book.

Sem · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:34

he knows he is going in the summer so he doesn't care :mad:

i think he is only doing this to mess things up for us

Weebull · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:43

He did the same with Ledley King and that worked great, so I don't think it's a completely ridiculous idea to consider.

That said, why not try Scott Parker who, you know, actually plays in that position? Or Carrick? Or just King, who's played there for both Spurs and England already and is more used to the role than Rio.

HangTime · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:55

PinkFloyd said:
I still think we should just keep Gerrard and Lamps in their. Get us a few more goals anyway.

The suggestion isn't that either of those would be dropped, just that England would revert to the diamond formation vs certain opponents, with a holding midfielder in behind Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham.

Martynt74 · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:12

Weebull said:
He did the same with Ledley King and that worked great, so I don't think it's a completely ridiculous idea to consider.

But King was unlikely to get a game otherwise, this is talking about argueably our best centre back who we need in defence

Nedved11 · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:24

Well he i the only one who likes to get forward, wouldn't want to stick him in MF though. I don't see Sven's logic, he lost it years ago.

Pigeon_Killer · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:32

Weebull said:
He did the same with Ledley King and that worked great, so I don't think it's a completely ridiculous idea to consider.

That said, why not try Scott Parker who, you know, actually plays in that position? Or Carrick? Or just King, who's played there for both Spurs and England already and is more used to the role than Rio.

It's because Sven WILL NOT DROP his big name players. He's so in love with players like Owen, Rooney, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand and Campbell that he would never dream about dropping them whatever their form is like. He's already said as much about Beckham. He's never going to give players like Parker or Carrick a real chance unless one of the big name players gets injured. IMO, he would rather play players in unfamiliar positions than drop them.

BrenOS · 25 Feb 2006 at 18:18

Pigeon_Killer said:
It's because Sven WILL NOT DROP his big name players. He's so in love with players like Owen, Rooney, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand and Campbell that he would never dream about dropping them whatever their form is like. He's already said as much about Beckham. He's never going to give players like Parker or Carrick a real chance unless one of the big name players gets injured. IMO, he would rather play players in unfamiliar positions than drop them.

Abosultely. Seems Fergie is going the same way mind.

cheets64 · 25 Feb 2006 at 18:23

Pigeon_Killer said:
It's because Sven WILL NOT DROP his big name players. He's so in love with players like Owen, Rooney, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand and Campbell that he would never dream about dropping them whatever their form is like. He's already said as much about Beckham. He's never going to give players like Parker or Carrick a real chance unless one of the big name players gets injured. IMO, he would rather play players in unfamiliar positions than drop them.

This is why we wont win the World Cup in Germany, mix it up with good players that wont be marked out of the game, if Greece can do it with average players, we can.

Plus we have too many, "pass the ball to me, look what i just did" players

Vandle · 26 Feb 2006 at 11:03

I cant see why Scott Parker is constantly overlooked for England.
He bosses Newcastles midfield and has consitently performed for us.

Sven picks Jenas and Dyer whenever they are fit , Parker has done more this season than the two of them have ever done.

[ASSE]Hinchy · 26 Feb 2006 at 17:35

Got to feel sorry for Parker really. Bit of a slap in the face to him if Ferdinand starts in midfield....

Especially when hes been a superb central midfielder for the past few years...

hogfather · 26 Feb 2006 at 17:42

isn't this because Rafa Benitez wants sven to rest gerrard? So therefore no gerrard in the side and a chance ot try something in the meantime?

BoomAM · 27 Feb 2006 at 20:02

Daft move.
The best ive seen England play is when Lampard was on his own without Gerrard, and King was playing the holding role. It just seemed to 'work'.
But alas, Sven would get critisised if he didnt play Gerrard.

lemonkettaz · 27 Feb 2006 at 20:04

we need a holding role in the team for it to work

it was plain to see for everyone when we had king and lampard.

what would work are:

king/lampard
king/gerrard
parker/lampard
parker/gerrard
carrick/lampard
carrick/gerrard

why sven hasnt tried parker or carrick in the holding role i dont know