Unbalance causing 'Link-play' Shambles

At the momment our link play is shambolic. We are so lop-sided all over the park! This is a result in part by the injuries we are currently nursing, but I also feel it is in part due to Moyes's stuborness with team selection. The ingredient we are missing currently seems (to me) to be how do we attach our solid defensive unit with our goal productive strike force. This is the job of our 'wing-backs' and midfield.

Firstly, it struck home to me more than ever that the omission of Leighton Baines from the team yesterday was a massive error. Without Baines we lacked pace down the left wing and someone with an ability to cross the ball in first time, or look for a ball with a left footed pass (surely not down the left wing!!). Numerous times in the first half yesterday my frustration boiled over as Arteta, Pienaar or Lescott gave the ball away in the top left of the pitch whilst trying to pass into ever decreasing circles.

I have seen Baines play on 3 (of the few) occasions this season, and when fit have been impressed with his ability to overlap, cross. Also he has had a good understanding with Pienaar and Arteta. Importantly he also takes on defenders and attacks at pace.

As a big Lescott fan I am not using this as a vehicle to attck him, but he should not have played at left back yesterday... or indeed recently. Baines should be taking that place. Lescott should be playing at centre back. Full-stop. He is for me England's best defender along side Ferdinand. An opinion backed up by the performances of Lescott and Terry respectively along side Ferdinand in mid-week. You won't find a respected website/newspaper that didn't have Lescott as one of England's better players, due to his superior marshalling of Anelka.

I am trying to say that we should be playing a balanced team not one that contains all Moyes's 'favourite players'. Jags and Yobo have been great recently, but to play 3 centre backs, regardless of how good they are is stupid unless we balance them. To fit all 3 in we would have to play 3-5-2, with Baines and (*Gasp*) Neville at 'wing' back. This is not our usual way so i'm afraid we need to drop one for the good of the team.

Another position where the side is unbalanced is central midfield. Our recent games without Cahill (and others here and there), has seen Moyes try to shoe-horn others into the roles left vacant. This may work against lesser teams but will always get exposed against better players. Rather than being so rigid we must show some adaptability of our team dynamic to field a balanced team capable of playin good football. Difficult with a small squad but definitely not impossible!

It should never be acceptable to include both Neville and Carsley in our team. It is to defensively balanced and we lack penetration (There is your answer to why we lacked that yesterday Mr Moyes). It is widely accepted that Carsley is best as our defensive midfielder. If Captain 'Pip is not at right back or covering for an injured (or increasingly worrying: retired) Carsley then he shouldn't be on the pitch. Maybe yesterdays retraction was Moyes's realisation of this.... but my breath is not being held.

Finally (for now) the likes of Osman, Pienaar, Fernandes, Arteta (and Mcfadden in days gone by) should not be being asked to plug themselves into Cahill/Johnson etc. shaped holes. Moyes by now (he's had 6 years!!) should know their best positions. Why comprimise so often? Why can't we play a different way so we play to the strengths we have available? Too much is said of injuries. Which of the players in the derby yesterday has so little experience in the premier league that they can be 'let off' for that crap show? They are all very well paid pros which have proved before that they can get results when played in their prefered roles.

Our team needs balance, and if that means dropping certain favourites then so be it. Moyes cannot set up for games as if we are scared of the opposition, or that psychology will rub off on to the players. Playing so many out of position, comprimising what we have, how many of them could've believed that they would beat Liverpool?

Please Mr Moyes, set up for our remaining games with the mind-set that we are going out to win, not play tightly and nick something. We have the skill, it's now time for a bit of belief in what you have begun to assemble!

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