The Long-Awaited 'No.10'?

There's an undeniable pattern that's been established here... Klaassen, Keane, Rooney and now Sigurdsson, all recognized and respected leaders at their previous clubs, all high-character people of the type that you want to build around. One of our most obvious -- and least-discussed -- issues last season was the absence of inspiration leadership on the pitch. The players who most often wear the armband, Jags and Baines, are quiet lead-by-example types. Our best players last season, Rom and Barks, are not leadership material. Koeman clearly isn't just building a side here, he's building a culture.

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Great link Dermot. Thought the wall and keepers look a bit dodgy on a couple of them though! And the best news of all? We should never have to sit through Mirallas trying to take a free kick again!

excellent point I totally agree. Half the team seem to be captain material now. Lack of leaders was something that needed addressing.

Craig @ 8

He did run further though that's tempered slightly by the fact he played nearly every game and wasn't substituted. Impressive and surprising fact though.

People on other threads saying no to Costa, I'd love him for a year, a player like him on form could really give us a chance at top 4, angry man that can score, give me that all day!! No defender likes him and that suits me fine.

The only way I can see us playing is by signing a target man (Pelle type) who holds the ball up and brings others into play through movement and vision - not pace. I know we are looking for a centre forward but why have we waited so long to sign a No.9?

I'm optimistic about the way things are going.

. OK, I'm going!

Koeman wants players to defend as a team. It's very rigid. There's no room for passengers. Now we know Sigurdsson would not be a passenger as he runs more than any player, or so topping last season's running states tells us.

But this point of being allowed to roam goes to the very heart of my reservations. Let's consider the side that started the second half against Stoke because that seems to be Koeman's preferred side, despite 532/352/343 experiments :

Pickforrd
Martina Keane Jags Baines
Gueye Klaassen Schneiderlin
Rooney Calvert-Lewin Sandro

Where does Sigurdsson come in? Does he take Rooney's place on the right? Does Rooney move into the middle for Calvert -Lewin? What about when we sign the no9 we so desperately need?

Klaassen, Sigurdsson, Rooney, and to an extent Sandro, all want to drop into that space behind the front target man. Klaassen is a bit different in that he wants to link up with the target man. He will lay it into him and run beyond playing a one-two. His desire to go beyond the front men creates space behind him for others to exploit. When Rooney was dropping deep, it NEEDED Klaassen to be taking Rooney's position higher up the pitch to stretch the defence and to stop them nullifying Rooney by simply pushing up and eliminating the space.

Sigurdsson also wants to play in this space. So we still need a target man to play off, and a Klaassen to push forward with his quick one-twos and stretch the defence. Sigurdsson is not this player. He would be far less effective in a midfield three. It's not his game to be that deep, not does he have Klaassen's skill set.

For me it's a straight choice, Rooney or Sigurdsson, and that's baffling. Rooney cannot be a bit part player, Sigurdsson is too expensive to sit on the bench. Maybe it's Sandro to drop out of the side and for Sigurdsson to play left of the front three with Rooney still on the right or vice versa. This makes the most sense.

We cannot play a 4231. This formation suits Sigurdsson best, no doubt about it. But here we would sacrifice Klaassen, and we would need Bolasie and Lookman on the wings and so would lose Sandro and Rooney (presuming we have a no9). The 4231 requires wingers, or wide midfielders, it puts the anchors on the full backs and so the width comes from midfield. Rooney cannot provide width. Sandro will run the channel well in a 433, but he can't play as an out and out winger.

Perhaps we can go for a narrow 4231, here we could have Rooney, Klaassen, and Sigurdsson off a target man. They would all have to work hard tracking back. There's then no width at all, which is why I don't like the formation. Any width comes from the fullbacks, which means the two defensive midfielders are very much anchored to the centre halves, with both the centre halves and the defensive midfielders having to cover for the fullbacks when the moves breaks down. This leaves the side very disjointed as effectively we have no midfield with 4 attackers, 2 wing backs and a central defensive four. Of course, the formation can be extremely solid as there is so much congestion in the middle, and if the attacking midfield trio play with an eye on defence, then it's just so hard to get through. But then we have gone away from what we want to do in accommodating three attacking midfielders, and instead ended up with a defensive formation with no width and an isolated front man.

I just can't see how this pans out. Not unless it's either Rooney or Sigurdsson and the no10 plays from an inside forward position.

I am of the opinion that 2 defensive midfielders that Koeman plays, makes us far too defensive. We need 1 ball winner, and 1 deep-lying MF who can start the attack. Last week's Man U team against West Ham was a perfect example – Matic and Pogba were playing deep, but as soon as Matic won the ball, he fed the ball forward freeing Pogba to maraud forward. Assuming Schneiderlin is our Matic (when he comes out of his honeymoon!), Gana is now-where creative/lethal going forward (or vice versa, if you reverse Schneid and Gana).

My favourite Everton Front 6 and what I imagine its equivalent today:

The Water carrier = Carsley = Gana
The Deep-lying Creator = Arteta = Sigurdsson
The Left & Right Sided 'harriers' = Pienaar & Osman = Davies & Rooney
The 'jack-in-the-box' = Cahill = Klaassen
The point man = Yakubu = Calvert-Lewin

Back-Ups: Schneiderlin, McCarthy, Sandro, Lookman, Bolasie (sell Besic or McCarthy, Lennon, and Mirallas). I would keep Barkley, if there is any chance of him staying. Davies, Rooney, Barkley and Sigurdsson can be rotated.

My 'best' XI – present Everton players, when everyone is fit:

Pickford;
Coleman, Keane, Funes Mori, Baines;
Gana;
Davies, Klaassen, Rooney, Sigurdsson;
Calvert-Lewin.

It does make our lack of pace even worse because I would say that both Rooney and Siggy are undroppable to start with - so who would make way for a Lookman or Mirallas in the front 3?

But looking forward to seeing it all click together and as others have mentioned there could be several ways we will set up depending on the opposition and in particular the extent to which Klaassen and Sandro adapt to PL life and the speed with which the youngsters develop (particularly Lookman and Calvert Lewin)

I've been saying the same with every signing this summer.

There is leadership qualities in pretty much every one of them, in addition to most of them having a bit of 'nark' in 'em as well.

The Championship sides of the 60s, 70s and 80s had plenty of those qualities. In the PL era, the usual trophy winning suspects have it in spades.

You can have all the ability (or potential) in the world. To make it to the very top of the mountain, you need to have a touch of the mean nark in you also.

And on another note, all the examples of Siggy's free kicks that Dermont @ 2 posted are very, VERY similar.

This is evidently (as reported) a man who has put in 100s of hours of practice on the training ground to perfect this art. The shape he displays on striking the ball demonstrates 'muscle memory.'

Look carefully and time and again as he strikes the ball he is NEVER leaning back, which would lead to the ball balloning over the bar. Striking the ball with his right foot, his left arm extends forward whilst from the waist up he leans forward, often also dipping his head forward also.

This does a number of things: it helps him be balanced, keeping his standing foot firm when striking the ball; it ensures there will be no air shoot, that his strike will be on target; it allows him to adjust the angle and striking position of his right foot to place his shot either side of the goal, as desired.

A very, very solid - and effective - technique.

6 = Sit in front of back 3/4

8 = Box to box

10 = Behind forward with license to roam.

Rooney, Sigurdsson, Sandro and Klaassen will not all be in same starting eleven when he has bought his centre forward.

We as Blues have been programmed. "What the fuck is Koeman doing, all these signings can't start"

He is building a squad, folks!

The template and model Koeman has used to date was largely dictated by first the personnel he inherited, then tweaked a tad with the arrival of Schneiderlin in January who even then was similar to, but also different from, Gareth Barry.

I have seen clear evidence in pre-season of Koeman being more experimental as new arrivals are bedded in than simply following a single template.

Hopefully we will progress to the group stages of the EL, as well as have a good run in both domestic cups. Added to the 38 games of the PL, we are facing an extremely congested fixture list.

The club's recruitment to date (with the glaring exception of replacing the most prolific and consistent goalscorer we have had in 3 decades) has brought better quality and more competition to the squad in the majority of positions (and I am aware there are still other 'cover gaps' at full back and central defence).

We will not play the same XI every game. We will not play the same tactics every game. Different personnel and tactics will be employed over the season, determined by the opposition.

I'm prepared to 'wait and see' how this improved squad all comes together under Koeman.

Doesn't the best 11 depend on who we are playing ?

The important thing is th new players adapt quickly. Pickford and Keane have been outstanding so let's hope the others will develop quickly. Sigi is a brilliant signing by the way!!

I'm expecting this to be the key difference when it comes to breaking down stubborn teams and playing the bigger sides.

Decision making has be a quality Goodison has been without for years, only punctuated with a dose of Pienaar and Arteta.

The cerebral is so important, and ironically I actually think we have enough in the team that would engineer a place for Barkley, namely the decisions are made for him, and his natural instincts would flourish.

I'll give Koeman and Walsh a lot of credit for the incomings so far. Clever players, I like clever.

The simple answer to all that is Sigurdsson can play all across - left, central & right - effectively and probably will do as the season progresses.

We have badly missed an attacking mid who can do that.

Have a cup of tea.

Rooney has played as the post player in lieu of a more conventional No.9.

Koeman wants options for every situation.

I'm not sold on the minutiae of stat analysis but for Gylfi to have been directly involved in over 50% of Swansea's goals is mega-impressive and surely unique in the whole league.

Additionally, in one less season than the fabled free-kick maestro David Beckham (who was an ever-present playing in a team awarded way more free kicks than almost everyone else, unlike Gylfi who in two seasons at Spurs only had 9 full games) Gylfi has already out-scored him in that regard. Indeed nobody has out-scored him from free kicks in PL history according to the BBC.

In the words of the philosopher Hannibal, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

If he stays and competes for the #10 role, he is currently 4th choice and potentially 5th if one of the youngsters progresses this season.

He wants a new challenge? Well, there it is – and no cost, except maybe an adjustment to his wages. If we are paying Rooney shitloads of money as a one-half player, then we can extend a handshake to a player who has the youth and stamina on his side.

As for formation, I still like my 1-2-3-4 formation from my years playing Championship Manager, just for kicks. (LOL)
Pickford
Holgate (speedy defender for offside trap and last ditch tackling)
Keane Baines
Gana Schneiderlin Davies
Sandro Rooney Sigurdsson DCL

#9? Do we really need a #9?

John 24, expertly said.

About as much chance of Ron trying that out as trying Niasse.

The fixtures at the start of the season are tough but Koeman is making them appear even tougher with his team selections and subs.

Stoke at home was a joke with 4 at the back but no right back. We had a massive slice of luck at city but he then brings on 2 attackers and takes off 2 defenders when defending a lead at Man City.

Yesterday's game was dreadful: no guile pace or direction. I am getting the feeling that Rooney is turning himself into a player manager, he is the only one who seems remotely arsed. Williams and Jags should be taking more responsibility but I am just not seeing it at all.

There will be calls for Koeman's head if we continue with this lack of direction.