Cole Skuse

[jambodinho]

Two questions:

1- How come many top teams don't have their 'creative' player sat just in front of them?

2- Could Cole Skuse compete with Lee Johnson for that link role?

I just think that we need someone further up the pitch - and also wonder why our back four can't bring it out a bit more.

Not quite sure how question 1 relates to what i said. Its self explanatory as to why you play you defensive midfielders in front of your back four. This is what Skuse is more than capable of. I agree with everyone on here that if Marv is fit then he is the better player but i'm just trying to praise one of our better performers of this season so far.

We don't play with one sitting defensive centre midfielder and 1 attacking ball carrier like alot of teams do. We seem to have Johnson sat in front of the back four trying to create play from there with Skuse playing deep also so therefore we look very unlikely of scoring goals from centre midfield. I totally agree with your last point and i would love to see us play with a sitting defensive midfielder (Skuse / Elliott) and then a more attacking centre midfielder possibly like Nick Carle. From what i have seen of Gavin Williams, i would like to see him in the middle with Skuse as he likes to carry the ball forward and creates things.

[jambodinho]

Skuse is an excellent footballer, and as mentioned, he goes about his job very well and relatively un-noticed. An adequate replacement for Elliot so far.

The problem with a Skuse and LJ midfield partnership is that they are both too defensively minded. They are both reluctant to shoot when on sight of goal and will be lucky to get 5 goals between them all season. I would also not call either players as "playmakers" but more as "link" players. They are very good at keeping the ball moving but will very rarely create a moment of brilliance, a moment of flair, or a pass that splits defences.

If City want to play defensively, keep it tight, and try to knick goals through set pieces and on the break, then this partnership will work very well. We'll have a very low goals for column at the end of the season but we'll also have a very low goals against column at the end of the season as well.

IMO, if City have any real aspirations of another top six finish, a Skuse and LJ partnership will not get us there. For the time being, it its working,just, because they are both working hard but with no end product. They will ultimately get found out, and by relying solely on their defensive qualities will not win through in the end because good teams will over run our midfield and break our defense down. As a result, we wont have enough fire power and will not be able to score goals back.

Agree with all of that. So if one had to be sacrificed and replaced with a more attacking goalscoring midfielder then for me it has to be Johnson as Skuse has more defensive qualities. Skuse is more than capable of linking the play between the defence and the rest of the team.

[bully]

Not quite sure how question 1 relates to what i said. Its self explanatory as to why you play you defensive midfielders in front of your back four. This is what Skuse is more than capable of. I agree with everyone on here that if Marv is fit then he is the better player but i'm just trying to praise one of our better performers of this season so far.

We don't play with one sitting defensive centre midfielder and 1 attacking ball carrier like alot of teams do. We seem to have Johnson sat in front of the back four trying to create play from there with Skuse playing deep also so therefore we look very unlikely of scoring goals from centre midfield. I totally agree with your last point and i would love to see us play with a sitting defensive midfielder (Skuse / Elliott) and then a more attacking centre midfielder possibly like Nick Carle. From what i have seen of Gavin Williams, i would like to see him in the middle with Skuse as he likes to carry the ball forward and creates things.

Sorry mate, I used your post to get my first question across because I thought it was one of the better posts in this thread! - my point was exactly the same as yours - we have two defensive midfielders, and whilst if/when Marvin comes back he is box to box, he's expected to do a major defensive shift, and be the only goal threat from the centre of midfield. Cole seeming to be more defensively minded that Marvin, we don't pose any threat at present. Like you i'd prefer to see our creative man further up the field because I don't know why our defenders can't distribute the ball, but it won't happen.I think Cole has been one of the early season successes, and whilst he's unlikely to keep Marvin out for long, it's good to have someone as versatile and capable in the squad.