For me, good attacking movement is the key to scoring goals in the Premier League. With teams so well prepared tactically, the ability of a player to create a yard of space to receive the ball or for team mates move into is crucial to creating goal scoring opportunities.
Quick players are more likely to appear to have good movement as their pace allows them to find space more easily. However, blistering speed is not essential in order for a player to have good movement. Steven Pienaar was a good example of this, whilst no slouch he is not exactly a pace merchant but his movement from the left side of midfield for Everton over the last few seasons has been crucial to the teams success. Until his recent departure it also played a huge part in the effectiveness of Leighton Baines this season. In the two most recent games without Pienaar in front of him Baines has looked a shadow of his former self.
In my opinion improving Everton's attacking movement is David Moyes' biggest challenge for the remainder of the season. This season must now be a write-off but if he can find a system and personel with the movement to hurt teams next year then it may not have all been in vain.
Most Everton fans would like to see Diniyar Bilyaletdinov fill the void left by Pienaar. Bily probably isn't as quick or hardworking as Pienaar but he does have good movement, a lot of creative intelligence and a better range of passing than the South African. I would love to see the Russian get a run in the team, either as a direct replacement for Pienaar on the left or on the right where he can cut inside and use his excellent shooting ability. Utilising Bily on the right would require more re-organisation. I would advocate moving Coleman back to right-back to provide attacking width as Bily moves inside.
This would leave a hole on the left. Moyes could play Osman there in a disciplined role, with Baines also playing a more defensive game. However, whilst this might effectively recreate the system from earlier this season (but with attack focussed right side rather than left) I think it would be missing an opportunity. For me, whilst our threat down the left this year has been a strength, the inability to match it on the right has been a weakness. If we could find a left sided player that offered pace and movement going forward it would give us many more attacking options. Personally, i'd like to see how Magaye Gueye does there. I've barely seen him play but from most reports he possesses a lot of pace and a good crossing ability. If this is true it could be worth trying him for a few games as we don't have much to lose.
I must point out here that my comment about the lack of attacking threat down our right isn't a pop at Seamus Coleman. I think the lad has done really well for us this year and has come along leaps and bounds. However, almost all of his most effective performances have come against attacking full-backs when he has been given space behind to run into. He's been far less effective against more defensive full backs and it's against teams with a defensive set-up that we have struggled most. Against these teams that I think having good attacking movement on both sides of the pitch would reap the biggest rewards. Also, playing as an attacking full-back Coleman would have more space to run into even against more defensive teams as he'd be creating two-on-one's in tandem with Bily, something that the Neville/Coleman combination rarely does.
As far as movement in the forward line is concerned, i believe we need a striker playing right up on the defenders shoulder at all times. Someone with pace and movement to push the oppositions defensive line deeper and make it harder for teams to press our midfield. I think we then need either a deep lying forward or attacking playmaker to find space inbetween the oppositions defence and midfield to help link our play. The Saha/Beckford combo seemed to work ok in this way but with Saha's fitness so unreliable and Moyes seemingly unenamoured with Beckford it's unlikely this one will be the basis of the second half of this season. Also I suspect Moyes will want Cahill to fill the deeper striking role when he returns from the Asia Cup. Tim doesn't seem to have struck up a particularly good partnership with any of our strikers so what will happen here is anyone's guess. Moyes will be trying to sign a striker during the transfer window. Ideally he should be trying to get a deep lying and an advanced forward but with our budget I suspect he'll settle for an advanced forward to give a viable alternative to Beckford and play alongside Cahill.
So all-in-all a lot of question marks! Much will depend on who Moyes can bring in before the end of January but regardless of that this season will go down as one of transition. Hopefully there will be answers that put us in a better position for the 2011/12 season.
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