In that article Gomez was criticised for his rigidity in the role of the number nine. It was argued that he was restricting the German's effectiveness in the final third. His rigid style not only made him
predictable and easier to mark but significantly restricted others from
exploiting space in central areas. The verdict was that Klose would be a better
bet, even at 34 years old or the emergence of a false nine in players like Reus
or Gotze.
Both Joachim Lowe and Jupp Heynckes knew a change was needed and that Gomez was indeed 'limited'. Although Gomez took his side side got to
the Champions League in 11/12, that final against
Chelsea highlighted much of the frustrations about the German forward. He looked
rushed, predictable and failed to bring others in effectively. He played like
scoring goals was the only thing he had to do. Yet unfortunately the game has
changed, and at the top level, you need to do more than just that now.
The move from old to 9.5
There is an argument
therefore that Gomez has become to be seen as an ‘old-school’ centre forward
whose abilities are limited and not in keeping with the modern game. He is 28
so not exactly malleable for change. In the past several years forwards like Van Persie, Falcao, Lewandowski and
Manzukic have emerged as players who master the '9.5 role', where they move to
deep to provide and hold up the ball, and push into centre forward positions to
create goals (Messi is argubaly the best at this yet his 'type' is a very special version).
These forwards have the ability to ‘move’ into areas which enables players to go beyond them and
exploit the spaces they vacate. It becomes hard to defend against them and makes sides more effective when attacking. Evidently the ‘complete’ forward has become a necessity for the top
sides, something which pushed Bayern to levels of being the most 'complete' side ever seen. And this is not just in possession either, this blog has waxed lyrical about Bayern’s improving defensive shape and organisation which has been a key factor
in their success last season.
Mandzukic was a key part of this because of his
ability to press tirelessly to contain and rush opposition defences (he even
presses the defensive midfielder, effectively working three players
single-handedly) which Gomez has proven incapable or unwilling to do.
Gomez somehow reminds people of a player of the old days,
perhaps the German Andy Carroll. And yet, in that 2011/12 season he scored 41
goals in all competitions, a superb return. Undoubtedly throughout a season (yet perhaps less so against the best sides) Gomez has proven
to be a very good goalscorer. Does he have the complete all-round talents to
take his team to the top, it appears not and the arrival of Mandzukic proved
that Bayern needed more to excel. Yet Gomez should not have been dismissed so
readily by so many coaches, particularly in England.
English arrogance clouds judgement
This blog has been
slightly critical of Arsene Wenger, Brendan Rodgers and Villas-Boas because of
their philosophy and approach to the game. Seeking to play ‘beautiful’ football
in the mould of Barcelona is admirable and beneficial for youth players, yet
more pragmatism is required at the senior level (something Ferguson and
Mourinho have proven excellent at). It is evident that Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal
require a world class goalscorer to take their respective sides forward.
Incredibly they all decided against Gomez.
Now £13m is very little when
speaking of goals and influence and although Gomez may be limited in his
approach, he is clearly a very talented getter of goals. When sides are looking to spend £55m on Edinson Cavani, £25m on Higuain and over £30m on Luis Suarez, it is incredible to think Gomez was avaialbe for so cheap. All three of those
English would have benefited from him yet their belief’s clouded their
judgement and they have lost the best value of the market (David Villa did not
want to leave Spain) and perhaps their chances of challenging for Champions League
spots and trophies.
Man City's new coach Manuel Pellegrini appears to see the need and value in a stronger type forward. Dzeko appears to be valued and required whereas before he was seen as on his way and the talk is of Negredo arriving, a man who fits the bill of the strong forward. The move towards a big man/little man combination looks possible for City and how funny would that be to see English football with this combination once again (although with both players possessing more ability than those old English 9 and 10's).
As for Gomez it is Vincenzo Montella, a man who knows something about forward
play probably who has seen the value in the German. He probably could not believe his luck when Gomez was available and
unwanted, without question Fiorentina have added some serious quality to
their strikeforce. If they do keep Jovetic then expect a special season from
them next year.
The new book from The Whitehouse Address is out in July
The Way Forward - Solutions to England's Football Failings
Why the big man is needed again
Perhaps you ask why teams like Milan or Juventus did not go
for Gomez. Well it is not about their ‘beliefs’ but that they already possess the
‘big’ man already. Milan signed Balotelli in January and Juve have brought in
Llorente this summer. Clearly Italy’s top sides are seeing a need and value in
the ‘big’ forward. And rightly so.
Football moves in cycles and for the past
decade football has seen the move away from the classic striker towards the ‘dribblers’,
those inside forwards/wingers who cut inside and drive at defences. Think
Ronaldinho, Robben, Ronaldo and Messi. However the past few years has seen the
move back to a centre forward type target man, the ‘complete’ forward. This man
is not a poacher but a key part of facilitating attacks. It has meant more
football played on the floor at high speed.
This is where we look at Barcelona.
Although they were incredible at what they did unfortunately Barcelona were
limited in their approach as a team. They ultimately stopped evolving and
changing to counter defensive set-ups and became predictable. Now Guardiola sensed this would happen, his
side was fortunate to get through the semi-final tie with Chelsea in 2009 and
he knew how hard Didier Drogba had made it for his defenders.
His decision to
sign Zlatan was confirmation that he believed Barca needed this type of player,
yet Zlatan was a rigid and as selfish as
they come, he was not Drogba. Credit must go to Mourinho for what he created in
Drogba, a forward who was strong and athletic but who appeared to lack the
finesse and understanding of being a top forward was transformed under Mourinho
and became arguably the most complete and dominant forward in the past decade.
He
was a great outlet, a presence, a force who could hold up play, turn and drive
at defenders and be effective in both penalty boxes. It was no surprise that he
terrorised Wenger’s Arsenal side, who possessed a ‘pretty’ defence who wanted to play out, yet no-one in that side could handle the might of Drogba. It was almost the same for Barcelona yet
they scraped through, and would go on to make history and become one of the greatest teams ever.
Now as David Villa leaves and Neymar arrives it is clear that Barcelona
under Vilanova and Rossell stilll don’t see the value in a strong, target man forward yet it may
be what is required in the coming years in order to succeed.
As defenders have
become more inclined to defend on the floor, the aerial threat of players like
Llorente and Gomez will become more pronounced and this may become an effective
tactic. It may in fact see a change in the modern defender, necessitating
better headers of the ball. On this we will see.
Yet what is certain is that ‘value’
has been found in players like Llorente and Gomez and English sides should
consider why they did not value these players. A big test will be if these
clubs pursue Christian Benteke, a potential Drogba in the making, or will they
opt for their ‘Spanish’ type forward instead in Higuain, Soldado or Leandro
Damiao?
Perhaps the ‘giants’
are not as pretty but they are certainly more effective and will become more important
once again in the coming years. Those who think the big target man is a dying
breed are very much wrong, and they’ll realise their mistakes and pay for it.
The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address
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