Honestly, I'd be fascinated to see him play as a striker. He's fast, strong, and can finish. You could see the positions he was getting into in this game. He has a natural attacking instinct. I'm not saying it would definitely work...but he has the tools necessary to make it work...and what better time to try it than having two strikers who can't score.

I'd like to see him play more (in midfield), because he would easily be the most dangerous goalscoring threat (above Barkley, Kovacic, Kante and Jorginho...in that order)...but I certainly can see Sarri's point. His defensive running is so lethargic (like all of Fabregas' running lol), and playing as a centre forward would make it less of an issue.

I doubt it will happen, but if there's a time to try such a move, it's when you have two mis-firing strikers.

3 hours ago, Argo said:

I don't think that's the case, Mateo I believe is on in the Europa for more defensive balance (Barkley RLC and Cesc midfield three defensively would be tragic) while also giving Ross a chance to start PL games on the following  Sundays.

Kovacic will start all the big games and rightly so. 

 

Potentially that is the case. But should Kante start all the games now? Is Barkley/RLC, Kovacic, Jorginho a better midfield than Kovacic, Kante, Jorginho? The latter being a midfield that will generate 0.01 goals a game. 

Edited October 26, 20187 yr by benjsross

Something that stood out in the post match comments from Sarri was him saying that he knew Ruben was a very good player, and he has adapted to Sarri's style...BUT, he still need to work on his defensive aspect of the game.

Morata would be called World class if he scored those three goals, and Sarri would be sacked if he dropped him.

I know Sarri has converted players before and that it does occasionally happen in general in top football, but it still has such an amusing uni football feel to it. 

Yesterday we were talking about trying Moses as a striker, today it's RLC. :)

Giroud would make a decent center back I think. And Morata could suddenly flourish as a children's TV presenter.

25 minutes ago, coco said:

Morata would be called World class if he scored those three goals, and Sarri would be sacked if he dropped him.

Just imagine if Barcelona would be playing Bate in the CL and Messi was scoring that hattrick. 

8 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Not sure why we would waste him up top. His biggest attribute is being able to pick the ball up relatively deep and drive at players. One of the reasons Hazard never really stood out up top. 

Well he won't get into the team in midfield, but he wouldn't be wasted up top, the other two options we have up top are certainly wasting that position at present, he's big strong and quick and scores goals something the other two don't have combined.

3 minutes ago, chi blue said:

Well he won't get into the team in midfield, but he wouldn't be wasted up top, the other two options we have up top are certainly wasting that position at present, he's big strong and quick and scores goals something the other two don't have combined.

I also think he could take a wide position upfront just not the no.9 role. He did this for Palace and I think with our better quality players around him he could do more than he did there and lets not forget they want him back.

1 hour ago, chi blue said:

Well he won't get into the team in midfield, but he wouldn't be wasted up top, the other two options we have up top are certainly wasting that position at present, he's big strong and quick and scores goals something the other two don't have combined.

Scoring goals has never been his forte, thats why yesterday came as such a shock.

2 hours ago, benjsross said:

Potentially that is the case. But should Kante start all the games now? Is Barkley/RLC, Kovacic, Jorginho a better midfield than Kovacic, Kante, Jorginho? The latter being a midfield that will generate 0.01 goals a game. 

Vs the top six and any elite European side it 100% has to be them three, we can and should be flexible against the rest but look at the difference when Kova was on the pitch against United, Liverpool and especially Arsenal compared to when he wasn't.

2 hours ago, Ilya said:

And Morata could suddenly flourish as a children's TV presenter.

I don’t think he’d cope with the pressure. 

The two weeks on the training ground with Sarri has probably done RLC a world of good.

3 hours ago, mad_mac said:

Something that stood out in the post match comments from Sarri was him saying that he knew Ruben was a very good player, and he has adapted to Sarri's style...BUT, he still need to work on his defensive aspect of the game.

He did go on to say after that the whole team still needs to work on the defensive side not just Rueben. 

4 hours ago, coco said:

Morata would be called World class if he scored those three goals, and Sarri would be sacked if he dropped him.

He has to play at the weekend. You can't drop a player after they score a hat trick, no other club would do it. Performances like yesterday should be rewarded.

Honestly.....and I really mean honestly.....do we have anything to lose at the moment by giving RLC a start as a striker?

Sit Hazard out against Burnley and play him there and we don't need to worry about if he'd work as a striker. 

8 hours ago, Strider6003 said:

RLC is a better attacking option yet in the EPL the test would be how he defends and there Kovacic is probably better.

I was taking a look on another CFC forum and someone mentioned a conversation with Jody Morris who said he was incredibly gifted yet a poor trainer.  Now with Conte and Sarri they install systems of play that need a lot of practise and from that it would appear RLC is not diligent and so falls to the back of line when it comes to picking the best disciples.

 

Fair points, I hope he can improve on the defensive aspect of his game, but he is best suited to having more of a free role, I think he’d benefit greatly in a 4-2-3-1 formation, more than this current formation. I never heard that he wasn’t the best trainer, that’s interesting, in regards to Sarri’s style of play, the recent comments from Sarri suggest that RLC is adapting to the style, so that’s promising, we can’t forget he’s still only 22 and as I’ve said before regarding Loftus, I think the best is yet to come, he’s still improving.

I think he’s great at picking the ball up and committing defenders, which you’d miss if you starting him as a striker, his balance of strength and speed are frightening, especially given his build. 

Edited October 26, 20187 yr by Floyd25

1 good game against a sh*t team, does not justify this massive over reaction. 

10 hours ago, Floyd25 said:

Fair points, I hope he can improve on the defensive aspect of his game, but he is best suited to having more of a free role, I think he’d benefit greatly in a 4-2-3-1 formation, more than this current formation. I never heard that he wasn’t the best trainer, that’s interesting, in regards to Sarri’s style of play, the recent comments from Sarri suggest that RLC is adapting to the style, so that’s promising, we can’t forget he’s still only 22 and as I’ve said before regarding Loftus, I think the best is yet to come, he’s still improving.

I think he’s great at picking the ball up and committing defenders, which you’d miss if you starting him as a striker, his balance of strength and speed are frightening, especially given his build. 

I'm still not convinced personally, I think his best position is where Sarri played him v BATE - on either side of the midfield 3 against weak opposition. As Sarri implied with his comments he isn't responsible enough in the defensive phase to play in a deeper midfield role and he lacks the craft and guile to play at #10. I think he'll always be a player who can easily become a square peg in a round hole over the course of a season so I still don't think he justifies selection week in week out, the team dynamic always has to come first or we'll become inconsistent like United with Pogba. I think he can perhaps become as good as Kovacic but to reach that level he still needs to add intelligence, quality, distribution and good decision making - characteristics that top players tend to have naturally.

Edited October 27, 20187 yr by the special one

26 minutes ago, kiwi1691 said:

1 good game against a sh*t team, does not justify this massive over reaction. 

Shame you felt it neccesary to comment on the reaction to his performance, rather than just commenting on the performance itself.

 

51 minutes ago, kiwi1691 said:

1 good game against a sh*t team, does not justify this massive over reaction. 

People are genuinely delighted about RLC's performance, where previously he did not impress greatly. Most of the posters here realise he is not the second coming of Drogba and advise caution. Yet in view of our misfiring strikers, it's not surprising a discussion has started how he can fit into our starting line-up and how he can chip in with a few more goals. It's hardly a "massive overreaction".

16 hours ago, Argo said:

Scoring goals has never been his forte, thats why yesterday came as such a shock.

Vs the top six and any elite European side it 100% has to be them three, we can and should be flexible against the rest but look at the difference when Kova was on the pitch against United, Liverpool and especially Arsenal compared to when he wasn't.

Has ANY team EVER won a title with a midfield three so completely lacking in creativity and goal power? In just one game RLC has scored two more goals then the other three put together this season.

I would like to hear the logic of us wanting such a impotent  first choice midfield. If any one of those three contributed what should be bang average creativity and goal power/threat, we probably would have beaten Liverpool and Utd, even with our sh*te strikers. 

RLC was given a chance and and he grabbed it and deserves another chance in the league. 

 

1 minute ago, Dixon said:

Has ANY team EVER won a title with a midfield three so completely lacking in creativity and goal power? In just one game RLC has scored two more goals then the other three put together this season.

I would like to hear the logic of us wanting such a impotent  first choice midfield. If any one of those three contributed what should be bang average creativity and goal power/threat, we probably would have beaten Liverpool and Utd, even with our sh*te strikers. 

RLC was given a chance and and he grabbed it and deserves another chance in the league. 

 

Well as i stated look at what happened after Kovacic came off vs Liverpool and United, and lets not get started with what happened against Arsenal before he came on, we started someone quite creative and a goal threat against the Gunners and it Didn't help a jot.

Midfield is the most important area of the pitch, if you get control in that area you have won half the battle. Furthermore the title is a pipe dream this season, this is all about building the blocks ready for an assault at it next time round, like how Pep did it. Next year you would think we will have a goalscoring striker and possibly a new RW.

1 hour ago, Dixon said:

Has ANY team EVER won a title with a midfield three so completely lacking in creativity and goal power? In just one game RLC has scored two more goals then the other three put together this season.

I would like to hear the logic of us wanting such a impotent  first choice midfield. If any one of those three contributed what should be bang average creativity and goal power/threat, we probably would have beaten Liverpool and Utd, even with our sh*te strikers. 

RLC was given a chance and and he grabbed it and deserves another chance in the league. 

 

And yet this team devoid of creativity has scored the 3rd most goals in the league averaging about 2.5 goals a game, more than the super dooper amazeballs Liverpool side everyone's creaming themselves over. Weird eh, almost as if it's set up to release the attacking players, which includes the hill backs. 

It doesn't matter where the goals come from, look at city, they all score.

4 hours ago, Dixon said:

Has ANY team EVER won a title with a midfield three so completely lacking in creativity and goal power? In just one game RLC has scored two more goals then the other three put together this season.

Conte won the league with a midfield two of Matic and Kante.

Leicester won the league with Kante and Drinkwater.

(side not Kante and Jorginho have both scored in the league this season (Barkley’s got two as well)).

12 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Conte won the league with a midfield two of Matic and Kante.

He did too, I think the lack of European football helped, I made £100 on a £10 for us to won the league.

The other factor was playing 3 at the back and everyone being drilled well, also Fabregas played a part too.

Let's not forget Costa too who was phenomenal that season, scoring 20 in the league.

 

7 hours ago, kiwi1691 said:

1 good game against a sh*t team, does not justify this massive over reaction. 

A hat trick is a hat trick though, and they don't happen often no matter what the opposition is. We have played plenty of average teams over the years and we still didn't have players scoring a hat trick. If you can't praise a player after scoring a hat trick, then when can you praise them? It's even more impressive when it's from midfield and from a player who has barely featured this season.