Brazil Need To Drop Dead-Weight Fred!
I have always liked Fred. The Brazilian is a goalscorer and I love goalscorers. But the problem with players like Fred, is that if they aren’t on-form and scoring goals then they aren’t providing much else for the team.
The expectations on Brazil as they host their first World Cup since that infamous tournament in 1950 are huge. Can they really carry on with a striker that in two matches has failed to really do much other than win a disputed penalty with a bit of acting? It’s a huge gamble! Possibly a gamble that Luiz Felipe Scolari can no loner take as he gets ready for Cameroon on Monday the 23rd of June. Or really any bet could be made after picking a site on this list of reviews from GamblingSites.net.
Against Mexico, Fred rarely touched the ball, especially in Mexico’s box. His passes were wayward (only 50% were successful) and his hold-up play was pretty non-existent. Only Ramires had fewer touches of the ball in the Brazil starting eleven and he was hooked at half-time. Fred lasted sixty-eight minutes and touched the ball twenty-two times, that’s not good enough for a Brazilian number nine.
The Fluminese striker also seemed disinterested, not making intelligent runs or following up on loose balls.
As I’ve mentioned Fred has a history of scoring a barrel load of goals. Seventeen strikes in thirty-five caps is a very healthy record. But he needs to get more involved and not just expect Neymar or Oscar to set everything up on a plate. At least run when they have the ball, even if its just to create more space for others.
The problem for ‘A Seleção’ is that his replacement, Jo isn’t that much better. They are both forwards who rely too much on others.
Maybe looking at their squad Brazil would be better off dropping both Jo and Fred from the first team and playing either Hulk, Oscar or Neymar as a false number nine. Then as their opponents tire and weaken in the second half they could fling on Fred or Jo. The strikers would then hope that the game is more open and decent chances come along more often.
Neymar has all the talent to play in a more central role. He’d go deep pick up the ball and see the creative players around him find pockets of space near the opposing teams penalty area. His skills have already showed he can run at defences and get beyond them. The twenty-two year old needs to stop trying to do everything himself and share the responsibility.
I am not a huge Hulk fan (That might make him angry) as I’ve never seen him take a game by the scruff of the neck and dominate his markers. But he has the strength, pace and skill that could create problems for central defenders. That could allow more space for Neymar to come in from the left and kill teams off. His injury could still be an issue.
Oscar would be my least favourite choice for that role, but he has done it a few times in a Chelsea shirt. He is extremely disciplined but lacks the pace or power to be as effective as the other two in my opinion.
I’d definitely try out these three in that role during this weeks training sessions.
‘Big Phil’ Scolari has a big question to answer. Does he stick with Fred or does he go for a new tactic? His nations World Cup dreams could depend on him getting that big call right!
Posted on June 18th, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article, World Cup
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