As Tony Blair once said: "We need to be tough on hoofing, tough on the causes of hoofing."
Bigmick is right, we really do need to look at the causes; the reasons behind why the Hoofmaster General feels the need.
Midfield:
* As 'Luke and others have pointed out: We play a deep line in defence. I'm going to say that this can, to a huge degree, be attributed to Jamie's lack of speed. Play higher up the pitch and Jamie just doesn't have the speed to cover the break. Our central midfielders therefore, particularly in a two, have to cover a lot of ground to 'show' for the short pass. When playing against a three the two are easily picked up; meaning, often, that they don't have space and as Carra hasn't the ability to pick and accurate pass in tight spaces. Result - Hoof.
However the other truth of the matter (and we've all witnessed it) is that Jamie has and does hoof even when players are 'showing'.
Carroll:
* It has been written that Carroll's inclusion is the reason behind the hoof but... the fact is Jamie was hoofing, big time, even when Torres was here but as Witto points out; with Carroll, Jamie has even more reason (in his mind) to hoof. This past two season's, in particular have seen a disproportionate rise in Jamie's "long pass"... Which brings me back to our midfield...
When Alonso played alongside Masch in a three we always showed, we'd always an out - invariably Xabi. It is no coincidence, in my opinion, that we saw less of the hoof*/long pass* (* delete as preferred).
Lucas and Masch, in my opinion, were too similar in style, passing ability and positional play - the 'out' just wasn't there.
Under Hodgson, with two in the centre of midfield; the 'out' was never there.
Last week, still with two in the centre of midfield, Sunderland played three and pressed high in the second half against a two that tired (understandably) after chasing three players all over the park; the 'out' wasn't there.
In conclusion, (to my mind anyhow): Jamie hoofs because: a) we play a deep line, b) he hasn't the ability to pick a short pass, where space is at a premium and c) two centre midfielders against three.
So, in my opinion, until we can play a higher line, (and or), play three in the centre; sadly we'll see the hoof on a regular basis. If playing a higher line means we sign someone quicker and have to drop Jamie; so be it. If, however, we don't drop him; we need to be playing a three - the space between defence and our forwards is just too hard for two players (any two) to cover for 90 minutes.
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