Did I seriously see someone suggest playing Balotelli and Lambert together.... oh dear.
Look. Just because Lambert and Borini are 3rd and 4th in line respectively at striker doesn't mean that they are necessarily Plan C and D respectively, in general.
We don't need to play with two strikers necessarily; we did that last season because both Suarez and Sturridge played better together and were unstoppable. Brendan changes the system to fit the players, not the other way around.
So now, we don't have 2 top quality strikers available. We have one---Balotelli.
Plan A should be return to a front three with Sterling, Balotelli, and Markovic on the other side.
Plan B should be to stick with the diamond and have Sterling and Balotelli at the top.
Plan C should be 4-2-3-1 with Henderson and Stevie in the back 2 of midfield, Sterling, Coutinho and Markovic in the three, and Balotelli up front on his own.
These should be the first three plans.
If, for some reason, something then happened to Balotelli as well, we should have plan D, E and F reflect A, B, and C, only with Sterling in the striker role. Coutinho can take his place on the wing in a pinch.
So basically we should try all six of those options prior to even considering playing Lambert or Borini. I would much rather have Sterling as our striker than either of those two and I doubt anyone here would disagree. In fact you might even want to think of Borini and Lambert as being 4th and 5th instead of 3rd and 4th, i.e., Sturridge and Balotelli and then BEFORE Borini and Lambert comes Sterling.
He would be my third choice striker. The kid is just brilliant.
So please. Keep Lambert and Borini as far away from the pitch as possible.
Sterling and Balotelli are more than capable of holding down the fort until Sturridge gets back.
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