Traore has masked how un-creative we are at times. Last season we thrived off Jota and Raul creating magic, a midfield 3 of Neves, Moutinho and Donk are all individually excellent but just don’t cut it as a creative central midfield - you end up with a yawning chasm between CM and the front. Last season we weren’t as respected so there was more time and space for the front 2 to exploit - take that away (as Huddersfield did) and we looked short of ideas.
This is it. It’s not that they are not creative as players though, it’s that they are in positions which they can’t be creative. As you say, in 3-5-2 it was counter to those 2 and let them do something.
In 3-4-3, We have the 3 up front, but they play wide and then end up in a situation where they are crossing to two players, whilst the midfield 2 are 40 yards out so rarely in a position to score a cut back, rebound or long shot. The WBs don’t really provide the width, and even if they do, the winger is normally standing next to them, meaning again there’s only 2 in the box.
Playing two of Jota/Neto/Podence May lead to more combination between the front 3 and therefore more chance creation, with the WBs offering the outside threat. Look at Liverpool (I know they have better players), their front 3 are always within the width of the area. And if they do end up out wide, they normally cut in or get round into the area.
The way we play, we don’t tend to get players into the area. It’s been the case since we got promoted really. If we want to progress we are going to have to start doing that and take more risks. This will as YW says, take the chance element out from the 0-0, 1-0 and 1-1 going either way.
