Quite. We needed someone who could beat the press by going past a player or two with a clever spin & jink then carry the ball 30 yards up the pitch. Mayor would have been huge help ..... teams either stood off him or doubled-up. Either way ha made the space for others.
Nail, Head, Hit.
I think this is the biggest difference between a good and average team. I remember the West Brom game and saw that although they were well organised they were not afraid of "carrying" the ball forward at pace, using defenders and midfielders. Seeing that we have problems passing and losing possession in midfield areas, surely the answer is to drive forward and if you lose the ball then the task for the opposition is more difficult than picking it up in midfield.
When we had trigger up front, the long diagonal ball was effective, and avoided the dangers of midfield turnovers.
