Improving SLNA's midfield - Phan Ba ​​Quyen and who?

The middle line ofLam River Nghe AnIn the past period, there were often names like Nguyen Quang Vinh, Dinh Xuan Tien, Dang Quang Tu or Nguyen Xuan Binh. Among them, Nguyen Quang Vinh or Dinh Xuan Tien were the names that had acceptable performances.

The anchor midfielder position is the most worrying position of the Nghe An team. The reason for this lack of confidence is the absence of midfielder Phan Ba ​​Quyen. This midfielder born in 2002 is still recovering from an injury he suffered in the match against Dong A Thanh Hoa last season. Phan Ba ​​Quyen's replacements, Dang Quang Tu or Nguyen Xuan Binh, were unable to fill the void left by this midfielder. Therefore, the coaching staff of Song Lam Nghe An needs to make personnel calculations to upgrade the quality of the midfield in the next phase of the season.

First of all, we hope that Phan Ba ​​Quyen will soon return from injury. The nearly 2-month break from V.League will be a valuable time for the midfielder wearing the number 19 shirt to recover and regain his playing form. If Phan Ba ​​Quyen can be in the best form, the midfield of Song Lam Nghe An will be somewhat reassured in the upcoming difficult period.

However, ifPhan Ba ​​QuyenIf the players have not returned yet or have returned but are not in their best form, this will be a difficult problem for coach Phan Nhu Thuat. That will be finding "new personnel" more suitable to play the anchor midfielder position, or changing the structure of the midfield to bring balance in both attack and defense.

Although it is called "new personnel", in reality, it will still be the club's existing players who will be brought up to play in the defensive midfield position. It should be remembered that the Nghe An team once discovered a new role for Pham Xuan Manh when he moved from fullback to defensive midfield. Therefore, Nghe An fans hope that the team will soon find a new defensive midfielder in this difficult situation.

It could be pushing Sebastian Zaracho up high or trusting young midfielder Nguyen Trong Tuan. The advantages of these players are their physique and good one-on-one ability. However, Nguyen Trong Tuan’s experience or the Paraguayan player’s card dealing ability are still a big question mark.

If he cannot find a quality replacement, coach Phan Nhu Thuat must change the squad structure and playing style to suit the players he has.

The 5-3-2 formation concentrates a large number of players in the defense but still does not ensure the solidity of the Nghe An team. Because the ability to block from afar of Song Lam Nghe An is too weak, creating conditions for the opponent team to comfortably watch and launch passes from the middle of the field. Meanwhile, the Nghe An team does not have sweepers to cut off those passes. The crushing defeat against The Cong Viettel is a proof.

To strengthen the midfield, the coach can switch to a formation with more midfielders. With 4 or 5 midfielders in the midfield, Song Lam Nghe An will have better quality attacks when the opponent launches an attack. Meanwhile, the large number of midfielders will also help coach Phan Nhu Thuat easily deploy passing situations to move the ball forward.

By using a tactical formation with many midfielders, Song Lam Nghe An will create more space for Tran Manh Quynh, Le Dinh Long Vu or Nguyen Van Bach. These are quite good wingers of the Nghe team. Even if necessary, Michael Olaha can be brought back to increase the fighting power of the Song Lam Nghe An midfield.

However, increasing the number of troops in the midfield also means reducing the number of personnel in other lines. Therefore, the midfield of Song Lam Nghe An must actively work to support the other lines.

In particular, the defensive front where the defense and midfield of the Nghe An team often have a large gap in the past matches. This is a weak point for the opponent to exploit and launch dangerous attacks towards goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet's goal. Therefore, adjusting the reasonable formation distance will also be an urgent problem for coach Phan Nhu Thuat. Especially when Song Lam Nghe An needs a multi-layered defense when facing strong opponents in the near future.

2 months is not a short time for Song Lam Nghe An andCoach Phan Nhu ThuatHopefully, the coach born in 1984 and his colleagues will make reasonable adjustments in both tactics and personnel to help the Nghe An team's midfield play better.

If there is still no improvement, perhaps strengthening the midfield with quality new players is the last option to help Song Lam Nghe An have a better position. That could be 1 foreign player and 1 experienced domestic player.

However, to get quality midfielders, it is necessary to spend a lot of money in the transfer market. In this uncertain context, spending a lot of money is an urgent requirement to save Song Lam Nghe An from relegation (or Play-off) this season.

This is also the wish of Nghe An fans when they hope that sponsors will invest more heavily in Song Lam Nghe An, to help the team transform in the near future.