Is Oztumer the key or a luxury?

I’ve read this discussion with interest and, from my mountain top, I must say that he looks like neither. I haven’t seen enough to feel confident in arguing a team should be built around him. On the other hand, what little we’ve seen suggests that he could be more than excess baggage.

For myself, there are aspects of Parky’s medium term strategy that I simply don’t get: what’s with his obsession in collecting wide players? When they are always played on the ‘wrong side’ , thus reducing their effectiveness and making us narrow and, in any case, we have so little aerial threat up front, it’s all just weird. Powder puff players expected to hard midfield graft.

Why does he seem to go for identikit central defenders? Ours are hardly fleet of foot and it’s obvious that in the modern game, even at this level, speed and mobility are of the essence. The consequence is that centre midfield is set up purely as a defensive screen for the back four. Their job is not to use the ball creatively. They panic in possession as we’ve seen all too frequently. Therein lies the problem for those advocating Oztumer.

For him to be deployed effectively, I wonder whether we’d be better playing in a midfield diamond, one defensive mid - the lad from Everton or Lowe, two players who can move inside, but also give width when in possession - Now I’m stuck:Noone’s a possibility, but Buckley is feeble, Wildschut lacks control and Ameobi is wasted there, so Vela is also a possibility, so too is Olkowski – I note he has played RM and rehabilitate
Little at RB. That allows Oztumer to be a 10, with Ameobi further forward, where he’s more dangerous- free to move right, left or middle in support of Josh up front.

I think there’s a chance that such a team may actually be able to play on the ground and therefore bring the most from Otztumer. Why not try this in a home game against modest opposition?

In short, using the Turkish Messi will require a deal of creative thought and tactical flexibility from Parky and his team. Are they up to it?

There are many intelligent supporters on this site and some really good and well thought out suggestions as to how we might play. It springs from watching the team and squad we have and is something that you would hope your manager and coaching staff would do too but it seems clear from the two plus years Parkinson and Parkin have been here that none of this has applied to them. They appear to have a blueprint of the one and only way they will play, home or away, good team or bad team and whether they have the players to play that way or not. It sounds ridiculous if you think about it that anyone managing at this level could be so inflexible and stubborn but it's obvious that nothing will change whatever the circumstances. Therefore it seems to me pointless discussing where Oz may fit in because if I'm right in my assessment of Parky he basically won't just like neither Alf nor Hall would either. Keep enjoying the hoof guys because that's all we've got coming.