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What formation SHOULD we be playing?

What formation SHOULD we be playing?

H

HunterLionheart

Joined
Dec 19, 2004
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Given that we are stuck with this squad until at least January, what should a new manager be playing?

You'd think we'd want to start by building around Alfie Devine. Presumably as the most advanced of a midfield 3?

That gives you the 3/5 at the back formations. We've been pretty desperate to move on from them, but at least there's potentially the personnel to play them

However it is pretty rubbish for the wingers that we've recruited.

Stanley Mills is a good winger, but pretty one dimensional. Byline, cross. Could do with a full back threatening to overlap so he can avoid being double teamed, or being expected to do too much defensive work.

My concern is that when your winger is that kind of player, he's probably wanting multiple strikers to aim for.

So we have a couple of options. Either a 4-4-2, where we give up all pretence at keeping possession? Probably nullifies Devine.

Or a 4-2-3-1, where the left sided winger cuts inside, sort of how Alex Neil set us up, asymmetrically, with Barkhuizen on the right, and Robinson on the left.

If that's the case, who do we have for the left? Burgzorg and uh...?

Lang should be played off the right, right?

Additionally, if we do that, do we have anyone suited to play as a lone striker? I'm dubious about Kenny or Erabi in that role.

Any thoughts? It's all a bit stream of consciousness at this point, but I worry that any new manager is gonna have his hands full!
 
This was the peril with giving the manager the window when he wasn’t sold on how he wanted to play and chose to go for his 442 (which doesn’t work) before revolving to his back 5 (which is only slightly better). It needed to be someone looking at a 433 variant

With our current squad? We probably need to be playing 3421. Clarke as the RWB and Offiah at RCB gets the best out of them, but leaves Mills as a sub. We’ve got 4 players that probably play their best football as 10s (Devine, Lang, Moran and Burgzorg) and then Kenny and Erabi as strikers, both of whom need support and get that from the 10s

That leaves Struber as being the best option available. But I’m not sure our squad depth could handle his approach and training intensity
 
4-2-3-1 it suits the players we have.
Gibson and Offiah at the back. Offiah did well today.
Clarke-Mills showing signs of a decent link up on the right.
Thompson-Leroy look ok in midfield.
Devine infront of them. He looks so much better coming central!
I’d start Wiley at LB with Vuks infront of him. (He had a couple of bad touches but beat his man over and over again today)
 
I think we’re pony what ever formation we try. And changing manager will possibly not make much difference.

Awful at both ends and completely hamstrung with it until January.

Absolute disgrace that we’ve had so much to spend and had no idea what formation we were actually going to play with.
 
I have no idea about formations, but i dare say whatever we do, it will be combatted and our weaknesses drawn out. To be fair the game itself is just so tedious and lack of action these days.

It's fkin crept up on us really.
 
HunterLionheart said:
Given that we are stuck with this squad until at least January, what should a new manager be playing?

You'd think we'd want to start by building around Alfie Devine. Presumably as the most advanced of a midfield 3?

That gives you the 3/5 at the back formations. We've been pretty desperate to move on from them, but at least there's potentially the personnel to play them

However it is pretty rubbish for the wingers that we've recruited.

Stanley Mills is a good winger, but pretty one dimensional. Byline, cross. Could do with a full back threatening to overlap so he can avoid being double teamed, or being expected to do too much defensive work.

My concern is that when your winger is that kind of player, he's probably wanting multiple strikers to aim for.

So we have a couple of options. Either a 4-4-2, where we give up all pretence at keeping possession? Probably nullifies Devine.

Or a 4-2-3-1, where the left sided winger cuts inside, sort of how Alex Neil set us up, asymmetrically, with Barkhuizen on the right, and Robinson on the left.

If that's the case, who do we have for the left? Burgzorg and uh...?

Lang should be played off the right, right?

Additionally, if we do that, do we have anyone suited to play as a lone striker? I'm dubious about Kenny or Erabi in that role.

Any thoughts? It's all a bit stream of consciousness at this point, but I worry that any new manager is gonna have his hands full!
Click to expand...
One that occasionally wins a game ?
 
Can't score.

Can't defend.

Need to sort these two issues out 1st. Preferably the defence as the 1st port of call, at least a Clean Sheet guarantees a minimum of 1 Point.
 
Hate wing backs but we need points on the board and in order to do that we need to start keeping clean sheets and becoming hard to beat. With that in mind, I personally would play the following:

Iversen

Offiah Storey Gibson

Clarke Thompson Leroy Vukcevic

Mills Devine Burgzorg

A striker
 
Lee Cartwright said:
Hate wing backs but we need points on the board and in order to do that we need to start keeping clean sheets and becoming hard to beat. With that in mind, I personally would play the following:

Iversen

Offiah Storey Gibson

Clarke Thompson Leroy Vukcevic

Mills Devine Burgzorg

A striker
Click to expand...

Sadly that is 3-4-3-1 and they won't allow it!
 
Lee Cartwright said:
Hate wing backs but we need points on the board and in order to do that we need to start keeping clean sheets and becoming hard to beat. With that in mind, I personally would play the following:

Iversen

Offiah Storey Gibson

Clarke Thompson Leroy Vukcevic

Mills Devine Burgzorg

A striker
Click to expand...
Hopefully we'll pick up some points by playing 12 players
 
It’s a really good question. For what it’s worth, I think many of us do have a slight tendency to attach more importance to formation than it really deserves but at the same time Heckingbottom has so obviously struggled with working out how to set up effectively that it’s clearly worthy of discussion.

I personally absolutely despise the footballing philosophy we’ve had to endure for multiple seasons now. I think we have a squad that is capable of much more than what we’re used to, and individuals that are being made to look worse than they are because of management decisions.

I’d play a 4-2-3-1 and think it could work reasonably well if we actually did some proper work on patterns of play and if we attached as much importance to what we do with the ball as we do without it. Clarke and Mills on the right hand side should be a superb pairing. I know some don’t like Offiah at right centre back but with a better style of play I wouldn’t be asking him to be a monster in the air, I’d want him there for his recovery pace and his athleticism, as well as his ability to stride out of defence. The left hand side isn’t as easy but Wiley picks himself when fit at left back and whoever is in the forward left position can come central whilst he overlaps. Again, the emphasis I want to see first and foremost is what we can do to push the opposition back, not what we can do to stop them playing. Devine would be central attacking midfield, Leroy and Thompson in ‘proper’ central midfield roles behind him. Kenny looks to me like the obvious choice, although I suspect he’d be more comfortable playing in a proper two.

Anyway, all of this would be entirely dependent on having a coaching team - and a reinvigorated and complementary coaching structure across every level of the club - that could actually be successful in introducing a wholly new identity and playing style. I suspect the chances of that happening are slim! But I can dream of a world where we’re less submissive, more tenacious, and where we know how to look after and use the ball when we’re in possession of it.

Pipe dreams, probably.
 
billymac said:
ask Doyler and monky as they know everything about football including how other teams play, their tactics, transfer policy etc etc etc, we are crying out for these two masterminds.
Click to expand...

You sound like a bitter old bastard who can't accept that some people watch games and players much more closely than you ever did. Maybe if you watched as many different games as they did, you would also know what your talking about.

Proper odd behaviour.
 
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