| Tactics, formations and team selection 19:25 - Sep 24 with 2305 views | caerleon_jack |
I've seen quite a few comments along the lines of yesterday's starting formation being too negative. Whilst I understand why 5 at the back might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I don't think this is the issue.
Against Newcastle we struggled for width - we were obviously trying to get our full backs to attack, but with only two in the centre, they couldn't leave them exposed. This was poor from Clement. He obviously doesn't see wingers as the way forward, but that game showed that we had no outlet for attack. He tried to remedy this by changing to a back 5 against Watford. Now what caused us problems was not the defence, but the selection of Clucas.
Away from home, when we are putting bodies behind the ball and hoping for a counter attack, Clucas is ok. He's not required to be a play maker, but an extra body in defence. At home, he just doesn't have the ability to direct play in the way that Mesa does. Whilst we also benefitted from the width that having a front three could provide, what Mesa brought in the second half was someone to keep the ball moving, like Leon does. If Mesa had started in ace of Clucas, I believe we would have seen a performance like the one in the second half. Like Leon, he would have been trying to push us forward from their attacks, not just getting into our box to try and provide cover. *This* is where Clement went wrong, and the issue that needs addressing for our next home game. He has created a system that will allow us (hopefully) to grind out draws away from home, but he needs to drop the Clucas experiment at home. Three in the middle of defence is not a problem if you have a player like Mesa (or, gulp, Ki) who will look to keep play moving.
Personally, I think Mesa has to start at home with either Clucas or Carroll on the left, and Fer or Sanches on the right. Whether that's with a four or five man defence I don't know, because we obviously need width. What was pleasing yesterday was that Tammy and Jordan both showed they can track back and defend when needed to, so maybe an interchangable front three of those two and Bony could work, but we obviously have a long standing issue around not having someone on the wing who can ping in a decent cross on a consistent basis.
Additionally, I personally don't think we are missing Gylfi. Whilst we had come to rely on his set pieces, I don't think there was a single moment of yesterday's game where I felt Gylfi would have made a difference to us. Clucas was the issue, and that's nothing against him, that is PC trying to fit a round peg in a vital square hole. |  |
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| Tactics, formations and team selection on 19:34 - Sep 24 with 2282 views | jasfan |
I agree with quite a lot of that, but think five at the back should only be used very rarely at home if at all.
The team I'd like to see selected for the next home match would be: Fabianski, Naughton, Mawson, Fernandez, Olsson, Mesa, Clucas, Sanches, Ayew, Abraham and Bony. |  | | |
| Tactics, formations and team selection on 19:41 - Sep 24 with 2264 views | 34dfgdf54 |
The first sentence of your second paragraph is one of the major problems for me, we are trying to get our full backs to attack, Naughton cannot do this to an high standard, it's not his game. Ollson can, well could last season, but for whatever reason can't find the form this time around.
Midfield is a complete clusterf*ck in my opinion, PC has no idea how to set us up. He doesn't see the need for a Mesa/Britton player in my opinion. He was pretty much forced into bringing Britton back in last year, which was a major factor in keeping us up. I find it staggering he's making the same mistakes. Britton was in the sky studios last home game, that says it all. |  | | |
| Tactics, formations and team selection on 19:41 - Sep 24 with 2263 views | oldcob |
I think the point we won at Spurs with 5 at the back, cost us three at home yesterday. | | | |
| Tactics, formations and team selection on 19:42 - Sep 24 with 2256 views | TheKirkyLife |
The problem is not the use of five 'defenders' but we are nowhere near positive enough with them in my eyes. The top teams in the league along a host of others use THREE at the back with wingbacks. Clement uses 5-3-2 though - a flat five.
Part of the issue is maybe confidence. I'd guess the majority of it is that one one side we have a decent wingback whilst on the other with have a decent right-back. It is painfully obvious to me that a combination of Naughton's playstyle and Olsson's indifferent form has killed us going forward.
In this situation we surely need to go more offensive with a strong midfield and I'm not thinking the diamond.
Mesa is a must whilst the two spots ahead of him should be up for grabs. I'm tempted to agree with your Carroll/Clucas and Fer/Sanches/Ki analysis. Ahead of them it's got to be all out. Ayew/Bony/Abraham with a smattering of Dyer/Narsingh/McBurnie. |  | | |
| Tactics, formations and team selection on 19:58 - Sep 24 with 2213 views | DwightYorkeSuperstar |
I'd go as far as saying we play 6 at the back. Clucas spends most of the game standing yards from the central centre back. Even when we have possession and are going forward, he's yards from the centre backs.
Nobody takes up the position in the centre of the pitch for the full backs to pass to. All they can do is kick it up the line hoping Abraham or Ayew run after it.
Mesa came on and linked up between the full backs, taking the ball off them in a position higher up the field than Clucas. There was a sequence in the game which described this perfectly, Olsson came inside with the ball, the Watford players were deep in their own half but there was a huge gap in the centre of the field with no Swansea players in, and he had to pass it back to Clucas who was standing on the defenders toes.
Clucas, whether under instruction or not, is having a detrimental impact on our build up play and he needs to be dropped or learn quickly. It is as if he has never played the role expected of him in his life. |  |
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