Was the source of our defensive problems yesterday.
When you line up with 3-5-2 (that later became 3-4-1-2, with Morrison pushed forward to play behind the front two) and you have two slow centre backs, you need some solidity in the middle three. Instead, we had Barton, Carroll and Morrison. Only one of those players is prepared to make a tackle and actually knows how to defend. There were notable instances of both Morrison and Carroll not only missing tackles but actually turning away from them, which is nothing short of shameful.
The result was that Barton was left to carry the workload all on his own, which is an impossibility.
When Watford were playing their best football in the first half their midfield, in particular Lewis McGugan, was left with acres of space to move into and pass the ball. Very often McGugan would pull to their left and Simpson would find himself with two men to pick up. That would then draw Onuoha, as the right sided player in our back three, forward to help him out. That in turn then left space behind Onuoha, because our back three was now a lopsided back two with Dunne central and Hill to the left. It also exposed Dunne's lack of pace and enormous turning circle.
It seems Redknapp wants to play that formation because he's tried it a few times now, and I can see the benefits in that it gets someone up front to support Austin and it suits Simpson and Traore who both like to get forward. But it means you can't play Carroll and Morrison in the middle together, you need someone like Henry in there to help Barton. Otherwise a team with good movement (namecheck for WIgan!) will find it very easy to exploit the gaping holes in our midfield.
For me, you decide which one of Carroll and Morrison is most likely to win you a game and you stick with him. And, as much as Morrison has numerous flaws (it's a bit like watching a young Taarabt) he's far more likely to pop up with a winning goal. |  |
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