| Squad of missing men 11:59 - Dec 5 with 11268 views | WestbourneR |
What's happened to Ryan Manning? He's probably injured and I missed it but he wasn't really in the team when fit this season either.
Got to say I think that's a shame and another reason why we need to tweak our formation to make room for people like him.
For me, last season, Manning coming into the team turned us around. His bite but most importantly his guile and vision and use of the ball really made us tick as an attacking force. Good set piece too. His assist with the outside of his boot vs Reading away was a highlight moment. True class.
We've got so many players in the squad and yet it seems totally unclear how they fit the formation or who our strongest selection is. Where do Shodipo, Manning, Osayi-Samuel, Cousins, Ngbakoto, Ariel, Wheeler all fit in our team? I feel there is a bunch of talent there with no plan to make room for them on the pitch. Are Jamie Mackie and Conor Washington really our best players? Isn't it time some of the new blood got a decent run? Otherwise why did we buy them?
The squad is very big, very messy and I don't believe Holloway has any idea how to get it organised. He seems to keep buying players and then have no idea how to use them. He told Northern in his interview that he'd bought wingers to supply our aerially strong forwards - and yet this season we've not played a system or formation that has done that once. Tbh JFH was the same.
It's getting on my nerves. Just play with some wingers and some width!! Is it that hard???
Sorry, ranting. Rant over. |  |
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| Squad of missing men on 20:43 - Dec 6 with 1401 views | isawqpratwcity |
| Squad of missing men on 16:34 - Dec 6 by Northernr |
This is true, like that famous line on the podcast a few weeks ago - we should have a settled side, I'd like to see Wheeler and the young lads given a go.
Holloway changes team, Holloway gets stick. Holloway picks same team, Holloway gets stick. |
Holloway picks same team, we lose/draw.
Holloway picks different team, we lose/draw.
Yet we beat Wolves and Blades...the disparity in our form is unbelievable. |  |
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| Squad of missing men on 20:50 - Dec 6 with 1387 views | oldmisery |
| Squad of missing men on 17:06 - Dec 6 by WestbourneR |
It seems we all agree that 3 CBs is not for us then?
I still think Ollie wouldn't even be looking at three at the back if it wasn't on trend. Conte wins the title with it and then suddenly everyone is doing it again for the first time since 1998. Southgate is just as culpable. |
This topic does appear to stimulate a lot of discussion and I certainly agree with the view that when we play three at the back, defenders such as Baptiste, Lynch and to a slightly lesser extent Robinson are easily exposed and we leak goals - in addition Holloway selects players such as Cousins and Bidwell who are not natural wingbacks in his 3-5-2 formation.
However, if/when we go to a back four and are more sound defensively we could be tempted to select proper wingers. All well and good but as the midfield triumvirate are (rightly) considered sacrosanct, it means playing only one striker in a 4-3-2-1 formation; and we all believe this to be both unacceptable and ineffective.
So what do we do? Well the obvious answer is to field twelve players and hope nobody notices but if that proves unsuccessful perhaps a way around the problem would be to adjust the formation above by playing Freeman (the only goal-scoring midfielder) in an advanced number 10 role as part of a 4-2-2-1-1 formation. This would retain the better defensive unit, keep the natural wingers, continue to play the three 'best' players and provide more effective support to the lone striker. But, to paraphrase Clive, what do I know? |  | | |
| Squad of missing men on 23:03 - Dec 6 with 1314 views | daveB |
| Squad of missing men on 17:06 - Dec 6 by WestbourneR |
It seems we all agree that 3 CBs is not for us then?
I still think Ollie wouldn't even be looking at three at the back if it wasn't on trend. Conte wins the title with it and then suddenly everyone is doing it again for the first time since 1998. Southgate is just as culpable. |
Southgate is right to play 3 at the back when you look at the squad he has with no wingers and a collection of very good wing backs.
Back on QPR I still think the 3 centre backs works well for us, I think the best way to play it is with attacking wing backs so basically wingers pushed high up the pitch in more of a 3-4-3 formation but Ned getting injured has left us with a real lack of pace at the back so the back 3/4 have to play a lot deeper now which has made it hard for the wing backs to get as high up the pitch as they need to be |  | | |
| Squad of missing men on 00:23 - Dec 7 with 1292 views | VancouverHoop |
Perhaps a back three would work if they were the correct three. Assuming Ned's back soon he'd be a better fit on the right, Baptiste has no speed but is solid in every other way in the middle, and Robinson, who's a left back anyway, on that side. | | | |
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