He can be an effective CM, but putting him CDM is a waste. I'd give him more freedom than that. The furthest back he should be playing is CM, not CDM. He's not a primarily defensive minded player, he's got defensive abilities, but that's not his primary asset. It's holding up the ball and distributing it.
------------------Wood---------------------- -ASM-------------------------------Fraser -----Almiron--Shelvey--Joelinton-------- Dummett--Fernandez-Schar----Trippier --------------------Dubz-------------------------- Unless Fernandez is fit, there's no point discussing lascelles, he'll be playing. I definitely think the above is feasible though.
Well all I'll know is that I said he'd be a good DM a year ago and got told I was wrong. I still think he can play there, but box to box would be his best position I think that's clear now. Would you agree there?
Bottom line is, if you look at our fixtures and better results, they always happen when we put three in CM. Look at the run last season - 5-3-2 was being played. We'd changed from the abominable result at Sheff U (we played 5-4-1) and put three CM's on the park. Interestingly, Shelvey was ever present in the wins. Hayden nowhere to be seen. Tellingly, neither was Lascelles. Now if I was manager I'd look at what I have and try to replicate that. The players seem to work in it, we have enough personnel to do it, though it does rely on Howe working out that 3 CM's is critical, and dropping Lascelles is also desperately needed. I don't honestly understand how I'm in a position to even comment on it. Howe's a professional, PL football manager. I should be saying "well, I can understand why he tried this and that, as it worked previously and our personnel probably dictate that style of play, so not sure what else he could have done". Except I'm not. I don't know what he's doing, I wonder if he does? 3-4-3 was followed by 4-4-2 and a few other less recognisable efforts. We're able to look at each game - and have said as much before many of his matches - and say with certainty why it'll fail. And we can all do it for Leeds - playing Lascelles is an error, playing 2 Cm's would be an error, persevering with 4-4-2 is an error, playing Ritchie at LB is an error. Will he learn? I don't think so. Think he's a dead man walking already.
Agree preserving 4-4-2 is an error because we don't have the players for it really. We don't have the CM's to make it work, and we haven't had the strikers to make it work either. We need 3 cm's to cover our **** defence. Our best bet is our midfield work rate.
I would have actually player Ritchie against Watford instead of Dummett. I don't rate him as a defender but against the weaker teams, and with Wood up front, I would be looking for quality deliveries from out wide. Against Leeds I would stick with Dummett though. Ritchie would be a liability.
I'd even be tempted into 5-3-2 - Trippier/Lewis WB's, Dummett, Fede and Schar. MF trio, yours is fine, ASM with Wood. It's the same formation as we played when doing well last year, except the LB, RB is better and Joelinton offers more in the middle.
People including Howe need to open their mind up and try something new. You can keep shuffling the cms around shelvey Longstaff Hendrick and Hayden for another 2 years of you like it'll never work! Play Joelinton and willock both are capable box to box... If you keep doing the same thing you’ll get the same results.. Howe will continue and so would most fans.. They just keep reshuffling the same crap around over and over again. Now I'll here the reasons it might not work! Well let's just stick with what we know for a fact doesn't shall we?
Nah, I don't want to just sit back and hope we defend to a draw. We need to be ambitious. Leeds are still far down the table and have a tonne of injuries.
Won their last two. We haven't won two in the entire season. Know your level. Moot point, Howe hasn't got a ****ing clue what he's doing. Hendrick pressing for a start apparently. Quick, sign another striker, that'll sort it.
Everyone knows we’ll get beat tomorrow. Howe will play the usual suspects. *this is with Leeds having 3 key players out* We are too predictable.
Press conference (which are always banal bollocks) wasn't great. Didn't leave me excited for the match. Still, what do the players care? They're all ****ing off to Dubai afterwards to luxury.
If we stay up. I'd consider another manager tbh, unless we finish the season extremely well. But if we just scrape by after signing 4-5 30m players, we need another manager as well. With the amount of money we're bound to spend, we should have expectations.
Did he? Surely if the agent let slip during the Trippier deal then it would have been those doing that deal who thought about it
