So, I suspect our fine young manager knows he has to change things, and mismanaged match matters. In my view it is time to start Szmodics at no 10 . He was last season's top scorer in the Championship and that must be his preferred position. Delap up top is proven, but he just didnt get the ball that often. And as some have been clamouring, put Omari and Clarke out wide . Omari has been surrounded by 2 or 3 and bullied off the ball. Bring Wolfy back, he linked well with Morsy, who has been playing too deep. And lets give Walton a go, with home support, he is better with feet and controlling his area. Our defense looked shaky and anxious with Muric making several poor decisions. I still miss Hladky tbh. Then, at 70, not 80 mins, bring on the Champ boys to run rings around the Toffees.
I'd agree with Szmodics in the middle and Hutchinson out wide. As you say Gaffer, Hutchinson is often getting doubled up by the opposition - who target him as a key player in the attack - so move him out wide, with licence to cut in, and hopefully we'll get more space to attack. I'm not sure about bringing Woolfenden in for either O'Dea and Greaves. Who would you drop? Despite shipping four goals on Saturday, most of them came from really poor defending down the flanks. Maybe bring Woolfenden in as a third centre-back, as I mentioned on the other thread, and go three at the back for defensive solidity. But I'd rather we do that away from home, rather than in home games where we need to be on the front foot. I do hope Harry Clarke is fit and ready for the Everton match, otherwise we're going to need to potentially drop Burns back or move a centre-back over. I don't trust Johnson at all. Walton could be an interesting choice. I don't think he's great at playing out from the back and will likely just kick it long a lot. Muric does play good passes out, but like Hdlaky, he is guilty of playing risky short passes which you can't get away with in the Premier League. I wouldn't mind us keeping Muric in goal - as he is a good shot stopper and has pulled off some great saves already this season - but we just need to tell him to be more cautious playing out from the back. Don't be afraid to hit the occasional long diagonal ball if there are no good options.
I like yr idea of Woolfy in a back 3, as he reads the game well. I am all for playing out from the keeper, but not for putting us immediately under pressure as on Saturday. Agree we need a fit, aggressive Harry back as soon as. Sadly Johnson hasnt lived up to his billing. That said, it is not about laying blame at individual players. The whole team didnt turn up, including McKenna! I am confident with a 2 week Int break - the last one was only 5 mins ago!- we will hit the ground running at PR and get into gear.
My knee jerk reaction to a horrible Saturday was to ring the changes. After the game I felt we are relegation fodder but before the game, on the back of a string of decent results, I thought we would stay up rather comfortably. As if to illustrate the point, Spurs capitulated against Brighton. I do think Johnson is out of his depth and there are some other challenges - like Delap scoring goals but not setting up chances for anyone else the way Hirst does for fun - but I think the next few games calls for McKenna to stick with it and adjust a few things. Will Harry Clarke come straight in and perform significantly better than Johnson in a game that amounts to a six pointer? Looking ahead to the second half of the season, does Walton match Muric for potential? Do we want to throw Woolfy back in against Everton? I have my doubts about all three of those. Certainly we don’t go changing the formation.
Interesting point of view Hampy, so basically no changes against Everton. I am all for consistancy, but let's see how it goes.
Walton Clarke O'Shea Greaves Leif Morsy Taylor Hutch Szmodics Clarke Hurst/Delap (half each) Not sure who this O'Dea is that Nuggets mentions, so have left him out!!
I wouldn’t make all these changes but if I did then I’d go Burns with Hutch and Szmodics. Jack Clarke is powderpuff and doesn’t do the defensive side well enough yet. Luongo apparently is out with an ankle injury.
I agree with your assessment. Last week at Villa was very encouraging. This week not so much. I've always felt we've played our best football when more of last seasons players are on the pitch. We certainly look more of a team in terms of passing and movement. Either Mckenna has changed us tactically (which I do think partially was needed) or it's just taking time to bed in new players but we are certainly not playing the same way as we have done the past few seasons. We very rarely kicked it long from the goal kick, we far less frequently this season play it out to the CBs who will invite the press, we appear to be trying to bypass it over the top rather than break it through the lines. We are also relying on the individual dribbling ability of Hutchinson and Delap rather than crisp passing and good movement. I do worry about the RB position now as I've never been sold on Clarke, it's the one position last year I felt we didn't have a strong player in. I'm still not convinced we've quite got it right down that side Tuanzebe has been superb defensively and okay going forwards but Burns has generally been at his best when he has a supportive RB. I suspect McKenna will continue to play Johnson there
"Good morning Jack, we are a Town football fans forum, and all have been passionately following the Club for many years. Many of us played amateur league games and like to think we know a thing or two. One of our members thinks you are a bit of a powder puff. Decent bloke he is." "Hello Gaffer, who is he and where's he from, I will show him who's a fr...gin powder puff!" "A bit hard to say, he's YorkieLancsHampyLondoner, so he could be anywhere" "Well, tell him from me, we are amongst the big boys now and all doing our best"
