Yesterday yes, but Swansea were probably the most lacklustre team we have played this season, so an in game change to tactics etc could and should have been made, especially in the second half when we did seem to run out of ideas, and the subs WS made were just like for like. I guess my biggest issue with 3 at the back, as a team that is going to be dominant in most games, you take an extra body out of midfield which in my opinion slows play down as there were numerous times yesterday, we had 5 players that had gone into the middle of the pitch with Armstrong, Scienza joining the 2 midfielders and Archer. That should bring space down the wings but how many times did Jalert or Wellington get level to the box to make a cross? Most of the threat came from Scienza when he stayed wide and beat the FB.
Yeah, I think that's a fair criticism. Though, to be fair, if one of my remaining attacking subs was Damion Downs, I too probably would've left it as it was
I think everyone sees 5 atb and assumes defensive, but the wing backs are pushing high. We definitely were not defensive yesterday, I feel like anyone who says we were is just being disingenuous because they are frustrated, which I understand. But it was our most dominant performance of the season by a mile. Average finishers put 3-4 in yesterday, that was our entire problem. The club gambled everything on one of Stewart, Archer or Downs coming good. Poor finishing is the number one reason for our poor start to the season, I think Still has managed to mostly sort out the defence, which is no mean feat given how ragged they were.
But the flow of our attacks tend to come from wider areas, I think Still has to come up with a way to integrate Azaz, Fellows, Scienza to best service Archer and that is not solely from the wings. How many through passes through the middle did we see yesterday?
What has been said to justify calling some fans entitled? People are perfectly allowed to voice concerns at our form, results, team selections, tactics, and substitutions and the table doesn’t lie. We thoroughly deserve to be where we are in the league, and for a team chasing automatic promotion, we are clearly underperforming. So please can you point to the posts that are from entitled fans.
Yeah I'd like to see a back four now to get Azaz in the team, as there's not really a role for him otherwise and with Stewart injured we're desperate for that sort of player to feed Archer. I just disagree with the idea that 3 at the back automatically equates to being defensive.
I watched the highlights back this morning and I would say that the two percieved open goal "misses" from Archer and Adarma were actually difficult not even half chances because of the way and speed that the ball comes to them. Jander's miss was a sitter and the only poor one imo.
No it's not necessarily, but there isn't a need for 2 DMs and you have to consider the forward you are providing. Stewart would be ok , Archer isn't imo.
You hit a good point here, there were many occasions where the play was slow and ponderous and mainly transitioning through the midfield. And that was likely as we didn’t have the extra player there so it recycled through defensive lines yet again. I’m not saying a back 5 is defensive so much, but we do need to click more going forward. And those that say we win that game 9 times out of 10, well we didn’t and we have barely won all season. We are where we are and the manager needs to adapt with what he has. Why did we want wingers to play with Fellows and Azaz, and mid Oct don’t appear to be utilising them correctly. Fellows for me needs to do his damage high up the pitch and not in our defensive third.
For me back 4 or 5 is all about mindset but I'm inherently biased so take what you want from it. In a back 5 the wider players automatically have a "I need to go forward but do need to be able to ensure I'm able to cover back" so they play the game with that little bit in their heads saying I can't be too far up the pitch all time" plus the opposition see it as sitting back off them a bit and in encourages them. In a back 4 those wide players that would be L/RWB are further up the pitch as they get moved to L/RW and they've got someone behind them so they can rove further forward without that bit of fear on leaving space behind them so it's more forward thinking and it makes the opposition know we want to be in their faces a bit more and they need to counter that higher line a bit more. But in reality it all boils down to the fact I like watching us attack much more then defend... We don't jump our of our chairs like loonies for a really well defended cross now do we.
If you’re playing 3 CBs. When you’re controlling the game, one of them should be stepping up the field when in control of possession. But I’m not a coach
Still got it right first half, I do think it’s too defensive a set-up in general and this was always a concern heading into the season because of his career as a coach in France(as an underdog team) and our squad being mainly centre backs and defensive midfielders. However the team controlled the game first half, moved the ball around quickly left to right and the wing backs kept getting us down the pitch and eventually getting the ball to Scienza in areas where he could do damage. Swansea regrouped and shut down the flanks by playing deeper, but we changed nothing. This retreat in tactics should have been followed up with an adaptation, as many said on the match thread, lose a centre back for an attacking option, I would have even of been tempted to push THB upfront if he wanted a physical presence for Swansea to contend with, but keeping the same formation with different players(even if more attacking in mindset) did nothing and that one very good move which led to the Jander miss, was the only chance of note in the second half.
That, for me was a big part of my frustration yesterday. 2 or 3 times he turned into 3 defenders to shoot when a much more effective pass to a player in space was on. TBH though, he’s always done that but papered over that particular crack because of his goals/assists. For me his decision making is the main reason he doesn’t cut it at prem level and never will.
