Yes we were dreadful but calling for Powell to be sacked is just ridiculous, the players are virtually the same as he had last season take a few and I highly doubt the tactics have changed drastically so surely it is the players fault? Confidence is a real issue for us at the moment, no clean sheet at home in nearly a year, no clean sheet in a game since April against Cardiff. Although we won't score many goals still as we do have a very weak midfield, in Powell's managerial record with us when we to suffer defeat it is only by the odd goal so if we can get our defence back to what it once was we should see the points coming in again. My suggestion is to play 4-4-2 with changing to 4-5-1 for the tougher games, with strongest lineup when all players are fit. Hamer - If we can eventually keep a clean sheet who knows what confidence it could give the entire team, the fact that they all look scared to take control when the opposition are closing in on our box is evidence of this. Solly - Not much to say about him as we all know what he produces when on the field. Vital he plays when fit. Cort - Solid player and we appear to be much more comfortable with him in the team then Dervite or Wood. Morrison - Been bad this season yes but would still prefer him to Dervite or Wood again, also with him I can see he cares for the club and I often think that when we lose it is him who is hurt the most out of the players. Wiggins - Again not been his best and been generally poor since his injury against Palace. Again confidence of the team will help him better as when teams are low on confidence the movement of the team is affected and therefore it always seems when he is in possession ends up passing it backwards. Wilson - I feel that teams who play with two out and out wingers are very subject defensively and as we don't have a defencive LM other than Jackson, Wilson for me would get the role and not Pritchard. Evina could play LM but as he states he doesn't want too. Cousins - From the little I have seen of him he looked decent but it is not hard to look good compared with the other midfielders we got. Jackson - Needs to recapture his form badly, he doesn't seem as influential as captain this season either which is worrying. I think he needs a goal and the fact that he has been taken of Penalties rightly or wrongly this has dented his confidence. Harriott - I have chosen Harriott over Stewart partly because I haven't really seen him play but also because Harriott has youth on his side and the drive from that to play without fear. Kermorgant - Again with Solly nothing to say that we don't already know. Church - He has looked promising and hasn't exactly had a lot of service so still hard to tell about his finishing but much rather have him then Sordell.
For me the problem is simple... our central midfield is poor. In my humble opinion Powell and his management team have not done enough to address this area of weakness. With everyone fit I am happy with all other areas of our team, especially given our financial restraints. GK - Hamer & Alnwick RB - Solly & Wilson LB - Wiggins & Evina CB - Morrison, Dervite, Cort, Wood CF - Kermorgant, Church, Piggot, Sordell LM - Harriot, Evina, Stewart, JJ RM - Harriot & Stewart Given our lack of quality in the centre of the park, playing 3-5-2 compensates by giving us an extra body in an area of the pitch where we are weakest. The beauty of 3-5-2 is that it can be as attacking or as defensive as you want it to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of 4-4-2 and playing with genuine width and attacking threat down either flank. However, for my money we simply are not good enough in the middle of the park at the moment. I'd love to see Poyet and Cousins in particular given a sustained run out in order to stake their claim as first team regulars. That's my honest appraisal of how I see things.
The problem with 3-5-2 at home is; 1. Like it or not, it sends out a message to the opposition that you are covering up your own deficiencies, rather than taking it to them from the off, 2. We have two fullbacks pushed up to wing backs who are poor at crossing the ball. Therefore, we surrender possession very easily. I agree with you that it all comes back to the fundamental problem of our poor midfield.
It's more that it didn't work against Millwall. It worked previously against Leicester at home, but Lomas had it spot on in that he asked Mcdonald to drop deep to the left, which would exploit Wilson if Millwall could clear any danger to him ASAP. I also wouldn't say Wiggins or Wilson were poor at crossing. The problem more so was we were trying to get Jackson in to the box as we know he is a threat there. Unfortunately that was leaving Wiggins with no support once he was getting in to dangerous areas.
If you want to make 3-5-2 more attacking all you got to do is swap Wiggins & Wilson for Harriot & Stewart, job done...!! With a deep lying defensive CM (after Pritchard's performance I'd put Dervite in there and recall Cort at CB) we could afford to give more freedom to our wide men. Also, for me the crossing weren't as bad as everyone's making out. Granted we've no David Beckham's in our squad, but I counted at least 4 crosses on Saturday that Kermorgant would've made something of had he been playing. Imo we could've drafted Beckham in to fizz balls in until midnight and I don't reckon Piggot or Church (who I'm a huge fan of) would've had any success whatsoever. To me they simply don't look like the type of forwards who relish hustling and bustling to get on the end of crosses.
Some posters said that our players did not try hard enough. With the inevitable exception of Stephens I think they all worked hard, however ineffectively. But I did think the back three were under-employed given that Millwall only had one or two players forward. One of the opportunities that 3-5-2 affords, when properly used by teams that are accustomed to and comfortable with it (that is to say, not us), is for a central defender to break forward and cause havoc. When your team have the ball, two at the back are enough cover, and the opposing team is going to be fully occupied countering your five in midfield without being able to cope with a sixth. Our back three had a lot of the ball under no pressure. They either passed it around among themselves or launched long balls forward which Millwall won every time. But once Wood, who is hardly the quickest, showed what is possible by carrying the ball unopposed from the edge of his area to the edge of Millwall's. This opened up possibilities which he promptly wasted with a weak pass and no-one tried it again but the opportunities to do so remained. This tactic is similar to when teams used to play sweepers (which has some similarity to a back three) and the sweeper would come forward with the ball. Beckenbauer was the master. Those watching the Manchester derby yesterday will have seen Kompany do it brilliantly. Granted, we are no Manchester City, but then Millwall are no Manchester Utd. If we continue with 3-5-2, and I hope we do, Powell must include this tactic in his training as we cannot afford to have three players with so much possession and so little end result.
Woah woah woah Eddie...!! No doubt Beckenbauer was a tremendous player, But Franco Baresi is the best sweeper/CB ever
When I look at last season's ninth place finish, I can't help thinking that we were really lucky and that perhaps CP had found a patch of four-leaf clovers in his garden. Wolves - Last minute winner. Leeds - Last minute winner. Bristol City - Already doomed. Barnsley - Freak result. Middlesbrough - Chucked away a two-nil lead. Bolton - Tide turned after the sending off. The home form for the majority of the season was awful: Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley, Barnsley. Cardiff - Freak result. In my mind, we could so easily have been relegated. When we won League One, we had the best squad by a mile and should have run away with the title. But there were still many matches that stunk the place out. I sincerely hope CP stays and gets better as a manager, but I don't think he will.
I hadn't finished my post, FHB. Some gremlins have crept into the system - much like CP's starting line-ups.
Defensively probably so, and overall possibly so, but my point was about surging forward in open play to make an extra man in attack and I do not remember him doing that as much, or as well, as Beckenbauer. But I don't want to quibble. If Morrison or Devite do it as well as Baresi I will be content with that. They seem to be the likeliest candidates although Wood did it in the last match, as he and Cort are too slow.
Fair play Eddie. My dear old dad used to wax lyrical about Beckenbauer, in his words and I quote... "boy he was f*****g mustard." I however grew up watching the great A.C. Milan side that hit it's peak the 1989â90 season. That for me is the greatest club side I've personally ever seen, and with easily the best defensive unit. Tassotti, Baresi, Costacurta & Maldini... enough to make any attacker wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
