So is Cisse back now?

Is he back?

He seems to have that swagger back. Amazing what happens when a team plays to a players strength.

 

I like many have hoped that he would find his mojo, the 2 goals yesterday were a prime example of a player with his game on, the flick at the near post was class and he showed exactly what it means to be a striker for the 2nd, he made the run and anticipated the cross, I read a match report that called his 2nd goal a toe poke it was far better than that ungrateful piece of journalism.

 

I hope so. I really, really hope so!

 

Is it a coincidence that he was prolific as a new signing and now he is like a new signing he has started scoring again? I suggest we have him injured but not too seriously during each international break so that he avoids the scoring drought period.

 

His confidence is definitely returning. Really pleased for him but I still don't think he'll ever be top class. He is however an experienced striker who will be vital to us. I know our fanbase slaughtered Pardew for playing this way saying it was archaic, but I'd like to see us go back to playing 442 in the short term. Its easier for players to know their roles and get a structure in place. We just look much better when we play two up top. it'll help the like Cabella and Riviere. Cabella keeps getting mentioned as a number 10 but he played a lot of football out wide in France and he looks like a winger to me.

I don't want to be too harsh on Riviere but I'd start Armstrong or Perez with Cisse.

 

Atm the 4-2-3-1 that Pardew is insisiting on banging his head against the wall with ...just isnt working. We dont know what we are doing when we have the ball, and we dont know what we are doing without the ball (coaching 101)
The complete lack of movement when in possesion leads to pedestrian/obvious play that is so so easy to defend against.

The number of times this year we have watched some neat-ish build up play ..that just peters out due to slowing the ball down and ...standing still, while someone looks for a pass forward...eventually passing sideways or back. (or hewf it up hopefully). The time a player sits on the ball, looking for a pass atm is unbelievable)

So yes I think a return to 442 and back to basics is a good idea in the short term. It would allow Cisse and X to play to their strengths, putting more pressure on the CB's that then create a little more space for the more AM minded players to do their ..creative stuff.. A positive cycle. And getting back to doing the basic stuff (like trying to defend, instead of watching strikers waltz through the back line) and steady the ship ..is sorely needed currently

Personally I don't think Riviere has been that bad (he at least tries to move/battle for possesion...its just while he was doing that the midfield had already been closed down/lost possesion/passed backwards and any service he eventually got was poor at best. I tend to think he and Cisse could work well together, but have no problem with Perez or Arma being the other striker.. Who ever is in the best form/whichever partnership ..gels quickest ..as we dont have the luxury of time

 

we should definitely be playing 4-4-2

Cisse has always played better when he has someone up front with him.

I'd even argue that with our ****ty midfield, playing more direct, long-balls to riviere & cisse, with obertan & sammy on the wings for crosses, and colback & tiote as defensive midfielders would be the way to go.

 

As has been pointed out elsewhere most teams are playing a system that equates to a 5 man midfield, playing 442 leaves the midfield vulnerable with a rigid shape. If you also look back to Ba and Cisse playing together the 442 didn't work for them, the central striker of the 2 would score but the other playing wider went into a drought, it is not about shapes but about doing what Obertan and Ameobi did and thats putting the ball into a position where the striker is going to be and the striker doing his job of scoring.

 

Fair point, but we didn't really play Ba n Cisse as a 442, it was within a 433 with one of them 'out wide' generally.
the extra opposition man in midfield is a perennial problem in playing 442, and personally would want a 4411 kind of 442 to help alleviate that to some degree (who would play that deep lying striker/part-time midfielder is another question Riviere possibly as he has some 'weight' to him battling wise, Cabella/Perez look a little light weight for ..ball stickability but their creativity is an asset there, Armstrong might be the best candidate but seen to little to be be sure)

The point I was trying to make was...back to basics really..Ie be at least a little threat up front and not concede like a sieve at the back, and we are currently doing neither of those things under 4231 (as the basics aren't being played at the back, Tiote is now playing as a CB/DM and FB vs Swansea) The deep lying striker should be occupying one of the oppositions DM's when we dont have the ball which takes away/reduces the midfield extra man advantage , and when we have the ball he should be occupying on of the CB's/between the lines.

Agree re Sameobi and Obertan ..the problem we have is ..that sort of service just isn't happening to any great degree. The team look ...clueless. No movement off the ball, all standing still ..ball watching or hiding

and a short term return to 442/4411 while the 'basics' are enforced, is no bad thing ...IF ..it helps adddress some basic problems we have, begin to start playing like a TEAM, instead of a bunch of blokes pulled from the pub.

edit: Siem de Jong ..the forgotten man and the connection 'tween the MF and forwards..in a 4411 (even though he is going to be out for months, and not gonna help in the short term)

 

I don't think playing 442 does leave you exposed in midfield provided the 2nd striker will work and drop onto their sitting midfielder (which all the 5 man midfields seem to play). Beardsley did this well for us in the past. That's what Armstrong or Perez looks to me. He is the feeder anyway and the link. Its just switching between 442 and 4411. Another option is to play 352. I'm just not sure Willo and Saylor are intelligent enough as centre backs to understand how to do this. You need two natural side centre backs like Holland had at the world cup with Blind, De Vrij or Martins Indi.

 

352 good shout ..with Haidira/Santon and Janmmat as Wb's (would suit them down to the ground in fact)
The ONLY problem I can see, which you said, is ...Willo and Taylor ... not a hope in hell of them understanding it, hell, they are having enough difficulty with 4 at the back

 

Lets give Satko a go instead then. He can't do any worse.

 

Satko and Good are actually natural side centre backs so may not be a bad call this

 

Personally I think we'd be better off with a narrow 4-4-2 (one guy anchoring, three middle and two up top) or for width go 4-3-3. Again, we only have one DM, with others who can do that job.

 

Its not a bad idea at all, but no chance our glorious leader would try it ... We can win one match every 2 months and he is still going to play his fave's in the same old way and get beaten in the same old way..

The youngsters are only there to play one cup match (before being losing, ideally) then be forgotten about it would seem to me. The way some of our 'purples' have played this calender year... some competition from the kids wouldn't be a bad thing, even if we lost. Just as a reminder to the purples to at least...BLOODY WORK! ..as a minimum requirement.

 

This is nice and all but we have to realise that whatever formation we play leicester is a must win just to simply stay in touch with the pack as after that we will lose against Spurs and Liverpool. November again are all must wins (at least games we cannot afford to lose) then December comes and if we only get three points against Burnley we should count ourselves lucky.

As much as I would love some of the young lads given a chance to throw them in now could damage their confidence to an almost irreversible degree as the pressure mounting is enormous.

 

I agree but when you forgot to sign some good ones in the window, have one in the team who is not very good, one on the bench who is not very good, and loaned out your other not very good one, you are kinda up against with regards to doing things properly. It seems even less sensible to just continuing to play the same ones who are failing us, over and over again. I'm sure there is a famous quote about this.....................

 

No I know what you're saying. I mean in regard to those Forest lads - teams of the top 5-6 ilk can afford to loan players directly back to the aforesaid lower league team, we are in no position to have done that. Our bench is already threadbare as it is. Injuries will probably pile up soon. I think I read Janmaat is injured now, so that would be Anita at right back? I mean Jesus, we have never probably replaced Enrique after three years. We had Santon, a right footer there, clearly not very comfortable on his weaker foot, Haidera who I do think has promise but could easily go the other way and Dummet who I'm not at all sure about. The whole thing is so makeshift it just begs belief at times.

 

The problem I find with pardew, more recently in particular is the way that he has our starting 11 set up. Being a former defender he tends to err more on the side of having our midfield closer to our defenders than the attackers. The recent loaning of HBA to Hull emphasised this point when it was reported that Pardew expects ALL of our midfielders to be back there helping out when we haven't got the ball and its at that end of the pitch. That's fine when we haven't got the ball, but it seems that because we can't ****ing keep hold of the ball very long that our midfielders have become so used to being back there that it is now force of habit.

3-5-2 might lead to better things as this by its very nature is a bit more of an attacking formation with wing-backs, Haidara (left) and Santon/Janmaat (right) would be devastating in my opinion in this kind of set up, especially with Tiote/Colback/Cabella in behind Cisse/Riviere.

If we can keep the ball better and get our midfielders supporting our attack rather than relying on them more to bail our ****ing appalling defenders out of tight spots we might start to get somewhere.