Just wondering peoples views about this. Obviously, until the Palace game recently the diamond has been working rather well. However, I felt against a pacy Palace side we COULD be up against it. Surely at worst, Martin will be back on the subs bench at Millwall this saturday coming ? He's had the eye injury and other issues since suspension, however surely he will get some form of chance. Personally, I'd like to see Martin at least back on the bench, maybe even in the line up in place of one of the 4. How did JET play ? I'd also imagine Scotland + Chops will start v Millwall. Whats happening with Carson I wonder, is he any nearer to the squad.....
I dont think we should panic after losing 1-0 against a VERY impressive Palace team but I think our bench is worrying. If we say that most weeks Chopra & Scotland will be in the starting line up then our bench does not seem to have anybody on there that can 'change' a game. Im really not impressed by JET, He appears lazy and uninterested and IMO needs a reality check about what is expected from him. A bit like Martin when he first came here, JET appears to have been too comfortable of having an easy life in a big clubs reserve team, probably on a decent wage and where he could get away with not having any pressure on him. Both Martins and Carsons attitude has been questioned so far this season and I think Jewell will only pick players that have proved during the week they warrant a chance. Maybe these two players still havent convinced him yet.
I agree, I'm certainly not panicking however we need a plan B at all times. Not convinced Jewell picks the best benchs ever that could change a game. I'm convinced one will be in the squad saturday. Likewise, I'm unsure about JET. I feel Martin has been very very unlucky this season, and hopefully he'll play a part saturday.
Tractorboy I certainly didn't think that Palace were overly impressive because to be fair any team would have been made to look impressive against us on Saturday.
JWM. I honestly thought Palace played well. They had impressive movement and Zaha was a real handful. They were hardly QPR from last year or a Norwich but I think they are where they are in the league on merit if the play like that on a regular basis
its all well and good having that diamond formation which has been working well recently but we do need a plan b with the midfield, by all accounts looking a bit tired in the last couple of games. if we do want to play with pace and width then carson and martin (although not the quickest) can provide that so we do have the personnel to change it. 2 winnable games coming up, i expect our performance to be back to what we expect now with a whole week to recover so its all still looking good for me
JET could probably learn a bit from being loaned to a league one/two club for a month or two to bring him back down to earth. It worked a bit for Martin, he came back from Charlton with a much better work ethic and realization of what playing football at a lower level is about. I agree with Westlake, I'm sometimes confused at the subs PJ chooses. Out of all the players at his disposal he does things like have Ainsley and Delaney on the bench at the same time. We need to have people on the bench who can come and make a difference, or a change in formation. I don't mind not having a winger on the bench if PJ say brings on a full back and pushes one of Edwards or Cressy forward. Just because Carlos is currently at right back doesn't mean he can't play wing any more. We need to be more adaptive and have the ability and personnel ready to change things if our system is not working.
Jay E T seemed to me to take far too long on the ball which on a few attacks allowed the defenders to get back i don't feel he is ready for first team football yet.
Agree with San Diego , Jet should be loaned out as for me was the worst player on the pitch on saturday. Yes Weighy he was taking to long on the ball. 'Jet' more like 'Horse drawn' .
interesting you lot have started playing the diamond which brought us so much success. its a good system but only if you have the right players to play it. its incredibly attacking, hence why we conceded so many goals but also why we scored nearly 180 goals in the last two years. there is one big draw back with the system - its easy to get at if the opposition play with width. it evens itself out because the diamond means you outnumber in midfield and can control the game so long as you have a deep lying playmaker (we have fox) and your passing is fluid and speedy and you keep the ball for long periods, plus you have to have brilliant, fit, quick full backs who work their backsides off. since going up, we've changed it simply because the teams were better at exploiting the system but in league 1 and even the championship there weren't many teams who could cope with it. depends i suppose on how talented your midfield is and how quick they are to shift the ball about as well as how good your full backs are. having seen cresswell in league one he is a talent who i would say is good enough to play that system. right back? not so sure. do bowyer, bullard, andrews and leadbitter shift the ball about quickly enough? you seem to have picked up since using it but maybe you have one or two players which don't quite work
I dont see how JET can possibly play after his performance on Saturday, he was totally ineffective, lazy, and very slow which I think comes from a lack of intelligence. Slow of thought equals slow of movement he was seldom in the right place at the right time and when he was on the ball he kept hold of it far too long until he was crowded out , he just doesnt seem capable of anticipation or recognising when someone is making a run to create some space for him. Palace played well i thought and could have had 3 or 4 goals if not for Stockdale and some wayward finishing, we got away with it against Portsmouth but against an in form side like palace we got well beaten. PJ said it was because the players were tired but thats papering over the cracks, we need some pace, creativity, and intelligence otherwise we wont be able to cope when we come up against in form top sides.
Martin and Carson should at least be bench players, i would always start with the diamond, then switch if it's not going well. It basicallly means we should be able to play two fairly different yet still positive systems. I also ont think its any coincidence that a changed team on Saturday didnt perform so well asking players to play a system that doesn't necessarily suit them.
