That's very true. Pollock is one. I would hope with his guidance he could help train up another (Abankwe?). Matty looks out of place in a back 5, I think. I talked to an ex-pro I know regarding an 11 a-side thing I was coaching, and I was getting her to look over my formation, which included 5 at the back. She said "Unless you have to contain extraordinary opposition, you are placing half your team in defence - that's a waste and it's difficult for your defence to find an outlet." I know the maths is obvious, but sometimes it's easy to forget that when you are tossing around formation ideas - 5 at the back is fine on paper, and common, but you invite too much pressure. And we did against a mediocre Millwall. And we couldn't find much in the way of outlets when we had possession because we lacked a necessary number of forward players. She's ex-Arsenal and her partner is ex-England. I think this was astute.
Mine would be 3 at the back, 5 in midfield two of which are essentially wingers and two up front who can score goals given the right service Our best formation under Pearson was 4- 2 - 3 -1
If we did that back three, I'd have Matty in the middle. I just want to see the ball in the danger area far more often. If we are going to cut the ball back diagonally, we have to practise shooting too. I like 4-2-3-1, as long as players are mobile and will commit to flooding the area when the ball goes in the box. And to defend!!
