I don't understand it, I really don't. I coach young kids and know when someone shouldn't be in midfield or is a liability up top, I refuse to believe it's any different at elite level. I also understand that primarily a game is won or lost from the middle of the park. We have a team that has, for the past two years, played its' best football and got best results with a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 model. We have really good options from LW and RW and a decent CF.
That happened today was Max was a LM. It's a different discipline, not helped by having the league's weakest LB behind him. Joelinton playing with Wilson up top for the first time ever was a random choice. Fraser on RM was anonymous, Krafth at RB was hopeless. The CB's weren't our weakest link today, there was a constant problem with both full backs and a gap between MF and CB, with nobody able to take the game forward until Almiron came on.
For me, we need to play 4-2-3-1 against stronger sides, and like it or not will have to pick Hayden in matches to protect the defense. We can go 4-3-3 against those on a par with us and play a DM, we then go 4-3-3 with a playmaker instead of Hayden against the weaker sides. In every formation, we play the same front three, and we pick a solid back four of Manq, Fede/Lascelles, Schar and Lewis. Hell, even pick the u-23 kid at LB but for ****s sake drop Ritchie, he cost us a goal yet again today.
Some say today was 3-4-3, but I'm afraid 90% of the time it was a Howe staple of 4-4-2 with Shelvey/Willock over-run in the middle - something (2 midfielders often against 3) that has been an issue since forever. I cannot fathom how successive managers fail to get to grips with this basic premise?
I'm sick of saying it, I'm sick of seeing 2 weak as piss players in CM, I'm sick of seeing the repeated selection of **** non-full backs. Just pick the right ****ing players to fit the squad, then when Jan comes get the players to fit a different style and formation.