Hughton's preferred set up.

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Walsh.i.am

Walsh.i.am

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Jan 24, 2011
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Gem of the Norfolk coast. Bar none!
Just seen this from Paddy Davitt, EDP football correspondent.
He's been talking to Alex Tettey at Colney and it seems CH prefers a
4-2-3-1 line up, with Tettey one of the 'holding' two.

Most interestin thing was #ncfc boss told him (Tettey) he is looking 2 operate in a 4-2-3-1 set up - with him vying for 1 of the '2' slots #edp24
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Whether this is purely for away matches is not clear - very little is with only 140 characters to play with!
I'm hoping this will be expanded on in the EDP/EEN but no guarantees if it's just training gound banter.
 
well that's the line up that i like the most. whether it works with our current players is yet to be seen! i could see fox and tettey (no idea how good he is to be honest) sitting deep with howson, snodgrass and pilks (or perm any three from about half a dozen) playing behind holt. we'd keep the ball better playing that way and we'd be harder to play through. much would depend on whether we'd have enough quality going forward to break teams down.
 
Crikey,

You need to have one hell of a pair of holding midfielders to pull it off though. If holding players loose the ball in the wrong area it can be quite dangerous and leave the back 4 exposed. Lets hope that this Tettey guy is good and he can build a good realtionship up with Fox.

I like that formation, it can look a bit defensive but it also encorages the full backs to get forward, like in the diamond from seasons past. You do need 2 very reliable holding midfielders to play this though. (see Spanish team)
 
Superman wears Grant Holt pyjamas in bed said:
exactly kemp, and we have good attacking full backs who if we're honest, are better going forward than they are going backwards!
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I'd say the opposite for Russ Martin. He is willing going forward but isn't the most accurate of passers or crossers. It is a new trend for teams to play a version of 5 in midfield but I'm not convinced Holt, still our best prospect up front I suppose, is a lone striker. If we do play him on his own then the forward midfield players have to support him in numbers.
And how can you not play this seasons leading scorer:D
 
Tettey is a good player, strong fast and good on the ball. Not sure he's a holding player though as he likes to join in the attacks from what, relatively, little I have seen of him.
 
I think City do have the players for a 4-2-3-1 formation. Tettey and Johnson as holding midfielders, Fox and Howson as the other deep players. I think Howson's pace gives him the edge, but Fox's long passing ability could come in if City are chasing the game late on. Howson can also play in the hole, but so can Hoolahan, Snodgrass and Butterfield. For now, Snodgrass will play on the right as E.Bennett is injured. Pilkington and Surman can both play on either flank. The advantage is the fluidity that keeps the opposing defence guessing. This is Premiership complexity to my mind, home or away. Should things go wrong and City are chasing the game, another striker can be brought on to switch to a 4-4-2. OTBC!
 
Have to confess I am getting quite excited. Once CH has everyone match fit and available to him, I can see this working, with options in virtually every position. He has built the squad pretty cannily with this in mind. OTBC
 
I think the Fox, Tettey partnership would be pretty good with a mixture of the two attributes, Tettey breaking things up and using his power breaking out and Fox being the kind of sweeper, picking up the loose balls and starting the attacks. I must admit, I like the sound of that combination. This is of course on the basis that Tettey is good at that kind of thing which is the essence of African players, strength and power.
 
Whatever his set up is I really think we need to find a place for fox and it looks like him and tettey in the '2' of the 4-2-3-1 could be brilliant
 
Superman wears Grant Holt pyjamas in bed said:
exactly kemp, and we have good attacking full backs who if we're honest, are better going forward than they are going backwards!
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But last time I checked we have very little holding midfielders in our setup. I am not sure about Tettey as I have never seen him play to be honest. All I can say is that I hope he is **** hot and him and Fox can play well together. What if Tettey or Fox gets injured? Who else would we use in that roll? Probably Bradley Johnson I guess, although his passing can be a bit wayward at times.

I do not really see Fox as proper Holding midfielder either.
 
Kemp8094 said:
But last time I checked we have very little holding midfielders in our setup. I am not sure about Tettey as I have never seen him play to be honest. All I can say is that I hope he is **** hot and him and Fox can play well together. What if Tettey or Fox gets injured? Who else would we use in that roll? Probably Bradley Johnson I guess, although his passing can be a bit wayward at times.

I do not really see Fox as proper Holding midfielder either.
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true. this is why i've been banging on about a holding player for so long! no idea if tettey will be any good but lets hope so. i love fox but he can't play the holding role alone, he just doesn't get enough dirt on his shirt if you know what i mean, so if tettey compliments him well then i think this system will work. injuries are bound to happen but i think the system would need to change rather than play round players (not holty ;)) in square holes
 
Superman wears Grant Holt pyjamas in bed said:
true. this is why i've been banging on about a holding player for so long! no idea if tettey will be any good but lets hope so. i love fox but he can't play the holding role alone, he just doesn't get enough dirt on his shirt if you know what i mean, so if tettey compliments him well then i think this system will work. injuries are bound to happen but i think the system would need to change rather than play round players (not holty ;)) in square holes
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I think that if one of them gets injured we would be back to the diamond with either Fox/Tettey at the base of it. I don't think we have anyone good enough appart from Fox/Tettey who could step into a holding roll. It's not a postition any midfielder can just step into, you have to have a lot of postitonal sense and have to be good at retaining posession, we have struggled with this.
 
i doubt we'll see the diamond again. lambert is just about the only manager in world football who uses it! it leaves us far too exposed both down the flanks and through the middle. it worked for us, god knows how, but that was then and this is now.
 
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