I think it is taken as a given that defensively Mick has worked wonders since he has been here, we now look harder to break down, more organised & we are conceding less than a goal a game. (Over our last ten in the league) But Boro aside it is not working going forward, we look toothless up front & the supply from midfield is woeful. (Only scored 9 in the last ten league games.) So what would you do over the remainder of the season, would you ride it out (as I think Mick will) & hope we have enough about us to get another 14 or so points to stay up or would you have a tinker with formation to try to improve us going forward.? For what it is worth I would have a tinker with our formation; GK â Henderson RB â Stearman LB â Cressy CB â Smith CB â Chambers RM â Martin LM â Murphy CM â Hyam CM â Ndaw AM â JET or McGoldrick S â Chopra I am sure you will all have your own ideas & many will disagree with my team. I have tried to make sure we stay nice and solid at the back but at the same time trying to give us a bit more from midfield. It does not need to be a negative tactic by playing 5 in the midfield, I actually think it may produce more attacking options for usâ¦..Over to you guys.
I think what Mick will do and what i would do is Keep it as Tight as possible and hope to nick the odd goal, Now is not the time to pretend we are Real Madrid. I'd keep the line up as it is with Hyam and N'daw holding. Up front McGoldrick can play keep ball and try the long range efforts with Chopra getting in the box having a sniff.
I pretty much agree with the team you say, has a bit more balance to it than we currently have!! I'd question playing Chopra upfront on his own though, I don't think he's good at this, he needs a big man uptop. Would prefer a big man to play the lone role like Murphy or Nouble. I really wouldn't keep the current set up though it needs more balance. If we're playing 442, I wouldn't mind seeing Hewitt given more of a chance at RB, Martin play on the RW and bring Drury in the middle. Currently our best LM is Murphy so I'd play him there although that means not playing him uptop, unless JET is played on the left. Chopra for me has to play but not sure who with, I don't overly think it should be with McLean or McGoldrick. Or go 451 like you say numberous combinations in the attacking 3 or Martin, McGoldrick, JET, Drury or Murphy with either Murphy or Nouble uptop. Or we could even go 532 with 3 CB's and Edwards/Hewitt and Cresswell as fullbacks and Murphy and Chopra upfront. The only problem with this is we only have 3 CMs!!
Good thread Hoppers, I think this weekend has highlighted what I thought Mick was up to and although there are obvious merits to his approach it really doesn't inspire and I'll certainly think twice before digging into my pocket to watch up park a bus. Though I think the back 5 positions almost pick themselves now which must be considered as a step forward (even if it is a small step) Personally I'd stick Murph up top with Chopper/JET (behind) Murph has been excellent (at times this season) especially alongside DJ so I feel he has been a little hard done by although he certainly is not our messiah, he'll atleast offer a bit more of a physical presence and cause the opposition defence a few problems. I'd give N'Diaw a week off as he's not been doing us many favours of late and I'd stick Drury in there to have a go to win himself a new contract. I'd also bring JET back into the fold and get him atleast on the bench and possibly replacing Edwards or having a run up top to atleast give us an outlet to keep the ball on the deck... Plus in terms of long range efforts (which is all we can muster as a threat currently) I can't think of many better players than JET as they are all a bit useless at hitting the target on a regular basis and with JET atleast his effort are hit with ferocity
**** it, just go 3-5-2 Hendo Stears, Chambo, Smith Edwards, Hyam, Anyone from our attacking mid options, N'daw, Cressy Chops, Murphy. Flood the middle, provide cover for the back line and have some drive through the centre. 3-5-2 with the ball, 5-3-2 without. or 4-2-3-1 Hendo Stears, Chambo, Smith, Cressy Hyam, N'daw Drury, Jet/McG, Martin Chops Chops doesn't suit the lone role but JET/McG should be close enough to him to thread the through balls. JET will see plenty of the ball and have less chance to drift in and out of the game. Could easily swap Martin for Murphy too. We don't have good wing play so may as well try and play down the middle. or Drop Edwards, move Martin to the right, bring Cressy forward and play another of our defenders behind him, sticking with 4-4-2 At the end of the day, I don't think it's the formation that's killing us, but the players who are playing in it.
5/3/2 or 3/5/2 is something that's crossed my mind. Something like this: Hendo / Loach Stearman - Chambers - Smith Edwards - Cresswell @ Wing back N'Daw - Hyam Martin or JET Murphy Chopra
My 4-4-2 would look something like this: Hendo / Loach Stearman - Chambers - Smith - Cresswell JET - N'Daw - Drury - Nouble Chopra - Murphy
I would go for 4-3-3, although this is not how Mick likes to line up. The team would be: Hendo Stearmen Smith Chambers Cresswell Hyam N'Daw Dury Jet Chops Murphy/McGoldrick All of the front the could interchange, I believe chops played on the left of a front three for Cardiff for a while. One thing for certain is that I think it's time for Jet. If MM sticks with his current formation then he can stick Jet up top with chops. We all know Jet can be a liability, but if he's on the pitch you can't help but think that next time he gets the ball he may do something magic.
Or I have more than 1 option to change it around I think the point being something needs to change, keeping the same personel means every game we play is going to be painful!!
