We could be too far adrift by that stage though. How Schar and Fraser can not get into this team is beyond me. Surely they are worth a start at this stage? The Everton away performance from last year springs to mind. 4-1-2-2-1. Schar was instrumental in that and yet he hasn't got a look in this season.
Personally, not a fan of Fraser, I think he wasn't even worth the £0 we paid. I think Murphy's a better player, but would be suited to a wide role.
Big decisions basically need to be made. The 4-3-3 you speak of makes the most sense to me. Flat back four, Manq/Schar/Fede/Lewis (Ritchie's not a ****ing left back, and just gets worse every game). Holding midfielder (Hayden will do). Two central midfielder with the ability to get it forward (Almiron, Willock, Shelvey, Longstaff). Wide right (Murphy), wide left (ASM) with 'inside forward' responsibility. And a recognised striker (Wilson, Gayle, Stephenson).
What do we not need? 3 CB's, wingbacks, attacking fullbacks, our fastest player being the most advanced, 3 or 4 formations per match.
There are so many basic managerial/coaching errors it beggars belief. We have 3 CB's playing, none of whom can play football, so they all stay well back and slow down attacks. 2 midfielders are then easy to over-run which is what happened when the dopey bastards switched to a back five, Jimenez got past one and there was three docile morons back peddling. ASM furthest forward means when he gets it, he has no support. He's also not making CF runs to stretch the opposition, because he wants the ball to feet.
Basically, everything our illustrious Head Coach continues to do is wrong and it is just mystifying how he can't see the issues.