4-4-2

[tisdale 1]

oh yeh and stanno has had such a good time has he ?
point is watson did play well not neccsairly as a attacker but as a playmaker so why not bring of harley for stanno and stewart of for logan and then you have exxatly the same sytem we played but with 2 strikers that can really run with a feeder in logan who can knock the balls on for them

TBH none of our strikers have set the world alight so far and lets get it right watson has only got one goal looking at his record in the last few years he has not been and out and out goal scorer.
also we have craig back soon and bash in the stands so we have options if they dont score they will be dropped.

And i think watson being replaced by stanno was a good change as it is like for like.

 

[benwatson=goals]

TBH none of our strikers have set the world alight so far and lets get it right watson has only got one goal looking at his record in the last few years he has not been and out and out goal scorer.
also we have craig back soon and bash in the stands so we have options if they dont score they will be dropped.

And i think watson being replaced by stanno was a good change as it is like for like.

agree but (not just because i like him) i dont feel watson deserved to come of and watson is not a out and out goal scorer but he works hard and feeds the other strikers he wont be top scorrer but he works well with stanno and stewart in a system like tht but tis is to afraid tht all three strikers are to similar so he wont play all three at once

 

[DaveE]

McAllister looked really on fire for the reserves and I would much rather see him playing up front either in the middle of a 4 3 3 or preferably in a 4 4 2. Moxey needs to play left midfield and I would persevere with Liam on the right. Harley needs to be central with either Gilly or Rob. However, I can't see Tis dropping either Rob or Gilly so you are left with the rather unbalanced 4 4 2 we had on Saturday.

 

[International]

We are more able to play a 4-4-2 than 4-3-3 in my opinion. Its simpler, requires less reading of the game, and provides cover down the flanks. But then, as you say, the depth of the squad is such that our hand could be forced if there were a couple of injuries.

I think we have a squad that is fairly young and relatively inexperienced when it comes to playing formations such as 4-3-3, and this is why I think we struggle. Tis stuck with it for at least 5 games and I assume hoped that the players would adapt to the responsibilities expected of each individual.

I like to see 4-3-3 depolyed like this:

--------ST--------
--LW----------RW--
------------------
----CM------CM----
--------DM--------
------------------
--LB--CD--CD--RB--
------------------
--------GK--------

Playing 4-3-3 in this style would suit us if we needed to revert to a 4-5-1 to strenghten our defensive game (especially when 2-1 up with 10 mins to play), however right now I don't think we have the flexibility or experience in the squad to play this formation.

You are right about the movement of the strikers. I think it was at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Spain played a variation of 4-3-3 without wingers, and I thought the three strikers interchanged positions and run the channels to great effect during the group stages.

Chelsea also played this formation during their successful 2004/05 and 2005/06 Premier League campaign, but they had players such as Makélélé, Lampard, Tiago. These players all had individual attributes that allowed Chelsea to play this formation to great effect, Lampard chipped in with 19 goals (ok including penalties), Makélélé played the defensive midfielder role, and Tiago could take up both attacking and defensive duties.

Unlike Spain though Chelsea they had midfielders (Duff, Cole, Robben) playing the support role for an out and out striker i.e. Drogba. All of which chipped in with 8-10 goals a season.

 

[benwatson=goals]

McAllister looked really on fire for the reserves and I would much rather see him playing up front either in the middle of a 4 3 3 or preferably in a 4 4 2. Moxey needs to play left midfield and I would persevere with Liam on the right. Harley needs to be central with either Gilly or Rob. However, I can't see Tis dropping either Rob or Gilly so you are left with the rather unbalanced 4 4 2 we had on Saturday.

agree that moxey should be playing l and slo that harley should be central but doesnt mcallistair have a nck of spending to long on the ball ? i might be wrong but from what i saw at shrewsberry (cup tie) he was in some way responsible for there final goal by losing the ball way upfeild when we were on the attack