⚽ Match Thread vs. Mansfield Town FC 14.10.23 [EFL L2]

[the_anticlough]

We need to stop playing people in positions that they are not comfortable with... Nemane is a out and out winger and nothing else. His strength is being able to beat his man and get the ball into the box, he cant do that if he is tracking back defending.. The same goes for Jones..
We need to play to our strengths and take the game to the opposition..

I would've thought playing two attacking wide players was taking the game to the opposition, as long as you can sustain the level of play, but maybe that's the point you're making Duzza.
I hope LW doesn't veer away from his preferred system of play until we've at least seen someone at right-back who can hold down the position for more than 2 or 3 games.

The other point I really liked from LW's interview (the 1st was the comment on L2 teams' squads) was about giving the promotion winning players a chance and the natural evolution of the team as it (hopefully) ascends.

This has got to be a very timely message. He mentioned that 9 of the starters v Mansfield were NL footballers last season. Now they are EFL players, but football's a brutal business and you continually have to prove yourself and the only way to do this is in the games themselves.

[matt_magpie]

We need to stop playing people in positions that they are not comfortable with... Nemane is a out and out winger and nothing else. His strength is being able to beat his man and get the ball into the box, he cant do that if he is tracking back defending.. The same goes for Jones..
We need to play to our strengths and take the game to the opposition..

I agree neither are wingbacks as such but what players out there are? It’s such a tough position to play

I think these two would be the better ones in this league playing wingback and the mere fact they’re so attacking means we are taking it to the opposition. We are scoring goals but obviously in certain games conceding and a lot in some cases but is it down to them? We get an extra man in midfield with this system so at times it’s more how we play it than the system, but then look at Mansfield, basic set pieces really undid us.
I think LWs right, we’re learning, facts are on L2 is teams just do things better and we’ve found out the hard way at times as have Wrexham.
I’m pretty sure we will bring in a couple of top notch defenders in Jan if we’re serious about promotion which I think we are.

[thefulltenyards]

I would also be very happy to see Nemane and Jones play in their more natural positions as attacking wingers in a 442 or 424. This would clearly remove some of the defensive weaknesses of both players and focus more on what they do best.

I'm sure they would too.

However as AC rightly points out that would involve a significant change in formation. New roles and individual responsibilities would need to be learnt and an amendment to the overall approach. Obviously this can easily be achieved on the training ground especially under these coaches. But personally I wouldn't do that for two main reasons. Firstly the formation and playing with wing backs with traditional wingers has worked wonders, we are 2nd currently after all. Against average and poor opposition we win using this attacking approach, on that basis we should be well in the mix come end of the season.

Secondly again as AC pointed out we haven't got 2 (really need 3) players who can play the traditional well enough in my opinion. Who are we playing at right back , and who is his competition/replacement?
Plus we then go from 3 to 2 centre backs and their defiencies will be likely more exposed.

The two named players should be commended for adapting so well to positions which were alien to them. Understandably against better teams their defensive deficiencies will be exposed and they have and we will likely lose but to date this season Nemane has performed well and Jones could be argued to be one of our best performers full stop.

If we have the players in the squad consider the change but until then I would play these two slightly out of position rather than a 442.

The above are just my thoughts on what I've seen this season and last.

[Proactive not Reactive]

I totally agree that we didn't bin half the squad in pre-season and bring 8 or 9 new players in but as said previous this will naturally evolve hopefully as we improve.
Think it will be difficult to change the system at the moment as the personnel are recruited for the current system but if LW strongly felt that way we could play Brindley, Macari or TAR at right back and Cameron or Chicksen when fit at left back, Crowley and Jones wide with licence to come inside and Didsy in the 10 role.
Personally at this stage I would keep it with the 3 and the WB's with Bostock and Palmer and the 3rd centre back primarily covering the W/B's and occasionally McGoldrick and Crowley - think this gives us greater control of the ball that LW and the Brothers seem to want.

[the_anticlough]

I would also be very happy to see Nemane and Jones play in their more natural positions as attacking wingers in a 442 or 424. This would clearly remove some of the defensive weaknesses of both players and focus more on what they do best.

.... New roles and individual responsibilities would need to be learnt and an amendment to the overall approach. Obviously this can easily be achieved on the training ground especially under these coaches. But personally I wouldn't do that for two main reasons. Firstly the formation and playing with wing backs with traditional wingers has worked wonders, we are 2nd currently after all. Against average and poor opposition we win using this attacking approach, on that basis we should be well in the mix come end of the season.

I think we've played a back 4 for about 20mins so far this season (somewhere around our 5th or 6th game)...the 4 looked fine, but what was happening in front of them broke down, maybe a tweak in role confused them or gave an excuse to stop playing, but it didn't look good.

Overall, in LW's tenure how much pitch time has been spent with a back 4? 0.5% might be being generous. I think some fans underestimate how reluctant coaches will be to take apart playing systems they've spent years honing and all pre-season working on. Going by his latest interview, it's the players filling the roles who are under scrutiny, not the roles themselves. Causally switching formations is for more hap-hazard coaches or desperate ones under threat of relegation or losing their jobs (like NA tried just before he lost his job).

[the_anticlough]

I totally agree that we didn't bin half the squad in pre-season and bring 8 or 9 new players in but as said previous this will naturally evolve hopefully as we improve.
Think it will be difficult to change the system at the moment as the personnel are recruited for the current system but if LW strongly felt that way we could play Brindley, Macari or TAR at right back and Cameron or Chicksen when fit at left back, Crowley and Jones wide with licence to come inside and Didsy in the 10 role.
Personally at this stage I would keep it with the 3 and the WB's with Bostock and Palmer and the 3rd centre back primarily covering the W/B's and occasionally McGoldrick and Crowley - think this gives us greater control of the ball that LW and the Brothers seem to want.

Agree with all.
On the position names though, Jones and Nemane aren't really 'backs', they look like an old-fashioned outside-left and outside-right to me, or call it left and right midfield

If JJ and AN aren't backs then Brindley and Cameron have nothing to be in the 'centre' of! A back three should be right-back, centre-back, left-back...and that's it for 'backs'! (I realise that the idea having 1 centre-half like in the old days, could cause some fans to pass out )

If a side attacks down the right, it's mainly Cameron's job to defend it, so I'd say that makes him the left-back. With 2 holding midfielders and the firm principles of 'everyone defends' and 'defend as a team' that should be the defence sorted, assuming you have players who can play those roles well enough. If not, I suspect that, for LW, the player will go and not the role, but we will see...

[Woodypie]

Everyone can see the 'problem' is that we are playing better teams. I am confident the team will get better and that the club have the resources to make that happen. But we aren't actually doing poorly now.

[durhampie]

I agree neither are wingbacks as such but what players out there are? It’s such a tough position to play

I think these two would be the better ones in this league playing wingback and the mere fact they’re so attacking means we are taking it to the opposition. We are scoring goals but obviously in certain games conceding and a lot in some cases but is it down to them? We get an extra man in midfield with this system so at times it’s more how we play it than the system, but then look at Mansfield, basic set pieces really undid us.
I think LWs right, we’re learning, facts are on L2 is teams just do things better and we’ve found out the hard way at times as have Wrexham.
I’m pretty sure we will bring in a couple of top notch defenders in Jan if we’re serious about promotion which I think we are.

Chicksen for one when fit, but LW has not picked him in recent games..

[Elite_Pie]

An interesting discussion, but can't it have it's own thread?

I'm sick of seeing ' Match Thread vs. Mansfield Town FC 14.10.23' at the top of the board.

[KeepTheMagpieFlyingH]

An interesting discussion, but can't it have it's own thread?

I'm sick of seeing ' Match Thread vs. Mansfield Town FC 14.10.23' at the top of the board.

Bump