Originally Posted by
jacobncfc
I don't want us to go all defensive by any means. Our strength is clearly upfront and, as patchy as our form has been, you'd have to say that Wootton/Roberts/Rodrigues are scoring and creating plenty of goals. I don't see that changing, particularly, so our job is to get the team functioning behind them so that they aren't having to score at least three to win a game. On paper that team which was so good at the back end of last season looked like a defensive line up, but our approach to games meant that it wasn't.
Getting Slocombe and Cameron back is clearly going to help with that, but I still think we can make the midfield more balanced.
Slocombe
Brindley/DKE - Lacey - Cameron - Taylor/Chicksen
O'Brien - Francis - Palmer
Roberts - Wootton - Rodrigues
For me, that team looks balanced. It's not perfect, but I'm not sure anything we can put out (or anyone else at this level really) will be. A lack of pace/runners in behind is the obvious issue, but we have Nemane and Mitchell available to bring on in games where that is standing out as a particular problem.
In midfield you have Francis who can focus on sitting, linking the play from defence forward (which he's good at) and screening the defence (which he needs to work on). Palmer looks ideal to play in a more box-to-box role, and then O'Brien can look to get into the box and support the attack when we have the ball, and start the press when we don't (with the added protection of two other midfielders behind him if he does get passed around).