Match ratings vs Fleetwood

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Originally Posted by Elite_Pie

That's how I see it. I can't see how Jatta on Scott can work as a front two, because they both need to play the same position to be seen at their best. Jatta's performances and goalscoring record make him the clear first choice, but it means no starting place for Scott.

I know durham is a big fan of Cedwyn Scott, but I just haven't seen what he's seen. I would love to see Scott bag a goal from somewhere, because he hasn't scored in ages and is clearly low on confidence.

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This

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Originally Posted by freemuzzy

Hi Stuart, is it really ‘extreme bedwetting’ to say that Scott shouldn’t be starting a game as a left winger, purely so the opposition don’t know which formation we’re playing (until they work it out like everyone else 30 seconds in)?

Macari, Platt, Bedeau were again warming up as a back three so the whole focus of our preparation was catching them out. Well done, that worked - but then we’re stuck with a left side of Chicksen and Scott so is it really worth it? A bit of unpredictability is useful, but it shouldn't be the core focus when picking a team. It’s far more important that we build our identity and our players know their roles, rather than changing system every game and the manager being able to say ‘ah, wasn’t I clever’ in his post-match interview. How often do Pep and Arteta change their formations? There’s a reason, and it isn’t because they’re not as astute as Maynard.

In terms of playing alternatives to what we’ve got currently, Scott as a back-up striker is fine. No experiment was needed to know he hasn’t got the skillset to play as a winger at this level. If we’re playing the set-up we did on Sunday regularly we probably need an attacking wide player brought in (unless Tsaroulla plays further forward). For wing backs I think we’re covered with Jones, Gordon, Tsaroulla, Chicksen and Austin (who played well there whenever called upon last season).

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Spot on.

One of the first things Maynard said when he arrived - which I remember because it struck me as a strange thing to need to say - was how confident he was about his ability to match up tactically against managers at this (higher) level. Maybe therein lies the major weakness I've seen in him. Perhaps it was a sign that he's too obsessed with that aspect of management, or that he's not as confident in that respect as he was claiming.

SM (from what I've seen so far) so far seems to be far too concerned with setting teams up to match/counter or catch out the opposition and not focused enough on establishing a consistent set up that brings the best out of his own players. I've seen it before in managers and head coaches, and one of the tell-tale signs is the frequent deployment of players in positions that obviously don't suit them, suggesting that the coach/manager has become so fixated on the detail that they've lost sight of the obvious (can't see the wood for the trees, in other words).

So much of football is about mental confidence, and although a player will rarely complain if they're being picked to play, even if it's not in their preferred role, the reality is that if you have one or two players privately walking out of the tunnel thinking "I hope I can do this" rather than "I know I can do this" then the team is already vulnerable.

Spot on, freemuzzy.

One of the first things Maynard said when he arrived - which I remember because it struck me as a strange thing to need to say - was how confident he was about his ability to match up tactically against managers at this (higher) level. Maybe therein lies the major weakness I've seen in him. Perhaps it was a sign that he's too obsessed with that aspect of management, or that he's not as confident in that respect as he was claiming.

SM (from what I've seen so far) seems to me to be far too concerned with setting teams up to match/counter or catch out the opposition and not focused enough on establishing a consistent set up that brings the best out of his own players. I've seen it before in managers and head coaches, and one of the tell-tale signs is the frequent deployment of players in positions that obviously don't suit them, suggesting that the coach/manager has become so fixated on the detail that they've lost sight of the obvious (can't see the wood for the trees, in other words).

So much of football is about mental confidence, and although a player will rarely complain if they're being picked to play, even if it's not in their preferred role, the reality is that if you have one or two players privately walking out of the tunnel thinking "I hope I can do this" rather than "I know I can do this" then the team is already vulnerable.

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Originally Posted by Elite_Pie

That's how I see it. I can't see how Jatta on Scott can work as a front two, because they both need to play the same position to be seen at their best. Jatta's performances and goalscoring record make him the clear first choice, but it means no starting place for Scott.

I know durham is a big fan of Cedwyn Scott, but I just haven't seen what he's seen. I would love to see Scott bag a goal from somewhere, because he hasn't scored in ages and is clearly low on confidence.

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on

This

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Originally Posted by freemuzzy

Hi Stuart, is it really ‘extreme bedwetting’ to say that Scott shouldn’t be starting a game as a left winger, purely so the opposition don’t know which formation we’re playing (until they work it out like everyone else 30 seconds in)?

Macari, Platt, Bedeau were again warming up as a back three so the whole focus of our preparation was catching them out. Well done, that worked - but then we’re stuck with a left side of Chicksen and Scott so is it really worth it? A bit of unpredictability is useful, but it shouldn't be the core focus when picking a team. It’s far more important that we build our identity and our players know their roles, rather than changing system every game and the manager being able to say ‘ah, wasn’t I clever’ in his post-match interview. How often do Pep and Arteta change their formations? There’s a reason, and it isn’t because they’re not as astute as Maynard.

In terms of playing alternatives to what we’ve got currently, Scott as a back-up striker is fine. No experiment was needed to know he hasn’t got the skillset to play as a winger at this level. If we’re playing the set-up we did on Sunday regularly we probably need an attacking wide player brought in (unless Tsaroulla plays further forward). For wing backs I think we’re covered with Jones, Gordon, Tsaroulla, Chicksen and Austin (who played well there whenever called upon last season).

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On WBs not so sure, I’d love to see JJ as a 10 as I think he would cause a lot of damage, Austin has filled in but at this level not sure he’s the answer and I’d probably class Chicks as LB or LCB if we’re really struggling. I also think we’d find it easier to get an athletic WB in compared to a really dangerous 10 as JJ could be, then I’d just get a young pacy striker in as I don’t think we need another senior striker with primarily only playing one up front.

Apologies for the double post above. For some reason MAD is now telling me it hasn't posted my message due to a "database error", so I try again and then discover it's appeared twice!

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Originally Posted by jackal2

Apologies for the double post above. For some reason MAD is now telling me it hasn't posted my message due to a "database error", so I try again and then discover it's appeared twice!

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I've had similar issues

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Originally Posted by jackal2

Apologies for the double post above. For some reason MAD is now telling me it hasn't posted my message due to a "database error", so I try again and then discover it's appeared twice!

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I've posted this on The Nest thread. Notice at the top of Forum front page
https://boards.footymad.net/announcement.php?f=2429

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Originally Posted by jackal2

Apologies for the double post above. For some reason MAD is now telling me it hasn't posted my message due to a "database error", so I try again and then discover it's appeared twice!

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I have had the same problem mate.

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Originally Posted by freemuzzy

Hi Stuart, is it really ‘extreme bedwetting’ to say that Scott shouldn’t be starting a game as a left winger, purely so the opposition don’t know which formation we’re playing (until they work it out like everyone else 30 seconds in)?

Macari, Platt, Bedeau were again warming up as a back three so the whole focus of our preparation was catching them out. Well done, that worked - but then we’re stuck with a left side of Chicksen and Scott so is it really worth it? A bit of unpredictability is useful, but it shouldn't be the core focus when picking a team. It’s far more important that we build our identity and our players know their roles, rather than changing system every game and the manager being able to say ‘ah, wasn’t I clever’ in his post-match interview. How often do Pep and Arteta change their formations? There’s a reason, and it isn’t because they’re not as astute as Maynard.

In terms of playing alternatives to what we’ve got currently, Scott as a back-up striker is fine. No experiment was needed to know he hasn’t got the skillset to play as a winger at this level. If we’re playing the set-up we did on Sunday regularly we probably need an attacking wide player brought in (unless Tsaroulla plays further forward). For wing backs I think we’re covered with Jones, Gordon, Tsaroulla, Chicksen and Austin (who played well there whenever called upon last season).

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not a Stuart, and apologies my post came across more stridently than I meant.

It wasn't jackal's views on Scott's starting position I thought were unreasonable, I said the same myself, it was this:

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Originally Posted by jackal2

This Head Coach seems to put square pegs in round holes with alarming regularity, perhaps because he spends too much time messing with tactics and formations to counter and confuse the opposition, and not enough time working on what formation best suits the players he's got. It's extremely frustrating to see what looks like a good team sheet, and then realise in the opening few minutes that they've been set up in a way that undermines their chances.

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SM did go through a period last season of playing players out of position for reasons I couldn't understand, but in my head I've chalked that down to experience and given him a clean slate for this season.

The reason he's playing Scott and Chicksen there, and Crowley deep, now is because he can't play his real first choice XI because of injuries and recruitment delays. Not because he's trying to catch sides out or because he likes messing with tactics. imo.