How about this for a line up?

[Calgarybaggy]

We have two huge problems right now.

Our first problem is that we are way too slow pushing forward when we have the ball so the defending team streams back and puts ten men behind the ball. Any well drilled team at any level can defend with ten me behind the ball against a team of higher quality and have a high degree of success as long as they stick to their assignments and don't lose concentration, which is why we see that tactic all the time, and do it ourselves sometimes.

Our second problem is that once their defense has set itself up, we need to have the players that can break it down with good movement and clever passes. Right now, we are so predictable. Some call it continental style possession-based football. I call it what it is - boring and ineffective. We get to about 20-30 yards out, let them set up a ten man defense and then play keep away for a few minutes until we make a mistake and lose the ball. We hardly ever generate any clear cut chances and the one or two times we do, we often miss the target, mainly because whoever has the chance finds so many players in the way he can hardly see the goal. We are far too easy to defend against.

So I suggest a complete change of approach.

Put just three at the back eg, Heggem Bartley, and Furlong.

Put a sweeper-like midfielder in front of them e.g. Mowatt or Molomby

Put four in an attacking midfield - Johnston on the left, Grant and Grady in the middle and Fellows on the right.

Put two up front e.g. Dike and Armstrong.

The key to this is the two central midfielders and two forwards. I think Grant would do well as an attacking central midfielder because he is more of a creator than a striker but he can score goals. Instead of him constantly being pushed into the corners by a packed defense, give him free reign to attack quickly up the middle before enough defenders can get back to bog us down.

Grady is a very talented player who is more than capable of making that clever pass that puts someone into space but also gets bogged down and discouraged trying to work his way down the wing against a set up and disciplined defense. He is wasted on the wing but has the talent to push through the middle if he has a little space and make that killer pass to Armstrong or Dike but never seems to have the opportunity to do it.

Every time an attack breaks down in our half, the instruction will be to play the ball up to grady and grant as quickly as possible. I think they will enjoy marauding forward through the middle because it suits their skills much better. Right now the only person who ever does that is Molomby, usually only when there is five minutes left and we need a goal -he has all the desire in the world to do that but not quite enough talent to make it count. Grant and Grady do have the talent and will have options on both wings and also two options up front We will effectively have six attacking players rushing towards their goal before they have any time to set up their ten man defense because we will have the two central midfielders with the skill to create chances.

I think we will generate far more chances doing this and with two up front getting regular service instead one forlorn striker who never gets any service, we have a much better chance of capitalizing on those chances.

The draw backs will be that we may be weaker on defense but most teams only play one attacker against us anyway, and some players like Styles might not fit in very well into that system.

At the end of the day, I would rather see us try to make a system like this work and occasionally get beat 4-3 than watch us walk our way through a match with 70% possession and 20 mediocre attempts on goal and lose 1-0, which we have had a steady diet of this season.

Thoughts?

[RedRocks]

I really like the thinking here. Shifting to a 3-at-the-back with a sweeper-style midfielder makes sense given how few teams actually come at us with numbers. It frees up bodies to push forward quickly and exploit space before it’s gone. Grant and Grady through the middle would be a big switch, but you’re right since both are wasted out wide when teams park the bus. Let them run at defenders while Dike and Armstrong keep the backline honest

It’s bold, it’s aggressive, and at this point in the season, playing it safe is doing us no favours

[Prando]

I’m afraid that Bartley would be a much more significant liability in a back 3 !

[boingy]

It sounds like a plan. By the way Molumby is more talented than hes given credit for. Hes a quick thinker and just makes the pass instead of over thinking it. He has skills too. His personality is impulsive which means no messing, which sometimes is misread as not being skillful. Just what I see. Thats what we need from a few more players. I would have to include Price and Styles somewhere because of their footballing ability.

[SwedishBaggie]

It sounds like a plan. By the way Molumby is more talented than hes given credit for. Hes a quick thinker and just makes the pass instead of over thinking it. He has skills too. His personality is impulsive which means no messing, which sometimes is misread as not being skillful. Just what I see. Thats what we need from a few more players. I would have to include Price and Styles somewhere because of their footballing ability.

? . I would have to include Price and Styles somewhere because of their footballing ability?

13 vs 11 would probably be the answer. 😜

[Calgarybaggy]

It?s not necessarily the personnel but the formation. Put your two most skilled and dynamic players in central midfield with a mandate to push forward as quickly as you can. The duo could be Price and Grant, or Grady and Johnston, or even Fellows and Armstrong or any combination of players as long as they fit that role.
Mowatt and Molumby are not the right kind of players. Neither are Wallace and Swift. They are all good players and could be used elsewhere but not in that role.

[soulman101]

Grady's agent is talking to a lot of clubs ,he has made is mind up he his off in the summer .
Unless we was short ,I would use him from the bench .
Swift and his agent are being more respectful to us ,use Swift to his strengths and he is better than Grady .

[boingy]

? . I would have to include Price and Styles somewhere because of their footballing ability?

13 vs 11 would probably be the answer. 😜

🤣 Thats it!

[WBA123]

I quite like the formation, I'd just tweak some of the personnel.

I would play Fellows and Styles as wing backs.

I would have Grady nowhere near the first XI. I'd rather see Molumby there, or even Swift to be honest. I'd really like to see 2 up front.

We have 6 games to save our season, we have to make changes somewhere.