Albion v Bristol C team news/matchthread

[Leicesterbaggie]

It's not that we aren't applauding our new style of attacking football because I certainly am, it's our shambolic defending that I'm concerned about. There's nothing that states that just because a side is attack minded that they can't be strong at the back as well. I realise that to play it out from the back is proving difficult for us at the present moment and that is probably because our defenders aren't good enough to play this system. We are much too vulnerable and need to tighten up, whether that is to persist with a back three and hope that we improve or revert to a flat back four. It also has to be taken into consideration that we are now playing at a lower level to last season and that opposition strikers, in the main, have not truly capitalised on our poor defending. I'm not advocating a return to the turgid football of previous seasons but we can't rely on the maxim 'If you score three we'll score four'. There has to be a happy medium whereby good defending is as important as being a strong attacking outfit.

[The Minn Junta]

It's not that we aren't applauding our new style of attacking football because I certainly am, it's our shambolic defending that I'm concerned about. There's nothing that states that just because a side is attack minded that they can't be strong at the back as well. I realise that to play it out from the back is proving difficult for us at the present moment and that is probably because our defenders aren't good enough to play this system. We are much too vulnerable and need to tighten up, whether that is to persist with a back three and hope that we improve or revert to a flat back four. It also has to be taken into consideration that we are now playing at a lower level to last season and that opposition strikers, in the main, have not truly capitalised on our poor defending. I'm not advocating a return to the turgid football of previous seasons but we can't rely on the maxim 'If you score three we'll score four'. There has to be a happy medium whereby good defending is as important as being a strong attacking outfit.

Very balanced and well put LB, we'll soon see in the end of season shake up whether it will all be to our cost or benefit, right now let's hope the oppo' keep missing and Johnston keeps away from the Lurpak!

[saltnshake]

We started the season with a flat back 4 and had the same issues we were getting over-run in midfield, the problem with the current system is when we play out from the back teams have worked out if you stop the pass to the 2 midfielders we have no out-ball the front 3 need to make space to receive the ball but a lot of the time are standing still and as good as Barnes is going forward when we don't have the ball he needs to be the player who drops back and helps out the midfield he doesn't do that so we are still getting over-run we also don't really have anyone who can play upfront on their own so i'm not really sure what the answer is and by the looks of it neither is Big Dave.