Bye bye 5-3-2?

[Oldstripy]

Which midfield two would you play?

That's not a question with the intention of criticising your answer. I'm just interested to know who would be your first choices.

Would Miller and JO'B work?

[nw6pie]

We should have known what this season had in store for us during pre season when Ardley was having to experiment with a diamond because we had signed players he had no idea what their best position was. Unfortunately that has been a continuing theme throughout. Diamond, 433, 4231, 352, 532, where’s Ted Rodgers when you need him!

The question is: Did NA tell the owners he wanted to play the diamond formation and then ask for players to fit that system? You’d hope so, but then why abandon it at the first sign of trouble? Or is that how the cookie crumbled signings-wise, so he went with that?

The head coach and head of recruitment need to be on the same page this summer, otherwise I dread to think where we’ll end up.

Finally, if we want energy in the centre of the park, maybe we should give DKE a runout there. At least he’s competitive.

[drillerpie]

finally, if we want energy in the centre of the park, maybe we should give dke a runout there. At least he’s competitive.

yes!

[ncfcog]

The question is: Did NA tell the owners he wanted to play the diamond formation and then ask for players to fit that system? You’d hope so, but then why abandon it at the first sign of trouble? Or is that how the cookie crumbled signings-wise, so he went with that?

The head coach and head of recruitment need to be on the same page this summer, otherwise I dread to think where we’ll end up.

Finally, if we want energy in the centre of the park, maybe we should give DKE a runout there. At least he’s competitive.

That last line about DKE, it’s been said before and I raised it on Twitter a while ago. I honestly believe he could make the transition. He doesn’t need to be a playmaker, he just needs to win the ball and give it to the playmaker whoever that may be.

[the_anticlough]

That last line about DKE, it’s been said before and I raised it on Twitter a while ago. I honestly believe he could make the transition. He doesn’t need to be a playmaker, he just needs to win the ball and give it to the playmaker whoever that may be.

Wouldn't mind seeing what it looks like for a game either - the new Nobby Stiles might be right under our nose!
Same with Barnett, I'd like to see that for a game too.
If we revert to a back four with Brindley and Chicksen, they'd be available! In my mind, we've only got Reeves. Apart from Rodrigues being given a go deeper, these are the next up

[nw6pie]

How about a 4-3-1-2 of:

Slocombe/Steele
Brindley / Lacey / Rawlinson / Chicksen
DKE / Reeves or Doyle or JOB / Barnett
Rodrigues
Wootton / Enzio or Knowles or Sam

Could be a disaster, but we need more energy in midfield and DKE and Barnett have that at least. But all of our players need to stop passing the ball backwards so much - it’s become the default move, rather than taking a risk that may or may not come off.

[queenslandpie]

How about a 4-3-1-2 of:

Slocombe/Steele
Brindley / Lacey / Rawlinson / Chicksen
DKE / Reeves or Doyle or JOB / Barnett
Rodrigues
Wootton / Enzio or Knowles or Sam

Could be a disaster, but we need more energy in midfield and DKE and Barnett have that at least. But all of our players need to stop passing the ball backwards so much - it’s become the default move, rather than taking a risk that may or may not come off.

I think that the first 4 words sum it up really really well. Although it could possibly work for 45 minutes, as it would absolutely bamboozle the opposition by which time we will have missed 6 clear cut chances and then get beaten 3-0.

[jackal2]

Would Miller and JO'B work?

It was mentioned that they were trying Miller in centre-midfield during training, but he hasn't appeared there in a match yet, so maybe that reveals how it went!

I like JOB because he'll always give you a shift and he isn't afraid to get stuck in, but again we're talking about a guy well into his thirties who used to be a winger.

The benchmark for a successful two-man midfield for us was Neal Bishop and Ricky Ravenhill, both experienced players in their late twenties when they played for us. Ravenhill was the little rat and Bishop had a bit more height and skill, but he too had a great engine and didn't shy away from a tackle. In fact, between them they had the energy of three players and that's why they worked well together.

I don't even see any of our current midfielders as an equivalent to either of them, sadly. In fact, it's a sobering thought that Michael Doyle is the same age as Neal Bishop and was enjoying the peak years of his career around the same time as our Munto experience. He was as good if not better than both of them at that time, but that says it all really. That was over a decade ago.

[Stan Marshall]

I’ve said this before but my theory is that we’re playing three centre backs largely
to address the lack of height in the team - particularly with our inability to defend set plays.
Other than the centre backs we only really have Wootton who offers any real height.
We have the smallest midfield in the league, when we play Reeves, Doyle & Griffiths, and we’ve been playing DKE & Chicksen as the wing backs, again, not much physical presence there!
We also have a reserve goalkeeper who lacks height and can’t command his box. Hence, we’ve had to sign a replacement quickly.
The height and physical presence issue is something we desperately need to address for next season!

[magpie_mania]

I’ve said this before but my theory is that we’re playing three centre backs largely
to address the lack of height in the team - particularly with our inability to defend set plays.
Other than the centre backs we only really have Wootton who offers any real height.
We have the smallest midfield in the league, when we play Reeves, Doyle & Griffiths, and we’ve been playing DKE & Chicksen as the wing backs, again, not much physical presence there!
We also have a reserve goalkeeper who lacks height and can’t command his box. Hence, we’ve had to sign a replacement quickly.
The height and physical presence issue is something we desperately need to address for next season!

Interesting that the Alty commentators on the stream commented on what a big team we are.