Better "Late on" than never. A visit from the Orient. Sat 22 Feb 3-0'clock.

[truewhite15]

Question. Iles writes that we switched to a back three at half-time, but it didn't look like it to me. If our back three was (L-R) Murphy-Johnston-Forrester, with Osei-Tutu at LWB, who was RWB - Cogz or Schon?

From the 45-75 minute mark (Vic arrived on 73 and we tweaked again IMO), Osei-Tutu and Schon had touches in very similar areas (JOT all the ones in the top half, Szabi bottom half - we're kicking left to right):
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Screenshot 2025-02-23 at 22.18.42.png
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...while Cogz and Murphy also balanced each other out... (Cogz had a little wander over that notional vertical halfway so I've added a red line to separate his touches from Murph's):
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Screenshot 2025-02-23 at 22.20.43.png
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I don't think we went "back three/five" until Forino came on for JOT. What did other people watching it think? In the end it doesn't matter much as long as we're fluid, but this shit fascinates me... and much nicer to analyse after a win, especially one facilitated by the manager making changes...

Yeah, Iles is dead wrong on this one. We started the game in a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1, with Schon and JOT advanced wide and Matete as the most advanced midfielder.

After Jay's unceremonious hoiking at half time, and Collins' introduction, we'd gone 4-4-2 - but again, JOT and Szabi were so advanced that it often resembled a 4-2-4. The withdrawal of Murphy and introduction of Forino took us to 5-3-2, with Schon switching to LWB, and then the subbing of sub Adeboyejo for Lolos took us more to a compact 5-4-1, when we were simply scrapping for time.

Schumacher himself said we went to a back three for start of second half…so….I dunno….didnt look like one but Murphy went to left side centre back apparently. Think it was a 343 with Collins, McAtee and Szabi…

Bloody lopsided if that's the case! Admittedly I was looking pitch level across the attacking 18 yard box, but it certainly didn't look like Murphy was playing LCB. If he was, then Osei-Tutu's positioning was f*cking shocking throughout that 2nd half...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Thanks folks. BWFCi, I've *seen* the quote from Schumacher but not *heard* it and by Marc's own admission there have been a few errors recently in the automated transcription (including Kylian Mbappe...). Or maybe Schuey said it but mighta misspoke - because as noted it didn't look like a back three. Will listen to the Last Word pod this morning, it might be on there.

Again, it doesn't reeeeeallly matter, certainly not nearly as much as the fact that we now have a gaffer who can wisely and calmly use the tools at his disposal. Not just a Plan B (which is not just Plan A in a different tie) but also, as TW15 notes, a Plan C and Plan D...

[BWFC_Insane]

Thanks folks. BWFCi, I've *seen* the quote from Schumacher but not *heard* it and by Marc's own admission there have been a few errors recently in the automated transcription (including Kylian Mbappe...). Or maybe Schuey said it but mighta misspoke - because as noted it didn't look like a back three. Will listen to the Last Word pod this morning, it might be on there.

Again, it doesn't reeeeeallly matter, certainly not nearly as much as the fact that we now have a gaffer who can wisely and calmly use the tools at his disposal. Not just a Plan B (which is not just Plan A in a different tie) but also, as TW15 notes, a Plan C and Plan D...

I heard it iirc pretty sure he said we switched to a back three at half time to get Collins into the deeper number ten role.

Think it might be this interview.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kt0z5h

I think it was a sort of hybrid 343/442 to be honest. Tutu and JDC as wing backs sort of. With a front three sort of.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Yeah the Last Word pod has Schuey saying "build with a back three" – so that could imply we switch formations between being in possession and out. As I say JDC and Murphy seemed - by the eye-test and the touch maps - to occupy parallel territory and so did Szabi/Jordi higher up.

[MattySlug]

I checked the app…
WHAT A COMEBACK WIN I WILL JUST CHECK TIMES of Goals;
Oh cool also well over 20k attended!
20,851 attendees!