Positives From Today

[LeverEnd]

Yes he was, but I think we have to give him a chance or we are just condoning Knight and Wheater's shitness.

[Barefoot Wanderer]

Maybe DF will go for Wheater/Mills in the middle and still allow Ream to protect the back 4. Trouble is this means playing 4-5-1 again unless he dropps Pratley for a striker

need to re-shape his formations IMO (4-3-3?), I think one of DF's downfalls is he is becoming predicable for other managers to suss out

last season no body had a clue who DF would pick or what formation he would choose. Although I have the sneaky feeling he'll make some bold decisions on Tuesday's game (which could be a positive?)

Another positive is that the Leeds game is another nail in Gartsides coffin. He should have taken a retirement package in 2007 and we would have all been grateful. The guys an embarrassment to our club and has made awful decisions - how long can he keep his job for if he keeps making a mockery of our club (the guy is an express, 1st class turd)

[LeverEnd]

4-5-1 is only any good with a very good player as the 1. We don't have one. Plus it needs the right midfield personnel, which we also don't have at the moment. Ream has played well in midfield but by havin g him there you''re pushing Spearing out of his best position, so I'd play him as centre half.

[Barefoot Wanderer]

4-5-1 is only any good with a very good player as the 1. We don't have one. Plus it needs the right midfield personnel, which we also don't have at the moment. Ream has played well in midfield but by havin g him there you''re pushing Spearing out of his best position, so I'd play him as centre half.

Agree.

And df has to play Medo who is a very capable midfielder (reminds me of Jay Jay sometimes)

[truewhite15]

442 at home, with Beckford and Cravies up top; Chungy/Hall, Eagles, Spearing/Medo/Ream and Pratley/Medo in midfield. Might as well pick balls from a bag with our defence. Still wouldn't have Ream at centre back right now...but then again, he can't be much worse than the lot who've currently got the gig.

451 away. Cravies/Ngog up top; Chungy/Hall, Eagles, Spearing, Medo/Ream and Pratley in midfield. Again, might as well pick the defence from the previous night's lottery numbers.

We need players up top who can hold the ball up, we need midfielders who will support the attack, but also protect the defence.

[truewhite15]

Medo's great, yeah - but he and Spearing play the same role, so it's one or the other.

I will say this, though; yesterday, Spearing spent a lot of his time with the ball with his shoulders in a permanent shrug, looking for somebody to show themselves for a pass. Medo wouldn't bother, he'd just take it on a run. He might lose it more times than most, but it seems a bit more proactive.

[Worthy4England]

Medo's great, yeah - but he and Spearing play the same role, so it's one or the other.

I will say this, though; yesterday, Spearing spent a lot of his time with the ball with his shoulders in a permanent shrug, looking for somebody to show themselves for a pass. Medo wouldn't bother, he'd just take it on a run. He might lose it more times than most, but it seems a bit more proactive.

I spotted that too. He was making it glaringly obvious. (Which is probably why I spotted it )

[Tombwfc]

I agree that at times Spearing and Medo do look very similiar and it makes us pretty unadventurous going forward (although I think it would be less of an issue if they had Eagles in front of them rather than Pratley).

I don't really understand how Tim Ream solves that issue though, or in what way he's superior to Medo.

[LeverEnd]

ream is playing well and with confidence so use him in defence where he's supposed to be. We don't need another holding midfielder. I think Spearing has only 1 position he can play well, so leave him there. medo can play with him and push on a bit, and can find an incisive pass which Spearing often struggles to do, although like people said it's hard when you're teammates are standing still.
Medo's looked less than interested recently so no problem with him being dropped yesterday. Hopefully he pulls his finger out and soon.

[Armchair Wanderer]

All this wondering how to fix various problems in competitive matches makes me wish we'd taken pre-season a bit more seriously.

[danardif1]

Knight was substituted
(dougie's seen the light?)

Without being there I'd say this must be a positive... or just that he's prepared to try different personnel in defence what with dropping Wheater too.

He did that to change to 4-4-2, Ream just dropped back into defence. At least he took Knight off instead of Mills, shows he's not totally above bulletproof.

Mills was shoite yesterday too, so it did rather seem like he was making a deliberate point.

At least Mills has somewhat of an excuse in that he hasn't had as much game time as Knight...

[danardif1]

Medo's great, yeah - but he and Spearing play the same role, so it's one or the other.

I will say this, though; yesterday, Spearing spent a lot of his time with the ball with his shoulders in a permanent shrug, looking for somebody to show themselves for a pass. Medo wouldn't bother, he'd just take it on a run. He might lose it more times than most, but it seems a bit more proactive.

Problem then being if he loses it he's out of position. Spearing is doing the right thing in looking for a pass playing in that position.

[Worthy4England]

Knight was substituted
(dougie's seen the light?)

Without being there I'd say this must be a positive... or just that he's prepared to try different personnel in defence what with dropping Wheater too.

He did that to change to 4-4-2, Ream just dropped back into defence. At least he took Knight off instead of Mills, shows he's not totally above bulletproof.

Mills was shoite yesterday too, so it did rather seem like he was making a deliberate point.

At least Mills has somewhat of an excuse in that he hasn't had as much game time as Knight...

Hardly surprising on that showing. He was bloody awful. There were a couple of occasions, he tried to pass a ball, under no pressure, around 20 yards and was at least 7 yards out, giving it straight to the oppo. That's bugger all to do with game time.

[CAPSLOCK]

ream is playing well and with confidence so use him in defence where he's supposed to be. We don't need another holding midfielder. I think Spearing has only 1 position he can play well, so leave him there. medo can play with him and push on a bit, and can find an incisive pass which Spearing often struggles to do, although like people said it's hard when you're teammates are standing still.
Medo's looked less than interested recently so no problem with him being dropped yesterday. Hopefully he pulls his finger out and soon.

Have him n Beckford not been on their travels last week?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Maybe DF will go for Wheater/Mills in the middle and still allow Ream to protect the back 4. Trouble is this means playing 4-5-1 again unless he dropps Pratley for a striker

Know what you mean, but not necessarily.

1. The old Allardyce formation, now making something of a comeback. One in the Campo role - Ream, Spearing or Medo. Two in front - from Spearing, Medo, Pratley. One either side of the striker: from Hall, Eagles and Chungy.

2. A 4-2-3-1, as played by most "attacking" sides like Dortmund and the rags etc. Two holding midfielders (from Ream, Medo, Spearing). Three attack-minded players (Eagles/Hall/Chungy) behind the striker, preferably interchanging, but definitely all wanting the ball enough for those two midfielders, and adventurous full-backs, to find them.

It may be splitting hairs but neither formation needs to be a boring, defensive 4-5-1. Both these systems might technically only have one striker but you don't hear many voices at the Westfalenstadion, Emirates or Stretford Park complaining. True, they sometimes play more than one "striker" in those systems but those players tend to be much more rounded players than we have. Many (including Freedman) hoped Ngog might be able to play in that nine-and-a-half role behind the striker, but the evidence is yet to overwhelm us. Doesn't mean the baby needs to go with the bathwater.

What I will say is that both these systems need certain things. Players comfortable on the ball, players asking for the ball... and preferably an all-round striker. At the moment I'd sacrifice Beckford and play Cravies for the first hour, but I would also be telling the wide players to play high up the pitch and help push the defence back. Trouble is, that takes confidence, which is in awfully short supply.

[Lord Kangana]

The old Allardyce formation would be perfectly suited to both Ream and Pratley. It seems that Dougie is unnecessarily complicating his own life.

[LeverEnd]

The old Allardyce formation would be perfectly suited to both Ream and Pratley. It seems that Dougie is unnecessarily complicating his own life.

Sums him up at the moment and generally I suppose.