Dazzler.....we pretty much had a full strength side out on Saturday mate.......Individually and certainly on paper, its a very strong squad....problem is, they arent motivated and lack tactics
The squad we have now should be more than good enough to get out of league one and cope in the championship. As above said, just not playing as a team.
McCormack is fit again though when he played he didn't really make that much of an impact
Francis continues to get worse and worse, I know he hasn't had a pre season but the amount of over hit crosses, the amount of missed passes and the amount of times he gets beaten is criminal.
Doherty started quite solid but now seems to be costing us a goal a game.
Abbott hasn't got a league goal and is nowhere near what Burton was for us sadly. His hold up play isn't the best either.
Benson has won our last 4 points but if he doesn't score he doesn't do much.
Jackson isn't the left back we saw back in February.
Ayinsah I think is one who could have an impact, hopefully he'll stay fit as pace up front is always good.
I certainly don't think this squad is good enough for the Championship, top end League One maybe
elliot; semedo, dailly, fortune, llera, fry; wagstaff, racon, jackson; anyinsah, benson. subs: worner, fry, solly, mccormack, reid, martin, abbott. 5 3 2 doesn't have to be really defensive, and people like jackson, fry and semedo can play in multiple positions so we can change the way we play without us having to make a sub.
Martin and Wagstaff could also both play the wing/forward role well and big Akpo could come in for Benson if he struggled on his own. Our players are far more suited to a system like this than a 4-4-2.
Yeah, looks pretty good NH, at the moment we are just far to predictable, teams should come to the Valley and have to worry about us....not the other way round !
Pretty much what I was suggesting in the thread I made, I just didn't name the specific players for every position. Would be interesting to see. Can see Carlisle and Sheff Wed trying to outnumber us in CM as Brighton did. I'm not convinced we can just put Jackson or McCormack in for Racon and cope against a 3 man central midfield. Though to be fair we've not seen Jackson in CM yet.
Reid
Benson (central and leading line, the other two dropping back into midfield when not in possession)
Anyinshah
Wagstaff to come off bench second half to add further pace, Doherty sent into away end at half time to have a ruck - can't see any other use for him. The oldest looking 30 year old ever.
GK - Elliot
RB - Solly (you never know, Francis may simply be finding it hard to settle at the moment what with a new baby, house, club and all that, but Solly for now)
LB - Youga, if all were fit. But realistically, Fry.
CB - Dailly (c)
CB - Fortune
CDM - Semedo
CM - Jackson
CM - McCormack
RW - Martin
LW - Reid
CF - Benson
So that's a 4-5-1 formation with a sort-of inverted arrow midfield. It got us off to a good start last year; it'd also stop us leaking goals in my humble opinion.
I would allow the full backs to go forward, let Dailly and Forch do what they need to do, but heavily restrict Semedo: he'd very rarely advance forward but sit in front of the defensive line and put in those tackles and give the ball as soon as he gets it.
Jackson and McCormack can both pick a pass, so they'd have that freedom; I'd instruct them to play the ball to the wingers as much as possible. Again, I'd rather not have them advance too far forward. As for the wingers - Reidy has pace to burn and skill, so he shall use it, but also get in early crosses. That, according to John Still - who knows what he's doing - will give Benson the chance time and time again to put them away.
I'd give Martin the license to cut infield and play intricate moves with the two central midfielders, have a few shots, see what happens. As for Benson - obviously he'd lead the line and do very little tracking back, but I would stop him running into channels as we have five midfielders on the case.
I'd say that on that basis we could easily dig our heels in, pull back and cope with pressure, while the pace of Reid and Martin allows for ample breakaway opportunities. You could argue there's not too much firepower; however, Reid and Martin would be more attacking and less defensive (but would obviously track back).
As for the bench, Anyinsah and Waggy both have something about them and pace to burn to boot. Abbott adds a striking option should Benson flag, even though he's either suffering from down-south Northerner syndrome or is just very unfit. Racon - midfield backup; Doc and Francis/Solly as general defensive backup. Maybe bring on Francis for free kicks and such set pieces in the last 15 or so minutes in the event of that sort of thing occurring.
As for those who notably aren't in the squad, Akpo would serve a battering-ram purpose and could well play in those muck-and-bullets games (Swindon at home - his finest hour); Llera's aerial presence could be needed at some point but he is a liability, Youga is, well, very very injured. Jenkinson and Tuna would be on the fringes of my squad; however, along with the likes of Mambo and Davisson, I'd send them out on loan.
[cite]Posted By: selftaught[/cite]WHAT about the young lad out on loan at cambridge apparently doing the business there with ease
Stavrinou? He's only played two games for them. Did score one, but he's more of a defensive midfielder. Might eventually make it here but not better than what we have at the moment.
for everyones info definitely not just a defensive mid but just a discipline he has had to adhere to according to M Ling "very talented in the final third"
[cite]Posted By: selftaught[/cite]for everyones info definitely not just a defensive mid but just a discipline he has had to adhere to according to M Ling "very talented in the final third"
I did notice from what I've read on his appearances for them they seem to be using him further forward.
Whenever I've seen him, he's been used as a defensive midfielder, apart from in friendlies when he's got further forward, but then that's usually against much weaker opposition, and not a serious game.
At Ebbsfleet last season they also used him as a defensive midfielder.
With him not being as big and strong as Semedo, I think offering something going forward not just defensively is probably what he'll have to do if he breaks into the team this season. Would be great to see him do that as he seems to have the right attitude and plays with plenty of energy. Hopefully he's getting a chance to improve that side of his game at Cambridge, seems he is so far.
Comments
Francis continues to get worse and worse, I know he hasn't had a pre season but the amount of over hit crosses, the amount of missed passes and the amount of times he gets beaten is criminal.
Doherty started quite solid but now seems to be costing us a goal a game.
Abbott hasn't got a league goal and is nowhere near what Burton was for us sadly. His hold up play isn't the best either.
Benson has won our last 4 points but if he doesn't score he doesn't do much.
Jackson isn't the left back we saw back in February.
Ayinsah I think is one who could have an impact, hopefully he'll stay fit as pace up front is always good.
I certainly don't think this squad is good enough for the Championship, top end League One maybe
Daily Semedo Fortune Jackson
Reid Mcormack Racon Martin
Anyinsah Abbot
-----------------Elliot---------
Francis-----Dailly-----Fortune-----Fry
-----------------Semedo----------------
-------McCormack-----Jackson-------
----Anyinsah---------------Reid------
----------------Benson------------------
Martin and Wagstaff could also both play the wing/forward role well and big Akpo could come in for Benson if he struggled on his own. Our players are far more suited to a system like this than a 4-4-2.
Solly/Semedo-----Dailly-----Fortune-----Fry
--------------McCormack-----Jackson-------
Wagstaff-------------------------------Martin/Reid
----------------Anyinsah----- Abbott/Sodje
Subs - Worner, Doherty, Benson, Racon, Jenkinson, Abbott/Sodje, Reid/Martin
I like McCormack because he gets stuck in, which is what you need at this level. Jackson to be the distributer
Elliot
Solly
Dailly
Fortune
Fry
Wagstaff
Semedo
Jackson
Reid
Abbott
Anyinsah
Id like to see a : Elliot, Solly, Dailly, Fortune, Fry, Martin, Racon, Semedo, Reid, Benson, Anyinsah --- Bench: Worner, Francis, Doc, Waggy, McCormack, Abbot, Sodje
Semedo
Fortune
Dailly
Fry
Martin
Racon (sitting deep)
Jackson
Reid
Benson (central and leading line, the other two dropping back into midfield when not in possession)
Anyinshah
Wagstaff to come off bench second half to add further pace, Doherty sent into away end at half time to have a ruck - can't see any other use for him. The oldest looking 30 year old ever.
RB - Solly (you never know, Francis may simply be finding it hard to settle at the moment what with a new baby, house, club and all that, but Solly for now)
LB - Youga, if all were fit. But realistically, Fry.
CB - Dailly (c)
CB - Fortune
CDM - Semedo
CM - Jackson
CM - McCormack
RW - Martin
LW - Reid
CF - Benson
Bench: Worner, Francis/Solly, Doc, Wagstaff, Racon, Abbott, Anyinsah
So that's a 4-5-1 formation with a sort-of inverted arrow midfield. It got us off to a good start last year; it'd also stop us leaking goals in my humble opinion.
I would allow the full backs to go forward, let Dailly and Forch do what they need to do, but heavily restrict Semedo: he'd very rarely advance forward but sit in front of the defensive line and put in those tackles and give the ball as soon as he gets it.
Jackson and McCormack can both pick a pass, so they'd have that freedom; I'd instruct them to play the ball to the wingers as much as possible. Again, I'd rather not have them advance too far forward. As for the wingers - Reidy has pace to burn and skill, so he shall use it, but also get in early crosses. That, according to John Still - who knows what he's doing - will give Benson the chance time and time again to put them away.
I'd give Martin the license to cut infield and play intricate moves with the two central midfielders, have a few shots, see what happens. As for Benson - obviously he'd lead the line and do very little tracking back, but I would stop him running into channels as we have five midfielders on the case.
I'd say that on that basis we could easily dig our heels in, pull back and cope with pressure, while the pace of Reid and Martin allows for ample breakaway opportunities. You could argue there's not too much firepower; however, Reid and Martin would be more attacking and less defensive (but would obviously track back).
As for the bench, Anyinsah and Waggy both have something about them and pace to burn to boot. Abbott adds a striking option should Benson flag, even though he's either suffering from down-south Northerner syndrome or is just very unfit. Racon - midfield backup; Doc and Francis/Solly as general defensive backup. Maybe bring on Francis for free kicks and such set pieces in the last 15 or so minutes in the event of that sort of thing occurring.
As for those who notably aren't in the squad, Akpo would serve a battering-ram purpose and could well play in those muck-and-bullets games (Swindon at home - his finest hour); Llera's aerial presence could be needed at some point but he is a liability, Youga is, well, very very injured. Jenkinson and Tuna would be on the fringes of my squad; however, along with the likes of Mambo and Davisson, I'd send them out on loan.
But yeah, I've not thought about it too much...
Solly Forch Dailey Fry
Semedo
Martin
Jackson
Anyinsah Abbott Benson[/align]
Whenever I've seen him, he's been used as a defensive midfielder, apart from in friendlies when he's got further forward, but then that's usually against much weaker opposition, and not a serious game.
At Ebbsfleet last season they also used him as a defensive midfielder.
With him not being as big and strong as Semedo, I think offering something going forward not just defensively is probably what he'll have to do if he breaks into the team this season. Would be great to see him do that as he seems to have the right attitude and plays with plenty of energy. Hopefully he's getting a chance to improve that side of his game at Cambridge, seems he is so far.