I think (obviously) the exact setup we use will depend on the Quality of the oppo whether we are home or away etc.
Flexibility is massively important for a long season. In gam flexibility is the sign of a quality side and intelligent players. Last time I remember us doing it well was 2019 under bow when the full backs were relied upon for width and were given license to get forward Bielik Pratley were so good at dropping in to fill the gaps. It also happened up the pitch with the strikers cutting wide.
Not sure we can play two formations at the same time? In the same game yes, naturally.
I’ll admit to being a real numbskull when it comes to formations, I really don’t get why there seems to be such a fuss and why it’s so difficult for players to adapt to different styles?
I realise that some may excel in certain positions ie CF but otherwise? I’m sure it’s not as simple as I’m making out but perhaps someone would care to explain?
Good to see interesting tactical analysis on here. Cheers @Callumcafc
Noticed Asiimwe was playing further back and when he received the ball there was nobody ahead of him. Felt like we didn't plan to progress play much down that side. TC was operating more centrally, or at times coming over to the left to link and create an overload with CBT. Didn't feel like he was switching to a RW role with the ball.
Are we going to be easy to suss if we play mostly down that wing? Surely it's going to create acres of space on the right if teams try to bring men over to the left, but didn't see an obvious switch on Saturday. Not that we needed one as it was working well.
I don't remember any cross field passes , and there was was a need/opportunity at least once
Not sure we can play two formations at the same time? In the same game yes, naturally.
I’ll admit to being a real numbskull when it comes to formations, I really don’t get why there seems to be such a fuss and why it’s so difficult for players to adapt to different styles?
I realise that some may excel in certain positions ie CF but otherwise? I’m sure it’s not as simple as I’m making out but perhaps someone would care to explain?
You are right that modern players should be able to adapt to different formations. Many sides play different formations in possession and out of possession, which is why the ability to break quickly is increasingly important. Something we often lacked recently.
Having said that players do have different strengths and weaknesses. CBT is an obvious example. His strength is his pace and his ability to go past defenders but often lacks concentration. You don't really want him worrying too much about chasing back all the time. Firstly he's not very good at it and secondly it takes away his energy levels for doing the things he is good at. Ness has done very well since he came in last year. However one thing he lacks is experience. Combining these 2 factors showed against Aberdeen where we very vulnerable on left side which cost us the game. So the answer was to play Thomas, who is more experienced, give CBT more licence and let Ness concentrate on his defending.
Still a bit more of a hybrid between 3 and 4 at the back today but compared to last week where it was mostly 3, today looked mostly 4. Payne playing instead of Campbell meant we had a little bit more going on the right hand side than last week but CBT on the left still very much the main threat
Also surprised at Camara’s position on this, looked to me like he was playing higher up the pitch than Anderson, especially in the second half
Comments
Flexibility is massively important for a long season. In gam flexibility is the sign of a quality side and intelligent players. Last time I remember us doing it well was 2019 under bow when the full backs were relied upon for width and were given license to get forward Bielik Pratley were so good at dropping in to fill the gaps. It also happened up the pitch with the strikers cutting wide.
The versatility of Thomas is pretty key to this.
I’ll admit to being a real numbskull when it comes to formations, I really don’t get why there seems to be such a fuss and why it’s so difficult for players to adapt to different styles?
Having said that players do have different strengths and weaknesses. CBT is an obvious example. His strength is his pace and his ability to go past defenders but often lacks concentration. You don't really want him worrying too much about chasing back all the time. Firstly he's not very good at it and secondly it takes away his energy levels for doing the things he is good at. Ness has done very well since he came in last year. However one thing he lacks is experience. Combining these 2 factors showed against Aberdeen where we very vulnerable on left side which cost us the game. So the answer was to play Thomas, who is more experienced, give CBT more licence and let Ness concentrate on his defending.
Also surprised at Camara’s position on this, looked to me like he was playing higher up the pitch than Anderson, especially in the second half