Starting to have real issues tactically. The continual bypassing of the midfield is crazy and we look very one trick. I'm not sure what our attacking plan actually is
Just concerned we lack any real creativity. Even with Miles back he's going to find it difficult to be at his best with a lack of supply. Not really sure what the answer is with the midfield we've got.
I was thinking of bumping this. I think that is the plan - get it up to the target man to win headers and hold it up or send the ball into the channels for TC to chase and run at the opposition.
TC adds pace and that ups the tempo, but we’ve still not seen much end product.
Our wing backs aren’t offering the quality we need in attack. Small takes players on and gets crosses in but the quality is poor. Ramsay has a frustrating habit of cutting in and keeping possession when it times he needs to attempt what Small does - but perhaps he doesn’t as he knows he’s not a great crosser? When driving out from defence he shows he has the ability to carry the ball, but he rarely uses it in attack.
Our midfield are bypassed by the direct play. We know Coventry is comfortable getting the ball off the defence and using it well, though I’d like to see him be more ambitious with his passing as I think he’s got the ability.
Allan Campebll, Docherty, Anderson and Berry haven’t shown enough but if we played more short passes they’d get more touches and get involved in the game more. Currently their main job is to fight for second balls and get in the box when we create a chance - which isn’t anywhere near often enough.
Up front Jones wants a target man. Until Leaburn is fit Ahadme has no genuine competition. We needed him to come in and be a key player, he’s played like a young player learning the role.
We’ve moved away from the possession based football we saw under Garner and to an extent under Appleton. For me we’ve gone too far the other way and need to find the right balance. Jones probably feels that way given he dropped Mitchell for REG and it was purely tactical.
I don’t see 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 working for us as TC is our only winger.
I’d like to see a 4-4-2 diamond. I wouldn’t be against Zach Mitchell getting a chance though would ideally like to see his contract extended first.
We used a diamond under Bowyer, our best team on paper included Bielik as the holding player, and he could easily move to CB allowing us to change to 3-5-2 mid game. Mitchell has played both roles and has some similar strengths.
Cullen was the deeper of the two CMs, Coventry could potentially play that role, again he has some similar qualities.
TC might be our best option at the tip with plenty of freedom to drift wide - not ideal but playing Coventry, A Campbell, Docherty and Berry/Anderson gives us four players who are too similar.
A box midfield is another option and would have the same goal as a diamond would - put more focus on possession and attacking play without completely changing the system and use a formation that suits our squad.
Like I said Jones made a switch yesterday that was related to possession which shows he’s aware. He might need to go that step further and change the formation with a bold choice or two in team selection.
He also needs to put some attention on the wing backs to get them into positions to put in crosses and cut backs. In Ramsay and Edwards I think they’re capable, but we need more possession and they need to make the right runs and decisions in attack to make it work.
Coventry talking about that finding is that balance between defending and attacking here.
He said: “It’s something we can improve on and are looking to improve on. We just have to find the right balance of having that strong structure and being hard to play against and also having the fluidity a times.
“I think we’ll get there. It’s a work in progress. We’re still a relatively new group and I have a lot of belief that we’ll find that right balance and get it right.”
I see our main problem as slightly different. Banging it up the pitch and pushing the opposition back is quite a grating tactic but our big problem is what we do when we either win the ball high or, and I think this is the big killer, win the ball in our half and get the chance to counter. We win a lot of tackles and headers. That generally either creates a loose ball we'll likely pick up on or we'll come away with it, as Ramsay often does. The problem then is if literally anyone other than Coventry is on the ball we fall apart, and the only people he can pass to are players who aren't him so it just breaks down one move later. So often we've got the ball in front of our defence and have the opportunity to break at pace. We rarely make the right decision though, there's a desire to play quick balls round the corner or send it long quickly for Tyreece to chase but in doing that we often either give it away or create a situation where the attacker lacks support because we haven't properly gone through the phases. If we win the ball high we only need one or two passes and we create high-quality chances. The two against Bolton are a good example; Small makes an interception, immediately plays it on to Docherty who smashes it in. Second goal Coventry wins a tackle in their half and it squirms to Anderson who very quickly moves it on to Chuks. He puts the cross in quickly, Godden has already made his move and we score.
Those chances are what we should be looking to replicate further back with more passes, but the players seem to be struggling to marry up the idea of needing to move the ball quickly on the counter and taking care of it to get it into a dangerous area. Anderson has always been guilty of loose passes but it's something I've seen a great deal with Docherty. He's always wanting to give and go off a first time pass but he so rarely manages to pull them off. His WB is often behind him anyway as he pulls right, Coventry is behind him and so he only really has Berry/Anderson/ACampbell or the strikers to aim for. If he sat for a second though, took a touch and let people have a chance to move around him we could still make a quick transition without losing momentum. You can sort of see the contradiction in Jones screaming 'RELAX!' at them every time they get the ball. The aggressive gogogogo mentality is too all or nothing in the players right now. They haven't figured it out in midfield yet where you can move the ball on quickly and effectively without that meaning that every touch has to be a progressive one. Coventry gets it, but he needs the players in front of him to start working together and giving their wingbacks more to work with and more opportunity to work forward. The more carefully we approach as well, the more their defenders have to step out and the more space it creates for the strikers. We're a team set up perfectly to absorb pressure and counter attack but but the midfield keep tripping over their own feet in their eagerness to make it happen. They really do need to relax.
I know game state is part of it as are his injuries but Chuks always looks to play a direct pass wuickly, as with the Godden assist @Garrymanilow mentioned and he tried it yesterday too. The rest of the players seem to ponder on the ball and then play the direct pass and the opposition have time to get into their structure
T Campbell is the only "creative" player in the squad at the moment. (Apart from Chucks of course). Everybody else can only win the ball and pass it to someone else!
At moment our entire attacking threat revolves around one player and Jones at set pieces. (Apart from Chucks of course!)
I'd question the idea that we play 352. We don't keep the ball long enough for our wingbacks to get high up the pitch. They play more like full-backs. It's essentially a 532 in both phases - no wonder our attacking play is so lacking.
The game on Saturday left me with a lot more questions than answers.
When NJ came in, it was abundantly clear that we were leaking a lot of goals and we needed to be a lot more astute defensively to stop the rot. We were in a situation last season that, if we didn't stop shipping goals, we were going to go down. NJ made us difficult to beat with a patchwork squad, and we got a couple of huge wins, a lot of draws and significantly less defeats. Mission successful, prevented relegation, on to next season.
We've now started this season well, converting a few more of those draws into narrow, narrow wins. However, all on very fine margins - usually a goal in it, with a bit of luck sprinkled in. Whilst the quality and level of football was acceptable last year to grind out results, this season, the expectation is naturally raised for a club of our perceived size in this division and, regardless of opposition, it feels like we are making hard work of every game. That's not to say there isn't some quality in this league, but the squad he put together, on paper, should be one that goes into most games as favoured, particularly at home.
I've said it already elsewhere, but there's a LOT of hoofball in this NJ side. On Saturday, and in plenty of other games already this season, we have built up with:
One of our 3 CBs have the ball -> sideways passes to break press (-> occasional short pass to Coventry) -> returned pass to a CB -> hoofball towards Ahadme -> ball lost on first/second contact -> attempt to break down play, repeat
When this becomes more intense, we either try to hoofball into channels for TC or at Chuks, and we commit more forward. Fundamentally, we don't tend to change the way we play.
On Saturday vs Blackpool, we stopped playing the shorter balls to Coventry. We played more of the long balls (lost count of the ones from Jones) and they were primarily towards Ahadme or, on occasion, towards Ramsay. The contested ones Ahadme did certainly at least try, but the QB/Beckham-esque attempts were almost always poor. They are low percentage passes that are exceptionally difficult to do well. We did not ever really try to play through midfield, leaving Coventry always trying to come short and be the link, but being ignored by the CBs. I think there is a combination of fear and bravery to attempt to break a press and look for the smarter short pass, potentially due to a lack of confidence in the ability of the other midfielders, Docherty + whoever, ACampbell this time, to control and spread the play.
This has to be, by design. As many know and understand, NJ desires his teams to play the way he wants. His way or the highway, or you get dropped. I suspect that players who don't adhere to this or buy in, are frozen out. My questions to NJ would be - why do you not want the ball passed through midfield? Is it from a belief that neither Docherty, Berry, ACampbell, Anderson or whoever else you put next to Coventry can control or pass a ball? Is it better to simply grind out games and attempt to only press and create defensive mistakes? Or are we simply incapable of doing anything better than classless football out of the 1970s?
I don't understand it. I feel like our midfield need to get on the ball and look forward. Whether it's a fear or pressure, I cannot understand. It is definitely something our CBs look for and starts with them. We have gone so far away from any kind of playing out from the back, it borders on the ridiculous. I absolutely understand the need for this kind of grindy football last year, but you need to start creating chances from proactive football at some point or you get figured out.
L1 defenders eat up long balls all day. That's why so many are in L1 and not further up. What they really fear is pace and running with the ball. While we do not have that in our midfield as we are today, I think that looking for those runs and carries from our players who can play wide is where we should be looking. However, it starts with the defensive thirds not just playing hoofball and that MUST come from NJ.
None of this comes with easy fixes, but starts with NJ allowing our players to play a bit more.
It's going to be a tough season. I think we're a long way off an automatic spotd and those play off places will be fierce. Brum, Huddersfield, Bolton, Rotherham and Peterborough are all going to be up there. Plus Blackpool, Barnsley and Lincoln. There is also a lot of chuff in the league, so i'm confident on a top half finish.
With our goal machine having exited, we're going to need contributions all over the pitch.
It's been a long time since we had a set peice specialist. I know that Greg Docherty can whack one in from distance, but i don't know if he's a free kick kind of guy. We need to maximise threats from corners too, an area where we have been particularly poor of late.
We are short on pace. I think Nathan will start Edwards ahead of Small v Wigan, with Ramsay partnering him on the other side. We don't have a creative talent on the middle who can unlock defence. It could be Berry, but it's an area we need to strengthen.
Conclusion: i don't see heaps of flexibility in the team. I'm hopeful that will change when we move on the obvious deadwood.
This pre-season analysis from @PopIcon is looking pretty accurate
I think we’re going to see a lot of long cross field diagonals from our left and right back three to Ahadme, Aneke and Leaburn. Not overly looking forward to the football we’re going to play but hope it’s successful
Wasn’t looking forward to it, not enjoying it, unsure whether it will be successful
I think we’re going to see a lot of long cross field diagonals from our left and right back three to Ahadme, Aneke and Leaburn. Not overly looking forward to the football we’re going to play but hope it’s successful
Wasn’t looking forward to it, not enjoying it, unsure whether it will be successful
As I wrote, my question to NJ would be why he believes we are better off effectively bypassing the midfield and not trying to play out. Leaburn doesn't solve this. Even a fully fit, 100%, play every week, Aneke might still not be an answer. A parallel universe where we still have May doesn't even solve this, imho.
It's easy to play against and entirely predictable. I already feel we are starting to get found out and teams can spend all week knowing exactly what is coming.
What I find confusing is both NJ and the players have said after basically every match that we need to be better and more fluid in attack but nothing is changing!
Time to end the dull 352 hoofball & switch to 433.
Either this:
Campbell Leaburn Dixon Anderson Coventry Berry Small Jones Mitchell Ramsey Mannion
Or this (if Dixon’s not ready):
Small Leaburn Campbell Anderson Coventry Berry Edwards Jones Mitchell Ramsey Mannion
Quite like the way option 2 gets both Edwards & Small in the team (two of our best players imo)
No chance we ditch the three centre backs when it’s been the best thing about our season so far. Especially not to shoehorn Small into a winger role that he’s not suited to.
We just have to tinker with the midfield trio (personnel, positioning, whatever it is) until we figure out the right combinations in the middle of the park.
A 343 with a box midfield is much better suited to give us control IMO. It suits Coventry and Docherty’s natural positions and doesn’t sacrifice on having supporting runners for Ahadme’s knock downs.
Tell Anderson and Berry to stay high and support Ahadme so Coventry and Docherty can do the work of coming short for passes off the back three.
———Mitchell Jones Gillesphey Ramsay Coventry Docherty Edwards ————Anderson Berry ——————Ahadme
Replace Anderson, Berry, Ahadme with Leaburn, AC, TC, Godden, Chuks as you see fit
Time to end the dull 352 hoofball & switch to 433.
Either this:
Campbell Leaburn Dixon Anderson Coventry Berry Small Jones Mitchell Ramsey Mannion
Or this (if Dixon’s not ready):
Small Leaburn Campbell Anderson Coventry Berry Edwards Jones Mitchell Ramsey Mannion
Quite like the way option 2 gets both Edwards & Small in the team (two of our best players imo)
No chance we ditch the three centre backs when it’s been the best thing about our season so far. Especially not to shoehorn Small into a winger role that he’s not suited to.
We just have to tinker with the midfield trio (personnel, positioning, whatever it is) until we figure out the right combinations in the middle of the park.
Why did we sign Dixon then?….if we have no intention of ever switching formation & playing with wingers.
NJ said he liked playing with wingers last season & I think we could easily see 433 when Leaburn / Dixon are deemed match fit & ready.
Definitely no harm in trying it in Bristol Street Motors games. Also think we should be playing a more attacking formation when playing at home (esp against bottom half sides).
A 343 with a box midfield is much better suited to give us control IMO. It suits Coventry and Docherty’s natural positions and doesn’t sacrifice on having supporting runners for Ahadme’s knock downs.
Tell Anderson and Berry to stay high and support Ahadme so Coventry and Docherty can do the work of coming short for passes off the back three.
———Mitchell Jones Gillesphey Ramsay Coventry Docherty Edwards ————Anderson Berry ——————Ahadme
Replace Anderson, Berry, Ahadme with Leaburn, AC, TC, Godden, Chuks as you see fit
For me that just makes it harder for Ahadme, if you went with that TC needs to be in there to add pace and flair we lack elsewhere.
A 343 with a box midfield is much better suited to give us control IMO. It suits Coventry and Docherty’s natural positions and doesn’t sacrifice on having supporting runners for Ahadme’s knock downs.
Tell Anderson and Berry to stay high and support Ahadme so Coventry and Docherty can do the work of coming short for passes off the back three.
———Mitchell Jones Gillesphey Ramsay Coventry Docherty Edwards ————Anderson Berry ——————Ahadme
Replace Anderson, Berry, Ahadme with Leaburn, AC, TC, Godden, Chuks as you see fit
For me that just makes it harder for Ahadme, if you went with that TC needs to be in there to add pace and flair we lack elsewhere.
Well we played through the midfield for 20 minutes and it was ok. Second half in particular it was noticeable how much Stevenage made it so the midfield was just bypassed and we lost our heads.
I tried to get this going last year but it died pretty quickly, trying again though! I think Jones is an interesting tactician and the versatility of a few of our players could lead to some fun things. In particular there's a decent number of defenders in the squad who can play a few positions so I'd expect to see a decent amount of in game fluidity.
Sounds like Jones' tactics to be fair, so you're spot on.
You mentioned the word fun though and I haven't seen that yet.
I tried to get this going last year but it died pretty quickly, trying again though! I think Jones is an interesting tactician and the versatility of a few of our players could lead to some fun things. In particular there's a decent number of defenders in the squad who can play a few positions so I'd expect to see a decent amount of in game fluidity.
Sounds like Jones' tactics to be fair, so you're spot on.
You mentioned the word fun though and I haven't seen that yet.
Agreed, so far tactically we have been dull and uninspiring so I couldn't have got the second sentence more wrong!
Just can't believe how dull we are to watch. Is the only hope of any flair throwing Dixon and TC on the wings and hoping they can produce? I thought Jones was meant to play attacking front foot football but we've seen very little of that.
I find this team, in its current form, one of the toughest watches in my 35 years following us. If you win then you put up with it because the ends justify the means, but people ain’t going to put up with it for long if we’re not winning more often than not.
I don’t really know where you go with this current team.
We don’t have proper wingers. We don’t have a player that can play a 10. We’re as poor going forward as I’ve ever seen us.
Usually you could suggest a formation change/personnel change that would improve us. Here I think Jones has invested heavily in a system that just isn’t producing consistent results (or performances)
Lets hope, like his Luton teams of the past, something clicks. Right now I cannot see that happening.
I don’t really know where you go with this current team.
We don’t have proper wingers. We don’t have a player that can play a 10. We’re as poor going forward as I’ve ever seen us.
Usually you could suggest a formation change/personnel change that would improve us. Here I think Jones has invested heavily in a system that just isn’t producing consistent results (or performances)
Lets hope, like his Luton teams of the past, something clicks. Right now I cannot see that happening.
100% agree with this , I'm completely stumped as to anything else you could try with this squad because it's so rigidly recruited for maybe 2 formations. The complete lack of a creative midfielder is looking stupider by the week , feels like we've recruited players that will run themselves into the ground but have no real quality on the ball. Likes of Small have gone completely backwards from last season too.
Just feels like it's built for 352/343 only. Haven't got the creative spark for a 433.
Football under Jones has been shit for a long time. We’re lucky to have the points we have on the board so far. If it wasn’t for the last min goal against Orient & a fortunate win that could have gone either way against Wigan, we’d already be in our rightful mid table position.
Comments
TC adds pace and that ups the tempo, but we’ve still not seen much end product.
Our wing backs aren’t offering the quality we need in attack. Small takes players on and gets crosses in but the quality is poor. Ramsay has a frustrating habit of cutting in and keeping possession when it times he needs to attempt what Small does - but perhaps he doesn’t as he knows he’s not a great crosser? When driving out from defence he shows he has the ability to carry the ball, but he rarely uses it in attack.
Our midfield are bypassed by the direct play. We know Coventry is comfortable getting the ball off the defence and using it well, though I’d like to see him be more ambitious with his passing as I think he’s got the ability.
Allan Campebll, Docherty, Anderson and Berry haven’t shown enough but if we played more short passes they’d get more touches and get involved in the game more. Currently their main job is to fight for second balls and get in the box when we create a chance - which isn’t anywhere near often enough.
Up front Jones wants a target man. Until Leaburn is fit Ahadme has no genuine competition. We needed him to come in and be a key player, he’s played like a young player learning the role.
We’ve moved away from the possession based football we saw under Garner and to an extent under Appleton. For me we’ve gone too far the other way and need to find the right balance. Jones probably feels that way given he dropped Mitchell for REG and it was purely tactical.
I don’t see 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 working for us as TC is our only winger.
I’d like to see a 4-4-2 diamond. I wouldn’t be against Zach Mitchell getting a chance though would ideally like to see his contract extended first.
We used a diamond under Bowyer, our best team on paper included Bielik as the holding player, and he could easily move to CB allowing us to change to 3-5-2 mid game. Mitchell has played both roles and has some similar strengths.
Cullen was the deeper of the two CMs, Coventry could potentially play that role, again he has some similar qualities.
TC might be our best option at the tip with plenty of freedom to drift wide - not ideal but playing Coventry, A Campbell, Docherty and Berry/Anderson gives us four players who are too similar.
A box midfield is another option and would have the same goal as a diamond would - put more focus on possession and attacking play without completely changing the system and use a formation that suits our squad.
Like I said Jones made a switch yesterday that was related to possession which shows he’s aware. He might need to go that step further and change the formation with a bold choice or two in team selection.
He also needs to put some attention on the wing backs to get them into positions to put in crosses and cut backs. In Ramsay and Edwards I think they’re capable, but we need more possession and they need to make the right runs and decisions in attack to make it work.
Coventry talking about that finding is that balance between defending and attacking here.
He said: “It’s something we can improve on and are looking to improve on. We just have to find the right balance of having that strong structure and being hard to play against and also having the fluidity a times.
“I think we’ll get there. It’s a work in progress. We’re still a relatively new group and I have a lot of belief that we’ll find that right balance and get it right.”
Either this:
Campbell Leaburn Dixon
Anderson Coventry Berry
Small Jones Mitchell Ramsey
Mannion
Or this (if Dixon’s not ready):
Small Leaburn Campbell
Anderson Coventry Berry
Edwards Jones Mitchell Ramsey
Mannion
Quite like the way option 2 gets both Edwards & Small in the team (two of our best players imo)
At moment our entire attacking threat revolves around one player and Jones at set pieces. (Apart from Chucks of course!)
When NJ came in, it was abundantly clear that we were leaking a lot of goals and we needed to be a lot more astute defensively to stop the rot. We were in a situation last season that, if we didn't stop shipping goals, we were going to go down. NJ made us difficult to beat with a patchwork squad, and we got a couple of huge wins, a lot of draws and significantly less defeats. Mission successful, prevented relegation, on to next season.
We've now started this season well, converting a few more of those draws into narrow, narrow wins. However, all on very fine margins - usually a goal in it, with a bit of luck sprinkled in. Whilst the quality and level of football was acceptable last year to grind out results, this season, the expectation is naturally raised for a club of our perceived size in this division and, regardless of opposition, it feels like we are making hard work of every game. That's not to say there isn't some quality in this league, but the squad he put together, on paper, should be one that goes into most games as favoured, particularly at home.
I've said it already elsewhere, but there's a LOT of hoofball in this NJ side. On Saturday, and in plenty of other games already this season, we have built up with:
- One of our 3 CBs have the ball -> sideways passes to break press (-> occasional short pass to Coventry) -> returned pass to a CB -> hoofball towards Ahadme -> ball lost on first/second contact -> attempt to break down play, repeat
When this becomes more intense, we either try to hoofball into channels for TC or at Chuks, and we commit more forward. Fundamentally, we don't tend to change the way we play.On Saturday vs Blackpool, we stopped playing the shorter balls to Coventry. We played more of the long balls (lost count of the ones from Jones) and they were primarily towards Ahadme or, on occasion, towards Ramsay. The contested ones Ahadme did certainly at least try, but the QB/Beckham-esque attempts were almost always poor. They are low percentage passes that are exceptionally difficult to do well. We did not ever really try to play through midfield, leaving Coventry always trying to come short and be the link, but being ignored by the CBs. I think there is a combination of fear and bravery to attempt to break a press and look for the smarter short pass, potentially due to a lack of confidence in the ability of the other midfielders, Docherty + whoever, ACampbell this time, to control and spread the play.
This has to be, by design. As many know and understand, NJ desires his teams to play the way he wants. His way or the highway, or you get dropped. I suspect that players who don't adhere to this or buy in, are frozen out. My questions to NJ would be - why do you not want the ball passed through midfield? Is it from a belief that neither Docherty, Berry, ACampbell, Anderson or whoever else you put next to Coventry can control or pass a ball? Is it better to simply grind out games and attempt to only press and create defensive mistakes? Or are we simply incapable of doing anything better than classless football out of the 1970s?
I don't understand it. I feel like our midfield need to get on the ball and look forward. Whether it's a fear or pressure, I cannot understand. It is definitely something our CBs look for and starts with them. We have gone so far away from any kind of playing out from the back, it borders on the ridiculous. I absolutely understand the need for this kind of grindy football last year, but you need to start creating chances from proactive football at some point or you get figured out.
L1 defenders eat up long balls all day. That's why so many are in L1 and not further up. What they really fear is pace and running with the ball. While we do not have that in our midfield as we are today, I think that looking for those runs and carries from our players who can play wide is where we should be looking. However, it starts with the defensive thirds not just playing hoofball and that MUST come from NJ.
None of this comes with easy fixes, but starts with NJ allowing our players to play a bit more.
It's easy to play against and entirely predictable. I already feel we are starting to get found out and teams can spend all week knowing exactly what is coming.
We just have to tinker with the midfield trio (personnel, positioning, whatever it is) until we figure out the right combinations in the middle of the park.
Tell Anderson and Berry to stay high and support Ahadme so Coventry and Docherty can do the work of coming short for passes off the back three.
———Mitchell Jones Gillesphey
Ramsay Coventry Docherty Edwards
————Anderson Berry
——————Ahadme
Replace Anderson, Berry, Ahadme with Leaburn, AC, TC, Godden, Chuks as you see fit
NJ said he liked playing with wingers last season & I think we could easily see 433 when Leaburn / Dixon are deemed match fit & ready.
Definitely no harm in trying it in Bristol Street Motors games. Also think we should be playing a more attacking formation when playing at home (esp against bottom half sides).
Of course we could do it. Whether we will or even should is another guess.
I expect we’ll see 352 with Ahadme and Leaburn up front together before NJ tries switching to a back four to start a game.
You mentioned the word fun though and I haven't seen that yet.
Jones has work to do but there isn’t anyone with a better track record out there to go and get instead.
Usually you could suggest a formation change/personnel change that would improve us. Here I think Jones has invested heavily in a system that just isn’t producing consistent results (or performances)
Lets hope, like his Luton teams of the past, something clicks. Right now I cannot see that happening.
100% agree with this , I'm completely stumped as to anything else you could try with this squad because it's so rigidly recruited for maybe 2 formations. The complete lack of a creative midfielder is looking stupider by the week , feels like we've recruited players that will run themselves into the ground but have no real quality on the ball. Likes of Small have gone completely backwards from last season too.
Just feels like it's built for 352/343 only. Haven't got the creative spark for a 433.