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Can someone tell me...

...why Stephens started right midfield?

I'm a massive CP fan and I'll defend his decisions or at least understand them but I'm really struggling to understand this one.

Was calling out for a bit of on the ball quality in midfield, especially later in the game when it opened up and CP then put him left mid.

Answers on a postcard.
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Comments

  • To accommodate Jackson, but unfortunately I cant explain why you'd want to do that!!! Thought JJ was a passenger for the 70mins he played and needed to be subbed much earlier.
  • Must agree I'm afraid to say. Chris got it around his neck very badly today.
  • I'm guessing it would've been different if Solly had played, then Wilson would've kept the RM position and Jacko would've had to have been content with warming the bench.

    Unfortunately, that wasn't to be - and Wilson was back at RB which opened up a slot in the midfield. As far as options we had Green - and I'd rather not have him start as he's pretty poor defensively. (Although, to give him his dues, he was actually pretty good when he came on IMO) I didn't even see Pritchard on the bench.
  • edited December 2013
    Baffling, can't understand it, why didn't he switch Stewart from time to time over to the right and put Jackson left thereby allowing Stephens to operate more centrally? Stewart was totally out of the game today IMO. Again answers on a postcard.
  • The engine of the team is made up of the partnership of Cousins-Stevens in the middle, pure and simple. To dismantle this in favour of Stevens is really baffling me...
  • I agree Stephens cant play there but Nor can Green or Pritchard
    Wilson played a blinder there on Boxing Day and I think will be back there against Ipswich when Solly plays at RB
  • Totally agree....was a just a way of playing Jackson who for me was very poor and ineffective. Either drop/rest Stephens or Cousins for Jackson or don't play Jackson!
  • edited December 2013
    Edit: Repeated post.
  • Jackson is now past it it hurts me to say, Lack of pace didn't look like he could do anything, Church isn't a ST ether .. the guy runs but that is it

    And Danny Green ...... PFTTTTTTTTTTTT back to MK i say
  • You spend months fiddling about trying to find the correct central midfield partnership.

    You find it, and then they work to make it successful.

    Then, for absolutely no reason can discern you break it up.

    If central midfield is the "engine room", it's like turning off one of the turbines, and making it into a lifeboat.

    To make it worse, we then watch Jacko arriving about 10 seconds late to every ball.

    Then, after Stephens is ineffective on the right wing, you make him even more ineffective, by moving him to the left wing.

    Sometimes, you can only despair...
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  • Would prefer to play poyet there than jj. I hope he has a great second half of the season but it looks like his legs have really given up on him
  • ...why Stephens started right midfield?

    I'm a massive CP fan and I'll defend his decisions or at least understand them but I'm really struggling to understand this one.

    Was calling out for a bit of on the ball quality in midfield, especially later in the game when it opened up and CP then put him left mid.

    Answers on a postcard.

    Get ready for someone to say "this weeks scapegoat"
    craigcafc said:

    To accommodate Jackson, but unfortunately I cant explain why you'd want to do that!!! Thought JJ was a passenger for the 70mins he played and needed to be subbed much earlier.

    This
  • Why he moved Stephens to the left in place of a LEFT WINGER to accomodate a CENTRE BACK IN MIDFIELD, I'm honestly lost for an explanation.
  • Playing devil's advocate here a little, but without Solly Wilson is inevitably going to drop back and, against a team of big physical Wendies bringing a 5 man midfield, which of Green, Pritchard or Harriott are you going to play there?

    Alternatively you could play Jackson left midfield tucked in with Stewart on the right, but then you have Evina's defensive frailties that Jackson won't have the pace to cover. Or bring in Pritchard on the right, but he's showing terrible form at the moment.

    This is a squad issue, not helped by Jackson putting in a poor performance. We lost both full backs and our options are limited. You can't expect us to go in against that Wednesday team with one man short in the middle and carrying 2 lightweights there as well.
  • edited December 2013
    From what I wrote in post match
    "J j scored in his last appearance and I would suggest SCP plays him for that ability , even though he hasn't been as good this season as in previous ones
    It may have gone unnoticed but dale scored from the right wing possy that SCP had put him in not that that justifies the tampering of the middle two "

    SCP would have been thinking Stewart is more effective playing on the left and clearly didn't expect jj to be as pony as he was and yes he should have changed it round earlier and he didn't wanna risk two wingers cos that would have left us exposed on the flanks with two lesser fullbacks
    Not forgetting dale has the ability to put in a decent enough cross , sometimes !

  • Hindsight is a wonderful view but from the moment we kicked off yesterday it was obvious something was wrong and I don't just mean the full backs. I give SCP the benefit of the doubt in not changing things until half time but just letting it drift on and on and then when changes were made they were unquestionably the wrong ones is quite baffling.
  • The right 11 played, but not in the right positions.
  • We don't get enough goals and one thing Jackson always supplies is goals. I imagine Powell didn't match up Stewart with Reda Johnson as he would have been flattened. Jackson doesn't have the pace to play wide and so I think Powell put Stephens out right so only one player was out of position but could still contribute rather than two. The fact Stephens scored would indicate that his influence on the pitch wasn't completely lost, and that's something everyone seems to be forgetting. Danny Green isn't really an option as long as he continues to be Danny Green
  • edited December 2013
    Thing is Garry, Stewart should have been matched up against Reda Johnson after 5 minutes. I could see he was the worst player on the park and was crying out to be run at.

    Plus Stephens goal came from a throw in where he was more central.
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  • It left us with no width down that side as stephans just wanted to keep cutting in. For me the subs would have made more sense if going to a 3-5-2 with Wilson and Green pushing out to the wings and Dervite going back in defence
  • Jackson had 3 players surrounding him down the right flank as Stephens cut in from the right to score
  • it sounds like Jacko played below standard , there was an obvious need to move players around with no solly no wiggins, he moved a player who was not as influential as he has been in recent games due to him being moved over, however that player scored a great goal cutting in from the right,

    don't over analysis it imo, I am sure lessons will be learned, we never lost we drew, they scored a goal that was hugely offside,

    roll on Ipswich and see what happens

    read Powells comments about the players the lack of investment and then look at the table, I would rather be us than 5 other clubs and if that's the case at the end of the season thank god
  • Jackson had 3 players surrounding him down the right flank as Stephens cut in from the right to score

    TBH this is the only 5 mins of the game I missed due to still waiting for food... if he had a magic spell im gutted I missed it :)
  • It's not a case of over analysing mate, it's just a real concern that in a home game against a poor side and relegation rival that CP makes a poor decision, that concerned me prior to the game (no hindsight involved), by breaking up a central midfield partnership that's been key lately.

    I just hope lessons are learned because he can't be makin errors like that towards the end of the season, where the difference between 1 point and 3 points could be Champ football or league one.
  • your right VG he should've kept it the same, but the fact that Stephens scored cutting in from the right, maybe the thing that made powell play him there , he may have seen that in training time and time again, the real issue is that Jacko after an absence seems to take too long now to get back on the pace, the inability of jacko to affect his part of the game, may have impacted on the midfield 4 not being as good as hoped

    If I was coach, I wouldn't have swapped Cousins and Stephens for anyone in that league as they are complimenting eachother very well, but we may well have lost that game yesterday if we hadn't have swapped them over, just as we may have won it if we never swapped them over

    I think it was a decision that too a degree paid off, with Wiggo and Solly hopefully back intime for Ipswich the decision will be made for Powell as to his starting 11
  • It seems to me that nobody is disputing the players he put out there yesterday - given the lack of availilibility of Solly, Wiggins, Pritchard & Harriot - but rather where he played them. Even the Green fans would have to agree from his little cameo that he didn't warrant a starting place.

    From where I was sitting it looked as though Stephens was being asked to play narrow and keep coming inside to support the middle two, which makes sense given their overloading of central midfield, whereas Stewart was being asked to stay much wider and act as an outlet. (There is no way Stephens was playing "on the wing" - I hate it when people assume that a right midfielder is supposed to be playing as a winger).

    If Stewart is supposed to be your outlet/supply to the forwards then you play him where he is most effective, which seems to be on the left so he can cut in onto his right. If thats the case then the other three have to slot in wherever, so if it's a choice of playing Stephens, Jackson or Cousins on the right then there is only one option out of the three.

    When Green came on he was supposed to be the outlet/supply to the forwards, so Stephens switched sides.

    Not an ideal situation by any means. But I don't know who else could've come in to make a difference.

    It also looked like Dervite came on to do a specific job - to stand in front of that massive lump they brought on. Not the most thrilling tactical switch you'll ever see, granted, but it was better than Jackson having the ball passed around him.

    Anyway, at least it livened up a bit in the second half. That first half was one of the biggest non-events I can recall.

    Funny to see that Wednesday thought they "dominated" the half though - when nothing at all happened!
  • Thing is Garry, Stewart should have been matched up against Reda Johnson after 5 minutes. I could see he was the worst player on the park and was crying out to be run at.

    Plus Stephens goal came from a throw in where he was more central.

    I said to TelMc32 yesterday that their No.3 was the worst player I had seen for sometime and we needed to get at him.
  • I thought there was an opportunity to go 3-5-2 when Dervite came on, which could have moved Stephens inside and pushed Stewart/Evina and Wilson into wing back roles. But I genuinely think it was a case of damned if you do damned if you don't with the players available.
  • Thing is Garry, Stewart should have been matched up against Reda Johnson after 5 minutes. I could see he was the worst player on the park and was crying out to be run at.

    Plus Stephens goal came from a throw in where he was more central.

    It's interesting that Reda Johnson's had such bad reviews as I would generally say he's one of their better players. If he had a shocker then it would make sense to put Stewart up against him, but having said that, judging by Stewart's reaction to getting mud on his shorts would he have gone at Johnson like he should or bottled it regardless of his performance? I think Stewart is a very one-track player - run, avoid the man and cut in, with very little change depending on the way the match pans out. You'd think Danny Green would have been good to go up against Johnson but I've heard he was atrocious as well. I think the main issue we have, and have had since we came up from L1, is our lack of a pacy, proper wide right player willing to take players on. I'd like to think Wilson can do the job but he did great work there at the start of last season and then fell away badly. Hopefully he can maintain his form this time around but I'd still like to see a new player out there
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