In away games like yesterday, as noted above the 4231 with Grant in the 10 role becomes 424, leaving us swamped in midfield.

Ouma has struggled, but playing a 433 with him or JRC in the 10 role, or more realistically as another 8 means we should have more solidity. And it might be an easier way for Ouma to get used to English football. We don't have a 10, so shouldn't play a system which needs one.

Our biggest attacking strength is down the left, with TC in the form of his life, and Mesik who loves to get forward, so extra  cover in midfield would help compensate for that. They're potentially such a good combination, as TC has such good control and Mesik is lightning fast.

thickandthin63 said:

Joe Aribo without a club,only 30 pity we cant sign him

Doc a free agent still too 👀 

Luke Berry available still I think.

golfaddick said:

se9addick said:

hoof_it_up_to_benty said:

mendonca said:

The fans who are truly panicking must be the ones that hand out player ratings in pre-season friendlies, and/or name their player of the season after just three games! 

I can't see much difference from last season where we flirted with relegation - possibly we look worse in defence. We create next to nothing and our only attacking outlet is TC.

Saturday was utterly dreadful - just looked totally disorganised. Okonkwo and some poor finishing from Cardiff kept the score down.

The majority of our loan signings don't seem to be adding much and I'm struggling to see three worse teams in this division.

Hopefully things pick up....

It’s going to be a long season, as it was last time round. Regardless of what formation we play or how we try to change things the fact will remain that we are one of the poorer teams in this division. We create and score so little that we are utterly dependent on keeping things tight but that means, when things go wrong defensively, pretty much any match can turn into a tonking. 

I would expect that Jones may use this break to shift us back to a back 3, especially if Edwards and Ramsay are going to be available. That might make us a little more solid, but I doubt it will significantly change the outcome of the season. We’ll still do well to avoid relegation.   

Who will be the wing backs if we go 3 at the back ?  The summer window was set up for 4 at the back so we brought in wingers & defenders. We have no natural wing backs. If we go back to putting TC back there then we will be worse than we are now as he is the only attacking threat we have......and he is NOT a defender. 

Edwards, Ramsay, McNamara and Mesik should all be available post international break. Jones might really be tempted to get the band back together and play TC there too - who doesn’t want more of that?!

se9addick said:

golfaddick said:

se9addick said:

hoof_it_up_to_benty said:

mendonca said:

The fans who are truly panicking must be the ones that hand out player ratings in pre-season friendlies, and/or name their player of the season after just three games! 

I can't see much difference from last season where we flirted with relegation - possibly we look worse in defence. We create next to nothing and our only attacking outlet is TC.

Saturday was utterly dreadful - just looked totally disorganised. Okonkwo and some poor finishing from Cardiff kept the score down.

The majority of our loan signings don't seem to be adding much and I'm struggling to see three worse teams in this division.

Hopefully things pick up....

It’s going to be a long season, as it was last time round. Regardless of what formation we play or how we try to change things the fact will remain that we are one of the poorer teams in this division. We create and score so little that we are utterly dependent on keeping things tight but that means, when things go wrong defensively, pretty much any match can turn into a tonking. 

I would expect that Jones may use this break to shift us back to a back 3, especially if Edwards and Ramsay are going to be available. That might make us a little more solid, but I doubt it will significantly change the outcome of the season. We’ll still do well to avoid relegation.   

Who will be the wing backs if we go 3 at the back ?  The summer window was set up for 4 at the back so we brought in wingers & defenders. We have no natural wing backs. If we go back to putting TC back there then we will be worse than we are now as he is the only attacking threat we have......and he is NOT a defender. 

Edwards, Ramsay, McNamara and Mesik should all be available post international break. Jones might really be tempted to get the band back together and play TC there too - who doesn’t want more of that?!

It could work down the left with Mesik/Edwards, the right would be more problematic as I can’t see Ramsay or McNamara being able to play that role to the standard needed.  

ForeverAddickted said:

Only thing that disappoints me from that interview, is that Campbell doesn't get mentioned with Okonkwo / Leaburn.

I thought he was pressing well at the start of the game, his pace was causing Ng problems, and took his goal really well, he then got shifted to the Right (might have gotten their Full-Back booked), and did well tracking back. Second half he's back on the Left (so the Full-Back he's up against again doesn't have the threat of dealing with Campbell, whilst on a booking... Campbell was also hamstrung by going back to Left Wing-Back again, and yeah maybe could have put in a better cross for Grant / Leaburn early in the second half, probably the one thing he did wrong.

I mean I even "get" the decision to move Campbell to Left Wing-Back, Bindon had a poor first half (regardless of the assist), we clearly wanted an extra body in Midfield (hence why we went to Wing-Backs), and you never play Bell there, whilst Edwards is coming back to fitness... So to play that role, there was literally no one else other then Tyreece

I think this is sometimes the issue between fans and NJ. We see what the players do (and we can obviously identify just terrible football) but not what they've been asked to do. I thought it was pretty pointed that he included TC in his criticisms despite the goal. Yes he scored but obviously NJ had instructed and trained specific ways and times to press, as well as probably lots of other things. And clearly TC and the other forwards, bar Leaburn, just didn't do it.

So yeah he looks good to us when he does some tracking back, and of course when he scored a goal, but clearly he's not doing the basics (as NJ would say), the bare minimum is to follow the game plan and work hard at it. 

AberystwythAddick said:

MuttleyCAFC said:

I think Ouma needs to be playing in the u-21s and if/when he starts to stand out at that level it might be time to introduce him via the bench. Maybe there was more time to play in the football he has been playing. You can adapt to that and maybe he can but i'm not sure throwing him to the lions is the way to get there.

The guys played in European cup competitions. He’s obviously got something. 

A couple of the passes and things today I almost thought he was use to players who would run on to them rather than playing it back or sideways 

This.

He's also shown some of the main attributes we were after for the role. He has aggression in the tackle and basically always looks to play forward. He can do it reasonably well - pretty sure it was his through ball that put Grant in.

NJ has said he's class in training - some people will say that's just BS but he isn't saying that about every player. 

What he's doing awfully at the moment is reading the game. He's just not up with it and then he's out of position and doesn't seem sure where he needs to be.

That combination (plus he's I think 21?) points far more towards someone who needs time to learn and adapt to a different, and famously fast paced and difficult league, as well as to a new team and tactics, than to someone who is necessarily just shit.

I'm not saying he will definitely come good, but saying he should never pull on the shirt again based on his 3 or 4 apps seems to me like a ludicrous overreaction. 

DOUCHER said:

Just to be clear - if we revert to 532 away from home, tc goes up top, under no circumstances does he play wingback - that’s as mental as Liverpool playing sobozaly (midfielder who scores wonder goals regularly) at right back 

But that’s part of the problem, TC is our best player (definitely our best attacking player) and the current formation suits him . 5-3-2 might make us a bit more solid defensively but it’s detrimental to getting the best from Campbell. 

Covered End

I don't think we've been found out, that's a nonsense.
If we defend in numbers and everyone does their job it's hard to score against us.

The issue is we've not being doing that.

Why haven't we been doing that?

We need (pretty much) all 11 to be at it.

Currently in different measures we've got Bindon, Alii and Ouma not "at it".

We can't keep clean sheets with only 8 effective players.

Plus the "10" issue/Carey  and possibly Skipp.

Answer - leave out the 3 main problems and go from there.


CE - I totally agree. When they are not busy losing the ball, they are 'busy' spectating. No urgency or aggression to their games. That may change over time, but at the moment they are passengers in the game and, therefore, liabilities.

Excuse me in advance for my glum and somewhat unsubstantiated opinions mixed with fact

In the month of September we have played 5 games, 3 away, 2 at  home ..  won nil, drawn 2, lost three, 2 goals scored, 8 conceded. This is relegation form.
We were unfortunate that a marginal offside call went against us (Campbell) v QPR, equally  in my opinion we were fortunate not to lose that game. We were overrun at Stoke and Cardiff.
We hear the same 'analysis' from a scruffy and hang dog looking Nathan Jones after every game. 'We need to be the best we can be' etc etc with seemingly no plan to get to the best they can be or any improvement at all from his players

I was against Jones' appointment as manager way back when, but admit that he has been far more successful than I expected , small humble pie eaten.
However, I think his time to move on or to be moved on has come. He's run out of ideas, I suspect a few players are fed up with his idiosyncratic managerial methods.
I can't see him as a sympathetic, 'modern' man manager. He looks to me to be an impatient, non sympathetic blusterer. This might have worked in the past. not today though

Perhaps the owners have been loath to provide adequqte funds for signings as they can't trust Jones and his team to spend very sustantial sums wisely on freash players.

I hope I am totally wrong and that we have a great October against some very difficlt teams, As ever, we will see

se9addick said:

Lincsaddick said:

Excuse me in advance for my glum and somewhat unsubstantiated opinions mixed with fact

In the month of September we have played 5 games, 3 away, 2 at  home ..  won nil, drawn 2, lost three, 2 goals scored, 8 conceded. This is relegation form.
We were unfortunate that a marginal offside call went against us (Campbell) v QPR, equally  in my opinion we were fortunate not to lose that game. We were overrun at Stoke and Cardiff.
We hear the same 'analysis' from a scruffy and hang dog looking Nathan Jones after every game. 'We need to be the best we can be' etc etc with seemingly no plan to get to the best they can be or any improvement at all from his players

I was against Jones' appointment as manager way back when, but admit that he has been far more successful than I expected , small humble pie eaten.
However, I think his time to move on or to be moved on has come. He's run out of ideas, I suspect a few players are fed up with his and there seems to be hp plan B  idiosyncratic managerial methods.
I can't see him as a sympathetic, 'modern' man manager. He looks to me to be an impatient, non sympathetic blusterer. This might have worked in the past. not today though

Perhaps the owners have been loath to provide adequqte funds for signings as they can't trust Jones and his team to spend very sustantial sums wisely on freash players.yemplaTE 

I hope I am totally wrong and that we have a great October against some very difficlt teams, As ever, we will see

Calling for the head of a manager who has been “more successful than you expected” (and I think you’re underselling it a bit there) because of one bad month is reactionary in the extreme. I presume you didn’t feel this way in August after we’d one three on the spin?

 last season was messy but redeemed by wins at Ipswich and Boro and v Hull, similarly the win at West Ham in August was beyond expectations, and yes, the winning team that day included 2 important players now out with long term (?) injuries.
However Chalobah who was superb in August has now succumbed to injury when it was well known that he was very injury prone albeit great when fit, THIS is an ongoing problem, continually signng players who are very injury prone and are just not to be relied on. Equally recent signings who have not fitted the Jones 'template' (so why were they signed?) can't be moved on, because no club seems to want them.
I M O, Nathan Jones might be a decent lower league manger, but he is not fit for purpose in the Championship (issue is of course, which bright young(ish) manager wants to grab the increasingly poisoned chalice that is CAFC)
I just do not want us to be relegated. IF we are it will be an Everest climbing job to ever get back .. our best players will certainly want out and will be difficult to replace 

VERY late edit .. Jones has been successful ? .. to an extent .. will be succesful in future ? .. NO
I won't go so far as to say Nathan is a washed up has been , but he's close 

Lincsaddick said:

se9addick said:

Lincsaddick said:

Excuse me in advance for my glum and somewhat unsubstantiated opinions mixed with fact

In the month of September we have played 5 games, 3 away, 2 at  home ..  won nil, drawn 2, lost three, 2 goals scored, 8 conceded. This is relegation form.
We were unfortunate that a marginal offside call went against us (Campbell) v QPR, equally  in my opinion we were fortunate not to lose that game. We were overrun at Stoke and Cardiff.
We hear the same 'analysis' from a scruffy and hang dog looking Nathan Jones after every game. 'We need to be the best we can be' etc etc with seemingly no plan to get to the best they can be or any improvement at all from his players

I was against Jones' appointment as manager way back when, but admit that he has been far more successful than I expected , small humble pie eaten.
However, I think his time to move on or to be moved on has come. He's run out of ideas, I suspect a few players are fed up with his and there seems to be hp plan B  idiosyncratic managerial methods.
I can't see him as a sympathetic, 'modern' man manager. He looks to me to be an impatient, non sympathetic blusterer. This might have worked in the past. not today though

Perhaps the owners have been loath to provide adequqte funds for signings as they can't trust Jones and his team to spend very sustantial sums wisely on freash players.yemplaTE 

I hope I am totally wrong and that we have a great October against some very difficlt teams, As ever, we will see

Calling for the head of a manager who has been “more successful than you expected” (and I think you’re underselling it a bit there) because of one bad month is reactionary in the extreme. I presume you didn’t feel this way in August after we’d one three on the spin?

 last season was messy but redeemed by wins at Ipswich and Boro and v Hull, similarly the win at West Ham in August was beyond expectations, and yes, the winning team that day included 2 important players now out with long term (?) injuries.
However Chalobah who was superb in August has now succumbed to injury when it was well known that he was very injury prone albeit great when fit, THIS is an ongoing problem, continually signng players who are very injury prone and are just not to be relied on. Equally recent signings who have not fitted the Jones 'template' (so why were they signed?) can't be moved on, because no club seems to want them.
I M O, Nathan Jones might be a decent lower league manger, but he is not fit for purpose in the Championship (issue is of course, which bright young(ish) manager wants to grab the increasingly poisoned chalice that is CAFC)
I just do not want us to be relegated. IF we are it will be an Everest climbing job to ever get back .. our best players will certainly want out and will be difficult to replace 

Changing the manager would make little or no difference, NJ is having to operate within tight guidelines and budget, this is our second year in the Championship and I feel he is doing ok at the moment, we will grow but it takes time, and a mid table finish this year is all we should be expecting at best...

ct_addick said:

We need a good #10 playmaker and until that is resolved we will struggle.......

I actually think the main thing we need is a Chalobah-like player that is able to play regularly. The evidence would suggest that is a bigger priority than a number 10 or RW.