So you'd put four strikers on the bench, but play a central midfielder out of position up front?
As Burton plays deep then presumably you'd have Bailey playing even further out of position running off the shoulder of the last defender. In so doing you'd totally neutralise a combative ball winning midfielder. Furthermore your midfield are somewhat goal shy - Reid and Racon have no goals between them, Semedo has one and Sam has scored a handful.
Actually I'd play Bailey in the "Gerrard role" or give him a free role so he would not be an out and out forward. 3 strikers on the bench like yesterday, not sure if Shelvey counts as a striker.
Would also be at times like the 4-5-1's that we have seen with Reid/Sam making it more of a 4-3-3 when attacking and 4-5-1 when defending. Also allows Bailey a bit more of a free role as he seems to be one of the only players who looked like scoring from open play. Shelvey cannot play every game and I don't see how taking him out of the side, makes it a goal shy team.
Gerrard gets a lot of Liverpool goals, does he play upfront? Do people call him a striker? Likewise Cahill sometimes plays just behind whoever is upfront for Everton.
Bailey plays in the hole and he'll score a goal every other game this season without breaking a sweat. Play to our strengths. Best finisher at the club and needs to be given the freedom to make those clever late Lampard-esque runs more often. Use the pace and flair out wide and Burton's nous at leading the line and holding the ball up. Semedo sitting with Racon a bit less so will also free up Solly and Basey to make more attacking contributions, particularly at home.
Then from the bench you've got a pacey and powerful striker ideal to turn us into a straight 4-4-2, a whippet out wide who can have half an hour to bury an already knackered full back and a clever, intelligent passer of the ball to unlock a defence sitting back.
[cite]Posted By: BlackForestReds[/cite]So you'd put four strikers on the bench, but play a central midfielder out of position up front?
As Burton plays deep then presumably you'd have Bailey playing even further out of position running off the shoulder of the last defender. In so doing you'd totally neutralise a combative ball winning midfielder. Furthermore your midfield are somewhat goal shy - Reid and Racon have no goals between them, Semedo has one and Sam has scored a handful.
Elliott - not seen any reason to remove him
Richardson - as above and bit wiser than Solly
Dailly - No need to remove him, though a rest would be good
S.Sodje - Well, Llera isnt as good and Basey cant play here
Solly - Pace alone now we have reid is an assett on this side not good enough to take rb position off richardson but better than basey!
Sam - no reason to be removed
Racon - plays neat passes and could be the best cm at the club at his best
Semedo - solid attack stopper
Reid - Pace, shot, crosses need i say more?
Bailey - has a real eye for goal and can score with both feet or his head.
Burton - holds play up well and can score.
Subs:
Randolph
Basey can just about play cb, lb and lm
Llera - no other choice
Shelvey - CM or "striker" as you put it
Wagstaff - lm or rm
Tuna - lm or striker - plays similar to mooney just tries bits mooney wouldn't
A.Sodje - Striker and the out of him and mooney i'd choose akpo
I'd pick the eleven that can accurately pass the ball to one another, can create chances and is willing to have a shot on goal before 40 minutes have elapsed.
like it choice but we have enough trouble keeping clean sheets with 4 at the back and Semedo in front of them, let alone 3!, I like cafcdan18's idea of Bailey off the front man.
Where do most our goals come from? Burton, Sam, Basey and then Shelvey. Reid has never been an assist player, he's shock and awe without goals or a decent cross to his name. For the best use of his pace Sam has to be in the team, hopefully getting space on the other side.
Who is the spine? Elliot, Dailly, Semedo, Bailey and Burton.
I'm not against resting Sam or Burton for some matches but they need to be playing the vast majority and probably not both out at the same time.
Elliot Richardson, Dailly, Sodje, Basey Sam, Semedo, Bailey, Reid Burton & Mckenzie with an honurable mention for Akpo
I am a big fan of Mooney but for fighting away days and tough matches we need to have physically competitive players.
Do we need a physically competitive, offensive player who'll hold the line for the midfield? Yes but we've needed that for 5 odd years now. This squad is good enough, and is a team that'll be suited to the better surfaces of spring. 4-5-1's fine for some away fixtures but Semedo has to play. Playing Shelvey in a team that does not dominate possession is not an option atm.
Iv buggered about for ages trying different formations, its not easy cos u could make a case for Racon but is he up for a scrap, Youga if and when he's fit, Solly looked good at Walsall, Wagstaff has scored goals, Reid looks exciting but with two strikers is there too much attack and not enough defence. Shelvey could have a free role but is he up for it at the moment, Semedo is fairly solid but seems slow backtracking, Richardson reminds me of Humphrey and gets involved going forward so wouldnt want to sacrifice that option, Sam can be great but can also be a bit hit and miss, Mooney is a different option up front and looks good sometimes but is also prone to looking shit sometimes,Burtons scored goals so you wouldnt want to drop him, Akpo needs a run but then you want to see Mckenzie have a go but who do you drop. ARRRGGGGHHHH...We dont score enough goals so you think attack but then you want to keep a clean sheet also...
F*** it, its a nightmare. No wonder Parkinson struggles to get it right
Parky's still pondering this one, he's tried about 20 players in his starting line up the last half a dozen matches, but still can't get the mix right.
this would produce some results, if left for a while.
only prob we need to get this right asap, weve got another 4 games coming in 11 days and after 5 months PP still doesnt know. our best runs of the season were when we had settled sides, he needs to decide the best X1 who play as a team and stick with it now till May
The changes that Parky has made for the past 2 away games were for one reason ....... to inject quicker feet into a previously mostly one-paced side, hence Akpo, Solly and Waggy, in addition to Reid.
Dropping Sam and playing both Reid and Waggy, the idea was to have 2 wide men quickly exploiting the gap behind opponents' defensive line.
Akpo has been picked to provide a physical presence against opposing centrebacks, and to be on the end of crosses whipped in from our wingers. He would also provide more aerial ability in our own box when defending set pieces.
Against Swindon, Jonjo was re-instated to the 'role-in-the-hole', to pick up knockdowns from Akpo or floor balls from Racon/Bailey and feed the wingers quickly (as he did brilliantly with Reid just before half time, then crashing the ball against the bar).
Overall though, it wasn't that effective, as we lacked the ability to retain possession - as proved when Burton came on and linked it all together.
But you can see Parky's way of thinking, which in theory could have worked very effectively away from home on the counter-attack, turning 4-4-1-1 into 4-3-3.
Comments
Elliot
Solly Dailly Sodje Basey
Racon Semedo
Sam Bailey Reid
Burton
Subs: Randolph, Richardson, Llera, Wagstaff, Shelvey, Mooney, A.Sodje.
Richardson-Sodje-Dailly-Basey
Sam-Semedo-Racon-Reid
Bailey
Burton
Subs
Randolph
Llera
Waggy
Shelvey
Dickson (I know)
McKenzie
Sodje/Mooney (undecided here)
As Burton plays deep then presumably you'd have Bailey playing even further out of position running off the shoulder of the last defender. In so doing you'd totally neutralise a combative ball winning midfielder. Furthermore your midfield are somewhat goal shy - Reid and Racon have no goals between them, Semedo has one and Sam has scored a handful.
Would also be at times like the 4-5-1's that we have seen with Reid/Sam making it more of a 4-3-3 when attacking and 4-5-1 when defending. Also allows Bailey a bit more of a free role as he seems to be one of the only players who looked like scoring from open play. Shelvey cannot play every game and I don't see how taking him out of the side, makes it a goal shy team.
Bailey plays in the hole and he'll score a goal every other game this season without breaking a sweat. Play to our strengths. Best finisher at the club and needs to be given the freedom to make those clever late Lampard-esque runs more often. Use the pace and flair out wide and Burton's nous at leading the line and holding the ball up. Semedo sitting with Racon a bit less so will also free up Solly and Basey to make more attacking contributions, particularly at home.
Then from the bench you've got a pacey and powerful striker ideal to turn us into a straight 4-4-2, a whippet out wide who can have half an hour to bury an already knackered full back and a clever, intelligent passer of the ball to unlock a defence sitting back.
elliot
Richardson Sodje Dailly
racon
sam bailey reid
shelvey
sodje burton
bench
randolph
mckenzie
solly
llera
wagstaff
semedo
dickson
and finally left a home or told to go back to reading mooney
Agreed. In terms of personnel that is our strongest starting 11. (Youga walks back in when fit.)
Spot on. The core of the team is Elliot, Dailly, Semedo, Bailey and Burton. None of these players should ever be dropped.
amended due to Youga still being injured and a good point about the gerrard role.
If only we had a Torres as well...
Elliott - not seen any reason to remove him
Richardson - as above and bit wiser than Solly
Dailly - No need to remove him, though a rest would be good
S.Sodje - Well, Llera isnt as good and Basey cant play here
Solly - Pace alone now we have reid is an assett on this side not good enough to take rb position off richardson but better than basey!
Sam - no reason to be removed
Racon - plays neat passes and could be the best cm at the club at his best
Semedo - solid attack stopper
Reid - Pace, shot, crosses need i say more?
Bailey - has a real eye for goal and can score with both feet or his head.
Burton - holds play up well and can score.
Subs:
Randolph
Basey can just about play cb, lb and lm
Llera - no other choice
Shelvey - CM or "striker" as you put it
Wagstaff - lm or rm
Tuna - lm or striker - plays similar to mooney just tries bits mooney wouldn't
A.Sodje - Striker and the out of him and mooney i'd choose akpo
is that an o.k explanation for you?
not like we have many other options really!
Elliott
Richardson Dailly Sodje Basey (Youga when fit)
Sam Bailey Racon Reid (Also would have Shelvey starting instead of Racon against the lower placed teams)
Burton Mckenzie
Subs
Randolph
Llera
Semedo
Shelvey
A.Sodje
Mooney
Spring
Team and formation away 4-5-1
Elliott
Richardson Dailly Sodje Basey (youga when fit)
Sam Bailey Semedo Racon Reid
Burton
Subs
Randolph
Llera
Shelvey
Mouatakil
A.Sodje
Mooney
Spring
er....Chelsea's would do.
[align=center]Elliot
Richardson Sodje Youga
Semedo
Sam Shelvey Bailey Reid
Akpo Burton[/align]
Who is the spine? Elliot, Dailly, Semedo, Bailey and Burton.
I'm not against resting Sam or Burton for some matches but they need to be playing the vast majority and probably not both out at the same time.
Elliot
Richardson, Dailly, Sodje, Basey
Sam, Semedo, Bailey, Reid
Burton & Mckenzie with an honurable mention for Akpo
I am a big fan of Mooney but for fighting away days and tough matches we need to have physically competitive players.
Do we need a physically competitive, offensive player who'll hold the line for the midfield? Yes but we've needed that for 5 odd years now. This squad is good enough, and is a team that'll be suited to the better surfaces of spring. 4-5-1's fine for some away fixtures but Semedo has to play. Playing Shelvey in a team that does not dominate possession is not an option atm.
[div noWrap=false]Elliot
Richardson Sodje Youga
Semedo
Sam Shelvey Bailey Reid
Akpo Burton[/div]
[div noWrap=false][/div]subs:
racon
mooney
mckenzie
solly
llera
randolph
basey[/quote]
1 centre back?? what has Dailly done wrong? :) o o o
Richardson Dailly Sodje Basey
Sam Racon Semedo Bailey Reid
Burton
Would be nice to see a clean sheet for once!
F*** it, its a nightmare. No wonder Parkinson struggles to get it right
Plus its snowing outside
[align=center]Elliot & Randolph
Richardson Sodje Llera Dailly Youga
Sam Bailey Semedo Racon Reid
Shelvey
Burton Mooney Akpo Mckenzie[/align]
Guarantees goals at one end and clean sheets at the other
Parky it seems has been reading my comments, but not following the last part of the advice, tsk...
I think Semedo is as good if not better than most other players in this position, so please take note Mr P
I feel if we did that with a more solid back four
Richardson Daily Sodje Semedo,
then Sam Racon Bailey Reid/Waggy across the middle
and Burton with perhaps (give him a proper chance to start a run of matches) Dixon up front,
this would produce some results, if left for a while.
only prob we need to get this right asap, weve got another 4 games coming in 11 days and after 5 months PP still doesnt know. our best runs of the season were when we had settled sides, he needs to decide the best X1 who play as a team and stick with it now till May
Dropping Sam and playing both Reid and Waggy, the idea was to have 2 wide men quickly exploiting the gap behind opponents' defensive line.
Akpo has been picked to provide a physical presence against opposing centrebacks, and to be on the end of crosses whipped in from our wingers. He would also provide more aerial ability in our own box when defending set pieces.
Against Swindon, Jonjo was re-instated to the 'role-in-the-hole', to pick up knockdowns from Akpo or floor balls from Racon/Bailey and feed the wingers quickly (as he did brilliantly with Reid just before half time, then crashing the ball against the bar).
Overall though, it wasn't that effective, as we lacked the ability to retain possession - as proved when Burton came on and linked it all together.
But you can see Parky's way of thinking, which in theory could have worked very effectively away from home on the counter-attack, turning 4-4-1-1 into 4-3-3.