Lone Striker?

MidlandsBoroFan

MidlandsBoroFan

Well-known member
We are persisting with playing 2 strikers. At home it is working, but away from home they are anonymous. No point playing 2 strikers if we can’t get the ball to them (and they can’t finish chances anyway…)

Maybe 3-4-2-1 could work. Crooks and Tav behind a lone striker? Howson and McGree behind. Could even put Paddy in midfield and try Bamba at the back if we get an injury. At least we might be more solid. We’re far too easy to play against at the moment.

I’m not usually a fan of changing system mid season, but have started wondering if we should try something different, just for 1 game, because what we’re doing ain’t working…
 
Last edited:
MidlandsBoroFan said:
We are persisting with playing 2 strikers. At home it is working, but away from home they are anonymous. No point playing 2 strikers if we can’t get the ball to them (and they can’t finish chances anyway…)

Maybe 3-4-2-1 could work. Crooks and Tav behind a lone striker? Howson and McGree behind. Could even put Paddy in midfield and try Bamba at the back if we get an injury. At least we might be more solid. We’re far too easy to play against at the moment.

I’m not usually a fan of changing system mid season, but have started wondering if we should try something different, just for 1 game, because what we’re doing ain’t working…
Click to expand...
Nah. McGree playing will make us better and we really missed Dijksteel in the back three.

EDIT McGree is bolloxd 3-4-2-1 sounds reet!


————-Fry—Bamba—McNair———-
Jones—Howson—Boyd-Munce—Taylor
—————Crooks—Tavernier—————
————————Coburn———————

Watmore, Balogun & Connolly off the bench?

————Howson —Fry—-McNair———
Jones—Crooks—Boyd-Munce—Tavernier
———————Balogun————————
—————-Connolly—Watmore————-
 
Last edited:
newyddion said:
Nah. McGree playing will make us better and we really missed Dijksteel in the back three.
Click to expand...
Agree with both those points, but can’t believe we’d have done that much better with both playing. Also worrying when 1 or 2 injuries lead to such a bad performance. This stage of the season we’re going to get injuries.

Just think a change is needed away from home.
 
MidlandsBoroFan said:
We are persisting with playing 2 strikers. At home it is working, but away from home they are anonymous. No point playing 2 strikers if we can’t get the ball to them (and they can’t finish chances anyway…)

Maybe 3-4-2-1 could work. Crooks and Tav behind a lone striker? Howson and McGree behind. Could even put Paddy in midfield and try Bamba at the back if we get an injury. At least we might be more solid. We’re far too easy to play against at the moment.

I’m not usually a fan of changing system mid season, but have started wondering if we should try something different, just for 1 game, because what we’re doing ain’t working…
Click to expand...
I don't think two strikers is particularly the issue.

We struggle to compete with the physical teams, yes Bamba at the back might help, but we really miss a proper CDM a Clayton circa 2016. We're too soft in that area against the physical sides

If we are to press high we do need one of the strikers to drop to 10 when we don't have the ball.
 
BoroMart said:
I don't think two strikers is particularly the issue.

We struggle to compete with the physical teams, yes Bamba at the back might help, but we really miss a proper CDM a Clayton circa 2016. We're too soft in that area against the physical sides

If we are to press high we do need one of the strikers to drop to 10 when we don't have the ball.
Click to expand...
Agree with all that, but our strikers don’t drop back. Away from home they are contributing nothing. Which is why I think it is worth a try. I’d try anything at the moment.
 
MidlandsBoroFan said:
We are persisting with playing 2 strikers. At home it is working, but away from home they are anonymous. No point playing 2 strikers if we can’t get the ball to them (and they can’t finish chances anyway…)

Maybe 3-4-2-1 could work. Crooks and Tav behind a lone striker? Howson and McGree behind. Could even put Paddy in midfield and try Bamba at the back if we get an injury. At least we might be more solid. We’re far too easy to play against at the moment.

I’m not usually a fan of changing system mid season, but have started wondering if we should try something different, just for 1 game, because what we’re doing ain’t working…
Click to expand...

Maddo was saying the same after the match last night that the system isn't working away from home and that perhaps it's time to try something new.

I'm not against that but I'm not sure it's that, I just think some players are tired after some long hard games and we don't have the strength in depth to rotate. I think another transfer window is needed to improve the squad depth.
 
theredrooster said:
Maddo was saying the same after the match last night that the system isn't working away from home and that perhaps it's time to try something new.

I'm not against that but I'm not sure it's that, I just think some players are tired after some long hard games and we don't have the strength in depth to rotate. I think another transfer window is needed to improve the squad depth.
Click to expand...
We do have the emergency transfer window from fifa for foreign players currently in Russia and Ukraine..
 
It’s amazing how with some of our fans Wilder goes from “hero to zero” each week to week and match to match.
Wilder is capable of sorting this out, perhaps with a few more players next season because it looks as though we need a decent keeper, another strong midfielder alongside Crooks and a striker who can be relied upon.
 
Lottowyn said:
It’s amazing how with some of our fans Wilder goes from “hero to zero” each week to week and match to match.
Wilder is capable of sorting this out, perhaps with a few more players next season because it looks as though we need a decent keeper, another strong midfielder alongside Crooks and a striker who can be relied upon.
Click to expand...
Don’t think it is Wilder most people are blaming for last night. He can only do so much. Difficult for him when so many players are having an awful game, and nobody wants to win a 50/50 ball.

But our away form is so concerning I think sticking with the same system game after game is possibly a mistake. We’ve gone from a team who looked really solid to the opposite. We conceded 13 goals in our first 13 away games. 11 conceded in last 4!

Still more than happy with CW. Promotion this season would be an unexpected bonus. But if we keep up these away performances we take that possibility away.

Agree about the players needed though.
 
I just posted this on the match thread, but probably better off here:

We've got big problems away, and think it seems to stem from us being pressed more, and us being very poor playing out from the back when this happens.
Loads of times we got caught out, gave the ball away or kicked it straight out. The times we didn't do that, we launched it forward for headers and we have zero chance doing that with Sporar, Balogun, Watmore and Connolly. The only hope we have doing that is with Coburn, as we let Ikpeazu go, but I don't think it's the right way to go.

We could, in theory, play 4 at the back and invite pressure, and try and suck their defensive line up, so we can play balls over the top as a counter attack, but that's risky with our defence. Won't work with 3-5-2, or 4-5-1. I rarely say this but 4-4-2 could actually work for us, playing counter attack with Coburn and Watmore up top, but then we might get dominated in midfield. Suppose we could put Tav left, in front of Taylor (till Bola finds his feet), Dijksteele right back and Jones as an actual winger. There's options to push paddy up in 4-4-2, so ends up like 3-1-4-2 when we have the ball or are higher up the pitch.

Teams sit back at the riverside, so it lets us play it out easier, papers over our distribution cracks from the back, this allows us to eventually get the ball to feet of our forwards, which is the only way they can play.
 
We could have played any system/tactics/formation last night and we would have got battered. Players were simply off the pace, for whatever reason. The way wilder plays demands high energy style, I feel we are paying the price now for a thin squad with a real lack of quality bar the starting 11 and usual 2 or 3 subs.

Having Howson as the defensive mid at 33 playing two high intensity games a week, some going to extra time, is asking an awful lot.
 
MidlandsBoroFan said:
Agree with all that, but our strikers don’t drop back. Away from home they are contributing nothing. Which is why I think it is worth a try. I’d try anything at the moment.
Click to expand...
Connolly and Watmore contribute without the ball, as part of that press. Sporar is the biggest issue for me, it's like playing with 10 men. We also scored and created plenty of chances in all them games. The biggest issue is defending properly and not gifting goals
 
BoroMart said:
Connolly and Watmore contribute without the ball, as part of that press. Sporar is the biggest issue for me, it's like playing with 10 men. We also scored and created plenty of chances in all them games. The biggest issue is defending properly and not gifting goals
Click to expand...
Agreed about the defence.

I just feel playing 2 strikers away (especially against a good team) leaves us exposed and under pressure.

Difficult to plan for the individual mistakes being made currently though.
 
I was saying much the same on the way back last night...I think CW has been brilliant for us but there's no getting away from the fact that we've become a very soft touch away from home.
May as well try something different and try to get a foothold in the game for the first half hour at least, then take it from there.
Don't like pointing fingers at individual players but Sporar was totally abject last night (as was Fry and a few others). It really is like playing with 10 men when he starts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top