You are the manager, what would you do?

S

sparkins

Well-known member
OK, so put yourself in Wilder's shoes. Given the current league position and with the squad of players at your disposal, what would you do to try and turn things around - especially given that the murmurs are getting louder?

Formation?
First choice XI?
Areas for individual improvement?
Self reflection?
 
sparkins said:
OK, so put yourself in Wilder's shoes. Given the current league position and with the squad of players at your disposal, what would you do to try and turn things around - especially given that the murmurs are getting louder?

Formation?
First choice XI?
Areas for individual improvement?
Self reflection?
Click to expand...
Back to basics for me...

Roberts

Djiksteel Fry Bola

Jones Giles
Howson
Crooks McGree

Muniz Forss

Watmore and Hoppe off the bench to finish games off
 
The midfield of Crooks-Howson-McGree will be over run, as seen second half of the WBA game and first half QPR. Cannot have that MF unit as it clearly doesn't function.

The rest ......?? Wilder won't abandon the 3-5-2 so need to come up with something fairly radical as little tweaks and a player in here and there isn't working.

Roberts

Dijksteel - Fry - ????

Jones - Crooks - Luongo - Giles

McGree

Muniz - Watmore/Forss

The LCB I haven't a clue as Clarke has been awful, and not sure about Bola there (too small). Worry is that midfield, again, could be over run but struggling for players in there.

🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️
 
3-5-2, stick with it, but play the players who suit it.

Do not over-commit/ try and get early goals too much, until the players are settled and have got their foot on the ball. I don't even care if we don't get anywhere with it, just keep the ball until we calm down.

Don't panic about results, just play our game, results will turn around. If we don't play our game we're largely relying on luck, we don't need to do that, we can tip the balance in our favour.

Steffen

Clarke, but not against Bola, especially home games/ weaker opposition
Lenihan
Dijksteele

Howson, but see how Luongo goes
McGree
Crooks
Giles
Jones (needs to work on crossing, but I'd rather him trying to beat players than cross from out wide like Giles, he seems to do this more/ better with Dijk in the team)

Chuba to see if he can hack it, but don't rush him back, but Forss/ Watmore depending on the opposition, but either way rotate them after 45-60 mins
Muniz

We've not had chance to play with that team yet, through missing 2-3 players in most games, it's not an excuse mind, the players should still be good enough to play football.

When we keep the ball better, we play better.

Some of the back three may not defend as well as some of the others (to some people), but the idea would be we would lose the ball less, so have to defend a lot less, which massively eclipses this tiny defensive loss (which I don't think even exists). I think this is what we were trying to do in the first 5 or so games, but didn't get the reward we deserved, and lots of new players etc. Funnily enough in the few games after, we held the ball a lot worse, but got more out of those games than we deserved, but I think the first half last night hopefully put that to bed.

Start a fining system for long balls, when we have possession, not under real threat.

I'd possibly be open to 4-2-3-1 if we don't get much benefit from Chuba and Forss, and in that case I'd go:

Steffen

Bola
Lenihan
Fry
Dijksteele

Howson
Crooks/ Luongo/ Mowatt, maybe alter this depending on who we're playing

McGree
Giles
Jones

Muniz

Could even make that a 4-1-4-1 etc
 
………….Steffen

Dijksteel…Fry…Clarke…Bola

…..Howson…McGree

Jones……Forss…….Giles

…………..Muniz

Midfield is a massive problem whatever we do. Get Stephens signed and fit and play him and Luongo. Won’t be any worse!
 
We need to spend some money on CM too, far too critical position(s) to be relying on Howson who's 35 and Mowatt etc, and that's assuming Luongo and any other free won't be the answer. We need two centre mids who would get a game in most sides.
 
uncle_rico said:
………….Steffen

Dijksteel…Fry…Clarke…Bola

…..Howson…McGree

Jones……Forss…….Giles

…………..Muniz

Midfield is a massive problem whatever we do. Get Stephens signed and fit and play him and Luongo. Won’t be any worse!
Click to expand...
4-4-2 when Akpom is fit
 
Wilder talks a lot about round pegs and round holes etc, totally agree on that, but playing lump ball players (or those who lump it when lacking confidence, which I think it's more of) in sides trying to play football is still square pegs in round holes. The problem with this is it makes every other player a square peg in a round hole. It ends up a feedback loop of bad play, we panic, lump it, lose the ball, defend, panic, lump it and all that time we lose confidence and the oppo gains. The hole gets dug deeper and deeper until we string some passes together.

We don't have the legs/ quality in CM to be able to afford to lose the ball too easily, should only be risking giving it away in the final third.
 
uncle_rico said:
………….Steffen

Dijksteel…Fry…Clarke…Bola

…..Howson…McGree

Jones……Forss…….Giles

…………..Muniz

Midfield is a massive problem whatever we do. Get Stephens signed and fit and play him and Luongo. Won’t be any worse!
Click to expand...
We are trung to improve the team. Stephens is a carthorse and very slow. We need pace not more lumbering slow midfielders!!!
 
Andy_W said:
We need to spend some money on CM too, far too critical position(s) to be relying on Howson who's 35 and Mowatt etc, and that's assuming Luongo and any other free won't be the answer. We need two centre mids who would get a game in most sides.
Click to expand...
For all those who failed to see what Tav brought to the midfield, last night was a case in point. The energy we had at times last season has evaporated. We are pedestrian in midfield and far too passive. Think back to the games like Tottenham where we were like a perpetual motion machine, contrast that with the stolid performances of this season. Wilder's system demands energy and that has gone.
 
sparkins said:
For all those who failed to see what Tav brought to the midfield, last night was a case in point. The energy we had at times last season has evaporated. We are pedestrian in midfield and far too passive. Think back to the games like Tottenham where we were like a perpetual motion machine, contrast that with the stolid performances of this season. Wilder's system demands energy and that has gone.
Click to expand...
Massive loss of course he is. Crooks looks a pale shadow of himself from last season. Mowatt is way off the pace. Howson is Howson but needs a busy mid with him. Jones has lost something and the defence have a huge confidence problem. There are issues all over the pitch at the moment.
 
Cardiffdaffs said:
Massive loss of course he is. Crooks looks a pale shadow of himself from last season. Mowatt is way off the pace. Howson is Howson but needs a busy mid with him. Jones has lost something and the defence have a huge confidence problem. There are issues all over the pitch at the moment.
Click to expand...
Totally agree. Jones looks like expectation is weighing heavy on his shoulders after playing with such freedom last year. Variety of delivery is something I hope they are working on with him.

Last season where he was an unknown quantity, it looked like he was told 'Go out there, play your natural game and show us what you have got'. Whereas this year it seems more a case of 'We need you to be more responsible defensively and we need you to retain possession better'. Over time this may make him a better team player, but it seems to have removed part of the crucial essence of his play. Its a tough balance.
 
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sparkins said:
For all those who failed to see what Tav brought to the midfield, last night was a case in point. The energy we had at times last season has evaporated. We are pedestrian in midfield and far too passive. Think back to the games like Tottenham where we were like a perpetual motion machine, contrast that with the stolid performances of this season. Wilder's system demands energy and that has gone.
Click to expand...
Yep, can't replace a young £10m player, with that energy and all-round game, with what we did. We seemed to have gambled on that, just intentionally held the money or could not attract the players.

I can't imagine Wilder had in mind that we would sell Tav, and not get one or two in there who could likely work to a similar level. McGree is going to have to fill that role, it's the only option I can see at the minute.

Same for up front, some wanted to invest in the future, like we did with Forss and Hoppe, but that could take years to bear fruit, and it still may not. I'd have rather we spent that money (and a bit more) on a better player who could play now, assuming we were going to do it with midfield as well.

Seems like a waste of a season not having that CM and good, ready-made forward, and will be harder next year when we have to replace Muniz and Giles etc. We should probably look to buy Muniz, if he will stay and if Fulham look like they will stay up (which they should).
 
I'd call an emergency press conference, and it'd go something like this:

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!"

Ladies and gentlemen. Boro will be playing Four-Four-F***ing Two.
 
Stop messing about with a 3-5-1-1 formation. Having McGree as the 10 is confusing matters and it's impacting the midfield. The best Wilder teams play with two genuine forward players. It doesn't matter if one has to be Forss or Hoppe for 60 minutes until Watmore arrives.
 
The only midfielder we were linked with was Onyeka from Brentford. If if we had signed him we’d still have the gaping problem of having not replaced Tav. The recruitment of suitable players is still a massive problem at this club, and has been long before Wilder and Scott. We all thought that this would change with these two at the club but we still have the scatter gun approach of signing players based on the fact that they had a decent game or two against us.
 
uncle_rico said:
Possibly. But if he’s fit can he be any worse? We had Leadbitter and Clayton who were immense together and neither had pace, especially Clayton. We need someone who can win the ball and keep hold of it.
Click to expand...
Burnley fans thought he was an absolute waster. How desperate are we though when you start to suggest players like Dale Effing Stephens just because “it can’t get any worse”. It really is.
 
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