Tactics

[beebopalula]

Sorry if this is a duplicate but I think it merits a discussion. I have a concern that we need to be a bit more flexible tactics -wise. Warbs has said that plan B is to make plan A work. IMO that isn't good enough if we want to be above average in this league. The Sheff Weds manager said they had got the measure of our tactics after the opening spell and substituting players without tactical changes in those circs isn't going to work. The management have to come to terms with the fact that the managers are a lot more savvy as are oppo players. The lone striker is OK but if we are running into bodies and out of ideas then IMO you need a plan B. For me it's 4-4-2 with Gray and Betinho or Proschwitz on the field. You have to change things. I'm not totally convinced that the lone striker is going to get the goal return we require and I don't think we'll get the best out of Grey in terms of goals although I rate him very highly in all other aspects. OK we know about supporting from mid etc but that isn't necessarily going to move us on IMO.
Curious to know what others think.

 

[Tunis Bee]

Personally I think Warbs knows a lot more than all of us, and I trust that he knows what he is doing a lot more than any of us would if we were the manager! Also, do agree with him that we just need to execute with 1 front man better. We need to become more clinical, which I believe we will do in time. If other clubs can have great success with playing a lone striker, it proves it can be done, if we execute it well.

There is a lot of panic over our lack of potency up front, but people are quick to forget that whilst the defense hasn't changed much from last year, we are a totally different team going forward with a lot of new faces still gelling together. We are also mid-table in the league haven't only come up a few months ago, and having a look at the teams we have played I really can't see us in any danger of relegation. Whilst we all are frustrated at times when we are struggling to score, I think a touch of realism and being grateful for the fact that we are not struggling would be good. We are a good team. We will get better. But I am not going to be disappointed if we don't make the playoffs in the first season in league I didn't ever think we would be in up until a few years ago!!!

 

[Gee Bee]

We are playing 3 forwards with 2 attacking midfielders behind. 4-4-2 will not imho give us the current flexibility we have. Taking more of the chances being created is plan A working better. We would also need to change the 2 centrally in a 4-4-2 as we would get overrun against most sides who now employ similar 5 or 3 in midfield.

 

[beebopalula]

Personally I think Warbs knows a lot more than all of us, and I trust that he knows what he is doing a lot more than any of us would if we were the manager! Also, do agree with him that we just need to execute with 1 front man better. We need to become more clinical, which I believe we will do in time. If other clubs can have great success with playing a lone striker, it proves it can be done, if we execute it well.

There is a lot of panic over our lack of potency up front, but people are quick to forget that whilst the defense hasn't changed much from last year, we are a totally different team going forward with a lot of new faces still gelling together. We are also mid-table in the league haven't only come up a few months ago, and having a look at the teams we have played I really can't see us in any danger of relegation. Whilst we all are frustrated at times when we are struggling to score, I think a touch of realism and being grateful for the fact that we are not struggling would be good. We are a good team. We will get better. But I am not going to be disappointed if we don't make the playoffs in the first season in league I didn't ever think we would be in up until a few years ago!!!

I'm sure he knows more than us but the issue is does he know more than the managers he's up against ? I'm not saying things are bad. Of course not as we are playing some great stuff but there's a goals problem isn't there and if we aren't breaking the oppo down then surely the tactics need changing for the last twenty mins ? If we're happy to be average then that's fine but it's simply asking whether a change in tactics is needed in games to kick us on.

 

[beebopalula]

Personally I think Warbs knows a lot more than all of us, and I trust that he knows what he is doing a lot more than any of us would if we were the manager! Also, do agree with him that we just need to execute with 1 front man better. We need to become more clinical, which I believe we will do in time. If other clubs can have great success with playing a lone striker, it proves it can be done, if we execute it well.

There is a lot of panic over our lack of potency up front, but people are quick to forget that whilst the defense hasn't changed much from last year, we are a totally different team going forward with a lot of new faces still gelling together. We are also mid-table in the league haven't only come up a few months ago, and having a look at the teams we have played I really can't see us in any danger of relegation. Whilst we all are frustrated at times when we are struggling to score, I think a touch of realism and being grateful for the fact that we are not struggling would be good. We are a good team. We will get better. But I am not going to be disappointed if we don't make the playoffs in the first season in league I didn't ever think we would be in up until a few years ago!!!

I'm sure he knows more than us but the issue is does he know more than the managers he's up against ? I'm not saying things are bad. Of course not as we are playing some great stuff but there's a goals problem isn't there and if we aren't breaking the oppo down then surely the tactics need changing for the last twenty mins ? If we're happy to be average then that's fine but it's simply asking whether a change in tactics is needed in games to kick us on.

 

[beebopalula]

We are playing 3 forwards with 2 attacking midfielders behind. 4-4-2 will not imho give us the current flexibility we have. Taking more of the chances being created is plan A working better. We would also need to change the 2 centrally in a 4-4-2 as we would get overrun against most sides who now employ similar 5 or 3 in midfield.

Reading gave us a chasing in mid playing 4-4-2 even though we had five in mid. 4-4-2 or any formation shouldn't be ducks in a row ? All formations are flexible and IMO in the last 20 having two strikers in and around the oppo centre backs might be worth a go.

 

[Tunis Bee]

I'm sure he knows more than us but the issue is does he know more than the managers he's up against ? I'm not saying things are bad. Of course not as we are playing some great stuff but there's a goals problem isn't there and if we aren't breaking the oppo down then surely the tactics need changing for the last twenty mins ? If we're happy to be average then that's fine but it's simply asking whether a change in tactics is needed in games to kick us on.

See what you are saying. I think the change may not come so much in the tactics but from the personnel. With Dallas (when fit) replacing Jota, and Nick replacing Gray, we are making changes with the type of player; Dallas being more direct than Jota and Nick being...I dunno(!!!)...something different from Gray. I think this will be the route Warburton will go down. Also think that he is right that if we are playing our best we can beat any team in the league, and not playing our best is not down to the other manager sussing us out, but probably more down to individual players perhaps just having a bad day.

I do get your point on mixing the tactics up, I just don't think it will happen.

 

[nick logan]

Reading gave us a chasing in mid playing 4-4-2

I think " a chasing " is pushing it, had a drink with a Reading mate after , he reckoned we were worthy winners.

 

[jlove]

Being a pedant, I think you're referring to formation rather than tactics. You can have different tactics with one formation, for example we could play a 4-3-3 with the front three much closer together or we could play a 4-3-3 with one of the midfield three as a "number 10" (which is what a number have proposed using Jota). The benefit of 4-3-3 is that it gives more flexibility than a 4-4-2, tactically, that is.

 

[UBee5]

Our tactics are fine, we just lack a goal-scorer. It doesn't matter if we play 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or 1-1-8, Gray is good but can't do it on his own.

I don't see the fuss about the tactics, you watch us play sides week in week out and we pick them apart, all we need is a forward who will score goals. I agree with Warbs, the style of football he wants us playing doesn't require a plan B, if plan A isn't working then it's not the tactics but more a lack of personnel.

Personally I would like to see something like this:

Gray - Jota - Moses

Pritch - Judge

Douglas

Bidwell - Tarky - Craig - McCormack

Button​

Play that with a false 9 similarly to Barcelona and Spain, Gray and Moses both have speed and outside of running with the ball their strength is their shooting. If we can have someone like Jota drop deeper, pull out a centre back on his way and let Pritch, Dougie and Judge fire through passes I think we'd be a lot more potent than we are. Plus it would then allow Jota space to work in.

 

[whyteleafebee76]

Not sure why this thread even exists, we are mid table in the Championship, have beaten or drawn with teams that are established Championship clubs. We are playing great football and apart from Middlesboro have troubled all our opponents. The defence has conceded 2 goals in the last 5 games and we have put a few goals past teams like Leeds, Reading and Brighton. Even in our 2 nil nil draws we have created plenty of chances. To me the only thing we are guilty of is not being clinical in front of goal that's not a tactics issue. I reckon Warbs and his staff have got things pretty spot on in my opinion.

 

[GEOFFBEE]

I reckon Warbs has proved to be a very astute tactician, since he took over.
IMHO he has got virtually every decision right, bearing in mind the players at his disposal and the high quality opposition we now regularly face .
I certainly see no reason to doubt his tactical nous.
Possibly one of the most intelligent Managers we have had, in all my many years of supporting the Bees...

 

[UBee5]

I reckon Warbs has proved to be a very astute tactician, since he took over.
IMHO he has got virtually every decision right, bearing in mind the players at his disposal and the high quality opposition we now regularly face .
I certainly see no reason to doubt his tactical nous.
Possibly one of the most intelligent Managers we have had, in all my many years of supporting the Bees...

He's one you know we'll lose to a big club at some point, and I'm not talking WBA.

 

[PJ]

I don't think Warbs is a 4-4-2 man.
Doesn't seem to be as fashionable these days but i like to see wing backs.
We could play all 3 CBs with Jake and Moses as wing backs. Dougie and Mac in front with Judge, Jota and Gray free to run amok
Away from home (particularly) i reckon this could work nicely?

 

[whyteleafebee76]

I don't think Warbs is a 4-4-2 man.
Doesn't seem to be as fashionable these days but i like to see wing backs.
We could play all 3 CBs with Jake and Moses as wing backs. Dougie and Mac in front with Judge, Jota and Gray free to run amok
Away from home (particularly) i reckon this could work nicely?

Well that would certainly solve the centre back headache that Warbs may feel he has.

 

[GuyBee]

Reading gave us a chasing in mid playing 4-4-2 even though we had five in mid. 4-4-2 or any formation shouldn't be ducks in a row ? All formations are flexible and IMO in the last 20 having two strikers in and around the oppo centre backs might be worth a go.

I agree

And the last few games the subs have always been Pros and Toums.......how predictable is that for the oppo manager. Every team needs a planB. Even for the 5 mins that Gray and Pros were on the pitch at the same time, Andre got moved to Right wing.


And to those who are saying we are playing with 3 forwards, we are not really. If we were we would constanly press them in their half, whereas often Gray was the only Brentford player in the oppos half when they were building from the back

 

[ade211]

I reckon Warbs has proved to be a very astute tactician, since he took over.
IMHO he has got virtually every decision right, bearing in mind the players at his disposal and the high quality opposition we now regularly face .
I certainly see no reason to doubt his tactical nous.
Possibly one of the most intelligent Managers we have had, in all my many years of supporting the Bees...

He is, with his team, an astute and thoughtful manager. What strikes me, and this is a bit controversial, he is more defensive than he makes out. To avoid relegation we need to be tight , concede few goals and rely on one foward, supported by the mid field to get a goal or two. Playing two upfront would seriously damage our defensive stance. What he is keen on is ball management which I think he means not giving it away cheaply. He recently said we need to look more to getting the ball forward, and I think we need to dwell less on the ball as we do. Speed in ball movemt is important as was evident in the way Germany played in the World Cup. Players need to work hard at creating options for the player with the ball. This means thinking ahead not one pass but several.

In summary I don't think WB will play two up from the start of a game. Perhaps if we are losing he would then commit to playing two up for the last 15 minutes. If we were drawing I think he would wait until as late as the 85th minute before doing this.

If we do get a loan player in I think we will still only play one up.

What do others think?

 

[beebopalula]

Not sure why this thread even exists, we are mid table in the Championship, have beaten or drawn with teams that are established Championship clubs. We are playing great football and apart from Middlesboro have troubled all our opponents. The defence has conceded 2 goals in the last 5 games and we have put a few goals past teams like Leeds, Reading and Brighton. Even in our 2 nil nil draws we have created plenty of chances. To me the only thing we are guilty of is not being clinical in front of goal that's not a tactics issue. I reckon Warbs and his staff have got things pretty spot on in my opinion.

Even Warburton says that when we stop looking at ourselves then we will be in trouble. We have played some great stuff but we can see the issue up front. IMO 12 games is enough to start assessing ourselves. I don't agree that the only issue is being more clinical but so what. I'm not the manager. However, if you only have one way of playing then you will/may get sussed by experienced managers and then you have to change.

 

[BURFORD BEE]

Even Warburton says that when we stop looking at ourselves then we will be in trouble. We have played some great stuff but we can see the issue up front. IMO 12 games is enough to start assessing ourselves. I don't agree that the only issue is being more clinical but so what. I'm not the manager. However, if you only have one way of playing then you will/may get sussed by experienced managers and then you have to change.

Although I'm not in the "we must get another striker camp" you make a valid point about being sussed. Something happened after the first 20 minutes last night. I'm not sure what it was but Shef Wed changed something and we no longer had the same threat. So much was coming from Jota early on but he was nothing like as effective later.

 

[jlove]

Well that would certainly solve the centre back headache that Warbs may feel he has.

The GPG would go into a tailspin deciding who should be the central centre back!

 

[jmsljj]

If you have forwards who are fit you could change things. We have had some bad luck with injuries to our forwards, so the management need congratulating for getting us in a position to push on as it seems we have injured forwards returning soon.

 

[whyteleafebee76]

Although I'm not in the "we must get another striker camp" you make a valid point about being sussed. Something happened after the first 20 minutes last night. I'm not sure what it was but Shef Wed changed something and we no longer had the same threat. So much was coming from Jota early on but he was nothing like as effective later.

Warbs spoke about this after the game, he said we stopped defending from the front and gave Sheff Weds too much time/space. He addressed this at half time and that's why they stopped cutting through us like they were in the last 20 minutes of the first half. So that wasn't us being sussed out it was our players not doing what they had been doing in the first 20 minutes.

 

[shaun]

Tactically in terms of team setup, style of football, mindset & substitutions, I would say that we have been good so far. We like to play a certain way, but in terms of plan B,C & D - I don't think we have the playing resources to a large extent. Suspect that is more financial than Warbs (& understatement of the decade, Benham has been amazing for this club).

 

[beebopalula]

Although I'm not in the "we must get another striker camp" you make a valid point about being sussed. Something happened after the first 20 minutes last night. I'm not sure what it was but Shef Wed changed something and we no longer had the same threat. So much was coming from Jota early on but he was nothing like as effective later.

I always like to visit the oppo's site after a game to get their manager's take on things. He said we had an effective diamond working in the first 20 but they sorted it.

 

[SC]

I'd be more concerned if I was a Wednesday fan if it took their manager half of the first half to suss out what we are about during which time we frankly embarrased them without being able to put the ball in the net. Surely scouting beforehand would have told him what we are about ? Or maybe, just maybe, when the boys play to this Plan A, we are actually pretty good

 

[Adam]

Best football style and possibly team in the history of the club and we should change tactics!?! The tactics don't need changing one bit, unless bringing in another striker comes under tactics!?

 

[Gee Bee]

Reading gave us a chasing in mid playing 4-4-2 even though we had five in mid. 4-4-2 or any formation shouldn't be ducks in a row ? All formations are flexible and IMO in the last 20 having two strikers in and around the oppo centre backs might be worth a go.

Reading gave us a chasing and LOST. We changed our style that day because of conduitions and played a longer ball game. This led to Pritchard being closer to Gray and us pretty much also playing 442.

 

[beebopalula]

Reading gave us a chasing and LOST. We changed our style that day because of conduitions and played a longer ball game. This led to Pritchard being closer to Gray and us pretty much also playing 442.

True they lost but the management can't have been happy with such a low percentage of possession. Equally Reading can't have been happy with the lack of end product for all their possession. I wouldn't like to concede that amount of pressure and possession week in week out. IMO we played a longer ball game because we weren't able to look after the ball.

 

[brentfordinmyveins]

Does anyone think that maybe on the weekend we should bring in one or two fresh new players? We have performed admirably (albeit not taking our chances) but 3 games in a space of week can be a bit demanding and could be some tired players. I am not talking about wholesale changes but just a couple. I'd like to see possibly Toral come in for Pritchard.

 

[mhead bee]

Sorry if this is a duplicate but I think it merits a discussion. I have a concern that we need to be a bit more flexible tactics -wise. Warbs has said that plan B is to make plan A work. IMO that isn't good enough if we want to be above average in this league. The Sheff Weds manager said they had got the measure of our tactics after the opening spell and substituting players without tactical changes in those circs isn't going to work. The management have to come to terms with the fact that the managers are a lot more savvy as are oppo players. The lone striker is OK but if we are running into bodies and out of ideas then IMO you need a plan B. For me it's 4-4-2 with Gray and Betinho or Proschwitz on the field. You have to change things. I'm not totally convinced that the lone striker is going to get the goal return we require and I don't think we'll get the best out of Grey in terms of goals although I rate him very highly in all other aspects. OK we know about supporting from mid etc but that isn't necessarily going to move us on IMO.
Curious to know what others think.

I think the SW manager was talking bollox. They had a good 15 mins before HT but we went on to dominate large parts of the second half so clearly we were not found out or nullified. It is more a case of not being able to sustain that level of passing and penetration for 90 minutes so there are going to be spells in any game, particularly at this level of huigh quality teams when the pendulum swings.

 

[mhead bee]

I always like to visit the oppo's site after a game to get their manager's take on things. He said we had an effective diamond working in the first 20 but they sorted it.

But they didn't because we dominated most of the second half as well.... just BS managers speak.

 

[shouldbee]

Best football style and possibly team in the history of the club and we should change tactics!?! The tactics don't need changing one bit, unless bringing in another striker comes under tactics!?

Perfectly summed up

 

[beebopalula]

But they didn't because we dominated most of the second half as well.... just BS managers speak.

I thought we edged it. 'Dominated' - no IMO.

 

[eaglebee]

He's one you know we'll lose to a big club at some point, and I'm not talking WBA.

I can see this being a long way off, I think he wants to see us in the new stadium as a top Championship club making a real challenge for the Premiership, he looks like he's here for a fair time to come, after all he made his money in the City then took a 80% + pay cut to get into football, so it's not about the money, his and Matthews relationship is probably among one of the most stable in football at the moment, only if and when he has achieved this goal might he be tempted away, even to a big club on the continent.

 

[beebopalula]

I can see this being a long way off, I think he wants to see us in the new stadium as a top Championship club making a real challenge for the Premiership, he looks like he's here for a fair time to come, after all he made his money in the City then took a 80% + pay cut to get into football, so it's not about the money, his and Matthews relationship is probably among one of the most stable in football at the moment, only if and when he has achieved this goal might he be tempted away, even to a big club on the continent.

Agree he wont be going anywhere soon. IMO he's bought into the MB project.

 

[beebopalula]

I think the SW manager was talking bollox. They had a good 15 mins before HT but we went on to dominate large parts of the second half so clearly we were not found out or nullified. It is more a case of not being able to sustain that level of passing and penetration for 90 minutes so there are going to be spells in any game, particularly at this level of huigh quality teams when the pendulum swings.

Interesting how we see games. IMO they nullified us after the first 25 and we had luck on our side and should have gone in at least one down leaving us to chase the game.How their player hit the crossbar instead of the net was a good bit of luck for us in particular. IMO the second half was pretty even altho I think we maybe edged it but it could have gone either way.

 

[Gee Bee]

True they lost but the management can't have been happy with such a low percentage of possession. Equally Reading can't have been happy with the lack of end product for all their possession. I wouldn't like to concede that amount of pressure and possession week in week out. IMO we played a longer ball game because we weren't able to look after the ball.

We played the longer ball game because of the conditions, hence why we had less possession and why we won.

 

[AB]

Agree he wont be going anywhere soon. IMO he's bought into the MB project.

Yes, I think the nearest comparison, outside of the likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger is probably Dario Gradi - MW is set up to be supported in building Brentford long-term as a team on the pitch, just as MB is there to build us as a club more generally. Big money moves to bigger clubs are almost invariably done on the basis of securing instant or near-instant results by assembling a team using a cheque-book. Why would MW be interested in throwing away a career he's built up as a complete outsider to take what might be less than a season's worth of Premier League cash?

More pertinently perhaps, what PL club would gamble on him without him already having a PL pedigree and experience of buying and working with £10m+ players.

If I were a gambling man I'd suggest that the most likely job MW would leave us for would be the England Manager's one after taking us up to the PL and keeping us there. Perhaps for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers...

 

[beebopalula]

We played the longer ball game because of the conditions, hence why we had less possession and why we won.

I recommend you listen to Warb's post match interview. We didn't go long as a tactical change. Warbs said clearly that we didn't look after the ball as we should have done. IMO that was because they were pulling us around and we lost our mid shape somewhat.The only options were long but that wasn't what Warbs wanted.

 

[whyteleafebee76]

I recommend you listen to Warb's post match interview. We didn't go long as a tactical change. Warbs said clearly that we didn't look after the ball as we should have done. IMO that was because they were pulling us around and we lost our mid shape somewhat.The only options were long but that wasn't what Warbs wanted.

But he did mention elsewhere that we changed how we played out from the back because of how wet the conditions were. That didn't mean going long but it did mean less passing out from the back and being more direct/quicker in our forward passing.

 

[A Real Mysteron]

Interesting how we see games. IMO they nullified us after the first 25 and we had luck on our side and should have gone in at least one down leaving us to chase the game.How their player hit the crossbar instead of the net was a good bit of luck for us in particular. IMO the second half was pretty even altho I think we maybe edged it but it could have gone either way.

He had been flagged offside when he hit the bar.

 

[beebopalula]

But he did mention elsewhere that we changed how we played out from the back because of how wet the conditions were. That didn't mean going long but it did mean less passing out from the back and being more direct/quicker in our forward passing.

Yup but as you say, it wasn't meant to be long ball.

 

[beebopalula]

He had been flagged offside when he hit the bar.

I missed that. But we were hanging on.

 

[UBee5]

I can see this being a long way off, I think he wants to see us in the new stadium as a top Championship club making a real challenge for the Premiership, he looks like he's here for a fair time to come, after all he made his money in the City then took a 80% + pay cut to get into football, so it's not about the money, his and Matthews relationship is probably among one of the most stable in football at the moment, only if and when he has achieved this goal might he be tempted away, even to a big club on the continent.

Yeah I agree with that.

 

[ade211]

On the 22nd I posted that we are more defensive than we think we are. One man up front is consistent with that. Also leaving players up at opposition corners is also defensive as forces the opposition to take some of their players away from our box to mark our players left up front. Guess a lot of you will disagree with that analysis seeing it as an offensive tactic.

Even if we get another forward I doubt if we will play two up. One up is MW preference.

Where I think we could improve is we are still rather slow on the ball, and find it hard to press the opposition high up the pitch as we did last season. Whether our existing players can improve their fitness and speed of ball retention is a challenge. For me formation is set with one up and one behind four in the mid field with short passing. We also are prone to make poor decisions at times. On Tuesday I noticed there were instances when a player run too far with the ball, and/or opted to shot from outside the box when other players were better placed.. Controversially we had good possession out wide but finding the right ball to play into the box was not easy. I have noticed that crosses are not as effective as I thought and for that matter neither are corners. I wonder if MW and the coaches are trying to figure out ways to increase the potential of crosses or even play the ball back, short towards the middle of the field around the penalty box.

As for a plan B could be two up if drawing or losing in the last ten minutes. But not long ball

Food for thought.

 

[A Real Mysteron]

I like plan A.

 

[big neil]

The defenders at this level are a hell of a lot sharper than League One, hence the lack of gilt edged chances, not suprising really.
I've never seen a Bees team play football as well as this, even last seasons superb displays weren't in this class.
No complaints from me about tactics as we've been more than competitive in every game I've seen so far.

 

[Kingston Bee]

I posted on here several days ago that we have become very predictable with team selection, the way we play and the subs we make and when we make them. It does not take much for opposing managers to work this out imo, we need options to mix things around. It is also a lot to ask someone who was playing in the conference last season to make the step up and produce the goals (although I am a great fan of Gray he is a WIP). To a certain extent we have surprised a few teams up to now but I think we have become a known quantity and if we are to keep the momentum going we do need to change things around. Unfortunately up front we don't appear to have many viable options atm but like most on here would like to see what Betinho can offer because to be fair Nick has not really produced much as he? There are some major challenges ahead for Warbs that need to be overcome otherwise we will start dropping points to lesser teams who are able to work out how to nullify our play. It would be a real shame but I personally do not want to see tippy tappy football with no end product where other teams with half the talent that we have are set up better tactically to take the points. It is going to be a steep learning curve for Warbs and the next few games will show us what he has in his locker, so yes fully agree with your post!

 

[ade211]

I posted on here several days ago that we have become very predictable with team selection, the way we play and the subs we make and when we make them. It does not take much for opposing managers to work this out imo, we need options to mix things around. It is also a lot to ask someone who was playing in the conference last season to make the step up and produce the goals (although I am a great fan of Gray he is a WIP). To a certain extent we have surprised a few teams up to now but I think we have become a known quantity and if we are to keep the momentum going we do need to change things around. Unfortunately up front we don't appear to have many viable options atm but like most on here would like to see what Betinho can offer because to be fair Nick has not really produced much as he? There are some major challenges ahead for Warbs that need to be overcome otherwise we will start dropping points to lesser teams who are able to work out how to nullify our play. It would be a real shame but I personally do not want to see tippy tappy football with no end product where other teams with half the talent that we have are set up better tactically to take the points. It is going to be a steep learning curve for Warbs and the next few games will show us what he has in his locker, so yes fully agree with your post!

Interesting post. I am never sure myself between consistency of players and tactics or player rotation and change of approach. I do remember arguing that I felt Rosler overdone the player rotation and worried overly about the opposition. Now I am thinking perhaps we need to try another forward instead of Gray. He has done a marvellous job but I don't think he would have played as much if Hogan had not got injured. I was overly enthused by Betinho thinking he was going to play a few games by now. Presumably he is still a little away from playing because of the demands of the Chamionship. Proschwitz is improving but I am not convinced he could start a match. And Smith is returning from injury. Dallas I see as a wide mid fielder and not a lone striker. And MW is not going to play two up.

Guess what this all means to me is it is lucky I am not the manager as I have no idea what to do. Lol

 

[jlove]

For me formation is set with one up and one behind four in the mid field with short passing.

When did you see that?