I thought the players settled into the 3-4-3 yesterday quite well, considering it was a brand new system to them. However, what did strike me was a lack of pace in the team - and when we lack pace, we become easy to defend against.
Josh Clarke is the best option that we have to inject that pace (as shown by his impact when he came on), but I'm not sure he fits into a 3-4-3 unless it's in place of Colin, who shouldn't be dropped. I don't think Clarke fits into the inside forward roles of the attacking 3 in that system either, as I don't think his all-round game is good enough to play in those pockets of space. IMO he's best when he can hug the right touchline and run at full-backs.
Therefore I'd revert to a back 4 so Clarke can come in on the right wing, with Bjelland dropping out due to Barbet's very positive performance yesterday. The midfield is the key area to get right, and there have been too many mixed displays from individuals in that area of the field recently. I think Yennaris should keep his place, as his energy and ball-winning ability are vital, while McEachran has been consistently excellent coming off the bench - hopefully he can begin to play that way when starting too.
I'd bring in McCormack for Woods, who has been in poor form recently and struggled to impose himself in a defensive sense, whilst not providing much going forwards either. McCormack was very good against Reading and was far from the worst player against Wigan too. He provides an extra leader on the pitch as well, which is never a bad thing in our current run. That leaves the left wing spot to fill, which I think Sawyers edges over Kaikai, as it gives us a better balance with Clarke on the other side.
------------Bentley
Colin---Dean---Egan---Barbet
---------McCormack
-----Yennaris--McEachran
Clarke-----------------Sawyers
------------Hogan
Subs: Bonham, Bjelland, Woods, Kerschbaumer, Kaikai, Vibe, Hofmann
