Bobby Reid

[GrahamC]

I know with a squad of about 19 we aren't exactly spoilt for choice, but really disappointing to see him not given a start again today.

We've failed to score in five of our last six away games, which suggests that just picking the same 3 midfielders ad infinitum is probably not the solution. At present we have no viable alternative to either Pack or Smith but we do have one for Freeman and it is Bobby.

I hear all this "he is only effective for an hour" stuff but would much prefer that was given a try and Freeman (or even Waggy if we were holding on) replacing him late on.

Anyway, we badly need at least a point today so good luck to those taking the field in red..

[cidercity1987]

For a start, he has 2 more open play assists than Freeman in less than 10% of the playing time.

[samo II]

With the exception of Bryan/Williams, or forced changes due to suspensions, we rarely change the line up, so I never expect it to be different.

Trick will be if we are struggling or trying to hold a lead; will we see changes then?

COYR 

[LondonBristolian]

Isn't the line-up on the Match thread?  Pretty much the same as ever with Bryan for Williams, possibly due to injury...  Not that I disagree with you.  Apart from anything else, we HAVE to try something...

[GrahamC]

1 minute ago, samo II said:

With the exception of Bryan/Williams, or forced changes due to suspensions, we rarely change the line up, so I never expect it to be different.

Trick will be if we are struggling or trying to hold a lead; will we see changes then?

COYR 

Nor do I.

However there is a difference between "expect" and "want", we've (the Derby game aside) effectively played the same 11 or 12 (as you say, it is Bryan or Williams) for quite some while now and results haven't been good enough.

Would Moore for Ayling, Reid for Freeman or controversially Burns (for 1 goal in his last 8 games) Kodjia really not be at least worth a try?

[pigeon]

I can see this being another Bolasie situation where we deprive him of playing time, force him out the door and watch him turn into a valuable player. 

Reid has bags of potential and it must be infuriating to see Freeman have poor performance after poor performance and yet he is still picked before him! 

[LondonBristolian]

2 minutes ago, pigeon said:

I can see this being another Bolasie situation where we deprive him of playing time, force him out the door and watch him turn into a valuable player. 

Reid has bags of potential and it must be infuriating to see Freeman have poor performance after poor performance and yet he is still picked before him! 

I'm not really sure how good Reid is.  Or Burns come to that.  They may prove themselves to be key players to us or they may fizzle out and show they're not at this level.  But we're in dire straits and there has to be a point where we find out.  If we persist with the team we use now, we know what's going to happen because it's happened all season.

[Guest]

Don't get me wrong, I would like to see Reid start for a run of games also. However, whilst Freeman has not been as effective as we'd hoped/expected he is being very tightly marked and largely double marked. That of itself creates space for others. 

It reminds me of Adomah's second season, he's much less effective but his presence alone created space for others. At that time we didn't benefit from this but with Kodjia's movement I think we have been thus far. Freeman is indirectly positively benefiting us but even still he ought to be doing more for himself. 

[sh1t_ref_again]

whilst a few games ago I was crying out for BR to start, Freeman has improved a lot over the last couple of games so should retain his place

you sight not scoring goals as reason for change, but its not been a problem of creating chances, its we are not getting shots on target, let alone score them, I do agree we need more goals from midfield but not sure BR will provide any more than the current.

would be good to see earlier changes if needed than 80 minutes

 

 

[screech]

Completely agree, I understand the logic of not changing a winning side but not changing a losing side is daft.
It's vital you keep all of our subs interested by giving them some playing time, it's a nonsense to only give them 1 minute of a game that is long lost.

[Lee0]

I can't believe the stick Freeman gets !

He's far and away the most creative and attack minded midfielder we have, he may not have loads of assists but I lay that fault at the strikers feet.

For me our problem lies in Smith/Pack combination, nothing different week after week, 40 yd back passes and 5 yd sideway passes that as often as not go astray, not particularly good defensively. I'm not saying they don't work hard but as an attacking part of the team they are non existent.

I'd like to see one of these dropped and Reid and Freeman given the chance.

[pigeon]

16 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

I'm not really sure how good Reid is.  Or Burns come to that.  They may prove themselves to be key players to us or they may fizzle out and show they're not at this level.  But we're in dire straits and there has to be a point where we find out.  If we persist with the team we use now, we know what's going to happen because it's happened all season.

I agree, I don't think any of us really know how good he is. However, I have been impressed with the very little that I have seen of him and I don't think anyone would argue that he has great potential which at the moment he is being unable to fill due to playing time. 

For example, on the 'highlights' from our battering on Monday, we had two great chances at the end of the game:

1. Burns chasing down the last defender which resulted in a poor back pass and Burns almost scored a cheeky chip over the keeper

2. Reid causing problems down the left side wins a free kick just outside the area. Reid crosses the ball into the box perfectly which results in a header hitting the post.

Just think that these two (especially Reid) deserve a chance just as much as the others, especially as the others aren't performing at the moment. 

[Super]

Freeman obviously has it in his contract that he has to play, only logical reason as he has been beyond useless this season.

[Aizoon]

16 minutes ago, Super said:

Freeman obviously has it in his contract that he has to play, only logical reason as he has been beyond useless this season.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Ayteomike2]

For me he has been the one spark we have had this season a few mistakes but his efforts are 100% we need a bit more from the rest of the team 

 

[JoeAman08]

This is spot on. You see in every other team some rotating. The teenagers getting chances and becoming assets. Lookman from Charlton has been given a chance and is making the most of it. He's getting a chance to figure this league out. Alex Mowett from Leeds given a chance and is one of the better CM in the league. Look at Tom Lawerence at Blackburn on loan from Leicester. Very comparable with Wes. Similar age, same nationality and similar progression through Wales who haven't been awful recently. Wes had a better scoring record(pretty sure) at the U21 level and Lawernce has a couple full caps. Maybe this is because he is playing regularly. 

Point is, if these young ones don't take their lumps in professional matches we may as well fold the academy. In the very limited minutes they have shown the quality and attitude to be players that get rotated. Bobby has more assists in open play than Freeman in about 1/10 the playing time. Wes has looked dangerous out of position at WB with his pace and some decent crosses. Yet in a team with 4 wins they can't get a start. Then I hear stuff like bobby can't go a full 90 or gets pushed off the ball too easily. I've seen Freeman pushed off countless times and if Bobby can only go 60-70 it's why we have 3 subs which one would be Luke running at tired legs. Wes is bigger and at least as pacey if not more than Agard. Yet Agard got 6-7 starts in a row and done nothing except harass defenders which I appreciate but I also need goals from you. So why isn't Wes getting at least a look. A start here 20 minutes there. It's our best way of making money but we aren't utilizing it. It's a shame

[petehinton]

brilliant from Bobby again today...keeps hold of the ball for 10 seconds too long, loses it in a key position that in turn lead to the goal that cost us the game. 

Our messiah. 

Anyone who thinks him and/or Burns are good enough for a squad that is to stay in the Championship - take your head out the sand. Both far far from good enough for us if we want to stay in this division. 

Really don't understand the love for him on here. 

[Chairman Mao]

3 minutes ago, petehinton said:

brilliant from Bobby again today...keeps hold of the ball for 10 seconds too long, loses it in a key position that in turn lead to the goal that cost us the game. 

Our messiah. 

Anyone who thinks him and/or Burns are good enough for a squad that is to stay in the Championship - take your head out the sand. Both far far from good enough for us if we want to stay in this division. 

Really don't understand the love for him on here. 

wait, after not playing more than 30 mins for over 2 months you are judging him on a 8 min apperance :laugh:

 

[Dynamite Red]

Not good enough, end of.

[petehinton]

2 minutes ago, Chairman Mao said:

wait, after not playing more than 30 mins for over 2 months you are judging him on a 8 min apperance

 

Exactly, can't play more than 30 mins in a side that is in the bottom three. And he couldn't get anywhere near our side in L1. Sums it up. 

[leadman]

pak, smith and freeman just aint working, cant defend cant create, perm any 2 from 3 to be replaced if we ever start getting results again.

[Selred]

24 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Exactly, can't play more than 30 mins in a side that is in the bottom three. And he couldn't get anywhere near our side in L1. Sums it up. 

He played bloody well against Middlesbrough, one of our only wins of the season. He never should of been dropped for Freeman.

[Shtanley]

53 minutes ago, petehinton said:

brilliant from Bobby again today...keeps hold of the ball for 10 seconds too long, loses it in a key position that in turn lead to the goal that cost us the game. 

Our messiah. 

Anyone who thinks him and/or Burns are good enough for a squad that is to stay in the Championship - take your head out the sand. Both far far from good enough for us if we want to stay in this division. 

Really don't understand the love for him on here. 

"The love" is because Freeman has been nothing short of woeful this season and many of us can clearly see that Reid is the better alternative. How you can slate Reid for losing the ball once and write him off as a player is beyond me when Freeman probably lost the ball more than anyone else today. Reid clearly should be playing from the start. We had 0 shots on target, Freeman is supposed to be our play maker? But I guess you'd keep him in the team because the players who's got the same number of assists in 10% of the minutes isn't good enough to do any better. Reid over Freeman any day of the week. 

[reddoc]

Reid cost us the game today. Freeman , Pack and Smith had that midfield sewn up in the 2nd half. Wasn't always pretty but worked their butts off to win the ball back when we lost it. When Reid came on they over ran us inevitably. Louis Spence would have proved a tougher opponent. 

[Super]

3 minutes ago, reddoc said:

Reid cost us the game today. Freeman , Pack and Smith had that midfield sewn up in the 2nd half. Wasn't always pretty but worked their butts off to win the ball back when we lost it. When Reid came on they over ran us inevitably. Louis Spence would have proved a tougher opponent. 

What bollox. 

[Smokey]

1 hour ago, petehinton said:

brilliant from Bobby again today...keeps hold of the ball for 10 seconds too long, loses it in a key position that in turn lead to the goal that cost us the game. 

Our messiah. 

Anyone who thinks him and/or Burns are good enough for a squad that is to stay in the Championship - take your head out the sand. Both far far from good enough for us if we want to stay in this division. 

Really don't understand the love for him on here. 

A bit harsh to say he's not good enough considering everyone else is struggling, yes he held on to the ball to long

[reddoc]

If you say so supe. Just the way I saw it. Lightweight and ineffective.

[YorkshireSection]

3 hours ago, Lee0 said:

I can't believe the stick Freeman gets !

He's far and away the most creative and attack minded midfielder we have, he may not have loads of assists but I lay that fault at the strikers feet.

For me our problem lies in Smith/Pack combination, nothing different week after week, 40 yd back passes and 5 yd sideway passes that as often as not go astray, not particularly good defensively. I'm not saying they don't work hard but as an attacking part of the team they are non existent.

I'd like to see one of these dropped and Reid and Freeman given the chance.

I think you'll find that Smith would walk into most championship teams, Pack is league one at best.

the other thing is that they're not really a pairing, Smith does a lot of work off the ball, breaks up play, then passes to Pack whose job is to link Midfield to Forward ideally. Unfortunately Packs first movement is backwards, often putting the defence in trouble I can think of 4 times at Burnley that this happened. I don't really blame Pack, definitely not Freeman either it's the formation, it's completely wrong for the majority of opposition we play and using the same 11 every week makes us pretty simple to work out. 

In my mind there's simply one thing for it.......

[JoeAman08]

And how many were eager to receive the ball from him. I've seen us lose possession countless times because we have no movement and someone inevitably holds on too long. I wasn't there so I don't know but seems easy to blame it on Bobby for that especially when you don't play him very often. Can't be that surprised that he isn't used to the speed of the game. I don't even need to see Bobby be better or worse than Luke. I need to see him so I can decide then because in his limited time he has been better. So I want to see it over a period of time. 

[screech]

1 minute ago, JoeAman08 said:

And how many were eager to receive the ball from him. I've seen us lose possession countless times because we have no movement and someone inevitably holds on too long. I wasn't there so I don't know but seems easy to blame it on Bobby for that especially when you don't play him very often. Can't be that surprised that he isn't used to the speed of the game. I don't even need to see Bobby be better or worse than Luke. I need to see him so I can decide then because in his limited time he has been better. So I want to see it over a period of time. 

Exactly, any of his team mates shout that he had a man on his back? To blame him for losing us the game is just plain wrong, the kid gets a few minutes here and there and is expected to perform miracles, seasoned pros couldn't function on so little game time yet, we expect BR too. There's one person to blame for the results and thats the manager.

We concede a ton of late goals playing a formation that is heavy on the legs, and we have a manager who insists on not making substitutes and never rests players. Is there any wonder why we concede these goals, blaming Bobby Reid for a defeat is just plain wrong.

[Smokey]

15 minutes ago, JoeAman08 said:

And how many were eager to receive the ball from him. I've seen us lose possession countless times because we have no movement and someone inevitably holds on too long. I wasn't there so I don't know but seems easy to blame it on Bobby for that especially when you don't play him very often. Can't be that surprised that he isn't used to the speed of the game. I don't even need to see Bobby be better or worse than Luke. I need to see him so I can decide then because in his limited time he has been better. So I want to see it over a period of time. 

he could of dinked it over to kodjia or played a simple ball to wilbs who was right by him

[TheCulturalBomb]

Hahaha, has anyone seen the goal? Reid gets dispossessed yes, but it goes through the rest of the midfield and to just inside our half to a SINGLE PLAYER who happens to run just outside the box and get a shot away. Failings from effectively 5 defenders.

[Shtanley]

3 minutes ago, smokey live said:

he could of dinked it over to kodjia or played a simple ball to wilbs who was right by him

I'm sorry but how come you're not talking about all the times Freeman failed to find his man. Including over hitting numerous passes to Kodjia?

[Smokey]

No need to be sorry .:laugh:. Ok. you are obviously annoyed after todays result but I was responding to Reid holding on to the ball a bit to long, not Freeman failing to find his man. 

[djb6162]

17 minutes ago, TheCulturalBomb said:

Hahaha, has anyone seen the goal? Reid gets dispossessed yes, but it goes through the rest of the midfield and to just inside our half to a SINGLE PLAYER who happens to run just outside the box and get a shot away. Failings from effectively 5 defenders.

So look ive just got back and i am still fuming so i guess i need to be careful what i say until i calm down.

but lets just for the sake of this debate accept that Bobby contributed to the goal we conceded, i have yet to see it on TV 

however some points from me.

firstly no way did either side deserve to win the game, yes Reading had the better chances, but they are a shadow of the team that graced AG a couple of months ago.

both sets of Players gave the ball away consistently for 90 mins, inclusive of the undropables as i know call them !

its unfortunate that Bobby, who was on for 12 mins gave the ball away once and it bit him on the proverbials.

however here is my point, LF has been the subject of criticism for some weeks now, and rightly so at times, but today he was no worse or no better  than anybody else, so why on earth was he substituted for Bobby in the first place when Kodjia or Wibbs should have left the field for Wes to run at them.

i promise you, Reading were there to be beaten today if we had shown just some positivity.

if Bobby was to blame for the defeat, then sobeit, but i tell you this, one man needs to look at himself much more deeply than Bobby  for making that call in the first place.

wes and Bobby warmed up for the best part of 10 mins, then Wes was told to stay warm while Bobby came on.

he then stripped off and stood by the sideline with Cotts for a full 3 more minutes until Reading scored.

then he entered the field of play.

by then the damage was done, kodjia today was awful and i meam awful, greedy, poor shooting, poor decison making.

he would not have scored if he stayed until midnight, now if Wes could not replace him today after 70 mins, then clearly its time to wave the white flag and move on, same with Bobby.

then we can all stop this can they cant they be trusted crap.

they clearly cant be trusted as SC showed all to plainly today !!!!!

 

 

[Lew-T]

Just shows how bad it's got, relying on Bobby Reid and Wes Burns to deliver.

Deary me...

[Lanterne Rouge]

13 minutes ago, djb6162 said:

So look ive just got back and i am still fuming so i guess i need to be careful what i say until i calm down.

but lets just for the sake of this debate accept that Bobby contributed to the goal we conceded, i have yet to see it on TV 

however some points from me.

firstly no way did either side deserve to win the game, yes Reading had the better chances, but they are a shadow of the team that graced AG a couple of months ago.

both sets of Players gave the ball away consistently for 90 mins, inclusive of the undropables as i know call them !

its unfortunate that Bobby, who was on for 12 mins gave the ball away once and it bit him on the proverbials.

however here is my point, LF has been the subject of criticism for some weeks now, and rightly so at times, but today he was no worse or no better  than anybody else, so why on earth was he substituted for Bobby in the first place when Kodjia or Wibbs should have left the field for Wes to run at them.

i promise you, Reading were there to be beaten today if we had shown just some positivity.

if Bobby was to blame for the defeat, then sobeit, but i tell you this, one man needs to look at himself much more deeply than Bobby  for making that call in the first place.

wes and Bobby warmed up for the best part of 10 mins, then Wes was told to stay warm while Bobby came on.

he then stripped off and stood by the sideline with Cotts for a full 3 more minutes until Reading scored.

then he entered the field of play.

by then the damage was done, kodjia today was awful and i meam awful, greedy, poor shooting, poor decison making.

he would not have scored if he stayed until midnight, now if Wes could not replace him today after 70 mins, then clearly its time to wave the white flag and move on, same with Bobby.

then we can all stop this can they cant they be trusted crap.

they clearly cant be trusted as SC showed all to plainly today !!!!!

 

 

Sounds like Wes is at a bit of a crossroads. Does he wait and see what happens manager-wise or just accept now that he isn`t going to get a look in and try to move on?

I`m sure he will receive the right advice from those around him that care about his future but for what it`s worth I think it probably doesn`t lie here, certainly not under the current regime. A change of manager though and who knows? If he does choose to move on it will be a shame as I`m sure he has the ability to make it.

[Shtanley]

Burns got sent to warm up 3 times in the second half before being brought on 

[Portland Bill]

I thought BR was excellent today when he came on, ok he dwelled on the ball once and lost it, but it happens! I thought Freeman was excellent as well, in fact I think EVERY player gave his all today. We just lack that killer instinct and desperately need a 'fox in the box' striker.

Kodja put balls along the goaline in both halfs which were tap ins for a goal scorer today, unfortunately we didn't have anyone with the instinct to get in the right place for these crosses.

[GrahamC]

31 minutes ago, djb6162 said:

 

wes and Bobby warmed up for the best part of 10 mins, then Wes was told to stay warm while Bobby came on.

he then stripped off and stood by the sideline with Cotts for a full 3 more minutes until Reading scored.

then he entered the field of play.

by then the damage was done, kodjia today was awful and i meam awful, greedy, poor shooting, poor decison making.

he would not have scored if he stayed until midnight, now if Wes could not replace him today after 70 mins, then clearly its time to wave the white flag and move on, same with Bobby.

then we can all stop this can they cant they be trusted crap.

they clearly cant be trusted as SC showed all to plainly today !!!!!

 

 

This has now happened twice to Wes, against Charlton as well, he's been given about a minute and half of injury time after the opposition have scored.

Utterly pointless.

Either give him a minimum of 20 minutes or don't bother at all, Steve..

[cityexile]

I fear what Cotts will have seen today us in making a sub with 8 to go it cost him the game.

I have no idea if Burns, Reid, even Cox etc would have been good enough in the first 25 games. What I do know is what we are trying now is not working. There have been more than enough occasions this season with a game gone to let them have a run and get some match minutes under their belt. Just seems stubbornness now to be honest.

[Lee0]

15 hours ago, YorkshireSection said:

I think you'll find that Smith would walk into most championship teams, Pack is league one at best.

the other thing is that they're not really a pairing, Smith does a lot of work off the ball, breaks up play, then passes to Pack whose job is to link Midfield to Forward ideally. Unfortunately Packs first movement is backwards, often putting the defence in trouble I can think of 4 times at Burnley that this happened. I don't really blame Pack, definitely not Freeman either it's the formation, it's completely wrong for the majority of opposition we play and using the same 11 every week makes us pretty simple to work out. 

In my mind there's simply one thing for it.......

Not sure about Smith walking into most other teams but Pack is definitely not up to standard.

They're two midfielders who play next to each other....I see that as a pairing, the problem is that it doesn't work, week in week out they (mostly Pack) make awful decisions when in possession and put the whole team on the back foot.

Freeman is our only player in the middle with any attacking flair, as soon as the opposition keep him off the ball we revert to 50yd cross field passes to Bryan (when picked) that's why I'd like to see Reid and Freeman both on the pitch.

[redfieldred]

20 hours ago, GrahamC said:

I know with a squad of about 19 we aren't exactly spoilt for choice, but really disappointing to see him not given a start again today.

We've failed to score in five of our last six away games, which suggests that just picking the same 3 midfielders ad infinitum is probably not the solution. At present we have no viable alternative to either Pack or Smith but we do have one for Freeman and it is Bobby.

I hear all this "he is only effective for an hour" stuff but would much prefer that was given a try and Freeman (or even Waggy if we were holding on) replacing him late on.

Anyway, we badly need at least a point today so good luck to those taking the field in red..

Agree. He looked sharp when he came on, should have come on much earlier, 

[samo II]

The thing about Wes and Bobby, and the debate as to whether they are good enough, surely has to take into account that over the period in which they have been our primary back up (which may change this month), the players in front of them have hardly set the world alight.

If they'd been given 20-30 minutes in place of those holding the shirts, and been shown to offer nothing better in those cameos, we could stop the debate there, as we'd have the proof.

But for me; during the time that we've seen little from (for example) Freeman, and in games where we've been comprehensively beaten by the 70th minute, the fact we just sit the same (often clearly tiring) players in there means we aren't even trying out these options in a risk-free environment, which is poor.

It signals our manager literally doesn't believe that, even after being beaten, the other players in our squad deserve game time.

[Major Isewater]

Yeah and that Wes Burns , did n't get a hat trick , not good enough .

[Rocking Red Cyril]

22 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Nor do I.

However there is a difference between "expect" and "want", we've (the Derby game aside) effectively played the same 11 or 12 (as you say, it is Bryan or Williams) for quite some while now and results haven't been good enough.

Would Moore for Ayling, Reid for Freeman or controversially Burns (for 1 goal in his last 8 games) Kodjia really not be at least worth a try?

yes

[Rocking Red Cyril]

2 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

Yeah and that Wes Burns , did n't get a hat trick , not good enough .

little more time required, maybe ?

 

 

 

 

[Son of Fred]

On 2 January 2016 at 14:25, pigeon said:

I can see this being another Bolasie situation where we deprive him of playing time, force him out the door and watch him turn into a valuable player. 

Reid has bags of potential and it must be infuriating to see Freeman have poor performance after poor performance and yet he is still picked before him! 

Will never hack it or be a first team regular at any championship club..decent league one is still a way off..

[Lanterne Rouge]

If Plymouth go up I can see him going there in the summer. It`s a new manager from when he was there before but he did well and the fans loved him.

[YorkshireSection]

Would any of our losses been avoided if we'd played Reid & Burns more often (couldn't be less FFS), possibly, indeed it's difficult not to imagine at least yesterday's game having a differnt outcome if Burns was playing alongside Kodjia for at least 45 minutes rather than 4 with the game already lost.

@djb6162 I'd love to know what's Wes is thinking, with the transfer window opening I hope he stays and gets a chance as I honestly believe his pace and control will trouble many defences at this level especially if given a game with Kodjia.

Ive got to say I rate Wes highly and a full season at league one level IMHO would have championship teams lining up for him, not to say he's not got a part to play at City but I get the feeling he got the 2 minutes ahead of Agard because he's stil unfit (I hope, I'm wrong)

Under a new manager he would thrive as I believe he'd definitely get more game time, Yet I seriously doubt that'll happen unless he walks (fingers crossed, sorry to say). However he has to do what's correct for him and his international career and not playing is not a good start.

Hes a Bristol City player and been through the ranks, seems to have a great attitude so we all obviously want him to do well, my question is will he wait around for his chance, or will he do what I personally thinks best for him and seek first team football (which he'd get more chance of under a new manager, which is where we will be next season if league one is our fate). 

Whatever the answer I wish him well as I have a feeling if he does leave he will come back to haunt us.

Feel free to PM me if you don't want your views aired publicly.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Spoons]

I would give bobby a run instead of freeman just because in the small chances hes had he seems to be more aware of kodjas runs etc and freeman just isn't linking up well enough with kodja. The result is kodja has to create every chance for himself. Against reading kodja seemed to run offside alot , partly due to the fact he never receives a through ball from freeman. Also after a few bad games our midfield isn't working so a change will be good.

I just hope of bobby has a good game at wba SC would keep him in team for Preston?

[Davefevs]

I've probably mentioned this a few times recently, so apologies, but if SC is going to persist with 352 (not too much doubt I think) then I'd prefer to see Freeman given a rest and Bobby given a chance, but okay it as either a flat 3 or Pack holding and Korey just right of centre and Bobby just left of centre.  

I think this would keep our wingbacks from being quite so exposed, and would almost make it feel like a traditional 4 across the midfield or defensive minded 5 depending on how you look at it.

The Freeman-in-the-hole role just isn't working.  I think individually he has been a bit better in the last month, but is not contributing enough for the freedom he is given and the creative expectancy.  I feel a little sorry for him, because it is a tough position ' role in thus division, very little time or space and often up against that destructive midfielder that everyone seems to have but we don't!

[spudski]

How about this....I get the impression Kodijia likes playing as a lone striker, and likes a through ball. Didn't he play like that in France?

Reid and Freeman would give plenty of options....and give a bit of depth to midfield....just thinking outside the box a little.

____________________________________FF__________________________________________

--------------------------Ayling------------------------Flint------------------------------Baker---------------------------------

Bennet---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bryan

-----------------------------------------Pack-----------------------Smith--------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------Reid---------------------------------------------------------------Freeman-------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------Kodijia----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Spoons]

4 minutes ago, spudski said:

How about this....I get the impression Kodijia likes playing as a lone striker, and likes a through ball. Didn't he play like that in France?

Reid and Freeman would give plenty of options....and give a bit of depth to midfield....just thinking outside the box a little.

____________________________________FF__________________________________________

--------------------------Ayling------------------------Flint------------------------------Baker---------------------------------

Bennet---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bryan

-----------------------------------------Pack-----------------------Smith--------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------Reid---------------------------------------------------------------Freeman-------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------Kodijia----------------------------------------------------------------------

could work. I like 4-5-1. As when attacking can be 4-4-3. Agreed we need more quality ball to kodja and correct he played up top on his own in most games in France. And we should be trying different formations / set ups as our current formation ain't working defensively or going forward.

[Davefevs]

@spudski it's got legs.  It's almost a 343.  Reid and Freeman would nullify each full back when we aren't in possession, which would mean our WBs would be less exposed, which in turn would our wide CBs wouldn't get hit into the channels so often.  Also, Kodjia would only need to close down the 2 CDs, rather than him and Wilbs shuttling the whole width.

Just add some other feedback, could you make a case for Bennett being Reid, and Little being Bennett?  Think a Freeman would be playing the role he played at Stevenage?

I think we could really make it difficult for teams to play out from the back with this set up.

it would probably mean our WBs a]have less space as they'd likely have Reid / Freeman blocking their width.  I guess this is where you'd hope Reid / Freeman would play narrower when we've got the ball....and get closer to Kodjia.

[Son of Fred]

On 3 January 2016 at 22:46, YorkshireSection said:

Would any of our losses been avoided if we'd played Reid & Burns more often (couldn't be less FFS), possibly, indeed it's difficult not to imagine at least yesterday's game having a differnt outcome if Burns was playing alongside Kodjia for at least 45 minutes rather than 4 with the game already lost.

@djb6162 I'd love to know what's Wes is thinking, with the transfer window opening I hope he stays and gets a chance as I honestly believe his pace and control will trouble many defences at this level especially if given a game with Kodjia.

Ive got to say I rate Wes highly and a full season at league one level IMHO would have championship teams lining up for him, not to say he's not got a part to play at City but I get the feeling he got the 2 minutes ahead of Agard because he's stil unfit (I hope, I'm wrong)

Under a new manager he would thrive as I believe he'd definitely get more game time, Yet I seriously doubt that'll happen unless he walks (fingers crossed, sorry to say). However he has to do what's correct for him and his international career and not playing is not a good start.

Hes a Bristol City player and been through the ranks, seems to have a great attitude so we all obviously want him to do well, my question is will he wait around for his chance, or will he do what I personally thinks best for him and seek first team football (which he'd get more chance of under a new manager, which is where we will be next season if league one is our fate). 

Whatever the answer I wish him well as I have a feeling if he does leave he will come back to haunt us.

Feel free to PM me if you don't want your views aired publicly.

Thanks for reading.

 

Wes has potential at this level,..why he can't get a good few 30min runs from the bench plus an occasional start I'm not sure....or maybe I am.