graham b Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Top post - I agree with everything you say. What you have written shows a strong tactical awareness and how you have described Murray's failings is better than any of the rants [mine included] about how *rap he is right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Agree with your summary of our tactical problem and with 3-5-2 we did indeed look better, if a little exposed at the back. However, it seems to me that the reason 4-4-2 doesn't work so well is that we don't have a left midfield player. We have never replaced Aaron Brown - Wilkshire does well in that position with Bell behind him, but we do lack width and pace in attack on that side. And if Murray is off form and not providing the width and pace down the right we are left with very few options going forward. Maybe, just maybe, there is a role for Goodfellow wide left/right or we need to find a wide left player in January. The unbalanced nature of the side is a problem and the solution of playing Wilkshire there works sometimes but plays to a different system to the one the players are used to and doesn't seem to work all the time - we get found out all too easily by the opposition. It has been argued that this new system provides more options but sadly in the last few games they don't seem to be working and we don't have an alternative - no wide player on the bench to bring on and give us that option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBCFCUK Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 If he went to a 3-5-2 my starting line up would be: ...................................phillips.......................... ..................................................................... .................coles..........butler.............hill.............. ..................................................................... bell...........wilkshire..........doherty...........dinning...murray. ..................................................................... ...........................lita............brooker................... subs: i would recall goodfellow brown gillespe heffernan fortune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedUn Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham b Posted December 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 All too true. I would just add that the problem switches to both flanks because Bell hasn't the legs to play wing-back and his crossing is no great shakes anyway. Essentially, we are still missing what Lou Carey and Aaron Brown gave the team very badly. ← I wish it was as simple as Carey/Brown replacements. However the change of midfield to Dinning and Doherty now means we have to have a third midfielder to do their running. I fear that our coaching/management through the later years of the Academy and in the transition to full time professionals is letting the club down quite badly. We appear to 'hit the wall' with too many players. Amankwaah and Woodman are two that given good progressive coaching should have been coming through as the wide players we are needing. Woodman now appears to be frozen out completely and Amankwaah seems to be going backwards rapidly. Talking of freezers what is happening to Goodfellow is nothing short of totally perplexing. The concept of underperformance seems to be the only thing at which we can excel. Thank goodness for Lita for bucking this trend but then his asset of goalscoring is a natural one and not one that can be coached! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Ian M Posted December 19, 2004 Admin Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 bell...........wilkshire..........doherty...........dinning...murray. ← Why would you want to put Bell on the right and Murray on the left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bransonmo Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Agree with your summary of our tactical problem and with 3-5-2 we did indeed look better, if a little exposed at the back. However, it seems to me that the reason 4-4-2 doesn't work so well is that we don't have a left midfield player. We have never replaced Aaron Brown - Wilkshire does well in that position with Bell behind him, but we do lack width and pace in attack on that side. And if Murray is off form and not providing the width and pace down the right we are left with very few options going forward. Maybe, just maybe, there is a role for Goodfellow wide left/right or we need to find a wide left player in January. The unbalanced nature of the side is a problem and the solution of playing Wilkshire there works sometimes but plays to a different system to the one the players are used to and doesn't seem to work all the time - we get found out all too easily by the opposition. It has been argued that this new system provides more options but sadly in the last few games they don't seem to be working and we don't have an alternative - no wide player on the bench to bring on and give us that option. ← Left side we have Anyinsah and Cotterill available and ready for the challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedUn Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 The cynic in me wants to believe that Luton actively went out to hurt Murray (&Wilkshire) after we'd made our triple substitution in the knowledge that if they succeeded we wouldn't be able to replace them and that succeeded in Murray's case. ← Put it this way: the first sything challenge on Murray (which didn't produce a yellow) was by Sol Davis wasn't it? ... not exactly short of previous for assault on our Scoot is that thug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedUn Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 I wish it was as simple as Carey/Brown replacements. But it could be: would you rather have Carey & Brown or Smith & Bell? (because that is the change there has been) ... two mature professionals in their prime replaced by two 30+ veterans and all its achieved is to raise the average age on the pitch. OK, Aaron said before the event he wanted out if we didn't go up to try himself at a higher level (respect for that). Lou, however, was just looking for a decent basic deal ... allowing Bell his freedom would have contributed both to what was needed to keep Carey and (along with the money saved on Smith) to an Aaron replacement. I fear that our coaching/management through the later years of the Academy and in the transition to full time professionals is letting the club down quite badly. We appear to 'hit the wall' with too many players. Amankwaah and Woodman are two that given good progressive coaching should have been coming through as the wide players we are needing. Woodman now appears to be frozen out completely and Amankwaah seems to be going backwards rapidly. Ah, how to provide progressive coaching when the reserves can go for a month without fixtures? (I once suggested crewing up for tournament(s) with clubs from Bristol's twin cities - Porto, Bordeaux, etc. - at u/21 level, sponsored by flybe.com - I don't suppose the club did a thing about it though). In the absence of such fixtures, loans seem to be the fallback but, for example, I'd sooner see Fortune / Amankwaah / Woodman given a proper run in the side instead of veterans of known limitations. Talking of freezers what is happening to Goodfellow is nothing short of totally perplexing. Could be more than meets the eye? ... however, we surely know he lacks the defensive qualities for the wing-back role) - lightweight with an eye for goal -like Simon Clist he looks an old-style inside left (playing behind the two forwards these days The concept of underperformance seems to be the only thing at which we can excel. Thank goodness for Lita for bucking this trend but then his asset of goalscoring is a natural one and not one that can be coached! ← Bit of a fallacy that coaches can't help strikers, I'm sure Roberts and Peacock could have been improved last year for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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