Lennon's next move?

First week in the job and the "new manager bounce" thing seems to have worked and inspired the players, but tactically it looks like the only changes Lennon has made is to do what we suggested Freedman should have done all along using the same system i.e. push the FBs on and compete for possession.
It made a huge difference as although we weren't much more effective going forward, we were further up the pitch when we lost possession which reduced our risk against a poor Brum side and helped us keep a clean sheet with the help of some top saves from Lonners.

Honestly don't think we could have asked for more with this squad in such a short time and I like the direction of travel, but the honeymoon won't last forever and now Lennon has a couple more days to make further tweaks so what do we think he'll do next (apart from appoint a new penalty-taker)?

My feelings are that he will make incremental changes rather than sweeping moves so although injured players may come into contention and young players are lining up to be picked I think he'll not change too much in terms of personnel despite needing to see everyone. Wheater and Mavies should walk in when ready though. I reckon that the first X1 will be dominated by senior players until survival seems assured.

I think he'll increase the focus on retaining possession and pressing when we don't have it which will require greater fitness levels than have been demonstrated so far this term - and I'm not sure we have them - and perhaps Pratley will become a firm favourite seeing as his work rate is relatively high? I know that won't be popular with many, but Pratley has been doing the chasing down work on his own to some extent and may improve if he is helped out. We will struggle with this when we come up against better teams but it should be enough to ensure we survive.

Anyone think he'll be more adventurous or innovative than this?

It's hard to say what his plan will be for Tuesday night. It's obvious he rates Chungy so I can see him sticking with him in a central role behind the main striker. I think he will stick with Pratley because of his work rate and I can't see Danns or Spearing being left out either.

Probably stick with the same again on Tuesday. He's smart enough not to change things too dramatically while it's going OK and the last thing we need right now is another tinkerman.

He might want to have a look at Mason at some point though.

I think Numptys right. I'm sure he'll want to see the same team, more or less, performing in a different environment, whilst still enjoying the feel-good factor from a win. The players from Saturday must have shown him something he could use, so why not try them again.

same again i would think, it may differ slightly on Saturday at home i hope with an extra striker.

Thing is, how many more chances is Beckford going to get? He simply can't finish, we just need to accept it and move on. I'd give Clayton a chance.

Beckford has shown in the past he can bang goals in for fun at this level he just needs a goal or two to get his confidence up. These players have had two years of shit coaching. With the right direction I think we can beat most teams in this division IMO. Pratley was only put in that position on Saturday because of his size advantage over the lad he was up against so maybe he will change that for tomorrow. Either way I feel confident in Lennon. It feels like we've got a proper manager for a change an hopefully that was the first win of many. Maybe it won't work out as well as we all hope it will but for now I'm happy to ride the wave of optimism as the last few years have been pretty depressing to say the least. Time will tell....

Bwfc1958 wrote:Beckford has shown in the past he can bang goals in for fun at this level he just needs a goal or two to get his confidence up. These players have had two years of shit coaching.

He's never banged the goals in for us and that's all that matters. He really is pisspoor in front of goal, no amount of coaching is going to change that. As a striker you can either finish or you can't.

Sure he said Mark Davies will be back for this game, probably on the bench but it will be interesting to see how he accommodates him & chungy in the same team

Boggersbelief wrote:Sure he said Mark Davies will be back for this game

Tuesday's match is more than 24 hours away - unlikely Mavies will stay fit.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Bwfc1958 wrote:Beckford has shown in the past he can bang goals in for fun at this level he just needs a goal or two to get his confidence up. These players have had two years of shit coaching.

He's never banged the goals in for us and that's all that matters. He really is pisspoor in front of goal, no amount of coaching is going to change that. As a striker you can either finish or you can't.

This is the crux of the Dougie argument and amazingly Nat has come out on the side of "pisspoor players"

Yes Beckford scored a lot at Leeds years ago but has done nowt since.

I know 58 couldn't resist having a swipe at Dougie -  but I honestly can't see where Beckford is going to improve regardless of who is coaching him. 

He's had more chances than anyone else (albeit in a situation where Dougie's cautious approach meant he had to work hard to get there) and all he seems to do is miscontrol, mishit or stand on the ball. 
Surely it would be worthwhile to check out Clayton's movement cos he couldn't do worse if he gets a chance?

Wanders right, Beckford has been in the right place all along, he just hasn't finished. just because somebody new gives him the ball, still doesn't mean he'll put the thing away. However, if the atmosphere, pressure, or whatever, is changed by the arrival of a new manager, there's a glimmer of hope.

The problem is he has to see what he as got.  So a few changes are on the cards.  I would start Mavies instead of Pratts.  And maybe Ream instead of Moxey.  Other than that he could try whoever he wants to see....hopefully keeping in mind that we need a point.

This is great. Lennon will do for me.
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All Lennon's moves so far have been correct but predictable.
He favours the same system as DF as he used it at Celtic. Predictable.
Squad was downhearted so he lightened the mood and tried to inject more passion. Predictable.
Asked the FBs to push on and the team as a whole to try to retain possession. Predictable (suggested Dougie should have done this when others wanted to change the system/manager)
Personally made a big show of commitment to the cause. Predictable after Dougie's standoffish "professional" relationship with the media that depicted him unfavourably and led to speculation and discontent amongst the fans.

All good stuff from Lennon. The byproduct is that we are now in a position to lose games with a bit more style and at least have a go at the opposition. If we had a serious threat up front we'd be up and running as we are creating a bit more now we're further up the field.

With Mavies and Clayton failing to find the answer in the short time they were on the pitch, it would seem that Lennon will probably try out a few more players and then turn to the market as Dougie did (predictable) 

Maybe he'll be luckier with his contacts, but I get the feeling that Lennon is going to have to do something radically different to push us up the table. Still the positivity will go a fair way to helping that cause as long as it can be maintained. A home win against mid-table Brentford is a must IMO and we must hope that they bring the losing version of their team - not the one that beat the likes of Leeds, Reading and Brighton already this season.

Does everyone think he should keep the same team again? Changing it was a criticism levelled against Dougie, but IMO I think Beckford is running out of chances.

Lennon will go down in my estimation straight away if he perseveres any longer with Beckford. If we're talking about Bolton players who're stealing a living this joker's right up there with the best. The sooner we bring in a decent goalscorer, the better. In the meantime, anyone but.

I think he will change a couple of players, as they expect to be rotated at this time, and it gives him another chance to bring in new faces, whilst giving the others a chance to either improve or maintain their performance of the last game.

Mason seems to have more of a natural striker's instinct for goal than Beckford (from what little I've seen of him - I bet Beckford can't even spell hat-trick, let alone bag one), so why not give him a go?

With the full-backs bombing on and the whole team trying to control play further up the park, he wouldn't have to play the "target man" role, so I reckon he could be our short-term solution.


EDIT: Just read that this has been extensively discussed on another thread. Apologies.

Putting Pratts out again on the left will baffle me for the Brentford game.
He should start Mavis and maybe Hall instead of Feeny.  Just a couple of tweeks barre injuries.  Beckford will have this home game I would think. Although I don't blame him for not getting enough decent service. One striker up front can't conjure goals for himself.....unless your name is Suarez.

terenceanne wrote: Although I don't blame him for not getting enough decent service. One striker up front can't conjure goals for himself.....unless your name is Suarez.

Are you high? Beckford has had a shitload of chances this season.