Should we scrap the wingers?

Feeney can't cross but he does work hard. Silva won't pass and loses the ball loads and his positioning is poor. I propose scrapping the wingers because their quality is questionable and yet we have at least 4 decent midfield players who could play in another system, injuries permitting.

We also have Clayton and Dobbie who are being slightly under utilised at the minute.

So how about we find a system where Mark Davies can have a more free role supported by Pratley and Danns with Jay Spearing as the defence minded midfield man?

Scrap Heskey and let Dobbbie or Feeney play higher up with Madine for a bit. Our full backs are both more capable of crossing than Silva and Feeney so let them take that role on.

Biggie wrote:Feeney can't cross but he does work hard. Silva won't pass and loses the ball loads and his positioning is poor. I propose scrapping the wingers because their quality is questionable and yet we have at least 4 decent midfield players who could play in another system, injuries permitting.

Yes, let's play 4 central midfielders and forget about the wings. I'm sure the opposition will never cotton on that we're vulnerable down the wings

I agree to some extent Biggie inasmuch that I don't like the rigid formation of wingers being stuck out wide all the time and "target men" in the middle. If our big men could hold it up and bring others into play and if the wingers could deliver quality we might score a few but we just don't have the quality. Worse still, we are stretching the game using that formation which makes us very vulnerable to counter attacks AND can leave us short-handed in midfield.

Wrong system for this squad IMO. Given where we are, I'd play 5 across the middle and a lone striker - not a target man but an out and out finisher/poacher. I'd stick to an agricultural no-nonsense back four and build a wall in front of them to compress the midfield so that their extra man is at the back. I'd give the FBs and wider midfielders freedom to push on and create movement across the pitch when we're in possession with strict orders to move forward as a team and plug the gaps as we go so that we're pressing high and probing their defence but with at least 6 behind the ball at any point in time. And as soon as we lose it, 9 men in two rows defending from the halfway line rather than the front so they have no room to play.

It's a defence and possession orientated set up but in our position and with our squad it seems a far better option than the predictable/risky stuff we're doing at the moment.

Where's this "out and out finisher/poacher" suddenly going to materialise from exactly?


Or is Gary Lineker coming out of retirement and offering to play for free?

the best we have played this season is the first game when we played 442 but with a diamond in midfield and it worked well until Spearing got sent off. We haven't played that formation since as far as i know.

We may be narrow but it would give the full backs more scope to push on and provide the width.

Breadman wrote:Where's this "out and out finisher/poacher" suddenly going to materialise from exactly?


Or is Gary Lineker coming out of retirement and offering to play for free?

I'd go with Samazideh as it wouldn't matter if he's too lightweight in that role. In fact if he's in the box I'd be yelling for the big CBs to kick him. The more he gets bullied, the more penalties we get.

Unfortunately, Lennon won't do it so we might have to settle for Dobbie, Clayton, Thomas or one of the other little nippy buggers to do it. Maybe even Feeney could be a nuisance there.

It's what we used to call titty-lining.