They maybe Stendel signings but I struggle to believe that Stendels first choice options for centreback/full back would be two players who had played less than 50 competitive games between them. I also struggle to believe the Chaplin was a first choice of Stendels, given he hardly played last season for Coventry. The entire recruitment this close season has been a fallacy. If the same scout is responsible for finding those nuggets then the same scout has to take some of the blame for the options that Stendel was presented with in the summer.
I agree setting up a bank of four and five and asking teams to beat us will just see us beaten anyway. It was only when we switched to 4-3-3 and had the quality of McBernie did we give people something to think about, if we'd picked a better coach then Marinio's mate we might even have stayed up!
I was thinking similar after Sunday, we have full backs who are caught out of position, so we would be better converting them to full blooded wing backs (maybe using Brown as one of them) and put a third centre half in to come across and cover which ever side. We have plenty who could play in a hole behind a front 2 and have 2 sitting midfielders,
We saw both the strengths and the weaknesses of the 'high press' in this game. The strength is that we bossed the first thirty minutes by forcing Brentford into making mistakes in their half, so that we were constantly winning possession back and almost all the play was in the Brentford half. Pity we didn't get another goal, or two in that time. Whether by luck, or good management, Brentford then got a foot-hold in the game. Th weakness of high press showed in that it means too many players are in advanced forward positions, so that we are vulnerable to the quick counter-attack. This can be managed with a back-four with experience and guile, but we don't have that and looked especially vulnerable down the Brentford right wing, which is where all three of their goals came from. We do need a plan B, which would involve sitting back and making it hard for the opposition when they have the ball. When our possession broke down after the first half hour, we always looked likely to concede. We were undone in particular by two quality players in Canos and Watkins and this just shows what a difference a couple of quality players can make. I don't blame the players, nor really Stendel, as he can only work with what he has, but our players looked naïve once Brentford got a foothold in the game and the scoreline could have been even worse. Jordan W got a roasting from Canos and I was surprised that it was Cavare who was taken off when it was that flank which was our achilles heel. I think that, if we are to survive in this division, we need an experienced left back with a bit of pace; an experienced central defender and an experienced holding midfielder in January. I also think that we will have to break the board's plan and get these players in on loan, as we couldn't afford to keep them on the pay-roll if the worst happens at the end of the season. Any suggestions for a left back, a central defender and a holding midfielder? This is no criticism of the players who played on Sunday, but it is just that some are not yet ready, nor experienced enough at this level and need to be nurtured through by older heads on the pitch. I am concerned also for Stendel in his post-match interview. A different version of what we saw in Hecky around the same time. He looked stressed; quite saddened by the result; more than a little despairing about the way ahead. I like the guy. he is an honest broker and says what he means. He needs quality players in at least those three areas in January and the board should be searching right now.
This, we've got to keep playing our way but do it a LOT better - much easier said than done I know but ripping up the tactics isn't the answer.
Work on the uglier side of the game. At the minute the only player that looks to have this ability is Wilks. Only problem is he's a winger/forward.
Either than comes naturally ie Wilks who offers very little else to be honest or you learn it through years of playing. And i dont nescessarily mean shithousing. We just dont have the games in our legs. Look at hourihane. 24 when we signed him Club captain and 130 games for plymouth. There has to be similar about...
If they’re going to persist with the tactics - if our full back has the ball in the oppositions half the opposite full back needs to stay in his own half and the centre halves need to move across a few yards. That would have probably saved us at least 2 goals at the weekend - simple stuff.
And look how many games it took for Hourihane to start to command his game. Heart of a pea, was the common descriptor. He must have played 200 league games by the time he started to know himself and have that confidence in his ability and character. If you look through our new signings, how many have played 100 at a competitive level? How many have played 50 at championship level? How many had played at all at that level? That's the most disappointing aspect, particularly when the mantra was often said about experience being measured in games. The signings made just don't tick that box. They will in time, at least some of them will, but its at our cost and effort to train and better for someone else to get all that benefit.
I used to play Championship Manager in the mid 90's on the Commodore Amiga. In my first season in the Champions League with Barnsley we made the final, versus a very good Sampdoria side. Barnsley were 5-1 to lift the title, which we achieved, with a somewhat unorthodox 8-1-1 formation. A nil, nil draw after full time lead to extra time & a switch to a more adventurous 6-2-2, with recent signing from AC Milan, Simone coming off the bench & scoring the winner from the penalty spot in the 116th minute of the game, replacing Gerry Taggart. I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make, other than it was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Sign you up tomorrow those formations could just be what we're looking for. Are they from coach Klein's book of plays?
Took Liverpool into their 3rd year to hone the press and I would suspect the quality of their players are slightly better than ours. In the first year they were accused of exactly same as us of not being able to sustain/game management etc.
Thing with this high press malarkey is that at least 50% of the teams we have played, have done it better than we have. It's no longer an innovation, everyone's at it. Just the same as every team trying to pass out from the back, making the most of the new rules. If you look at teams warming up pre match, there is nothing to choose between teams - they're all doing the same stuff. Same drills, same runs, same shooting practice. Basically there's not a huge difference in the way players are being coached across the league. So then it boils down to who has the best players, the most luck , and those who make their own luck. We're lacking in all departments. We have to at least give ourselves a chance.