Causes for concern versus causes for optimism

Worries:

1) The coach, who having seen the amount of congestion in the centre of the park and the way Luton packed the middle decided it was a good idea to go from 3-4-3 to 4-3-3 and push our wide players further back, at the same time making a bloke who’s clearly a centre back play left back. Odd. Our style looks quite confused and often it’s hard to tell what the strategy or even formation is.

2) The Belgians have come here either that disgustingly unfit that they can’t be on the bench to be thrown on for the last 20 minutes or they are fit enough for that but are deemed to be less deserving of a bench place than Miller and Adeboyejo. Either scenario is very bad. I am praying it’s some sort of work permit issue.

3) Morris injury still doesn’t have a time frame and we are woefully lacking striking options without him.

4) We’ve started trying to play football again when we have athletes not footballers.

5) We don’t look a goal threat at all, to the extent that Oduor is deemed to be one of our three best attacking options.

6) Two of our best players from last season, Styles and Brittain, haven’t yet quite hit the form they showed last season overall I would say.

Bright spots:

1) Defence overall still looks a really strong unit, even with Andersen still to come back and Kitching seems a great addition albeit better in a three than at full back. They rarely threatened other than from the goal which came from an extremely rare Helik mistake.

2) Benson in the games I’ve seen looks busy and constantly wants the ball. There’s some stray passes tonight but overall he looks a really good acquisition.

3) Elijah Adebayo doesn’t play for us.

I didn’t see the Cardiff game but on the admittedly scant evidence of the three games I’ve been to on balance I’d settle for a position in lower mid table now if you offered it.

 

2) The Belgians - Can’t be work permit related, as they’re both training with 1st team. As in they’re technically ‘at work’ already.

 

heard from someone who works at the club that they arrived way way off the pace fitness wise.

 

To be fair to Benson he passed it to Cole before he was even brought on. Some vision that.

 

That’s true, unless we’re not paying them yet.

 

Oulare and iseka are now a concern. Quotes from Schopp seem to suggest they’re not doing enough in training, which if that’s the case we’re in a bit of bother.

I hope we can get a LWB in, and play Styles, Benson and Palmer in a 3-5-2.

 

We can try as many systems as we like but with the forwards we currently have I don’t see many goals in us.

 

OP pretty much makes sense. I believe that patience is whats needed from us as fans which isn't easy right now. I was thinking of the incremental improvements we need after the first game but instead of seeing them improve, my list has grown.

Im worried with our midfield at this early stages and hopefully players will settle and rebuild confidence. We need to have more contribution here as i don't see us breaking play up from the opposition nor do i see them dictating a pattern and tempo. In fact we look rigid, slow and predictable. I worry about our options in midfield.

Stirkers? We have a number of forward players. Someone said they counted 6-7 above and beyond the starting 3 of Woodrow, Morris and Frieser. I don't see this many but even if we have another 4, we dont know if these are goal-scorers or just forwards. 3 games in and it seems our options here are also worrying.

Left Back. Our weakest defensive link so far and we have tried several options. Whatever we do this has been a problem area for me for a while. But given the above might not be the major topic on our priority list.

 

2) it’s the latter

 

I thought the athletes not players thing was massively more true of Luton than us last night. The biggest threat to their Championship status this year is probably drugs testing.

 

Didn't threaten apart from the goal?

I remember x2 one on ones with the keeper that they fluffed.

 

LWB.
Jordan Williams.
Defensively sound.
Attacks with pace.
Can play there or RWB.
Can't understand why he wasn't even on the bench last night unless he was injured.

 

Me too. Too good a player to be benched. I'd change the system and play three in the midfield.

 

352 could work

 

I think 3-5-2 could make Schopp's style work definitely mate.

 

No, we won’t get many goals, so we need to be difficult to beat and if we have any midfielders with the potential to get goals (Styles and maybe Benson), get a system that allows them to get forward.

 

3-5-2 maybe, with the extra central midfielder allowing one or two to break forward more? Then have two strikers playing closer together (Woodrow & Cole at present). The two wide forwards at the moment, Frieser and Oduor are passengers in the current set up.

 

I really didn't like seeing Luton do to us in the first half last night what we did to many teams last season. They pressed high, with greater energy and numbers far better than us I thought.

I was disappointed last night but actually atm I'm more confused that anything. I thought Schopp was appointed to continue our pressing game and in interviews several players have talked about continuing the press but playing more when we have the ball. Currently our press just isn't comparable to last season or indeed the one before that.

 

That could be down to burn out of the players doing the pressing. It found Liverpool and Tottenham out last season. It happens to the best of teams.