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Gerken ( Bartoz looked shaky Sunday & did help his defenders by coming for balls at the edge the box when they were facing there own goal distribution was dodgy as well).

Parr Cambers Berra Mings ( Smith is not himself)

Anderson (2nd in assist charts behind Bish) Bishop (if fit) Bru( better than skuse Sunday) Stewart (To play against his old club scenario)

Murphy Sears

Subs
Bartoz
Mcgoldrick (if fit)
Smith
Wood
Chaplow
Varney

The back four combination for me HAS to changed, as does the style of play. Am sick to the back teeth of all this fuckin hoofball!


...........................Bart........................

Parr.........Chambers......Berra.........Mings

...............................Skuse..........................

Anderson..................Bru...................Chaplow

...................Sears.............Murphy...................

For me it's still our midfield which looks suspect and we've had so many different combinations used I've got no idea what our best midfield looks like, although to be honest if he's fit I'd always find room for young Bishop.

I agree, but i think that's our problem, we have no experienced creative midfielders, unless you count Ambrose. Bishop is creative, but is very young and is carrying a niggling injury. Hardly surprising given his frist full season. We need experience in the team now, and players that can create and run at defences. A couple more in the mold of Sears would great. I havd no idea whats wrong with Stewart, but he isnt getting a look in is he!

hallamblue wrote:I agree, but i think that's our problem, we have no experienced creative midfielders, unless you count Ambrose. Bishop is creative, but is very young and is carrying a niggling injury. Hardly surprising given his frist full season. We need experience in the team now, and players that can create and run at defences. A couple more in the mold of Sears would great. I havd no idea whats wrong with Stewart, but he isnt getting a look in is he!

Given how much we need a player of his style in the team you can only guess that he must be bone idle in training and therefore completely overlooked by MM when it comes to team selection.

I think that is exactly the issue with him. It cant be fitness, not now.

Don't agree with the change of style idea. I would stick with what is working. I am looking forward to seeing a fit McG back again though, maybe in a 4-3-3 with Murphy & Sears and wonder how long Hyam will take to get fit since he is a good option in a 4-3-3 IMO also.

I wouldn't change the back line just now or the keeper. I think they dealt well with the pace and creativity or Norwich.

Dubai Blue wrote:Don't agree with the change of style idea. I would stick with what is working. I am looking forward to seeing a fit McG back again though, maybe in a 4-3-3 with Murphy & Sears and wonder how long Hyam will take to get fit since he is a good option in a 4-3-3 IMO also.

I wouldn't change the back line just now or the keeper. I think they dealt well with the pace and creativity or Norwich.

I don't think it is working though. Playing square pegs in round holes never works.

If you play 4-3-3 or 4-2-1-2, then you need to create width from the full backs. Chambers is not a full back: he never will be and I cannot understand why MM persists in playing him there especially as during the time we were playing really well he was at CB and Parr was RB.

Parr hardly put a foot wrong as RB, yet MM dropped him and moved Chambers back to RB. Parr must be really pissed off at this, especially as he now gets only a cameo role as left midfield (another case of a square peg in a round hole by the way): I don't know when his contract is up but he surely cannot be keen to renew it at the moment.

The problem we have is at CB - Smith is not a right-sided CB, and Berra is flaky at the moment. I believe this fact is also causing Mings not to venture forward as much as he would like - he feels he has to stay back to provide cover.

In my opinion, Smith and Berra are equally bad at the moment, and change is required. The only logical solution is:

Parr Chambers Smith or Berra (doesn't matter which, they both have something to prove) Mings

Some valid points there Rossi but there is one I juist can't agree with LOL. For me Berra would have to lose a leg to be down to Tommy Smith's standard, I agree Berra's very high standards that we were seeing every week prior to Xmas have tailed off a bit but for me he is light years ahead of Smith who has been nothing short of woeful.

bluemike wrote:Some valid points there Rossi but there is one I juist can't agree with LOL. For me Berra would have to lose a leg to be down to Tommy Smith's standard, I agree Berra's very high standards that we were seeing every week prior to Xmas have tailed off a bit but for me he is light years ahead of Smith who has been nothing short of woeful.

I actually do not think that there is much to choose between them as far as defending ability goes - WHEN they are playing in their chosen position of Left CB. It is, I think, very unfair to judge a left-footed player who is forced to play on the right.

Berra, for me, reads the game slightly better than Smith - but his distribution is absolutely woeful. I've watched him time and time again - as soon as he gets the ball he looks terrified and seems to want to get rid of it again as soon as possible. Smith is, I think, a better ball-player - as demonstrated by the fact that as well as scoring with his head (as has Berra) he also scored from the ground and a bloody well taken goal it was too.

Indded that goal was a cracker, I just wish he didnt turn around and go back to goal nearly every time. The big weakness in Smith's game is when he lets the ball bounce, it nearly always ends in panic and often a goal, Derby at home beong the prime example. I have always said that Smith is the best headerer of a ball in the team but I do see flaws on the ground. It is a fair point that he plays on the wrong side of the defence though.