Ghost of Clough

These would appear to epitomise the sort of team we struggle against

Has Forsyth gone on holiday?

Has Forsyth gone on holiday?

Backs up what I thought I saw which was pretty much a 4-1-4-1 'base' which occasionally looked like a 4-3-3. For about 70 minutes of the match, anyway,
We were very attacking. Bird & Sibley essentially both playing as no. 10s, NML & Wilson wingers who stayed high up the pitch. Waghorn dropping in to further help link play. Occasionally Bird & Sibley dropped back a bit with NML/Wilson tucking in when needed (hence the 4-3-3).
The issue is of course that it left Hourihane pretty exposed and while they did go through us a few times, it didn't matter in this game because Exeter were so poor. We'd need someone with more pace/presence in Hourihane's role against better teams but surely that's Fornah.
I think what's good about this though is you can tell any of the any of the 'units' to move further forward or fall back (or spread apart / get closer together) to suit the opposition,  without completely altering the shape. The players should then still know how/where to find each other on the pitch which will help us if we need to score on the break.
I'm not saying it doesn't need work or it will bve viable every game, but it makes more sense (to me at least!) than what we've been trying to do for the past 13 months!
4-1-4-1

turns to 4-3-3

 
 
 
 
 

This is some expert trolling by Curtains. Keep it going.

It wasn’t plain 4 at the back . Don’t you understand football.  Errr no you don’t. 

Has Forsyth gone on holiday?

Has Forsyth gone on holiday?

Dom Ballard was someone I suggested in the summer. He scored 6 in 3 U21 games for Southampton before going on loan to Reading where he's got 4 goals and 2 assists in 399 minutes of action, although 2 goals and 2 assists came in 27 minutes against Exeter in the EFL Trophy.
Callum Marshall is in fine form for West Ham U21s this season, with 10 goals and 2 assists in 7 games, 1 contribution every 50 minutes!! This is after 20 goals and 4 assists in 22 U18 games last season. I think he would suit Warne's desired pressing game very well.
He scored 2 goals in the EFL Trophy against Bristol Rovers (#50)
 
Mark O'Mahony is another who has started the season well for Brighton U21s, with 7 goals and 3 assists in 8 games.

Has Forsyth gone on holiday?

It definitely looked like Wilson was playing at RW again to me.

Dom Ballard was someone I suggested in the summer. He scored 6 in 3 U21 games for Southampton before going on loan to Reading where he's got 4 goals and 2 assists in 399 minutes of action, although 2 goals and 2 assists came in 27 minutes against Exeter in the EFL Trophy.
Callum Marshall is in fine form for West Ham U21s this season, with 10 goals and 2 assists in 7 games, 1 contribution every 50 minutes!! This is after 20 goals and 4 assists in 22 U18 games last season. I think he would suit Warne's desired pressing game very well.
He scored 2 goals in the EFL Trophy against Bristol Rovers (#50)
 
Mark O'Mahony is another who has started the season well for Brighton U21s, with 7 goals and 3 assists in 8 games.

Same starting 11
Wildsmith
Nyambe   Nelson   Cashin   Forsyth
Hourihane
Wilson   Sibley   Bird   Mendez-Laing
Waghorn

Subs: Bradley, Ward, Barkhuizen, Smith, Fornah, Washington, Collins

Somethijg like 24,040

And now it's 1.615 per game, equivalent to 74.3 points. Roughly the same as his overall average whilst managing us. Fine margins.
For as long as top 6 (or better) is realistic, Warne will stay as manager for the season.

I thought we needed Wilson to stay on for another 5 minutes against the LB they had only just brought on and got booked within 1 minute. He was making a mess in his underwear every time he got the ball. Other than that, I think the subs were perfect.

And now it's 1.615 per game, equivalent to 74.3 points. Roughly the same as his overall average whilst managing us. Fine margins.
For as long as top 6 (or better) is realistic, Warne will stay as manager for the season.

I thought we needed Wilson to stay on for another 5 minutes against the LB they had only just brought on and got booked within 1 minute. He was making a mess in his underwear every time he got the ball. Other than that, I think the subs were perfect.

Lots of people saying Exeter were dire - they were last night - but they had 20 odd shots on Saturday against Wigan so maybe we made them look dire? 
A similar side to us in many ways, I thought. They wanted to play football, not very physical (although a couple of their subs were solid units, they were warming up down in our corner!) 
We showed greater desire than them last night, with our players chasing down every loose ball. 
Two big differences for me last night - Waggy's hold up play and a balanced midfield. NML worked so hard, Bird ran the show, and Hourihane mopped up. 
Shout out to Fozzy, who played a key pass in both goals. Where he finds the energy from I don't know, but he's definitely taken over the Mr Derby County role from Curtis Davies with some style. 
Appreciated a referee who largely let the game flow, helped by two sides who weren't more intent on fouling than playing the ball. It's a shame that the lino got the offside wrong because a 3-0 scoreline would have been a better reflection of the game and give more confidence going into Saturday, which I expect will be much more attritional than last night.
COYR! 

Ooh it's on a knife edge....a result either way can be crucial.
I've not known such excitement since, well,....

I'll help you out

Shots and goals as per Whoscored

Agree Angie, I thought Sibley did ok tonight. Nothing flashy but he worked hard and made it possible for Bird to push on. He was solid and did a shift for the team.
 

And now it's 1.615 per game, equivalent to 74.3 points. Roughly the same as his overall average whilst managing us. Fine margins.
For as long as top 6 (or better) is realistic, Warne will stay as manager for the season.

He also put in a shift covering across to allow Bird the freedom he had tonight. It's not just about what he does on the ball, it's out of possession too. And he's doing this off the back of no pre-season at all. 

Tom Lawrence’s lamp post conversion stats are a lot better tbf to the lad