brady1993

38 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

 

Maybe a little bit more like this:

CB   CB

RB       DM           

      DM    AM    LB

RW       CF     LW   

LB push a bit higher and LW tucked in a little bit. At times you'd have crosses from the right with Collins, McGoldrick, Barkhuizen and Forsyth to aim at.

Maybe yeah? Although I do think Knight Bird and Roberts were virtually in line especially in the first two thirds of the pitch.

I do worry about playing fozzy though if we really expect the left back to be involved in the starting of moves. Roberts, on the other hand looks more than comfortable.

Out of possession is more or less the same shape as last year virtually falling back into a 442.

1 hour ago, Tyler Durden said:

 

That probably teaches me not to start reading a thread with the last page..... ?

3 hours ago, Tyler Durden said:

Still think we should play Stearman at right back 

That would honestly be a complete disaster waiting to happen with how we are looking to play.

2 hours ago, Ambitious said:

I need to watch the Berlin game, but I do wonder if Rosenior is trying to be coy with the RB position. 

Knight or Smith offers a defensively sound player, with relatively high quality football ability. It allows him to scheme that player into a lot of favourable matchups - albeit when the backs are against the wall then we will be at a disadvantage over a more conventional RB. 

I guess it does make sense given the quality within the squad and the fact we will be very possession heavy this season. 

I actually think there is a decent chance at something like this happening after watch us versus Berlin in the first half.

We've shifted tactically from last season. Last season the full backs would push very high, wingers come narrow and the defensive midfielders would split and stay deep. Something like: 

              CB  CB 

         DM           DM

    RB  RW CAM LW  LB

                   CF

This season however it looks like we are going to try to us the fullbacks more auxiliary midfielders. It was noticeable that the full back would stay in a line with Bird when we were in position and come slightly narrow. Hourihane would then push right up, playing close to Mcgoldrick and both winger stayed high and on the touch line.  More like 

              CB  CB 

        RB     DM      LB

             DM  CAM

    RW        CF        LW

So the demands of a full back here wouldn't be the same in fact you'd probably want someone who is comfortable being in midfield (not necessarily a midfielder). So trialing Knight and possibly Smith would make a lot of sense. 

Although what I will say is I'd be very very wary about playing Fozzy with how we currently look to be setting up.

11 hours ago, Carl Sagan said:

I don't want us playing with two holding midfielders this season. We did that last season and hardly created any chances at all. We need to be more forward thinking and lose one of the defensive players in the setup. So I'm not especially thrilled to see this, even though he sounds like a decent player. We have Bielik, Bird, Thompson and now Smith for what I am hoping is one position. Even if one of them goes, that's still a lot of defensive midfielders.

Personally wouldn't want us playing 2 either but we are firmly building on last season and building around playing a 4231. So the depth does make sense, especially as Bielik is likely to leave.

19 minutes ago, LazloW said:

Apropos of nothing, but does anybody think the (over) analysis of football and footballers is taking a lot of joy out of the game? In particular, when a new signing comes in and armchair experts and statisticians  have already decided how good he is, where he will play, how many goals he’ll score, how many ‘key passes’ he’ll make, where on the pitch he will spend most of his time and his overall value to the team. I find it really tiresome. Am I alone in that?

I welcome any signing. Can’t wait to see them play and then I’ll judge them after that (not using stats or heat maps, but using my eyes and nearly 50 years of watching football).  

I mean admittedly I actually really enjoy that side of things. I enjoy getting in the weeds with stats and trying to analyse exactly what a player is doing and why. And I enjoying coming on here and really discussing it with people. But I'm an analytical person and football is far from the only thing I'm like this with. 

If you don't enjoy and it sucks the fun out of it for you, I'm sorry to hear that and I can definitely see how it wouldn't be for everyone.

1 hour ago, Carl Sagan said:

Then he needs to massively up his level in terms of goals scored and chances he creates. You have to affect the game higher up the pitch. The only goal I remember is that deflected long-range effort against Stoke.

I mean the thing is Bird for most of last season was the deepest midfielder, responsible for sitting in, recycling possession and getting attacks started with passes. You just wouldn't expect him to be racking up assists or goals. That would likely change played higher up. By how much? You won't know unless you tried it for a sustained period of time. 

Saying he doesn't create chances though isn't really correct. More often than not he'd make the pass that would make the chance possible and tbh a lot of the times his passing was wasted by a blunt forward line and lack of movement.

41 minutes ago, NottsRam77 said:

And so it begins 

didnt take long for that derby county level of expectation / entitlement to re eatablish itself

not even a month out of administration

some people are in for a rude awaken

last time we made such wholesale changes to our side (allbeit in different circumstance) was paul jewell in the summer after our relegation from the prem to try and change the loosing mentality 

how did that pan out ?? 

Whilst I get the point about people getting potentially over excited, I think there is a reasonable amount to get hopeful about a promotion push. 

The situation is almost incomparable to the one under Jewell. The signings that season were scattershot, signing way too many players on way top high waves with little thought to as we were going to use them. We also came down in the particular bind a biggish club has following a bad relegation were confidence is largely shot, players are used to losing but expectation is heaped on them.

Here though, if fozzy signs we can field an 11 with 9 players who were here last year without really playing anyone out of position. There is that degree of continuity and we are signing to a plan, to complement what we have. Also we are coming down with a team that wouldn't have got relegated bar the deductions so they don't have that same beaten mentality.

Personally think it's too early to say exactly where we should be aiming but I don't think thinking we could make a promotion push is unreasonable.

37 minutes ago, Animal is a Ram said:

I'm not so sure. Without having seen him play, mind - but his preference of being a CB would suggest that we'll have Roberts as more defensively minded allowing the RB to be the more offensive player, and Oduroh looks like just that.

Thing is if we are sticking to a 4231 we probably want forward thinking fullbacks on both sides. It's part of the benefit of that system is you can afford very attacking fullbacks on both sides.

Like I said elsewhere it's not so much Koiki that raises an eyebrow, I think we need that kind of player, it's more signing Stearman, Roberts and Fozzy that feels like we are bringing in one too many. 

47 minutes ago, Anag Ram said:

Still not sure how things will pan out in defence. Who’s to say Roberts isn’t a better centre half than the others?

Chester won’t have come here to sit on the bench. 

Everyone seems to assume it will be Cashin and Davies but we will see.

Looks like we will have options home and away.

Stearman will be taking his knitting to most games.

 

Like to me Cashin, Davies, Chester + 1 more at CB and then 2xLBs where at least one of them is a youngish attacking fullback makes sense. 

So to me if we sign Koiki and if we sign Fozzy it would feel like 1 of Fozzy, Stearman or Roberts is surplus to what we need. Unless we plan on semi-regulalry playing 3 at the back.

4 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Seems odd to go after a LB when we have Roberts and supposed to be giving Forsyth a new deal. Played in L2 last season and was statistically similar to Buchanan in the Championship, but dribbled more and had a bit more end product.

Abd-Al-Ali Morakinyo Olaposi Koiki. Might get it on my shirt

Tbh Roberts feels a little like the odd one out to me. With Koiki being more aligned to what I thought we'd be going for. 

Looks a little like Rosenior's plan is to have an experienced player in a position and a young player to grow into the role. More or less.

Of all the players I'd fight to keep it would be Bird. If not only because he's but because he's way better than we are currently paying and I've a feeling his transfer value has a decent room to grow especially if he plays in a functional team/club.

Hourihane feels the most surprising. 

But the cheesy answer is that first raft of signings and new contracts a couple days after Clowes took over were critical. It sent out the message that we'd stabilised, that players are safe to come to us and that the players we have here aren't for sale for peanuts.

Collins I think will prove a decent signing at this level and i think leaves in a good position up front.

Just need to sort out fullbacks, another gk and another winger and we will be set.

3 minutes ago, Bald Eagle's Barmy Army said:

Wow - nobody is turning us down. 
 

I had a small feeling that no players would touch us with what the club has been through. How wrong was I? 
 

Goes to show players want to play in front of a crowd who stick by their team. 

That's thing though, we are through the other side to a large extent. 

So we are now a mostly stable big league 1 club,who can pay better than average, who are likely to have a promotion push, who a player who comes in will likely get game time and with a galvanised fan base from last year.

As league 1 clubs we are actually a good proposition right now.

1 hour ago, DCFC1388 said:

Started LB today

That's reassuring. Like I said it's reasonable if we feel like he will make a decent LB.

This one feels a bit of a weird one unless we are planning on playing him at LB or we are switching to a back 3/5.

34 minutes ago, Magicman said:

7 caps for what ? Didn't stop Cashin & Thompson emerging in same period ! 

You mean last year when he was starting to break through before getting injured ?

Because if so I think we can perhaps cut him a bit of slack before completely writing him off.

31 minutes ago, Magicman said:

Some fans keep making excuses but he has been tried and failed to deliver for 2 seasons . Cybulski seems more skilful and mobile already.

This seems a ridiculously disingenuous take about a 20 year old whose got 7 caps, had to deal with a few knocks and was emerging in the midst of two relegation battles.

13 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

LB, LW, RW, CF GK, Roberts and possibly another RB. I'd prioritise them in that order.

I'd probably go for more or less the same but the order 

LB, LW/RW, RB, CF, RW/LW, GK, oberts

And if we insist on playing with a 10 then we probably after go for that over everyone but the LB

12 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

I'm struggling to see Bielik stay with us due to international aspirations. The others aren't under that pressure. 

CM: Bird, Hourihane, LThompson

W/AM: Barkhuizen, Knight, Mendez-Laing, Sibley

Potentially 1 CM and 2 W/AMs needed.

Out of those and I'd only really want Sibley as an AM, the rest feel a bit makeshift in that position. 

If we want to play 4231 I think we need to go out and get a good 10 to either compete with or start ahead of Sibley. Then 1/2 wide players. I think at CM we should still be ok if Knight is still here.

But personally I take one look at that and would want to set up something like 

Wildsmith

Byrne Chester Cashin *new*

Bird

Knight   Hourihane

Barkhuizen   McGoldrick Mendez-Laing

Or alternatively if we fancy Sibley;

Wildsmith

Byrne Chester Cashin *new*

Bird Hourihane

Sibley 

Barkhuizen   McGoldrick Mendez-Laing

I've just got a funny feeling we will try to shoehorn Knight there though and remain a bit toothless.

1 hour ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Waiting on a decision from Lawrence? That Elliott Anderson from Newcastle looks like a terrific player and could be our plan B.

 

Maybe ? I just don't see why we wouldn't  be planning under the impression that Lawrence has gone. 

Like it's possible we sign someone to play there but with midfield options currently of Bird, Bielik, Horuihane, Knight, Thompson and Sibley I'd be trying to make a fist of it with those and focusing elsewhere.

Obviously we might lose a couple but on paper right now midfield is our highest area of quality.

2 hours ago, Bris Vegas said:

I think the treatment of Sibley has been poor.

I remember when he started the 4-0 win at Birmingham City just before New Year’s Eve late 2020. He was brilliant as he won the penalty, and tore their defence to shreds. I think he had about five efforts in the first 25 minutes of the game.

He started the subsequent game at Sheffield Wednesday where we were much the better side also but ended up losing 1-0 to a scrappy goal. It was a really unlucky defeat.

Sibley was then dropped. And in came the likes of Patrick Roberts and Lee Gregory. Sibley didn’t start another game until that 4-0 defeat at Cardiff where Rooney threw the towel in before kick off by playing a weakened side. That was in March so Sibley spent 8 weeks or so just warming the bench with the odd late sub appearance.

Sibley then came off the bench in the 2-2 draw at Brentford (coming back from 0-2 down at half-time). He then started the 1-0 defeat at Stoke and the 2-0 win against Luton. Another defeat at Reading and he was dropped, while returning for the Blackburn game where it was 1-1 while he was on and we lost 2-1 after he came off.

Dropped again.

Long story short, it seems Sibley became an obvious player to drop after every defeat, especially away from home. We’d lose on the road and he’d then miss the next five games or so. He clearly needed a strong run in the side, but under Rooney you’d struggle to find a spell where he started more than two consecutive games. 

 

Thats the thing I've always thought under Rooney. He just seemed to get far far shorter rope than pretty much any other player in the squad. I can remember extended stretches of other players having bad form and being played through it. But if Sibley was even slightly off for a half he'd be banished.

I just don't think Rooney truly ever had confidence in him like he did with the rest of the squad. He's got flaws in his game for sure but it's not hard to fault a lot of players for this or that. 

6 minutes ago, Rammy03 said:

You could play Mcgoldrick behind the striker almost as a deep lying forward/attacking midfielder. He has played there often for Sheffield United and it suits his game now

When he's done it's been more or less two up front. And even then that's always been with a pure poacher ahead of him. You'd want to pair him with someone of that ilk in that case; probably not Collins and definitely not CKR. The only person we have you'd want to do that for is likely Stretton.

Just now, Ghost of Clough said:

Yeah, mostly one of the '2' in a 4231, but they used 433 a couple of times with Grealish playing deeper. An example being our 3-0 defeat at home when Hourihane was the DM. Leeds late in the season was another, so too was the Playoff Final.

I cant see use switching to 433 to be honest. We spent almost all of last season playing 4231 with the AM playing very close to the CF.

I'm expecting Bielik to leave with us opting with a midfield base of Bird and Hourihane. Tommo and another as backup.

I think you are likely right and we stick with 4231. I just think we might get more out of the squad with 433. 

My issue with a 4231 for us now is that it's a system that from a attacking standpoint largely lives and dies by its 10. With Morrison gone and Lawrence I'm just not really sure there is anyone you can confidently point to play there.

Sibley feels like the only one and even then that's massively caveated based on how much Rosenior fancies him and encourages him to form.