DCFC1388

352 is needed for games when the opposition line up with 2 forwards, we have looked much better in it when we switched to it vs Cheltenham & then yesterday. If a team plays with 1 striker then it will be the usual 433/4231 
Alot of our play comes from having a spare centre back to help build from defence which is why we need 3 vs their 2 or 2 vs their 1

Benched.
4-3-3 should be the preferred formation, but for some games 3-5-2 will be required.

He’s just too good to be true
We can’t take our eyes off Ebou

so many that hate warne and his style … and at its worse its god awful to watch. 

but and its massive but…. 
 
look at the stats, tightest at the back in the league, away record that is seldom seen at our club and uv got a bunch of players there that are putting their bodies on the line for the full 90….. for our club and this manager that a small minority think the players hate playing for.
were doing the dogged stuff that wins games, were earning the right to win games. Its not pretty but its a style of play that others have succeeded with just not one weve become accustomed to over the last however many years  
personally im loving the fact were a bunch of big hard f****** that if u going to get a result from youve got to be on it 
coyr!!

Maybe, just maybe, we have watched how Charlton play & their weaknesses and picked a team to target this.
Ward coming in suggests we want plenty of decent balls in the box as well as corners which feeds into the Charlton fans not rating the GK. 
Charlton play with a front 2 of Ladapo & May, if we played a back 4 and had our 2 CBs against them 2 we would struggle, they struggled vs Cheltenhams front 2 and May/Ladapo are better than those 2. So a back 3 makes sense, gives us a spare man to clear up as well as having Bradleys height in both boxes for set pieces.
In possession we could quite easily end up in a 3142

Maybe, just maybe, we have watched how Charlton play & their weaknesses and picked a team to target this.
Ward coming in suggests we want plenty of decent balls in the box as well as corners which feeds into the Charlton fans not rating the GK. 
Charlton play with a front 2 of Ladapo & May, if we played a back 4 and had our 2 CBs against them 2 we would struggle, they struggled vs Cheltenhams front 2 and May/Ladapo are better than those 2. So a back 3 makes sense, gives us a spare man to clear up as well as having Bradleys height in both boxes for set pieces.
In possession we could quite easily end up in a 3142

Everyone conveniently forgetting that we were crap last week in a 4-2-3-1 and much better with a 3 at the back, just to have a moan I presume?

I know people will moan about a back 3 but against Cheltenham we were poor until we matched up to their 352. Charlton have recently switched to a 352 so it does make sense to match up to it, especially with CBT out

I know people will moan about a back 3 but against Cheltenham we were poor until we matched up to their 352. Charlton have recently switched to a 352 so it does make sense to match up to it, especially with CBT out

I know people will moan about a back 3 but against Cheltenham we were poor until we matched up to their 352. Charlton have recently switched to a 352 so it does make sense to match up to it, especially with CBT out

I know people will moan about a back 3 but against Cheltenham we were poor until we matched up to their 352. Charlton have recently switched to a 352 so it does make sense to match up to it, especially with CBT out

I know people will moan about a back 3 but against Cheltenham we were poor until we matched up to their 352. Charlton have recently switched to a 352 so it does make sense to match up to it, especially with CBT out

Pretty sure Warne has said a few times this month he wants a striker, is in for a few but wasnt overly confident we would get one so the signs were there.
As for Smith & Gregory, just because they were the names that came our from the Sheffield end it does not mean they were our main targets or even our only targets. Adams said he knew of our interest over a mo th ago but at no point was his name in the media until hours before he signed. So im sure there were other strikers we went in for but havent made the media.
If anyone thinks our whole Jan was us fixated on Smith & Gregory are clearly clueless on how transfers work. I can guarentee that DC, SP, MT, PW & staff will all be annoyed we havent managed to bring one in but there will be reasons why thats happened.
However, we have managed to strengthen other key areas so its not like the whole window is a failure.

Can see the line up being the following tomorrow - 
Vickers - Nyambe Nelson Cashin Elder - Thompson Adams Hourihane - NML Collins CBT
Wildsmith Bradley Wilson Bird Smith Sibley Barkhuizen
Meaning Ward & Fornah miss out. Imagine our squad in a few weeks when Forsyth, Washington & Waghorn are back, if we can keep everyone fit from then we have a very strong squad with 5 first teamers not even making the bench. 

Can see the line up being the following tomorrow - 
Vickers - Nyambe Nelson Cashin Elder - Thompson Adams Hourihane - NML Collins CBT
Wildsmith Bradley Wilson Bird Smith Sibley Barkhuizen
Meaning Ward & Fornah miss out. Imagine our squad in a few weeks when Forsyth, Washington & Waghorn are back, if we can keep everyone fit from then we have a very strong squad with 5 first teamers not even making the bench. 

Pretty sure Warne has said a few times this month he wants a striker, is in for a few but wasnt overly confident we would get one so the signs were there.
As for Smith & Gregory, just because they were the names that came our from the Sheffield end it does not mean they were our main targets or even our only targets. Adams said he knew of our interest over a mo th ago but at no point was his name in the media until hours before he signed. So im sure there were other strikers we went in for but havent made the media.
If anyone thinks our whole Jan was us fixated on Smith & Gregory are clearly clueless on how transfers work. I can guarentee that DC, SP, MT, PW & staff will all be annoyed we havent managed to bring one in but there will be reasons why thats happened.
However, we have managed to strengthen other key areas so its not like the whole window is a failure.

Some of the reactions on here and twitter last night were beyond a joke to be honest.
"No prem club is going to trust Warne with their young players"
"Max Bird probably left because he cant stand Warnes football"
"Warne can't attract players, the club are lying to us"
"Warne hasn't got the contacts"
"The club said we had money, a good budget, this is a lie"
Amongst other things.
Yet if you take time to wait to hear the reasons and let the club have their say. We were two young strikers first choices, but unfortunately the clubs in question could not get cover and therefore wouldn't let them go. But apparently we have a manager who cant attract these young players because no premier league manager would trust Warne. 
Max Bird was leaving anyway. It really sounds like even if we had got promoted this season, he would have gone. He has been here for a long time. He wants a fresh challenge. Simple as that. No ulterior motives, no hate of the manager, he just wants a fresh challenge.
A deal agreed with a striker, all pretty much done, till at 8pm the gaffer of the club in question pulls the plug. What can we do about that?
We knew of every striker available, we left no stone unturned. But we just couldn't get one done. Despite trying our best and essentially having one agreed until the plug gets pulled at the 11th hour.
We clearly had a but of money left to bring one in, but through no fault of the manager or the club, it has not happened.
Yet yesterday the club, the manager got dogs abuse for failing to get a striker in.
Washington and Waghorn will be back in 3 weeks. You have Barkhuizen that can play through the middle, NML if needed. In the next 5 games we have one midweek game, so the others are all a full week apart. Plenty of times for Collins to recover.
We have ended the window with a better midfield than when we started & wingers that would be the envy of most clubs in this league.
Lets get behind them now and stop looking to pin blame and point the finger at.
UTR

Credit where it’s due- I thought PW’s interview today was good. Told it as it was. Still feel the Club overall perhaps didn’t get everything right re the striker issue but, hey, I don’t know all the ins and outs and it’s always easy to criticize after the event or from the bleechers….
So, we move on …….
COYR 🐏 

Pretty sure Warne has said a few times this month he wants a striker, is in for a few but wasnt overly confident we would get one so the signs were there.
As for Smith & Gregory, just because they were the names that came our from the Sheffield end it does not mean they were our main targets or even our only targets. Adams said he knew of our interest over a mo th ago but at no point was his name in the media until hours before he signed. So im sure there were other strikers we went in for but havent made the media.
If anyone thinks our whole Jan was us fixated on Smith & Gregory are clearly clueless on how transfers work. I can guarentee that DC, SP, MT, PW & staff will all be annoyed we havent managed to bring one in but there will be reasons why thats happened.
However, we have managed to strengthen other key areas so its not like the whole window is a failure.

There are other factors why we haven't seen as much of the youth.
I get the want to solely pin this on Warne, and his track record doesn't speak volumes to want to use them- leopard, spots, etc. - but it can be hard to shift that mindset when we've tasked him with finding near immediate league success.
A lot of the lads in the u21s were rushed from the u18s as a knock-on from the admin exodus, and have only had half a season at that level. Not only that, but there's been a lot of change in the academy hierarchy. That'll take it's time to settle.
We're still in rebuild mode as a club. Can only use that for so long, yes, but it doesn't exactly scream the most stable environment to safely develop these players - especially when the fans have the expectations that they do right now, can you imagine the reaction if Warne throws in a young player and doing so loses a game?

I think the success of this window actually lies with Wags and/or Wash getting fit.
If either, or both can be fit in the next few weeks, then people will probably look back at it differently and call it a success. We’ve strengthened a few areas that needed it, but left ourselves with only one for striker.
If Wash or wags aren’t back in the next week or so, then we’re ultimately up poo creek without a paddle.
For me:
Pros
- Cash signing a new deal
- Nyambe signing a new deal
- CBT signing 
- Adams signing
Negatives
- Bird leaving (not a fan of this loan back should have just parted company)
- No striker, now we wait for injured players.

Remember when we were linked with Jordan Rhodes?
Some people on here did the exact same thing. 
"No thanks" "Hes past it"
People pointed to his goal scoring record being poor.
He ended up at Blackpool and hes second top scorer with 15 goals in 19 games. I bet we all would take him now.
Now we are doing the same with Gayle.

I'd give Gayle a 6 month deal. Solid backup and will probably still have a bit of class about him, also even if Collo stays fit and he barely features, he's got great experience for the younger lads to learn off. 

Pretty sure Warne has said a few times this month he wants a striker, is in for a few but wasnt overly confident we would get one so the signs were there.
As for Smith & Gregory, just because they were the names that came our from the Sheffield end it does not mean they were our main targets or even our only targets. Adams said he knew of our interest over a mo th ago but at no point was his name in the media until hours before he signed. So im sure there were other strikers we went in for but havent made the media.
If anyone thinks our whole Jan was us fixated on Smith & Gregory are clearly clueless on how transfers work. I can guarentee that DC, SP, MT, PW & staff will all be annoyed we havent managed to bring one in but there will be reasons why thats happened.
However, we have managed to strengthen other key areas so its not like the whole window is a failure.

Pretty sure Warne has said a few times this month he wants a striker, is in for a few but wasnt overly confident we would get one so the signs were there.
As for Smith & Gregory, just because they were the names that came our from the Sheffield end it does not mean they were our main targets or even our only targets. Adams said he knew of our interest over a mo th ago but at no point was his name in the media until hours before he signed. So im sure there were other strikers we went in for but havent made the media.
If anyone thinks our whole Jan was us fixated on Smith & Gregory are clearly clueless on how transfers work. I can guarentee that DC, SP, MT, PW & staff will all be annoyed we havent managed to bring one in but there will be reasons why thats happened.
However, we have managed to strengthen other key areas so its not like the whole window is a failure.