derry

I rest my case.

Beats me.

With reservations, I think Adkins deserves to be given time to turn this around. The reservations, last season, nearly costing us promotion by playing three negative midfielders together for too many games, doing the same this year with Davis and Schneiderlin who don't defend well enough and underusing Mayuka.

This is the key. We need somebody who can do that job defending properly from midfield. All our midfielders are hopeless defenders.

IMO the problem we have is a lack of defensive tackling in covering, yet we play two deep lying midfielders who neither defend or attack leaving our full backs especially exposed and create gaps that the central defenders struggle to cover.

In this case they are, because they criticised but then showed no idea how a front sweeper is utilised.

When they criticise something then display a lack of knowledge about the point they are criticising they demonstrate that they have a superficial understanding.

I've managed and coached teams at a semi professional level.

You two clowns really take the biscuit. You show no real understanding of even an elementary level of tactics/formations involved in blending a team, yet you criticise and belittle a team formation that has been successfully used for years. Gary Neville said that about an instant in time, then went on to hammer Schneiderlin, the same for the second goal and at the end descibed WBA as efficient and criticised our formation by saying he didn't understand what we were trying to do. As for a front sweeper, how you can criticise the concept when you then demonstrate that you don't even understand what the player does by talking about covering the full backs. The front sweeper covers across the whole width of the pitch and is either the first defender to try and block an attack or the first player to slot in and cover the first back four player that commits to block an attack leaving the defence compact. He also drops in behind as the circumstances dictate to cover for any gap that could occurr without the extra defender. Schneiderlin doesn't cover anyone neither does Davis but a proper defender or a proper defensive midfielder would, allowing for more attack minded midfielders which Schneiderlin and Davis aren't either. Maybe you should learn a bit about the game before you start pontificating about something you clearly know little about.

Ramirez is a midfielder, so is Lallana with a front sweeper and three strikers interchanging in a 4123. Our defence needs a hand until we can get in a proper defensive midfielder, we don't need the sort of defending and lack of covering that has been available to date. The strikers and midfielders still have to close down. As you quite rightly say it won't happen as Adkins won't go there. Instead we will have the same old same old against Swansea and we won't have the ball either. No covering, vulnerable down the wings to pace and Schneiderlin ponceing about like a Chanel model. That'll work!

------------------------------------Gazzaniga-------------------------------------- Clyne-----------------Yoshida----------------------------Hooiveld-------------Fox >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> --------------------------Ramirez--------------Lallana------------------------------ Mayuka-----------------------------Lambert-----------------------------Rodriguez

We don't need a defensive midfielder that isn't a ball winner, can't be arsed to do a lung bursting run, ever, never gives the ball away because he just unloads it, hits the odd 40 yd crossfield ball that nearly always gets cut out and just chickens out when it really matters. There is no more slack to cut we are in trouble. Adkins is being hung out to dry, his back is to the wall and I sense that avoiding relegation has now become the holy grail not 20k passes in the season.

I just don't get him. The number of 'just unloading passes' he does is enormous. He rarely picks a pass, never gives and goes even when we need to and mostly passes to the nearest player backwards or sideways irrespective of that player getting clattered as a result of the pass. He doesn't tackle, just tries to nick the ball away provided he doesn't get clobbered. The other night wasn't the first time he has chickened out of important challenges but thanks to Gary Neville it has really shown him up. We need a ball winner in front of the back four not a pretty boy pansy that rarely does anything of real value.

You obviously don't understand what a front sweeper does. It's not 5 at the back. It's a defender in front of the back four that is the first to the point of attack right across the field not in front of the centre backs. Ramirez and Lallana don't defend at the moment, for that matter neither do Schneiderlin and Davis. Apart from them pressing the ball the extra defender covers their defensive duties, leaving them relatively free to join the attack.

On loan Sky News.

You can always come up with reasons why things won't work. I'd be interested to know if your football background is playing, managing, coaching or all three and what level, or have you just watched a bit of football.

It looks like the penny is beginning to drop. We need to shore up the defence. Lallana, Ramirez don't defend properly, Schneiderlin and Davis don't tackle and don't cover the defenders, Fox is a poor defender made worse by continually pushing forward. IMO, firstly the back four should concentrate on defending and the full backs should avoid getting pulled out of position and if one does support the attack the other should stay back. Unlike the second goal yesterday both full backs were forward. Secondly put in a defender in front of the back four to cover any gaps. The other five players need to pressurise the ball which we don't do. My view is Gazzaniga in goal, Clyne, Fonte, Hooiveld and Fox as a back four. Yoshida as the extra defender. The midfield pair Ramirez and Lallana with three strikers, Mayuka, Lambert and Rodriguez. I will say I found it difficult to choose between Fonte and Yoshida as the extra defender and just went for Fonte and Hooiveld as a partners due to the number of games they have played together. I think Schneiderlin and Davis are negative players, poor defensively, we could do without them. The addition of a proper defender in front of the back four should tighten things defensively and allow the talented playmakers the freedom to link with the three strikers.

How right you both are. WBA had proper central midfielders who shut us down and protected the back four. Midfield fulcrum, sideways and backwards, turned his back on Odemwie's shot. Neville showed him up. It's no good having 55% possession in your own half, give the ball away (Davis) in their penalty area and concede a goal, losing 2-0 in the process. I see we got no points for the most passes yet again, but it's definitely the way to get relegated.

It's the attacking full back or midfielder drifting wide that our midfielders have to pick up. One of the problems is that the back four doesn't rotate properly and move across as a unit. If it did it would push the full back tight, but would give depth to the defence. On the other side a midfielder should drop back covering outside/in front of the other full back whilst the central midfielders cover in front of the central defenders.

And the wide midfielders are not helping by not defending properly. That's what comes with thinking players can play 'off the cuff' like Lallana.

I was watching Lallana before he set off on the 'mad thing' runs. He was just dawdling about in midfield watching the play down our right side. There was no reading of the potential threat and when the ball was switched across he was miles away. As the criticism is mainly of Fox, Lallana should get his share. He and Puncheon especially have to wake up and immediately move into a covering position if we lose the ball, that way we screen the back four. Unless Lallana gets a handle on it he should be left out. Mayuka was particularly good in covering after he was brought on. We are conceding twice as many goals as we are scoring and the management are going to have to get ruthless with the so called untouchables unless they defend properly.

I think you missed the point. I was talking about the other players not the back four who are over exposed by the switching off. Lallana and Puncheon against Spurs were poor in that respect. On the other hand Mayuka was very good and very quick to get into an early covering position.

It's easy to blame the defence but that doesn't tell the whole story. The first four games with a substandard goalkeeper plus numerous injuries in the back four. The other six players on the field at any time have been poor in anticipating and closing down threats. Some of the substitutions have been bizarre especially Man Utd. Selecting a club system, 433 without picking the right players to play it. Thinking that passing the ball around in our own half is an end in itself. When really the reason for build up is to allow forwards and midfielders the time to interchange, pull defenders around and make penetrating runs to receive the ball on the end of it, not watch it going round in circles until lost. The only light at the end of the tunnel was the second half v Spurs, getting the ball up to three strikers quickly and supporting from midfield made a lot more sense.

It's not about steel it's about not switching off. As long as midfielders/forwards stop playing continue to spectate and don't sharpen up their thinking in anticipating the next threat the defenders won't cope. It needs a smart retired top class defensive player who is already coaching to sort out the individuals. It doesn't need a permanent contract more a consultant who could be available, as I said before Gary Neville or somebody like him. It's about brains not brawn.

Yes, because it's about the covering players and front men to be made more aware of what they can do to help out. It's no good players like Lallana sprinting thirty yards and being too late to challenge. Instead when the opponents have the ball attacking, they should be shown that the twenty seconds they had spent prior to that, strolling/trotting, ball watching, should have been used to spot the next threat and move back into a defensive position early enough to block off the potential threat. It's the discipline enforced in good teams. Somebody like Gary Neville, wouldn't come cheap, but a massive step up from anyone we employ.