Lord Duckhunter

How many players do you want in midfield?

That’s a completely different argument, which re enforces the point as to why we’re playing 3 centre halves.

Why is there less attacking threat? How many players do you want in midfield? Do you think we should be creating more chances than we did against Charlton, Leicester, WBA, first Birmingham game or even Swansea at home. Why would replacing a centre half with Jelert result in being able to defend crosses better. Surely it would make our “inability to win a header” even worse.

It was 3, not 5

The problem is what happens if the FB’ s keep being isolated one on one. You can’t pull one of the CDM over to cover, or a centre half. What will happen is one of the attacking 3 behind AA will have to fill in. When playing poorly & being pressed back, 3 at the back ends up with wing backs becoming full backs. With this formation pressure means it becomes 4-5-1 instead of 4231. There’s no silver bullet. Shite keepers, full backs & centre halves are shite in any formation…

What do you want 4-5-1? You yourself have said we play 3 at the back, therefore you’re confirming we already play with 4 across the midfield (2 CM and 2 wing backs) . If you want 4 at the back, and “one more” in midfield, it will mean 4-5-1.

Our squad is only better than anyone else’s further up the pitch, our centre halves, full backs and keeper is the same level as everyone else’s (if not worse). Our formation has to be built around getting the best out of our best players and giving them less defending to do.

We can’t play 4-3-3 with our full backs, it would be suicidal. The problem isn’t the 3 centre halves, it’s 3 shit centre halves. I know jack Stephens is the forum scapegoat but THB is just as bad and played worse yesterday, and wood has an appalling sense of danger. None of them pass the ball with the speed or urgency needed to break the press and when they do Downes bounces it back to them 90% of the time. The young lad isn’t any better, just a quicker version of the same old shit. Add to that the ghost like command of the area Baz has, I don’t see how is 2 centre halves going to be any better than 3. Who are the full backs going to be in a 4. I’m sure people will go on about the subs performance yesterday, but that was as a wing back, and his best moments we going forward, what’s he like defensively in a 4, we just don’t know, and the other side Manning clearly isn’t a full back that can defend in a 4. A combination of shit centre halves and no real decent full backs has left us where we are, and unless we get different personal in I don’t see much change whatever formation we play. We’d may let in different types of goals, but we’ll still let a bucket full in.

Now I’ve calmed down and rewatched it, it’s still a shit “effort”. Why did he even dive for it, surely he moves his feet quickly backwards first and then tips it over. I seem to recall a similar one last year. Whatever metric you use, trendy hipster stats or my own bins, he’s shite. Whoever made him player of the match on the basis of one save needs fucking sacking from punditry. Their keeper made just as good a save and unlike ours had no chance with the goal. Player of the match, my arse, he wasn’t even keeper of the match.

McCarthy tips that over the bar, no bother

Part of his job is organising the defence, bollocking people and taking command of his area. He’s like a little fucking boy lost in there. Abysmal player….

1-1 their keeper saves one, 1 minute later Baez lets one in. Because of that, they’re up, pushing us back, and we’re rocked back under the cosh. He makes a decent save, but I’d bet my life he wouldn’t have needed to had he done his job a few minutes earlier. Player of the match, my fucking arse. Notice how they’re all shooting on sight now. They’ve got video and know our weakness…..

Take. In isolation it’s a decent point, but off the back of Oxford, 10 men Cov & Norwich it’s disappointing. We really are shite defending set pieces & no it’s not just Jack Stephen’s, that Prima donna THB gave an appalling ball away which resulted in a free kick. Fellowes was poor letting the guy hook it back in, then Baz did one of his diving boots jump. To me, he’s got to move his feet backwards and then jump and tip it over. He’s mistimed the “jump”, he really is fucking pony. Forget his save, had he not let that easy one in, they’re not buzzing not dominating that 5 mins (as we’re rocked back). 1-1, their keeper makes a save, ours doesn’t. It’s that simple.

Leo keeps giving the ball away

Get fucking Baz off….

It’s the type of goal a bird lets in….

Fucking Baz doing his Warwick Davies impression, how the fuck did he not get up and tip that over. It was loopy as fuck…

Baz let’s that in..

He’s so impressed he’s gone off to watch Wimbledon V Exeter on my dodgy stick in the other room. Only thing he really mentioned is only having 1 in front of the guy when he hit the bar. He said 1 in the wall and the bloke can shoot or cross, with 2 he can only realistically cross it. That said, his caveat was that could be down to the coaching staff as opposed to Baz, and they may have had more confidence in Baz saving a free kick from there, than the defenders defending the cross. Interesting none the less.

Baz has to get that, he’s so fucking deep

That’s probably exactly, what it was. Ultimately, unless it’s concussion it’s up to the manager whether he takes it onboard. I’d bet my life if Tonda was still “interim” he’d take the risk on Leo regardless of whether he’s in the red zone or not.

I’m watching with my son in law tonight. He’s a keeper with a handful of league one games under his belt, a ton of NL games and has been bumping around the non league game for a few years. He’s now doing his badges as he’s done a bit of youth coaching and the chicks at a pro club, so he is looking to expend into that area as his playing time winds down. He’s reckons I’m too harsh on Baz and doesn’t think he’s as bad as I make out. This will be one of the first times he’s watched the full 90 as he’s normally playing when Baz is “performing”. I’ll see what he makes of the ghost after he’s seen more than the highlights…..

People need to calm down until they know the full facts They have all this red zone stuff now, where they analyse players fitness levels & predict when they’re susceptible to injury. It could be that Leo is in that area, so being managed through this busy spell. It’s not the 1970’s where Managers look and notice a player doesn’t look himself, all decisions on fitness are based on data and sports science.

There’s also reports that they’re going to strip him of his Egyptian citizenship, which means Starmer won’t be able to do the same. It’s a mess, like most things started by the Tories, and continued under these clowns. It also sums up what a complete and utter fuckwits Starmer surrounds himself with. You think one of them would have checked this blokes history before announcing how pleased he was & how his release was a priority of his Government. Their rush to show their virtue overrides everything . They really are completely and utterly clueless.