SO how should we change it to win against teams coming to SJP+flooding the midfield? WHy didnt we just go 3 at the back and bring Caldwell on instead of Gallagher- Solano +DOmi could have pressed forward much more rather than just adding to the central scuffles. This would also pull Everton players out of the centre giving Dyer +Lua Lua more space. I didnt see the game so perhaps im talking bollox.... YBR has said BAssedas+Acuna are fantastic players so is it time to let them in?

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2000

Answers

You make a very good point spud.
It was all rather confusing when Barton trotted off, not in any apparent discomfort. I immediately thought it was a tactical change. With Everton only playing with one striker, moving to three CB's with Domi and Solano operating as WB's would have bolstered a midfield that was clearly struggling to get hold of the game, and seemed the obvious change. However, who was going to join Goma and Hughes at the back?

In the event, we simply exchanged Barton for Solano at FB in 4-4-2. Solano actually didn't play too badly at FB, but played a very disciplined game and didn't get forward very much.

The end result was that we continued playing 4 in m/f to Everton's 5 - much like in England's disastrous recent performances - lost Solano's delivery from wide m/f, and effectively lost the game there.
We certainly need more invention from m/f, but in addition we cannot afford to keep being outmanned in that area as we have against both Charlton and Everton - and will continue to if we insist on playing 4-4-2 against teams playing with 5 in midfield.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2000

nah, playing to your ego I feel you're spot on.

Even by the time BArton went off we were getting over run in midfield. par tof it was that they wanted the ball and nobody on our side was prepared to run into space to get away from them. It was obvious (to me) we needed more bodies in midfield to try and get the ball, and compete. The loss of Barton was compounded by the loss of Solano to right back.

Evertone played dozens (lots anyway) of passes from midfield into the spaces between Domi and the centre halves ('channels' I guess). We had to stop these not by cutting them out but by stopping them being sent in the first place. An extra man into midfield would have been spot on. Caldwell, Hughes, Goma would have coped and we could have had Solano, Lee, Speed, Dyer, Domi in amongst them.

This is all a load of bollox really as they were all so poor it woudln't have mattered if we'd played 4-4-4 today we just weren't up for it.

For me Lee and Speed are under sever pressure from Bassedas, Acuna and probably Kerr, McClen and 14 year old Neale McDermott on today's showing.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2000

Any speculation on why Bobby went back to 4-4-2 today after we did so well on Monday with 3-5-2? Maybe we need to play that way more often. Especially as we're short on defenders and overrun with midfielders at the moment.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2000

Ciara - we don't naturally play 3-5-2 so I can see why YBR chose the 11 he did - see my TeamPick if you're not convinced ;-))

However, I think subbing arton with Gallacher effectively lost us the game. I'm prepared to believe that WB was injured else why would he have been subbed so early? No, for me, under those circumstances we should have brought on Caldwell and moved Hughes to the right. Pushing Nobby back (he hardly got forward at all after the change) lost us width in midfield. We don't have player out wide on the left, yet we need width to exploit the talents of Shearer and Cordone. No, for me, YBR had his mind on other things today.

I don't want to regurgitate the post match discussions from the Strawbeery, but IMHO, we played the wrong game against Everton. It was clear they had little intention of taking the game to us. If YBR is so good that he's nneded by the national team, why do his teams seem so incapable of beating those who come to SJP intent on stifling us in midfield?

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2000

Agree with most here, saw the game live.

We should have gone 3-5-2 when Barton went off. Domi could have played in the middle. We were far less effective with Nobby not attacking. Who was it said they would let him go? We dominated until he dropped back.

Lee was 2 yards too slow. He lost the ball or gave it away too many times. It is time to take the rose coloured glasses off. Lee and Speed and Gallacher to go. As soon as we can get Bassedas and Acuna in the middle the better.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2000

Domi's not a CB. If we'd wanted to play 3 at the back, we should have brought on Caldwell and played with Nobby wide right and Domi wide left. As I said last night (OK, early this morning) we lost it IMHO when we took Nobby back into his own half. I think YBR must have had other things on his mind - tho' I'm not sure what ;-)

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2000

we don't seem to have the guile to get past a team who defend deep - Shown really when Gazza was the best player on the pitch

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2000

Screach,

With Goma and Hughes playing and Everton only playing 1 up front Domi could have played at CB. I did not know Caldwell was on the bench.

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2000

It's not just about having the guile to get past defenders: it's the brute reality of Alan Shearer being alone up front. Did you see the size if the players who were marking him on Saturday? One minute it was that Xavier geezer, the next it was David Weir - we will struggle until we have a realistic front pair. I'm confident we'll beat the Hammer son Saturday but partly wish that we'd beat Ipswich instead.

-- Anonymous, October 24, 2000