HampsteadCanary

I''m sure I remember reading that McLean has played deeper at his previous club...is it possible he could be encouraged to sit between a CDM and Leitner to add to attack and defence when needed. The key is balancing defensive nous and attacking threat. For my money, that would be Godfrey and Thompson as an old fashioned pairing - one more defensive and one box to box, with Leitner in front roaming around. McLean could probably to the B2B role as well. Do we have time to try out all these combinations? Farke is sticking with tried and trusted experience at the moment.

Where was this quote from? I can''t find it :(

Reed has shown great desire, but I feel he lacks the height to replace Tettey if he leaves. The championship is such a physical league and that has mainly been our undoing this year. Whether Godfrey or Thompson are the answer that remains to be seen, but I would rather see money saved on Reed and go towards a striker.

Maybe a better chance of a win tonight against a team in and around us, hope the boys are up for a fight though. Starting XI: Gunn; Pinto (c), Hanley, Klose, Stiepermann; Reed, Vrancic; Pritchard, Maddison, Watkins; Oliveira Lewis and Wildschut on the bench...COYY!!

I''m a little confused I must admit. I thought the whole point of this exercise with Webber and Farke was that every player signed was identified for the sole purpose of fitting into Farke''s system (and being cheaper than whoever was here before) The argument that he doesn''t have the players to fit his system is silly to me as he chose all the new signings, surely you at least tweak the system to fit the players that are still at the club from last season. They knew who was staying and going months ago. We should have a system that works for Vrancic, for example, but we don''t seem to have a position or style that he can perform in. A strange signing if you ask me. Same for our wingers - we play them, but never to theirs or the starting striker''s strengths. If we have two pacy wingers, why aren''t we putting crosses in OR stretching defences with their pace?

Bill Punton

Reed and Trybul too small to cope with ipswich''s agricultural approach! Need to move Steipermann inside and bring Husband on at left back.

Vrancic looked classy and put in his best performance yet tonight. When he has time to pick a pass it''s always a good one, but I think we just want to see him take a leaf out of the Trybull/Tettey book and put himself about a bit. He seems to go in half hearted for balls he could probably win, and that might help us win possession back a bit further up the field more often. Also thought Husband looked much better tonight...great team performance all round and a better balance of attack and defend.

Wondering whether we''ll see a return to the 3-4-2-1...Farke might be tempted to revert to his original preferred formation against a team we''re all expecting to sit with 11 men behind the ball. Very dangerous though, considering the die hard defending witnessed on Saturday backed up with a result. I hope he sticks with it for tonight with minimal changes. If we can eventually take that attitude and desire and apply it to the the 3-4-2-1 formation Daniel will be a happy camper.

Still shows a lack of leadership from Bilic asking Snoddy which side he wanted to play on. He should know his player''s favoured position, and should have a plan as to why he''s bringing him on in the first place.

It''s a big turnaround on the board''s part, from saying that they want a manager for 10 years to completely restructuring the club and getting rid of the job! Would be interesting to know who convinced them to change it, maybe Hodgson?

I think it''s just that Ruddy is 6''9 or something like that, so Micky McG looks rather tiny in comparison.

I thought Wes slowed the game down against Reading, when we needed to get the ball forward ASAP to make the most of Jerome''s pace (as was the manager''s plan anyway). I love Wes, but he does delay passing a lot rather than releasing his man. Still better than Naismith whose overhit pass to Oliveira on the break last night I couldn''t believe.

I got Norwich promoted to the Prem on FIFA (legendary mode of course) playing this formation and line-up.... Can I be the next manager?

Desperate defending stemming from a lack of organisation causes 2nd goal line hand ball of the season. Now we''re probably without Dorrans and Howson for the next game. Ball never stuck upfront with Jerome and Wes delaying every pass...bad move when you''re chasing the game. A frustrating afternoon for all fans...we need to play for more than 15 minutes in the 2nd half if we''re going to get results in ANY league. Very disappointed but no surprise!

Naismith and Oliviera looked good together against Everton, as did Mulumbu and Thompson, and Bennett and Bassong. Those partnerships are vital, and we need to get back to that. When was the last time we felt we had a team with those combinations to be feared!?

Brady was better in the Prem than BJ ever could be. BJ is much better suited to the Chump. We need a few more Chump players this season that''s for sure.

Ruddy Martin/Pinto Bennett Bassong Olsson Mulumbu Thompson Murphy Pritchard Murphy Jerome Bench: McGovern, Klose, Whittaker, Dorrans, Brady, Hoolahan, Oliveira

So says our manager. And we won 7 out of 8 matches, including coming from behind against Forest and seeing out a dodgy last 15 mins against Wolves. It seems that winning hasn''t bred any confidence, otherwise we''d see more of a reaction when we go behind. So what does breed confidence then? Winning + good team performances + good man management is my guess, what do you guys think? I think we''ve been lacking the last two during our winning streak, so when results turn (as the performances aren''t good and the manager doesn''t seem to be able to pick the players up), there''s nothing else to pin your hopes on as a player. IE WE"RE DOOMED

Was it Pinto that dived into a FIFA-eque slide that allowed the cross to come in? Still, he was outstanding the rest of the game

I''ll never forget one poster replying to the misspelling of Hughton - "its Hughton you count!" Whoever it was, you''re a genius.

No the gist of my post was that we need to find the balance between attacking and defending. My second post suggested that the fact we have better players than last time in this league might have helped address that balance. But it hasn''t!

Obviously I meant 2/6 Championship opponents, and most of them bottom half teams as well.

I think that''s a little unfair Westcoast! You would expect a CB from Wolfsburg and a RB with Champions League experience to make a difference to your defensive ability in the Championship. I never suggested just the back four were responsible, and in fact quoted Tettey as being vital for the defence as well. Some of the problems are different from last year. This year we are expected to be on top in games, so actually it''s the way we attack that is leaving us exposed, eg our full backs having to provide all the width, and with players bought from the Prem in front of them we should be keeping the ball better. You would expect a team that is capable of keeping clean sheets against Man City to be able to keep a clean sheet against more than 4/6 Championship opponents. What do you think the same problems are from last season? Concentration and fitness? Those things can be addressed in coaching, but you would hope a higher calibre of player would naturally have more ability in those areas.

I think it''s to do with long term establishment as well, which is something we''ve struggled with. I think we were expecting our bolstered defence (Klose and Pinto clearly upgrades on Bassong and Martin/Whittaker) to be able to cope with Championship attacks, especially with a defensive midfielder such as Tettey that should be more than enough to repel most teams in this division. I feel that our general lack of width further up the pitch is creating problems at the back. I hope AN is the man to help find this balance, and get it right THIS YEAR so if we go up, we have a style of play and a balance that gives us a better chance of staying there.