Tuesday's Team Sheet

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="king canary"]Because your key measure for a right winger is not tackles made?[/quote]You think Wes plays as a right winger when he is in the side? And if you think Vrancic played as a right winger on Saturday, have a look at his heatmap for the game (e.g. on WhoScored.com).

[king canary 7,605]

I realise he wasn''t playing as an orthodox right winger but he was notionally the right sided player in the midfield. Whatever his position though, tackles made is not going to be the key judge of how Vranic performs though.

[ZLF 274]

perhaps but Vrancic didnt play as a right winger?

I can see an argument for trying a back three but overall it the same formation please, no changes to the back line (1 more days training not really going to make much more difference to hanleys understanding).

Same XI would be fine for me but could see Reed in for one of either Tettey or Trybull.

You can tinker the next 3 in many ways, Wes, Wildschutt, Watkins, Naismith could all play a part - but I wouldnt tinker much - perhaps just Wes for Maddsion and save the latter for Bramall Lane.

A couple of areas do need to improve, how we regain possession from a long kick from gunn; Nelson didnt win a header (not surpring bearing in mind their cbs) but more crucially we didnt win enough second ball & Gunn did hit it long frequently.

Secondly how do we get enough bodies in the box; second half in particular both Wildschutt and Murphy were in great wide position with no yellow shirts in the box.

Both minor points tbh that will improve as the right balance is found.

[BroadstairsR 2,164]

Seems like the ideal balancing act to alternate young Maddison with old Wes. It would suit both at this stage in their respective careers surely. The former will improve as the season progresses, Hoolahan may wane a bit if over-used.

Apparently Zimmermann had one of his better games and the consensus is that he gained from having Klose beside him. It would be a pity to nip this progress in the bud so soon. Hanley can wait as his time will surely come.

Being a bit old-fashioned and and devoid of much tactical nous I always veer towards keeping a settled side whenever possible.

Rotating, tinkering, resting might all be in chapter one of the coach''s handbook nowadays but a predictable starting line-up, especially once a winning formula has been found, is my preferred system.

There''s always the bench if something is not working.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

It will be very interesting to see how Farke approaches this one.

 

I suspect a key issue will be whether Klose is ok to play another game so soon after coming back from injury.  Ditto we all know (and hopefully Farke knows by now) that Tettey normally can''t play mid-week after playing Saturday, but he''s not had much game time so far this season, so maybe would be ok at the moment ?  Having said that, I think Reed could come in and do a good job there.

 

As for Wes''s position so far this season, for the games I''ve watched there have been some where he''s been playing on the flank and some where he''s been central playing off the main striker.  I''m never a fan of playing him our wide myself because it limits what he can contribute to the game.

 

My call against Burton would be 4-5-1 with 2xDMs, wide players who will cause them problems e.g. Josh and Wildschut, and Wes or Maddison playing off the striker.  I''d keep the same back 4 if fitness allows.  Let''s see if Farke agrees with me !

[Woodman 92]

"Secondly how do we get enough bodies in the box; second half in particular both Wildschutt and Murphy were in great wide position with no yellow shirts in the box."

I think that''s one of the downsides of having 2 holding midfielders. There''s only one (nominal) midfielder available to support Oliveira (who had run his socks off by the time Wildschut came on). But yes, it looked frustrating at the time.

Oliveira and Murphy played well together, even though both were guilty of either being too selfish or not selfish enough at times. Easy to say that from where I sit though!

[Yellowfuture 71]

ZLF

"A couple of areas do need to improve, how we regain possession from a long kick from gunn; Nelson didnt win a header (not surpring bearing in mind their cbs) but more crucially we didnt win enough second ball & Gunn did hit it long frequently."

Yes, Gunn is hitting more long balls, a move away from the style that I thought we were going to play.

I hope we do get back to having the confidence to play more balls through midfield again.

[Jim Smith 2,317]

I think we are at the stage where we really need the team to settle down and stop chopping and changing. I therefore hope to see Wes come in (possibly for Vrancic) but other than that would be inclined to leave it alone. Perhaps also Reed for Tettey if Tetts needs a rest but he shouldn''t be that tired as he''s not played much football this season.

I don''t want to see half a dozen changes - need to allow partnerships to develop.

[hogesar 9,666]

[quote user="king canary"]I realise he wasn''t playing as an orthodox right winger but he was notionally the right sided player in the midfield. Whatever his position though, tackles made is not going to be the key judge of how Vranic performs though.[/quote]

No but it''s certainly an important one as regaining possession or even just disrupting the other team building attacks is something we''ve not been great at. He comes across a little lazy but Vrancic has an eye for a pass that others don''t.

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="king canary"]I realise he wasn''t playing as an orthodox right winger but he was notionally the right sided player in the midfield. Whatever his position though, tackles made is not going to be the key judge of how Vranic performs though.[/quote]Why not do as I suggest and look at his heatmap against Brum; I think it will show you what that "notional" actually means. As for the tackling, I disagree. Our midfield defensive failings over the last two seasons, too often laid exclusively at the door of the back 5, have been a major factor. Our solidity on Saturday was owed to Trybull and Tettey plus Vrancic, not the two DMs alone. We dispense with that at our peril, even against supposedly weaker sides. 

[AJ 1,218]

If you want a system to work you should stick with it. Barring any injuries, I would name as similar XI as possible really unless there''s any obviously tactical reason to change (opposition weakness/combating opposition tactics etc.). I always enjoy the philosophy of never changing a winning side. So without knocks we go again.

Only players I can see changing are perhaps Reed in for Tettey if he can''t manage 2 games in 4 days. I''d expect Hanley will have to wait after Zimm did a good job on Sat with Klose.