After a year he still doesn’t have a formation

[Dean Coneys boots 1,406]

A year into Smith and he still doesn’t know what formation to play or who to pick. That’s criminal. 

[Tommo 51]

Agreed - desperation of Idah on at half time and nothing changed. Luton were crap second half but we still did virtually nothing apart from Pukki goal and Hayden at the end 

[Nexus_Canary 1,024]

Guy doesn't understand a thing about our club, ethos or players.

Completely bereft of ideas. 

He should have been fired when we were mathematically down and project restart given to another manager.

Get him out before he sells maxi or pukki in Jan to bring in some hopeless only to be inevitably fired.

Just hope he has not manage to get hold of Kenny's black folder with the naked Delia photos which has kept him being in the team so frequently.

That's the only way he can be kept in a job.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,845]

As I said in another thread, he hasn't played with the same system/plan/idea for more than two consecutive games all season. It's no wonder there's no cohesion between the players and they all look lost.

[The Real Buh 3,477]

Said this in the match thread

he’s pissing in the wind, not a scooby.

[Ulfotto 641]

Yes I agreed totally a lot stuff thrown at Smith is debatable however the fact the formation has consistently changed this season as have the personnel.

its clear he doesn’t know is best team or formation. 

 

 

[Dean Coneys boots 1,406]

I can’t see what the plan is? 
I can’t see what the formation is?

I can’t see the point of removing a midfielder when losing the midfield battle and going 3 up front? 

I can’t see the point of Dean Smith 

[Petriix 2,849]

It certainly is. The main issue for me is that he seems to be wilfully avoiding picking our best creative players. Remember the Stoke game which is our most recent genuinely good performance. We were playing 4-2-3-1 with Dowell and Ramsey [ok Dowell was utterly gash playing out wide and was subbed early in the second half].

Cantwell came on and was out of this world: 15 touches including 2 shots on target with 100% pass completion and what should have been two assists (Hugil missed the 1-on-1 and Nunez's shot was saved but Sara scored the rebound).

We kept the same formation for QPR and Cantwell was rightly in from the start yet, despite being the best player on the pitch (again) he was substituted. We drew 0-0 but it was the last time we looked reasonably coherent in midfield.

The formation was shuffled again for the Rotherham game - which we won in unconvincing style - and we haven't seen the 4-2-3-1 since. It's like he hates seeing us doing ok playing Farke's system so won't stick with it when it's working. 

[Capt. Pants 4,274]

I was broadly optimistic with that formation but fearful of the likely lack of communication in defence. Luton should have been out of sight before halftime.

The 2nd half was a random affair, I have no idea what we were trying to do, absolute shambles really. No structure to our play whatsoever. 

[Robert N. LiM 4,464]

Quite like the 3-5-2 in theory, with the players we have. Gets Teemu and Sarge up front together. Gets round our lack of wingers by pushing Dimi and Max further forward. But surely you have to have an AM in there to make it work?

[Petriix 2,849]

4 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

I was broadly optimistic with that formation but fearful of the likely lack of communication in defence. Luton should have been out of sight before halftime.

The 2nd half was a random affair, I have no idea what we were trying to do, absolute shambles really. No structure to our play whatsoever. 

The game was crying out for some creativity in midfield and a link between the defence and attack. We were riding our luck to be 0-0 at half time and need to change it. The obvs change was Nunez for Gibson and bring McLean deeper alongside Gibbs. No, Smith took off Sara and left us with just two midfielders and 5 defenders on the pitch - a 5-2-3. The man has lost the plot. 

[Clever Farke 65]

It was a bit like pinning the tail on the donkey. The players don’t know what they’re doing. The belief has gone. Smith go now! Go now! Go now! (I’ve been watching the good doctor too much). 

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

27 minutes ago, Petriix said:

It certainly is. The main issue for me is that he seems to be wilfully avoiding picking our best creative players. Remember the Stoke game which is our most recent genuinely good performance. We were playing 4-2-3-1 with Dowell and Ramsey [ok Dowell was utterly gash playing out wide and was subbed early in the second half].

Sorry but that Stoke game was one of the worst we've played at home all season! It was the very bottom of our bad run of form. Smith had totally lost the team, we only managed two meaningful breaks forwards in the first 75 minutes and just happened to score twice, during that time Stoke created numerous chances but didn't score and we just looked totally absent with and without the ball. 

We played well for the last 10/15 mins after scoring the second, granted - but I don't think you can ignore the fortune of the first 75, we never would've played that good period had we not gone 2-0 up, and god knows we didn't deserve it!

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

@Petriix Just to add I don't really disagree with you, or the thrust of your post - Cantwell was very good when he came on against Stoke, and the next game against QPR probably our last decent home performance. 

Not sure what has gone wrong since for players like Cantwell and Ramsey to not even be on the bench. The Cantwell situation once again feels 'off', different messages being said each week etc.

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

41 minutes ago, Petriix said:

Cantwell came on and was out of this world

Think its obvious that we've got firm interest in him for January at this point, surely?

Possibly even a firm offer on condition he passes a medical on 1st January?

[YellaYellowYella 51]

You can't criticise him for trying something new. 

You can criticise him for his team being clueless in pursuit of any strategy. 

[Petriix 2,849]

6 minutes ago, YellaYellowYella said:

You can't criticise him for trying something new. 

You can criticise him for his team being clueless in pursuit of any strategy. 

Trying something new is one thing, abandoning midfield completely and expecting the team to be able to play in a coherent way is stupidity. I think he's simply not very intelligent. 

[YellaYellowYella 51]

Just now, Petriix said:

Trying something new is one thing, abandoning midfield completely and expecting the team to be able to play in a coherent way is stupidity. I think he's simply not very intelligent. 

Petty comments like that are just unnecessary and ill informed. The man is clearly intelligent - his record as a manager and coach shows that. 

As Connor Southwell has just said in the Pink Un match review, he's just a manager that hasn't worked out here. 

[YellaYellowYella 51]

14 minutes ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

Think its obvious that we've got firm interest in him for January at this point, surely?

Possibly even a firm offer on condition he passes a medical on 1st January?

I don't see any sort of rational basis for this whatsoever. 

[Petriix 2,849]

1 minute ago, YellaYellowYella said:

Petty comments like that are just unnecessary and ill informed. The man is clearly intelligent - his record as a manager and coach shows that. 

As Connor Southwell has just said in the Pink Un match review, he's just a manager that hasn't worked out here. 

It's not petty, it's just an observation. Listening to him speak after the match he came across as genuinely pretty unintelligent. He couldn't understand how his tactical choices had led to the outcome we'd all witnessed when it's so incredibly obvious.

His record is bang average with one exception when he scraped Villa up through the playoffs with probably the best squad in the league.

[Branston Pickle 3,679]

Just now, YellaYellowYella said:

Petty comments like that are just unnecessary and ill informed. The man is clearly intelligent - his record as a manager and coach shows that. 

As Connor Southwell has just said in the Pink Un match review, he's just a manager that hasn't worked out here. 

That is fairer - far too many just don’t see anything other than their point of view. I guess it’s just the way things are these days.

I don’t see a problem with playing different formations given specific circumstances, a fair criticism levelled at many is that they are too rigid and won’t change.  It is purely that you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, if it doesn’t work out. I could see what the aim was tonight but it ended up as rather a mess, and against a side that we should have had enough to see off both home and away.  

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

6 minutes ago, YellaYellowYella said:

I don't see any sort of rational basis for this whatsoever. 

Last chance for us to get a fee for him in the transfer window which opens in 5 days time. 

If he gets injured that chance evaporates.

If we've got somebody prepared to ping us a couple of million quid for him in January then that would be an incredibly expensive hamstring pull / broken toe if we played him and he hurt himself and failed a medical. Its incredibly common practice and has been for donkeys years.

Edited December 26, 2022 by TeemuVanBasten

[YellaYellowYella 51]

11 hours ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

Last chance for us to get a fee for him in the transfer window which opens in 5 days time. 

If he gets injured that chance evaporates.

If we've got somebody prepared to ping us a couple of million quid for him in January then that would be an incredibly expensive hamstring pull / broken toe if we played him and he hurt himself and failed a medical. Its incredibly common practice and has been for donkeys years.

He's barely played, has said he's not fit, has not scored or assisted for two clubs in months and available on a free in just six months. No one is going to pay anything for him and anyone who thinks we're going to get offers of a couple of million for him must be living on cloud cuckoo land.

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

3 minutes ago, YellaYellowYella said:

He's barely played, has said he's not fit, has not scored or assisted for two clubs in months and available on a free in just six months. No one is going to pay anything for him and anyone who thinks we're going to get offers of a couple of million for him must be living on cloud cuckoo land.

We got £1m for Marley Watkins. When that can happen in football anything can happen.

We also paid £2.5m for the Polish beanstalk. Again, when that can happen anything can happen.

[Cantiaci Canary 558]

The switching about of formations and players is very reminiscent of Farke's last days ... desperate for something / anything to click!

[YellaYellowYella 51]

10 minutes ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

We got £1m for Marley Watkins. When that can happen in football anything can happen.

We also paid £2.5m for the Polish beanstalk. Again, when that can happen anything can happen.

Both were under significant contracts with the club's selling them. 

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

6 minutes ago, YellaYellowYella said:

Both were under significant contracts with the club's selling them. 

£2.5m is a  bit over the top, but could easily see some team taking a punt at £1m-£1.5m in January to see if they can get a tune out of him, the potential upside is a £15m player if they get him working again, and he was recently showing signs that he was finding his feet again.

Edited December 27, 2022 by TeemuVanBasten

[hogesar 9,722]

We have an abundance of number 10s and very very rarely play any of them. I think Pukki really needs one. The fact Gibson played the kind of ball Pukki needs and it's the first one since Ramsey last played for us speaks volumes 

[Alfie54 76]

25 minutes ago, hogesar said:

We have an abundance of number 10s and very very rarely play any of them. I think Pukki really needs one. The fact Gibson played the kind of ball Pukki needs and it's the first one since Ramsey last played for us speaks volumes 

And we had Nunez sat on the bench

[ÅlandicCanary 38]

2 hours ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

£2.5m is a  bit over the top, but could easily see some team taking a punt at £1m-£1.5m in January to see if they can get a tune out of him, the potential upside is a £15m player if they get him working again, and he was recently showing signs that he was finding his feet again.

That's some really wishful thinking right there... Nobody would make such an investment in an out of form, unfit player potentially laden with some heavy baggage and with his reputation of personal trouble. Like him or hate him, this is the reality. He's not been a first team regular for a long time now and a couple of good outings against Stoke and QPR around Halloween won't have potential suitors lining up. Sadly it's the same old story we've become used to for a few years now...

I very much doubt that anyone would be desperate enough to pay a transfer fee for him right now. Especially as a free transfer could be on the cards in the summer. It would be sheer madness for anyone to sign him in January. 

At the very most another loan deal for the remainder of the season could be on the cards.