IS IT TIME TO SHUFFLE THE PACK?

[Lambert is King 0]

With all due respect Rudolph in the league we have won 12 of our last 14 games drawing the other 2. This is the best record of any team in Europe at the moment. In fact we have won our last 8 games this done with many injuries and suspensions and on at least 3 occassions on terrible pitches. What momentum is it that we need to get back?

I agree it is a squad game but we are using squad members at the moment due to injury and suspension. Millwall are a top team in this division surely not the time to experiment. The reason for the last three games is Holt we just cant hold the ball and today we decided to close a game out boreing I know but better than trying to get a third and concede an equaliser.

If you want to get rid of the diamond system we have 2 days to sell Hoolahan as he will not be able to play anywhere else. I expected to struggle over the 3 games Holt was out and so far 6 points from 6. Would be surprised if Holt scored as many goals in a 442

[ZLF 271]

I would change Nelson for Whitbread.

In midfield we did look jaded but with a weeks rest and a big game ahead I am confident of an improved performance from the midfield,  but oif the three yest Hughes for Rusty was the call,  but no change for me,  and def not to 4-4-2.

Cody worked hard but again showed he is a support striker - he simply did not hold the ball up enough - while Oli did,  and that is what we missed from Holt today. 

[Tim Allman 1]

[quote user="Dead Canary"]Not at all. Players are tired because they''ve just had a 3 game week where they played half a game with 10 men and another on a bog of a pitch which is energy sapping. we''ve now got a weeks rest ahead of us so the boys will be fine.

Also I think it would be silly to change a formation that has been so succesful especially as we are playing Millwall next its not like we''re going to Old Trafford or the Emirates.
[/quote]

Correct. It''s a worry not having Holt for next week, but I don''t see the point of making a few changes for one player. Keep the system that has worked, and let Millwall worry about us.

 

[smooth 114]

I do think it is important to show another formation when we are struggling to break down a team

yes we won with 10 men and finally started putting pressure on at the end of the walsall game. Yesterday we only just got the three points, few shots on goal and Ithink the point is that every team we will now play will watch this game very closely

everyone knows stay tight on hoolahan, yesterday they were tight on martin too... we should have looked into changing our formation as it struggled and as I mentioned every team will be looking at video and will see how to play the diamond

Millwall will be one of our toughest games this season any points there is a bonus. But I do believe we made an error not showing another formation for the end of the game with mcnamee coming on in a 4-4-2

I don''t think the boys will be fine if we do not show other options... we have to show that plan b works so far we are very reliant on this diamond

other teams know it and we are playing the better teams soon who will be geared up to shutting it down. I think Lambert did make that mistake yesterday... and i think it has been on show for the last 2-3 games

[Old Boy 0]

I didn''t go to yesterday''s game, but, judging from the previous games, we''re more at risk of conceding too many goals than scoring too few. It''s only the fact that in this League the strikers are generally so poor (except for ours) that''s won us so many points. It''s not just the back four''s responsibility. Grant Holt does a huge amount of defensive work, and we''re missing that now. I don''t think we can afford to rest him because he does so much work for us - he''s our most valuable player by a margin. We also rely on Rusty protecting the back four, and he seems to have had an off-day yesterday (a feud with a Hartlepool player?). And a lot of defence is down to denying the opposition possession, and when Hoolahan''s not on form and Holt''s not playing, we struggle with that. But the main weakness at the moment IMO is at RB and CB - Nelson and R Martin. Martin''s certainly better all round than Semi, and good going forward, but he''s fragile defensively. Nelson''s just not up to it. From what I''ve seen of Whitbread, and what I heard yesterday about Rose, I''d be happier (until Drury and Askou return) with a back 3 of Rose, Doherty and Whitbread, with a midfield of Lappin, Hughes, Russell and Smith, and Hoolahan operating behind Holt either Martin or Johnson. If Hoolahan goes, try MacNamee. I''m impressed with how Lambert''s planned ahead for possible transfers out and injuries, bearing in mind the money available.However, I still see a weaklness at RB

[Eadienhucks 0]

Nelson is the new doc who took the mantle from mackay, it seems for knocking!, Nelson was very strong and superb when paired with askou,as was doc.nelson and doc are sometimes on the wrong page but both are very good centre halves,and lambert knows this as does many fans

[Jack Barak 46]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]Paul Lambert hasn''t phoned me up tonight to share his thoughts so I am just speculating.

He will almost certainly make the right calls and his players will give everything for him again.

We somehow need to get the sense of momentum back - especially while Holt is still out because momentum is something he brings to the team.

Lambert has talked several times about the pressure of home crowd expectation so why not experiment a little at Millwall?

It is a squad game.[/quote]Fair play to Lambert for being so good he has changed all ofour expectations, winning is no longer enough, we must demolish teams in the process!I`d be happy if we won all of our remaing games 1-0, just Lambert do his work!

[Barclaybred 0]

[quote user="Eadienhucks"]Nelson is the new doc who took the mantle from mackay, it seems for knocking!, Nelson was very strong and superb when paired with askou,as was doc.nelson and doc are sometimes on the wrong page but both are very good centre halves,and lambert knows this as does many fans[/quote]

Totally agree,nelson has saved us many times and if at another club would be valued, Lambert is a great judge of a players abilities and where and when to play him....Against millwall i would play 1 up and hit on break but lambert knows best

[Norwich or die tryin! 0]

Personally i would play 5 in the middle against Millwall and just Chris martin upfront on his own and bring an extra man into the middle (Hughes or Macnamee) I know this seems a very negative tactic but i dont think we can afford to play cody or oli up with Martin i feel we will just be to lightweight and no one up front to hold the ball up like Holt does. It will be intresting to see what Lambert does with this one as he allways says we play the same way every game and look to win every game and it would be unlike him to change the formation based on the oppersition but i have a feeling he may change it for this one as i just cant see how he can make the current formation work without Holt in a game like this.

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="Barclaybred"]

[quote user="Eadienhucks"]Nelson is the new doc who took the mantle from mackay, it seems for knocking!, Nelson was very strong and superb when paired with askou,as was doc.nelson and doc are sometimes on the wrong page but both are very good centre halves,and lambert knows this as does many fans[/quote]

Totally agree,nelson has saved us many times and if at another club would be valued, Lambert is a great judge of a players abilities and where and when to play him....Against millwall i would play 1 up and hit on break but lambert knows best

[/quote]

I''ve grown to love Nelson''s attitude and commitment in recent weeks, but realistically if we found ourselves playing against a centre half with such a large turning circle and awkwardness on the ball wouldn''t we be licking our lips? The guy has done well but the art of good management is making changes BEFORE something goes wrong, and I feel that Whitbread''s extra pace, ability on the ball and natural left footedness is now required, particularly with a new left back bedding in.

Cody also proved once again that he is some way off what is required as a starter. He doesn''t read the game well and is too often on his heels when the ball comes. Oli looks to have much more in terms of all round ability, but neither would delay Holt''s immediate return for me.

[lappinitup 629]

Can you Imagine if Lambert changed the system to 4-4-2 and we lost, or worse still, went on a losing run even after reverting back to the diamond  [^o)] The fall out on here would be like World War Three. I can''t understand why so many of you are calling for changes to the system or personel in the middle of such a successful run!

[Eadienhucks 0]

I agree with barclaybred and askounin and would go for 1 up front and hold them in a strong midfield,possibly changing on the hour and bringing ollie and mcnanmee on and run them ragged! ...Thats the great thing about our squad,the versatility of it,which most clubs in the league do not have

[Eadienhucks 0]

[quote user="lappinitup"]Can you Imagine if Lambert changed the system to 4-4-2 and we lost, or worse still, went on a losing run even after reverting back to the diamond  [^o)] The fall out on here would be like World War Three. I can''t understand why so many of you are calling for changes to the system or personel in the middle of such a successful run![/quote]

We dont want to become predictable,and as i said earlier as we have the versatility in our squad,we can choose horses for courses...

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Eadienhucks"]Nelson is the new doc who took the mantle from mackay, it seems for knocking!, Nelson was very strong and superb when paired with askou,as was doc.nelson and doc are sometimes on the wrong page but both are very good centre halves,and lambert knows this as does many fans[/quote]

I agree.

I don''t think Nelson gets anywhere near the credit he deserves.

Earlier in the season there were plenty of people singing the praises of Askou. Great signing, he''s been awesome for us etc etc

But since Nelson has been in the team over the last few weeks our form has been brilliant and we''re defending better than we were with Askou. Yet he appears to get a fraction of the praise that Askou hasd received.

I think in some cases, people had made their minds up that Nelson would be little more than an ugly style defender not good enough for a team challening for promotion. Whereas Whitbread is seen as some classy, strong, pacey centrehalf who is going to be the best centreback we''ve had in ages. And that''s the way it''ll stay, regardless of performances.

[Lambert is King 0]

[quote user="GJP"]

[quote user="Eadienhucks"]Nelson is the new doc who took the mantle from mackay, it seems for knocking!, Nelson was very strong and superb when paired with askou,as was doc.nelson and doc are sometimes on the wrong page but both are very good centre halves,and lambert knows this as does many fans[/quote]

I agree.

I don''t think Nelson gets anywhere near the credit he deserves.

Earlier in the season there were plenty of people singing the praises of Askou. Great signing, he''s been awesome for us etc etc

But since Nelson has been in the team over the last few weeks our form has been brilliant and we''re defending better than we were with Askou. Yet he appears to get a fraction of the praise that Askou hasd received.

I think in some cases, people had made their minds up that Nelson would be little more than an ugly style defender not good enough for a team challening for promotion. Whereas Whitbread is seen as some classy, strong, pacey centrehalf who is going to be the best centreback we''ve had in ages. And that''s the way it''ll stay, regardless of performances.

[/quote]

Well said - get of Nelsons back. Whatever you might think of him in the eight league games he has been back we have conceded 3 goals, and before anyone says his fault on Tuesday try looking at Oli who gave the ball straight to Byfield in our half. In the 7 games prior to Nelson coming in we conceded 9 goals. Wether or not he is worse than others he has done a fantastic job. Look at the threads when Askou got injured we were going to concede goals every game. Nelson is probably not a Championship defender - but we aint in the championship and unlike Leeds cant afford championship defenders. He is however a very good defender at this level and should be thanked for the job he has done in Askous absence. And I was one of the people that when he came in thought omg we could struggle now.

[Barclaybred 0]

Nelson suffered from the fallout of that 1st match and still does with some fans...Doc didnt look like a league 1 player in that match either,both as with a few others,looked non league..Doc and nelson under lambert have found form and i wouldnt be suprised if they were good enough under lambert,in the championship! ..Doc is a new player with better timing with his tackling( how many pens did he used to give away for us and other teams), and i will judge nelson for the championship under lambert,when it comes next Augest

[Graham Humphrey 13]

[quote user="Barclaybred"]( how many pens did he used to give away for us and other teams)[/quote]Three for us. Ever.

[Old Boy 0]

I''m not on Nelson''s back - I admire his attitude a lot. But he''s a very limited footballer, much more limited than Mackay or Gary Holt or Andy Hughes or any of the others who''ve been crucified by our fans when they''ve seemed out of their depth. At the moment, Nelson''s not too exposed, because of the limited nature of our opposition. However, I''m looking forward, as we should all be doing (and I''m sure Lambert is), to when we''re playing Championship teams. Nelson will be absolutely sunk with all hands then, and those who are defending him on here now will no doubt be leading the calls for his head on a plate. And he doesn''t deserve that, any more than Gary Holt did or Andy Hughes did, because he''s done a professional job within his limitations.

[Lambert is King 0]

With all due respect we aint in the championship and have signed players to get us out of league 1 on low wages and small if any fees. I am sure if / when we are promoted Lambert will assess the squad and try to improve the squad where possible partly by shipping players out. In league 1 we cannot afford players that are capable without question of playing in the Championship. Your point would also apply to Grant Holt as in league 1 and 2 his goal scoring record is outstanding - in the championship it is atrocious

[Old Boy 0]

[quote user="Lambert is King"]With all due respect we aint in the championship and have signed players to get us out of league 1 on low wages and small if any fees. I am sure if / when we are promoted Lambert will assess the squad and try to improve the squad where possible partly by shipping players out. In league 1 we cannot afford players that are capable without question of playing in the Championship. Your point would also apply to Grant Holt as in league 1 and 2 his goal scoring record is outstanding - in the championship it is atrocious[/quote]I take your point, but I''m sure that Lambert''s looking ahead to the CCC (if he wasn''t, it could turn out like Worthy''s season in the Premier League - too little planning, too late). In my view, he''s signed certain players with that in mind, and others with cover for the current season in mind. MacNamee could be one for next year, so could Johnson. Nelson''s one for this year, and so is R Martin (though I hope he''ll get better). As for Holt - I don''t take any notice of his goal-scoring record in the Championship, because he wasn''t well used at Forest (where he still scored nearly 1 in 4) and particularly at Wednesday. I''m totally convinced he''s got the tools to do the job, and the only worry is that he''s getting older. The fact that we haven''t paid big money is no bad thing and doesn''t mean that they can''t play at a higher level.Again - if we get promoted and leave it until the summer to try to put a CCC team together, we''re dead - see you back here same time next season.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Even after a week the system is tired.

Tired because Hoolahan is now man marked and doesn''t have Holt to protect him.

Tired because without Holt putting himself about we fail to defend from the front and hold the ball up.

Tired because we do not have the personnel without Holt to make the diamond work.

Perhaps it would have been worthwhile going to 442 or even 451 and given a game to people like Hughes ( although the current squad may have looked good in training).

I have to ask, if Holt was long term injured (heaven forbid) would we have enough to maintain the promotion push.

Without the right players around him Hoolahan to Hull for 2.5 million looks a bloody good offer.

With Holt back-the diamond has to be returned to but I wish Grant had taken a risk on this game and shuffled the pack.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

First line should have been ''even after a full week off.''

[NorwichRat 4]

Sorry our record is fantastic.

You do not change what is not broke.

One loss is nothing to wory about.

An we got grant back next game all is fine.