BedsCanary 0 Posted December 11, 2004 It worked! We looked much, much stronger in midfield and played attacking football rather than deep and defensive.It allowed Jonson and Hucks much more of the ball and since there was just the one man up front it meant that there was no hesitation on any players part as to who the target man is.Finally a system that makes us look like a solid attacking Premiership team. Bring on Chelsea! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brum Uni Canary 0 Posted December 12, 2004 Worthy must be reading the board I have been banging on about playing a 4-5-1 for the last 5 weeks at least. On form teams are all using it - check out MotD tonight and see how many of the winning sides employ a variation on a theme of 4-5-1.The strikers haven''t been that prolific so it made sense to pack the midfield with quality players - and we didn''t even have Francis playing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert N. LiM 6,282 Posted December 12, 2004 Couldn''t agree more. Watched the game with the headmaster of the school I work at - he''s a massive Bolton fan...Have we finally found our best team? GreenEdworthy--Doherty--Fleming/Charlton--Charlton/DruryJonson--Francis--Helveg--Huckerby Bentley SvenssonThis formation gives us real flexibility. Huckerby, Jonson and Bentley can all exchange positions, it can be 4-3-3 when we''re attacking and 4-5-1 defensively. If we were looking to be more defensive we could put Jonson on the bench and add Safri to the central midfield, moving Bentley wide.Leon and WLY on the bench as ''impact players''.It''s no coincidence that this team features almost all our summer signingsWhatever, yesterday proved we CAN stay up. Not that we definitely will stay up, but that we can stay up. Hopefully next Saturday won''t dent this new-found confidence too much... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Rob 0 Posted December 12, 2004 Great formation. It worked an absolute charm and we put in our best 90 minutes for ages. I couldnt pick out a bad player today in a yellow shirt. Safri was pure class as were Bentley and Jonsson. Doc was shakey in periods and still for me concededes far too many free kicks but he is progressing. Helveg had a great game apart from a small period in the second half but he is starting to show his class. Keep it up lads and bring on Chelski! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZLF 335 Posted December 13, 2004 Hats off to worthy. The first half he play more 4-3-2-1 which worked well but allowed bolton time to get the balls into our box from deep midfield. However he changed it at half time to be more 4-2-3-1 with Helveg & Safri defending deep but attempting to use the ball intelligently with the three mobile midfielders in front of them. Those same three defended when needed too. The best bit about the 2nd formation used on Saturday is that it gave the freedom we needed to get the best from each of our players. We have defensive players playing defensively (the back 4 plus safri and helveg - by far his most impressive game) and as a result bolton had virtually no chances in the second half. More importantly we let loose the dogs of war - Hux, Bentley and Jonson - to do what they do best - go forward. Having been freed of defensive duties Jonson took players on and made himself available in threatening positions. Play like that and his first goal is not far way. Bentley was a revelation - he has always said his idol is Bergkamp and the comparison became clearer - picking the ball up in that dead zone between defence and midfield he wrecked havoc with boltons minds. Several superb crosses (2 goals + that free kick in the first half that no one attacked...) and suckering speed into a foolish challenge for the penalty - warranted the MOM award. As did Svens efforts up front. Ironically his goals came with his head but his intelligence playing the lone striker was superb. He does not have Leons mobility but his touch was sublime; he held the ball up and brought players into the game superbly (and in a way that Leon despite his best efforts will never be able to do). He was able to do this because he was getting the ball passed to his feet instead of 18 inches over head height. The team was unrecognisable from last weeks in application and tactics How often can we say that Worthy gets his tactics right? Under no circumstances should they be changed and, The Man in the Stands, perhaps Worthy should have read these boards sooner to implement a formation that many have championed since before the season started... OTBC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
