Will flexiblity be our downfall?

[Scooby 0]

Four games in and no win. Now, don''t (please) get me wrong but I am a tad concerned. No, not with our lack of goals, I''m sure they will come. After all, how many were just as quick to write Mr Holt off at the same stage last season. Neither am I overly perturbed with our abundance of defensive errors, yes Mr De Lait, we''ve been watching. The boy has already shown his class and I''m confident these errors will soon be a thing of the past. My concern is with the ever changing formation of our side.

Now, Mr Lambert obviously knows what he''s doing.... doesn''t he? And I for one am not about to start casting aspersions. My point is that our last two magnificent seasons have been built on, pretty much, a stable side playing a reasonably consistent style and formation. So far this season we have seen nothing like it. Yes, we have new faces to accommodate, some of whom have been performing very well, but even they must surely be crying out for a familiar face along side for more than one consecutive game. I understand, of course, the need to combat each opponents strength and try and nullify each particular threat but it seems to me that we are doing so at the expense of our own creativity.

Take, for example, two of the main reasons for our success last year, namely Messrs Houlahan, and Martin. Surely we should be building a team around our most talented player (Wes) if not at the very least accommodating him in whatever formation. And as for last seasons Mr everpresent, and reliable. We seem to be greatly missing his runs to the byline and crosses, not to mention his goals. Yes, Mr Naughton is a talented up and coming young star but give me Russell Martin any day. He has rarely let us down.

In case I''ve completely missed my point it is this. Get our best 11 on the park and let''s start making others worry about us and not the other way around.

I''m sure Mr Holt will soon start banging them in when he''s getting picked out by players who know him inside out and where he is going to be.

[J.Warman 0]

i agree with most of what you are saying, i feel we do need our best 11 out all the time and stop mixing it up, but naughton is a lot better than Russell martin, he is faster, better defensively and his cross is alot better than martins, i do like martin but his pace and final ball isn''t good enough for the premier league.

[curly_whirly_tipz 0]

I partly agree with what you are saying and do agree that Wessi will (hopefully) be a massive asset in the team. However changing formation etc could work in our favour as the oposition wont know exactly what to expect. It will only become a downfall if the players dont feel any sense of continuity but Lambert has worked to get them to adapt asap to changes.

[Bill 1,788]

Now, Mr Lambert obviously knows what he''s doing.... doesn''t he? And I for one am not about to start casting aspersions. "

spot the obvious contradiction

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,798]

I dont think that the "diamond" formation that has served us so well over the past 2 seasons has been given a fair crack of the whip....basically having been thrown out after the Wigan game??.  We seemed to have convinced ourselves that this formation wasn''t going to work in thr Premiership without giving ourseleves a chance to find out?!.  One reason that it deserves to be re-visited is because it allows our best player i.e Hoolahan to play....whoi simply has to be on the pitch.

  I wonder too if two other casualties in Fox and R.Martin have been given their fair chance too?. Martin was perhaps unforunate to have come up against Victor Moses in the first game, who would have given any full back a tough test that day whilst Fox many were predicting would be a key player in this league.

[Robert N. LiM 4,475]

There''s no contradiction, City 1st. Why is it so hard for people that enormous man-love for PL doesn''t mean you think he gets everything right.

I agree with the OP about chopping and changing. I seriously doubt our players are good enough to learn a new system for every game.

But I do think PL was right to ditch the diamond at this level. I can''t see it working for the following reasons:

Play with width in the midfield and the holding player is left with far too much ground to cover. Especially if it''s Fox, who is more of a passer than a stopper.

Play tight in the midfield and we pose no attacking threat down the flanks. This wasn''t a problem last year because Wes was so creative and Martin and Tierney bombed on, but...

If you push the full-backs forward to make up for the lack of width, you leave yourself hopelessly exposed at the back.

That''s why it''s got to be 4-2-3-1

Fox and Wes can get back in the side to give us some creativity without compromising solidity. We can pick wingers or central midfielders in the three depending how attacking we want to be.

Only downside is that we have just the one up front, but if the three are Hools, Bennett and Pilkington, that''s still quite an attacking side - you could argue it''s 4-2-4 when we''re attacking.

Come on PL, you know it makes sense.

[Drurys Testamonials 0]

I agree with a lot of what the OP said.We need a settled team that know how to play the game with each other and know what move comes next. Obviously injuries and suspensions impact on this but when our best 11 are fit, they should play. Constant tweaking undermines players'' confidence and prevents them from learning each other''s style of play.Against West Brom we were too slow and it seemed that we waited for the ball to be played before we ran onto it whereas we should be moving ready to receive the ball then pass it on.

[Gamera 0]

Feels a bit ''Jack of all trades, master of none''.....

We can set out a team for all occasions, yet that means we can''t get a settled team. I''d rather we take the risk in having no real strength in depth and more of a first team that can work on getting more solid, and have the space to potentially buy in january.

The first thing I generally do in Fifa (yes I know its not real life.....) is sell off the dead weight, and buy up new better players. Strength in depth is for cups. Something were never going to need. Of course theres the risk of injurys but its a calculated risk.

I already put on another thread I would have prefered the money from morrison and vaughan spent on one striker. I think strikers is our main area of too many options.

Although look at the center back issues. Bare bones, and realisticly we would be looking at playing youth players.

On the other hand we had no GK on the bench last game.

Either way I actually would have rather put all our eggs in one basket. Although don''t ask me to start picking out names.

[Lets be aving you! 0]

''Jack of all trades, master of none''

"sell off the dead weight"

"Bare bones"

"Either way I actually would have rather put all our eggs in one basket"

 

Bored with work, I''ve been playing Spot the Hackneyed Expression on the Pink Un today. This posting, with its top-ranking cliche coefficient, wins 5 pounds.

[Scooby 0]

Now, Mr Lambert obviously knows what he''s doing.... doesn''t he? And I for one am not about to start casting aspersions. "

spot the obvious contradiction

Observations, not aspersions my friend

[Gamera 0]

[quote user="Lambert is god"]

''Jack of all trades, master of none''

"sell off the dead weight"

"Bare bones"

"Either way I actually would have rather put all our eggs in one basket"

 

Bored with work, I''ve been playing Spot the Hackneyed Expression on the Pink Un today. This posting, with its top-ranking cliche coefficient, wins 5 pounds.

[/quote]

Been in training for a new office job all day, It''s impossible to avoid!!! Didn''t want to let it slip into out of work though!

[Power Hamster 0]

There''s nothing wrong with flexibility as such, if it simply means the ability to change things around when necessary. It''s when you start tinkering with the team or the formation just for the sake of it, that it becomes a problem.Squad rotation or not, it is still the case that the most successful teams are usually the most settled ones.

[. 0]

Having got to this level way before anyone expected, City have as good a squad as any on promotion given the circumstances. It''s been assembled on a shoe string and should be given a go.If we falter....the question will be, does the club back it''s manager''s demands and allow him to strengthen what we have... or will prudence kick in again and the kitty put on the top shelf for another ''rainy day''.No one likes spending money... but this will probably decide whether we have genuine ambition or decide that Division Two is our level and keep ongoing debt level to a minimum.

[a1canary 0]

Yes, find your best 110 and stick with it, by all means, but we''re still a long way from working out what our best team is, both in terms of system and personnel.

Does anyone seriously think we or more importantly Lambert knows that yet? Lambert himself has already admitted he is learning, just give him the chance to do that.

[a1canary 0]

110?

Don''t know where that came from! Make that 11...

[BW 0]

We need to knwo how we play and who we play with lets get our first team sorted. Always can use plan b with subs coming on