Attack attack attack ( formation for Man u)

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

We have to treat games against the big four as one off''s where we expect to get no points. There''s no point trying for a draw, We''ll get beat. So lets go a bit gung ho hey??

                                                 Ruddy

                          Naughton    Martin   Barnett  Tierney  

                                                  Fox  

                                         Bennet  Hoolahan

                               Morison     Jackson     Holt

A bit crazy I know but could it work?? Would require adopting the long ball for Holt and Morison, and although being outnumbered in the middle all three midfielders know how to pass and get it upfront quickly.

Suicide perhaps and next to no chance Lambert would go for it but we''ve already proved we can compete in this league, We dont need to just go there and come out with just credit like we did at chelsea and lose by one or two.

[87canary 0]

We''d get shafted down the wings playing that or the diamond.

I''d stick with how it has been for the last two games, or the formation we used vs Chelski

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="87canary"]We''d get shafted down the wings playing that or the diamond. I''d stick with how it has been for the last two games, or the formation we used vs Chelski[/quote]

 

Point is though we will still lose sticking to that formation, granted we might hold them for a while but eventually we''d be broken down. Stick three up front and go for it, I''d rather lose 5-3 then 1 or 2 nil.

[LeJuge 0]

[quote user="lincoln canary"]

Fudge its not our hardest game of the season, six pointers against teams likw WBA &Swansea are. We have absolutely no pressure on this game. As for Morison after playing well against sunderland he should keep his place. He still has an awfull lot to prove though and I personally dont think he will cut it.

 I dont think im bipolar no, but thanks for your concern x

[/quote]What is your definition of cutting it though? Are you going to judge him by goals? I''ve noticed that a big part of the problem when judging strikers is unrealistic expectations.If you would call ''making it'' to score 15 goals and move to Spurs for £9m, then no, he probably won''t ''make it''. If your definition of ''making it'' is playing a key role in our survival, scoring 7 or 8 goals on the way, much like Davies does at Bolton then there is a good chance that you will be proved wrong. It depends on what your level of expectation is with a £2.5 million pound signing from the Championship. If you can define what he will have to do to win your approval, then we can all monitor his progress and determine whether you have been proved right or wrong.At current we are left with Morison, Holt, Jackson, and Martin. If any two of them can score 7-8 goals each this year then our strikers would have scored enough goals to achieve our objective of remaining in the division, as long as the midfielders score goals too and we remain solid enough at the back.Goals from strikers aren''t the key to survival, if in doubt ask Ian Holloway. Results and points are the key to survival, and we are doing a pretty good job of getting results right now.

[Rob Sims 0]

I accept that no one is expecting us to get points from the big 4 away games, i am not sure if it would be wise to think "well as we''re not going to get anything lets do this..."

I''d stick to what might get you something. Although United are nigh on impossible to beat at old trafford points can be earnt.

I totlaly agree the games that are most important are those against Swansea, QPR, and so on. however if those teams lose to the big 4 and we got a point or two out of them it would put us in the better position when coming up against them. Every game has to be treated as

Mccarthy has advocated playing weakened sides against the top sides to better prepare his team for other game weeks but we have a 2 week break after this so they might aswell go show what they can do (or cant!)

[LeJuge 0]

[quote user="Rob Sims"]I accept that no one is expecting us to get points from the big 4 away games, i am not sure if it would be wise to think "well as we''re not going to get anything lets do this..."

I''d stick to what might get you something. Although United are nigh on impossible to beat at old trafford points can be earnt.

I totlaly agree the games that are most important are those against Swansea, QPR, and so on. however if those teams lose to the big 4 and we got a point or two out of them it would put us in the better position when coming up against them. Every game has to be treated as

Mccarthy has advocated playing weakened sides against the top sides to better prepare his team for other game weeks but we have a 2 week break after this so they might aswell go show what they can do (or cant!)[/quote]It has worked for him though in fairness. Before this season started I would have put Lambert down to want to win every game, but after MK Dons I''m not so sure. I agree that because we have a two week break we don''t need to do so, if we didn''t have that two week break however, and had Swansea in a weeks time, then I would be inclined to lean towards ''trying people out'' like McCarthy does. I''d like to see Simeon Jackson given a chance though, up front with either Holt or Morison, so I''d personally like to see a 4-4-2. He deserves his chance to impress, and what better place to get it than Old Trafford.

[Rob Sims 0]

Yeah it has worked (''squad rotation''), he did get fined though! very small amount but i wouldn''t want to get small club big club paranoia going again even though it seems the big clubs are allowed to rotate their squad and small ones can''t! For another day that.

with the break i think they should go all out to get... a point. Yes i''d like to see jackson have a chance but his confidence won''t be high after not getting a look in so far even with his late goal salvo helping norwich into the premiship. (''we''re not sure what he was doing before March'' roughly quoted from Holt!) If his confidence is low would it be a good idea to put him up against Jones, Evra, Ferdinand et al. Jonny Evans fair enough, he''s toss.

[Syteanric 1]

the team played in the last 2 matches has won them... Unless there are injuries or players unavailable why change it?

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

I''m afraid if Man Utd have their A game on Saturday we will get beaten, no matter what tactics or formation we employ. I would park the bus and hope that we can frustrate them enough to escape with a point. I think if we go gung ho we have a fair chance of being on the end of a thumping.

It will be very interesting to see what Lambo decides on.

[alysha 0]

Providing there are no new injuries, I would like to see the same starting 11 that started against Bolton and Sunderland. We have an international break after the game and this starting 11 has picked up two consecutive wins, our first home and away wins of the season. We shouldn''t fear Man U, we are in this league on merit, lets try and cause an upset!

[swjf50 0]

agree with you alysha. Stick with the same line up as in the last 2 games. If things aren''t going well enough, we can always change things in the second half, ie bring on Jackson, Holt, Crofts or De Lait.

I''m not expecting any great upset, but it is possible if we can stop them from scoring, which would be a major achievement.

[Harry 0]

Now it''s been said that Rooney will start I would like to see Crofts brought in, Rooney had a torrid time against him when England played Wales, if we can keep Rooney quiet I feel we can nick it.

[Evil Monkey 52]

What strikes me is that people seem to be forgetting that Lambert doesn''t go into any football game not setting out to win it (in the league, anyway).  Sure it''ll be a big ask of our players and we''ll likely get tonked, but Lambert isn''t the sort of manager to ''park the bus'', as it were.

 

In all likelihood Lambert will put out the same formation as against Bolton and Sunderland, but not because he''s afraid to change a winning team - he''s shown time and again that he isn''t, and it often pays off.  We''ll need to be strong on the wings to counter the attacking play of Nani and Young, and solid through the middle to nullify Rooney and Hernandez.  I don''t see their central midfield being too much of a worry and Wes playing in that hole behind Morisson could give the likes of Anderson and Carrick a bit of a run-around.

 

So its 4-2-3-1 again for me.  The only possible change I''d make is what someone said a few days ago (Shack, maybe, can''t remember?) - switch BJ onto the left to add muscle against Nani and put Crofts in the middle with Fox.

 

That would set out our stall quite nicely - we''re here to attack, but we''re not going to leave ourselves exposed and roll over like nice little Norwich...

 

OTBC

[Power Hamster 0]

[quote user="Dan Druff"]

I''m afraid if Man Utd have their A game on Saturday we will get beaten, no matter what tactics or formation we employ. I would park the bus and hope that we can frustrate them enough to escape with a point. I think if we go gung ho we have a fair chance of being on the end of a thumping.

It will be very interesting to see what Lambo decides on.

[/quote]Not sure about that - if we "park the bus" then United only have to beat our defence once to win the game. If we attack them (as FC Basel did the other night) then they may have to score 2 or 3 to beat us.Realistically we will probably lose anyway, as you say, but I think our best chance is to play to our strength, which is attack.

[splutcho 196]

With all due respect to the OP, if we put out that line up, it might hit double figures. I really think the way to go is to play how we have been for the last two games. We may well lose, but there''s no point changing a winning team, and more importantly, one that is playing so well.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

It''s going to be a really warm day tomorrow so, more than ever we need to keep the ball and conserve. Possession is crucial.

We will be under pressure but don''t forget we will also be given more space than against the likes of most we have played so far.

Whatever happens the game must not get stretched and we must not get caught upfield - Man Utd are a side who love to break.

[Tetteys Jig 851]

I think we need to treat this game seriously to be honest. Obviously it''s our toughest game this season, but let''s not just hand them an easy win. Set our stall up, frustrate them for a bit, and as long as we''re no more than a goal down at the break we can make a real go at it second half.

[curly_whirly_tipz 0]

Lambert has pretty much said himself that he is going to go out and try and get something from the game. I would be very suprised if they try and park the bus to to speak as this goes against Lambert''s philosophy. However I dont kno if he will stick with our winning formation or not.... this awaits to be seen!

[Robert N. LiM 6,299]

Evil Monkey is bang on.

Some people seem to think there are two options, park the bus or go all guns blazing.

As far as I''m concerned the formation we have at the moment is the right one. It''s strong down the middle but does give us some width.

We have to have a solid spine at OT, and I too would get Johnson and Crofts into the 4-2-3-1, not sure whether at the expense of Bennett or Pilkington.

Tactics aside, the players who won the last two games deserve to go and play at Old Trafford. As PL would say, they''ve earned the right to be there. So I''d keep almost the same team, just adding Crofts to stiffen things up a bit. (Fnarr).

[ZLF 335]

Given our injuries I think there is only one choice - stick to the 4231 used in the last couple of games.

Bennett & Pilkington to provide cover in the wide areas where utd are so strong at the moment, giving central security and a system we are comfortable with and uses our best players.

Had we had another available centre back I think we would have seen a 5-3-2 formation again; it really worked well against chelsea (bosingwas goal came because of the midfield falling asleep rather than a formation failure) and would have been perfect against manures attackers. But unless we play drury at centre back (& it is a possible PL shock pic option) I dont think we have the players to make it work.

More of the same for me - 4-2-3-1

[Scooby 0]

"the team played in the last 2 matches has won them... Unless there are injuries or players unavailable why change it?"

Ah Jas, at last a voice of reason!!   I''m not sure exactly what Lincoln''s been sniffing, probably the same thing he uses just before each post.

[curly_whirly_tipz 0]

What ever Lambert has picked we are sure to find out very soon... 2 hours 12 mins till kick off...