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Sjb

Why don't we play with 2 upfront?

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Something that I''ve noticed and its really starting to bug me this season, we''re playing with 1 striker. I think this is soo negative. We are turning up and inviting teams to come at us. Today i think if we had an extra outlet up front we would have created more chances and put less pressure on our defense and this making them less nervous. and more time to recover between attacks against us.

We have to stop trying the change our team formation to suit other sides. And play football our way. I''d like to see Morison and Holt upfront,

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Arsenal didn''t seem to struggle with one striker today. And yes I know the play a 4-3-3 but it pretty much falls to a 4-5-1 with Van Persie on his own.

If we play two up front we are then wasting one of our best players, Hoolahan, because he cannot fit into a 4-4-2. Personally I would prefer one up front and have Wes on the pitch than not. We can always change it late on - as we did today.

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Having 1 up front doesn''t mean we''re playing negatively, we''ve attacked every game. Holt and Morison doesn''t seem like a good combination to me, not enough pace and offer a similar threat. Today I thought we did lack something going forward in the first half, but that was because we only played 1 winger. With Bennett and Pilks playing we are almost in a 433 but if necessary they can drop back to help defend.

Maybe if Jackson starts looking like the player he did at the end of last season, or Vaughan come back or we bring in another forward then 2 up front would make sense, but for now I''d stick with 2 attacking wingers + 1 striker.

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Could it be because when we played 2 upfront these were our results

Wigan 1 Norwich 1

Norwich 1 Stoke 1

Norwich 0 MK Dons 4

Chelsea 3 Norwich 1

Norwich 0 WBA 1

Aston Villa 3 Norwich 2

And when we started with 1 up front

Bolton 1 Norwich 2

Norwich 2 Sunderland 1

Man Utd 2 Norwich 0

Norwich 3 Swansea 1

Liverpool 1 Norwich 1

Norwich 3 Blackburn 3

Norwich 1 Arsenal 2

On;y a theory OP but maybe the reason is because Lambert does not like to lose every week ?  

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So which of the successful clubs play with 2 up front?

Where have our wins come from this season, 1 or 2 up front?

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[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]So which of the successful clubs play with 2 up front? Where have our wins come from this season, 1 or 2 up front?[/quote]

See my previous post

Start with 2 up front no wins 2 draws and 4 losses

Start with 1 up front 3 wins 2 draws and 2 losses

With starting 2 up front we scored 5 conceded 13 with one up front scored 12 conceded 11

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But the two upfront have sometimes been Morrison and Holt.

I agree with other posters re needing pace - that seems to be a key difference in the premier league - whether through wingers or upfront.

Arsenal were breathtaking how quickly the pace took over, particularly Walcott of course.

Perhaps Jackson and Morrison upfront would give experienced premiership defenders things to think about. 

I also think Bennett''s pace is useful and covers well for Naughton too.

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[quote user="Lambert is King"]

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]So which of the successful clubs play with 2 up front? Where have our wins come from this season, 1 or 2 up front?[/quote]

See my previous post

Start with 2 up front no wins 2 draws and 4 losses

Start with 1 up front 3 wins 2 draws and 2 losses

With starting 2 up front we scored 5 conceded 13 with one up front scored 12 conceded 11

[/quote]

Our wins have come from set pieces when we had half a dozen up front 

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And another thing - your stats are misleading because two up front were mainly the early games where we were still finding our way into the premier league. I think this has been a major factor that you haven''t taken into account

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Stats prove nothing. If you stick with something that you believe in, it may work out later on.However, with our team we have two good wingers which means with a good striker in the middle we should do well with 1 up front.But whoever it is, it means the wingers and midfield have to support more.  I don''t believe that support is strong enough at the moment.   Bennet doesn''t seem imo to be quite there in terms of confidence and beating players - good but not as good as he could be.  Wes works incredibly hard but doesn''t for me play those killer passes that someone in his position needs to do. Pilks has been superb on the whole.   When these three players are on song - thats for me when we play our best.  The best from these three we saw at MU, but this is where the support for the striker(s)is going to come from.  Maybe a case for strengthing in this area in Jan?

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Agree LDC

I think the midfield has been less effective;   BJ & Fox have been less effective in the middle,  Bennett & hoolahan have had less impact.  That has left Morison increasingly isolated - playing a lone striker makes midfield support around him imperative.   Perhaps the anxieties Robert in LiM highlights goes to the midfield too, who seem to sinking deeper faster and leaving a larger gap to the striker,  making passes longer and harder to stick and so losing possession?  

 

The alternatives to that first 5 (incl Pilkington) are limited to Crofts (who does not keep the ball as well as Fox or such a barrier as BJ) and Surman,  who is a left midfielder rather than a winger. Not having straight like for like changes available means we HAVE to have a tactical change with every sub or starting line up change  That is always hard to pull off successfully.  Bearing in mind the age of the squad consistency was always going to be a problem  so strengthening the depth of squad  with some like for like changes is essential,  with Snodgrass and McGugan good candidates for me.

 

But a leader in central defence is needed most for me....

 

 

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