Lambert didn't learn his lesson at the DW

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

[quote user="Aggy"]

I''m becoming less and less of a fan of the diamond, at least with the players we usually play in it. Fox, Surman, Hoolahan in there together doesn''t do the job I don''t think, especially as I''m not a fan of either Crofts or Johnson. I don''t think either of them is good enough to be the physical ball winner out there on their own. I''ll save judgement on Howson until I have seen him a bit more, but I think if we''re going to play the diamond, we either need a real quality ball winner, or a couple of more rounded midfielders in there (maybe someone who can replace Fox/Hoolahan, give us the creativity they offer, but with a bit more muscle - I know that will cost money we haven''t got at the moment, but eventually that''s got to be the plan in my opinion).[/quote]

 

Aggy, I posted something very similar on another thread. At the moment the lack of that kind of player (who might play alongside Fox rather than instead of) does seem to limit us tactically With the squad we have there isn''t a perfect set of players for a perfect formation. Everything is squaring this circle or that.

[Jim Smith 2,314]

[quote user="Alex "]I''m bored of people moaning about Lambert ''not getting it right''. F#cked off with armchair critics telling us what he should have done, in the aftermath, with the beauty of hindsight. For f•cks sake get behind the team and stop massaging your own internet managing ego''s.

There were moments today that were frustrating but I just kept screaming the lads on, it''s about time some of you lot did the same aswell[/quote]

To be fair though in some cases its not "with the beauty of hind sight."

When the team was announced at stoke most fans I spoke to were concerned about Fox not being in the side.

When i heard the team yesterday the first thing i said to my mates was that playing Crofts instead of Pilkington was a very strange selection

I have said many times on here that Lambert is a brilliant manager and in my view the best in my supporting lifetime. Does not make him immune from criticism or, perhaps more accurately, people questioning his team selections or tactics from time to time. Obviously there have been injuries this season and, particularly in respect of the defence, we have had to chop and change and in the main we have coped with that brilliantly. For me though there have been a couple of spells this season where he has unecessarily tinkered with the team/formation for a few games and we have lost a bit of momentum. The last few games have been an example of that with the Leicester debacle, Howson starting at Stoke and then Crofts appearing from the wilderness yesterday.  Resting players, chopping and changing the team, sunshine breaks it all just has a bit of an end of season feel to it already.

In many ways we are a victim of our own success in that if we had been 18th all season and on the fringes of the relegation zone most of us would be very happy with a 16th place finish. Now if we finish 16th it will (wrongly) feel a bit of an anti-climax. What we muct not underestimate though is the importance of trying to finish off the season well and not going into next season on the back of a losing run. For that reason i really hope that we get back to putting out a more settled line-up for the remaining games and play with more urgency. i would also like to see bennett or Ayala come in at CB and start building a partnership (with Whitbread hopefully) for next season and I just don''t feel we look secure at the moment and teams are starting to open us up more easily.

[Jim Smith 2,314]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]

[quote user="Aggy"]I''m becoming less and less of a fan of the diamond, at least with the players we usually play in it. Fox, Surman, Hoolahan in there together doesn''t do the job I don''t think, especially as I''m not a fan of either Crofts or Johnson. I don''t think either of them is good enough to be the physical ball winner out there on their own. I''ll save judgement on Howson until I have seen him a bit more, but I think if we''re going to play the diamond, we either need a real quality ball winner, or a couple of more rounded midfielders in there (maybe someone who can replace Fox/Hoolahan, give us the creativity they offer, but with a bit more muscle - I know that will cost money we haven''t got at the moment, but eventually that''s got to be the plan in my opinion).[/quote]

 

Aggy, I posted something very similar on another thread. At the moment the lack of that kind of player (who might play alongside Fox rather than instead of) does seem to limit us tactically With the squad we have there isn''t a perfect set of players for a perfect formation. Everything is squaring this circle or that.

[/quote]

I agree. Have felt all along that the one player we are really missing is a strong, ball winning central midfielder to get stuck in and protect the back four. If we had one I think we would be playing an orthodox 4-4-2 on a more regular basis. at one point it looked like Johnson might be able to do this but he does not currently appear up to it.

That Diame who came on for Wigan is a perfect example of what we lack. Big, strong and powerful and he brushed aside Fox with embarrassing ease on one run. He has been one of their best players this season and i believe is out of contract at the end of this season. I would hope we would be sniffing around that type of player this summer although suspect there may be bigger fish in for him than us!

 

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

[quote user="Jim Smith"][quote user="PurpleCanary"]

[quote user="Aggy"]

I''m becoming less and less of a fan of the diamond, at least with the players we usually play in it. Fox, Surman, Hoolahan in there together doesn''t do the job I don''t think, especially as I''m not a fan of either Crofts or Johnson. I don''t think either of them is good enough to be the physical ball winner out there on their own. I''ll save judgement on Howson until I have seen him a bit more, but I think if we''re going to play the diamond, we either need a real quality ball winner, or a couple of more rounded midfielders in there (maybe someone who can replace Fox/Hoolahan, give us the creativity they offer, but with a bit more muscle - I know that will cost money we haven''t got at the moment, but eventually that''s got to be the plan in my opinion).[/quote]

 

Aggy, I posted something very similar on another thread. At the moment the lack of that kind of player (who might play alongside Fox rather than instead of) does seem to limit us tactically With the squad we have there isn''t a perfect set of players for a perfect formation. Everything is squaring this circle or that.

[/quote]

I agree. Have felt all along that the one player we are really missing is a strong, ball winning central midfielder to get stuck in and protect the back four. If we had one I think we would be playing an orthodox 4-4-2 on a more regular basis. at one point it looked like Johnson might be able to do this but he does not currently appear up to it.

That Diame who came on for Wigan is a perfect example of what we lack. Big, strong and powerful and he brushed aside Fox with embarrassing ease on one run. He has been one of their best players this season and i believe is out of contract at the end of this season. I would hope we would be sniffing around that type of player this summer although suspect there may be bigger fish in for him than us!

 

[/quote]

 

Jim, I think this summer is a real opportunity to improve matters. Looking back, a major problem, starting with Roeder, has been a kind of forced short-termism. Roeder came in as a visiting fireman to keep us up, so we had loads of loans and that carried on, rightly or wrongly, the next season. Then, after Gunn, Lambert inherited and signed players to get us out of League One. Then players to stabilise and/or get us out of the Championship. Last summer, players simply to try to stay in the Premier League. The result is we have a squad of all sorts, in terms of ability and, crucially, why they were acquired. To take your example of a powerful midfielder, I think that was what Crofts was meant to, and was OK at the level of the Championship. But not in the PL. The same, now, with Johnson.

 

This summer Lambert can take a cold hard look at the squad (I imagine he is already doing it) and working out who makes the grade in terms of stabilising our position in the Premier League. Both in terms of ability and in terms of fitting in to the tactical systems that work in the Premier League. At the moment I would say (and I think others agree) that the diamond, given the players we have, doesn''t work. It MIGHT (though I am still dubious) if we had better and/or different (in terms of style) players.

 

But that is something Lambert can address, because for the first time in several season there is a clear level of player to aim for.

[The DicTaTor 0]

[quote user="cityangel"]

[quote user="Alex "]I''m bored of people moaning about Lambert ''not getting it right''. F#cked off with armchair critics telling us what he should have done, in the aftermath, with the beauty of hindsight. For f•cks sake get behind the team and stop massaging your own internet managing ego''s. There were moments today that were frustrating but I just kept screaming the lads on, it''s about time some of you lot did the same aswell[/quote]

 

Quite agree Alex, doesnt it make you angry, when people who admit they just  listened to the game on the radio,  ring up after the game and give us their opinion on the performance and tell us where Lambert went wrong [:@]

Yes it was disappointing that we didnt win but we''re 12th in the Premier with 36 pts and only 10 games to go, we''ve had a great season and we have one of the best managers in the Premier so what is there to moan about ??

[/quote]Be careful City Angel, anger leads to the dark side!