A Lesson Learned

[ncfcstar 342]

I think we all have to admit that we went into last nights game with a very positive outlook towards how the game would pan out.  This is mainly proved by the fact that the atmosphere last night was so flat, it reminded me very much of the Wigan and Fulham games last season - the crowd had turned up expecting a win and the resultant performance on the pitch reflected the atmosphere in the stadium.That being said, we actually started quite brightly and but for a bit more composure in front of goal, and for Given deciding that the only thing he''s got left in his locker is shot stopping we would have been out of sight before they scored their 2nd.Last night proved a couple of things; one we can''t play 4-4-2 with the players we have at our disposal.  Far too many times last night Holman was able to get into that space between our midfield and defence and could run at our defenders or play a ball through to Bent (Weimann) and Benteke.  He ran the show for Villa in the first half, so much so that he was knackered by 65 mins and his influence waned.  This wouldn''t have happened if we had played our regular 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 however you want to phrase it.  Johnson and Tettey (Howson) would have broken play up before Holman could have got involved, negating his influence and destroying Villa''s play.  This is something we''ve done extremely well in the last couple of months and I was surprised to see that Hughton reverted back to the much vaunted (by some of our fans!!!) 4-4-2.The reason behind this is because Hughton''s hand was forced, and the second thing that was proved last night.  Wes is absolutely vital to our chances of succeeding at this level.  Last night we had no man to link the play and consequently we seemed to be bypassing the midfield far too often.  I can''t believe this was a tactic that Hughton was happy to play, but it was a lot of kick and rush, especially in the second half.  As we were playing with two wingers in a more orthodox role the usually compact play opened the pitch up.  Consequently we kept hitting 40 yard passes when normally we''d have played 4-5 short passes to get in the same position - normally this would have unlocked their defence giving Snodgrass/Pilks free reign at the LB/RB.  The problem Hughton had was we didn''t have another holding midfielder in the squad, and perhaps this is something that needs to be looked at.  I would much rather Howson play in the Wes role on nights like this, but without another DM in the match day squad he had to deputise in the centre of the park, leaving Hughton no choice but to play 4-4-2.Unfortunately Wigan play the same 3-5-2, 5-3-2, as Villa played last night.  We need to revert back to 4-2-3-1 on Saturday to combat this, and Pilks/Snodgrass need to be more disciplined and ignore the wing backs at points, forcing them to defend rather than attack.  A few times we saw this work last night and with a better final ball we could have been in behind their defence on numerous occasions.Last night also showed to me that Morison, and I have never been one of his knockers, either has to play more often or needs to go.  He missed some guilt edged chances, and I can only give him the benefit of the doubt and put it down to rustiness.  We need someone more ruthless than that as a support striker and potential usurper for Holt.  His effort last night should not be ignored but in a roundabout way he cost us the game.We should be fine this season, but in Jan/Summer we need to sign another strong DM to support Johnson and Tettey, giving Howson the chance to play in the hole ala Wes.  We also need to sign, as we all know, a quality striker.  If we had one last night we would have torn that Villa defence to shreds, alas we must go with what we''ve got, but that means 4-2-3-1 has to be played on Saturday otherwise Wigan will have too much possession and too many chances to get in behind us.

[Morisons Prozac 0]

I agree completely in that Howson shouldn''t play so deeply (even if that was his position at Leeds). I also think we should move on Barnett/Ward and bring in another RB so Martin can play in the middle when needed instead.

[Renskay 38]

I''d say for the DM to bring in we should try for Mcdonald Mariga of Inter Milan and brother of Victor Wanyama who has an expiring contract at the end of the season and could be snapped up for nothing

still only 25 and reportedly only on a salary of €700,000 a year

I think he would be quite simply an amazing aquisition at this time

[ncfcstar 342]

I think all powers should be invested in a quality striker, we need a DM who is back up (arguably Fox could play this role but I''d want someone who is more of a destroyer ala Tettey.)  We all knew that already though, and I''m sure Hughton will surprise us in Jan.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Good OP.