Do we really want to stay up??

[mr_man 0]

Well, after reading this I feel I should post. If you feel this post is long don''t read it - no-one is forcing you to!

For a start the Championship is almost completely about money. The pursuit of the riches of the Premier League. This in turn means those with money in that league generally, but not always, dominate. Look at OPR, Southampton, Cardiff, Leicester and even Watford with the ownership of the Pozzo family. The excitement of the Championship comes from the desperate struggle for money, the desire for financial security and to compete against the best. If we stay up this season we will have achieved our short term aims. The long term aim to be a competitive team will mean that we will spend money - which will please some of you! The excitement of the Championship and League One seasons needs to be looked at in the context of where we are now.

The next point I hear is that Hughton is defensive and prefers power to flair in his players. His team selection does not back this up. He consistently chooses Pilkington over the hard working Elliot Bennett (so defensively sound that some saw him as a solution at right-back last season). The same argument applies when he chooses Snodgrass over Bennett. However it is the incorporation of Hoolahan into his formation that shows he sees the benefit of flair players. It is, in my eyes, a choice between Hoolahan, two strikers or the diamond formation. Discounting the diamond as not one of Hughton''s preferred formations this means we either play our most creative player or two big men (or the ineffective Jackson). If we had a creator who could also score two forward players would be an option - maybe Kei Kamara can be this man. My point may have been lost in there but it is that one striker is NOT a necessarily defensive formation.

The ''let''s stick two up top'' argument is my favourite to read on here. This does NOT mean I don''t think we should go with two strikers in certain games - a 4-4-2 or a diamond does have its place. It is my point that the criticism of 4-4-1-1 as a necessarily defensive formation is not true. After all Spain and Barcelona can play without a striker at all and produce wonderful football. It is about the way the formation is applied by the players and those players who are applying the formation. In the summer, if we are to continue with this formation I believe (if Kei Kamara is not the answer) we will sign a quicker striker, capable of stretching teams and scoring which we sorely miss at the moment. My point here is that persevering with 4-4-1-1 is not a futile exercise. It can be the answer. However, I do concede that whilst it may mean dropping Hoolahan a 4-4-2 may suit the rest of our current players.