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Salopian

Most important, but time for change!

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Next match is, as usual, a defining match for us, six-pointer, etc.etc.

 

Everyone agrees that we need a win, just one win, to be virtually home and dry. The four home games - Swansea, Reading,Villa and WBA are all tough., and it may be that WBA with little left to play for could be our best chance.

 

I feel that we cannot wait, the game against Swansea could be the one where we change, for success and to settle us down. Reading will be tough, and they have shown that they can play. I don''t fancy us against Villa.

 

The changes we need, I feel, are at least three:

1) Formation. It''s a home game, the crowd will be behind them, so now is the time to throw off the defence-minded, cautious approach, and actually score some goals. I, for one, will be disappointed if we play our usual 4-5-1 and try to contain. It hasn''t worked. If we are not the lowest scoring team in the table, we are close to it. Aiming to scrape home with a further series of draws is a dangerous policy, as two of our remaining games are likely to mean defeats (Man C and Arsenal).

 

2) Selection. It is obvious that we have had two problems all season - strikers not taking chances and midfield not creating good chances. If all outfield players, apart from Surs, are now fit, perhaps we should think of giving one or two of the less regular players a chance - Becchio, Whittaker, in particular.

 

3) Substitutions. We had the puzzle yesterday that after they scored we replaced the more attack-minded Howson by the more defensive Tettey, - a strange decision, when it was likely that Wigan would sit on their lead. CH, for all his qualities, seems to pre-arrange and do late substitutions. Several have remarked that we had put in a lot of effort yesterday and were beginning to tire noticeably just before they scored. Surely that was the point to bring on some fresh legs, and not delay until the last 10 minutes, or even five minutes, when there is less chance of impact.

If it is obvious that a player is having an off day, rather than persevering until a pre-determined late time, it is surely bette to replace him straight away. The same is true of a formation change which is not working. (I don''t want to open old wounds, but one of the best features of Lambert''s tactics was his willingness to consider change at an early stage. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn''t, but at the moment our unvarying tactics make us predictable and therfore counterable.

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Thinks it time for 442, whether it''s Jackson Holt kamara or becchio I dunno. Kamara offers more off the bench, so I would go

Bunn

Martin Turner bassong garrido

Snodgrass tettey Johnson Pilkington

Holt becchio

Camp Whittaker howson Bennett hoolahan Jackson kamara

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Yep, 451 doesn''t mean we are going out to contain, whilst 442 instantly means we are going to score goals for fun. We''ve seen that that isn''t the case whenever we have swapped to 442 already this season. Anyone who thinks that a formation change will make anything better on its own is probably using a rather selective memory. It hasn''t really changed anything whenever we have used it this year.

What needs to be changed is the general mindset. I don''t care what formation we play, as long as we push higher, close down, get in the opposition''s face, pressure them on the ball, and look to hit them when we have the ball. Do those things higher up the pitch than we''ve been playing recently and against the weaker sides we''ll still keep clean sheets and will be far more likely to score as well.

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