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Yep, formations are becoming increasingly irrelevant in the attacking side of the game. The reason 4-4-2 is making a comeback is because it is a structured defensive shape but in attack can be position-less. FourFourTwo YouTube channel did a good breakdown video on how Carsley used 4-4-2 to...

In practice, this recreates the shape when we had when we played 5-3-2. Torp and Rudoni operated high and wide, the latter in particular had a free role to operate wherever. Then Allen was asked to cover a lot of defensive ground. I’m not 100% sure Torp, Eccles or Shesf could do that as well as...

That’s what I’d have in mind. Brau will probably supplant JDS. One thing Andrews did well yesterday was to get inside the box which lead to a decent chance. That’s what I’d imagine Rudoni on the RW would look like. I’d probably like to see Sakamoto at LW if Rudoni is playing wide because his...

This is probably the best next step for him. With Eccles to come back, he’s going to be 5th choice and game time will be difficult to come by. He’s showed promise and he certainly should hold his head high. Had some solid touches but others were slightly naive… would you back him to play LW if...

Obviously it’s ‘speculation’ because Lampard isn’t going to air the dirty laundry in public. Considering people said Simms was done here because he didn’t play v Sunderland or Hull… it’s much more serious for Bassette that he’s being left out of the squad in preseason. This opinion is quite...

Do you think Bassette is happy being 5th choice? Obviously not. He will want a move away. Common sense is saying that if he’s not being selected in preseason nor a rotated LC game when there’s no injuries or suspensions (Wright was out for Betis and he was still not selected at all), it paints...

You’re not wrong. Equally, when a player is frozen out this badly, it makes you think what has he done to have gone from 1st choice to 5th choice in 8 months. My impression is that Bassette believes he’s better than he actually is at this moment and probably believes he should be playing. I...

Lampard will be v happy with his striking options. Not many teams will have better depth than Wright, BTA and Simms. All of them have a track record of scoring in the Championship. People will moan, but last season was an outlier for Simms and BTA. They get this season to turn it around before...

At this point, I don’t think there’s a way back for Bassette. Whatever he’s done, it seems to have really rubbed Lampard and his coaching staff up the wrong way. Bassette started most of Lampard’s first 11 or so games and now he’s not even getting on the bench for a League Cup tie where all the...

Where has Lampard said he wants a striker? The reference I’ve seen is that he mentioned pre-Luton / post-Hull that we have no left wingers. I’d be v disappointed if we sold Rudoni this late in the day. Unless we’ve got £20-30m in transfer outgoings lined up (assuming MVE sold too), I’m not sold...

Whilst that’s true, how many games did we need to go to 4th in the depth chart? Luton away was a biggy and there may have been 2-3 games when we played 5-3-2. Thomas in particular deserves credit for being fit and available, he hasn’t missed a league game through injury since he’s joined...

We’re after Charlie Hughes (or were) so something is in the pipeline. Considering Thomas, Kitching and Lati have all been reliable injury-wise, I’m a bit more relaxed with getting to Jan on 3 CBs. This is because if we’re signing a CB, they need to be a Day 1 starter imo - no point in signing...

I think the individual stats aren’t as favourable for Kitching. Last year a lot of people justified Lati and Binks starting ahead of Kitching because statistically they were comparable. The problem was that whenever you paired Lati & Binks together, we kept less clean sheets and conceded close...

To be honest, you’re amongst the most guilty on here for confirmation bias. You’ve never liked Lampard and any evidence were declining in performance and you’re all over it. I’m sure said similar things when we beat Bristol and Oxford last year in the cup.

Personally, I think Thomas is a better defender than Kitching. The two do compliment each other v well and it’s a position where you need good combinations. I would necessarily sign a CB unless they’re next level and will start ahead of them both.

It’s not a direct comparison. If we rewind back to 22/23, there were games where Vik missed many big chances, he led the big chances metric by a mile. IIRC, it was v Birmingham where we won 2-0 and Vik scored a penalty. He had 2-3 gilt edge chances that he missed before the penalty. He got the...

For me, Saka doesn’t take on defenders as much as I’d like to be honest. His dribble moves are mostly to create space for a cross or pass to a marauding fullback. Granted, he’s got excellent technique because some of his shots and crosses are perfect placements… However, I want to see our...

His movement in the box is v good. There was a good move in the box where he did a spin-like move to beat his defender but the ball was just a bit too far away and ended up in the goalkeepers hands. People think we need a bruiser in the box, we don’t. Simms’ headers weren’t by towering up above...

Scapegoat indeed, I heard a group of lads slagging him off on Saturday even though he hadn’t even played. He is more than capable as a deputy to Haji Wright as things stand.

He did miss chances but got the all important winning goal. You look back at Vik and all the chances he missed, you wouldn’t have predicted he’d be an elite striker, he led the ‘big chances missed’ by a country mile in 21/22 and 22/23. He got in good goal scoring positions, got a goal and...