DAY 1_ 20-09-2012- Can the squad actually cope with L1? (2 Viewers)

[kevinleftpeg]

Open question guys- discuss

What has MR actually got to work with that can deliver in L1?
I state this as it is defo a different beast in this Division.

Who do you think can hack it? Being hounded, kicked & having to compete against Teams better equipped to play the 'ball in the air' style.

My worry is that too many will not be able to adapt, regardless if they should be good enough 'on paper'.

I personally want a simple 4-4-2 & hope MR identifies those best suited for this league asap.

KLP

 

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[RichieGunns]

I want to stay away from the 4-4-2. I don't believe it's the way. With the right loan signings I believe a 4-3-3 formation will be a lot better for this team.

I think the question you should really be asking the players is 'When will you be able to hack this league?' rather than the one you stated. Players who have either played in this league or played in higher leagues (champ, Prem, international etc) should be able to adapt to this level of football.

Its the players who haven't played at those levels that you have to worry about. Those would include the Edj, Malaga etc. To be honest though I'd rather just wait and see what MR does because he'll probably do something completely different to what any of us suggest lol

 

[gouldberg]

I think in terms of overall ability and skill they're a lot better than most players in this league. Problem is though, it's a very rough, non-glamorous league. It makes Michael Doyle look tame. We don't really have any players in our squad that have the bite needed for this division. If a match is open, both sides attacking and both passing the ball along the ground we should win hands down (if we have some confidence in the squad), but those kind of games in League 1 are rare.

When it comes to a tough game requiring some real bite and grit in midfield we'll continue to struggle like we have so far this season. Thomas, Barton etc, they all strike me as more the creative type of player, not the hard tackling enforcer we need. Jennings doesn't seem to have anything on Doyle in terms of winding up opposition players either. That's our problem.

Other teams know they can get into an ugly scrappy game with us and come away with a win. We need to change something, we need to install some real bite, we need to scare the opposition. Until we can do that we'll continue to struggle and continue to linger in the bottom 6. Without an enforcer or 2 in the side, without more power and more strength League 2 may be a real possibility.

The players currently are too soft and our current league position will be of no surprise to those that really know what League 1 is about. We're set up for the Championship, not League 1, and as a result, despite the class of player we may or may not possess, we're really going to struggle in my opinion.