Following my post yesterday regarding the general apathetic and apologetic nature of our fans towards our manager, and the whole repetitive mantra of ''he has no tools to work with'', ''no point in changing the manager with no funds'' etc etc, I just wanted to point out to those arguing that his tactics are not to blame, the reason why he is clearly playing the wrong system.
I do not proclaim to be the next Matthew, Clough, Fergie et al, but I do have a huge amount of experience as a semi-professional coach and manager and have many acquaintances high up in the game to take advice from as well as having coached some now professional players. That is a fact and not a boast before people harp on about me claiming to know more than Thorn, I don't but I do have more managerial experience, albeit at a lower level.
To play the passing diamond you need to pass at pace, you need your players to MOVE, you need your players to want the ball, you almost need the diamond to rotate like a wheel and gather round whoever has the ball, to allow the intricate nature of this system to work. However, most importantly, you need TO GRADUALLY MOVE FORWARD, whilst constantly passing round the diamond. WE DON'T do that, so the diamond, although allowing us to keep possession, generally moves in the opposite direction (backwards) with the players staying rooted to their basic positions. This is a clear and very basic floor in football management.
The solution? To play an adaptive 5-3-2 to 3-5-1-1 system, simple. This would suit our players. Allow me to explain.
We continually get overrun in midfield, we continually have gaps at the back and our forwards are continually too far apart. The system would work like this, and this is why it would suit our players:
When in defence the system would look:
Murphy
Christie - Keogh - Cranie/Mcpake/Cameron - Wood - Hussey
Clingan
Thomas Deegan
Juke McDonald
This packs the defence, both down the sides and the middle, with a combination of height, power and finesse whilst leaving Clingan in almost a sweeper role and the ability to outlet the ball to the midfield 3.
When attacking the system would look like:
Murphy
Keogh - Cranie/Mcpake/Cameron - Wood
Clingan
Christie Thomas Deegan Hussey
McDonald
Juke
This allows natural width when attacking, pushes Juke and Mcdonald closer together and allows a total of 4 midfielders to attack with CLingan sitting back. This also forces the opposition to drop a stiker deeper meaning a slower break, as we do seem to be hit by speedy breaks (a'la Millwall/Southampton) and incase of a sudden break up of our play from the opposition and hoof forward, e have both Keogh and Wood who can move across to almost full-back position. In any case when one of the wing-backs is attacking, the other would hang back, so we would still in essence have 4 players in defence.
This system negates the need to play Bell/Baker and would also work better for Platt and McSheffrey if required.
I am not saying this should always be used, but due to the way we play the diamond and the natural tendancy for Hussey and Christie to attack the flanks (leaving us open with the diamond), and teh fact this would also mean that opposition teams could not attack as freely, should be our default system.
Just my 2 cents. ''Grabs popcorn and awaits abuse.''
I do not proclaim to be the next Matthew, Clough, Fergie et al, but I do have a huge amount of experience as a semi-professional coach and manager and have many acquaintances high up in the game to take advice from as well as having coached some now professional players. That is a fact and not a boast before people harp on about me claiming to know more than Thorn, I don't but I do have more managerial experience, albeit at a lower level.
To play the passing diamond you need to pass at pace, you need your players to MOVE, you need your players to want the ball, you almost need the diamond to rotate like a wheel and gather round whoever has the ball, to allow the intricate nature of this system to work. However, most importantly, you need TO GRADUALLY MOVE FORWARD, whilst constantly passing round the diamond. WE DON'T do that, so the diamond, although allowing us to keep possession, generally moves in the opposite direction (backwards) with the players staying rooted to their basic positions. This is a clear and very basic floor in football management.
The solution? To play an adaptive 5-3-2 to 3-5-1-1 system, simple. This would suit our players. Allow me to explain.
We continually get overrun in midfield, we continually have gaps at the back and our forwards are continually too far apart. The system would work like this, and this is why it would suit our players:
When in defence the system would look:
Murphy
Christie - Keogh - Cranie/Mcpake/Cameron - Wood - Hussey
Clingan
Thomas Deegan
Juke McDonald
This packs the defence, both down the sides and the middle, with a combination of height, power and finesse whilst leaving Clingan in almost a sweeper role and the ability to outlet the ball to the midfield 3.
When attacking the system would look like:
Murphy
Keogh - Cranie/Mcpake/Cameron - Wood
Clingan
Christie Thomas Deegan Hussey
McDonald
Juke
This allows natural width when attacking, pushes Juke and Mcdonald closer together and allows a total of 4 midfielders to attack with CLingan sitting back. This also forces the opposition to drop a stiker deeper meaning a slower break, as we do seem to be hit by speedy breaks (a'la Millwall/Southampton) and incase of a sudden break up of our play from the opposition and hoof forward, e have both Keogh and Wood who can move across to almost full-back position. In any case when one of the wing-backs is attacking, the other would hang back, so we would still in essence have 4 players in defence.
This system negates the need to play Bell/Baker and would also work better for Platt and McSheffrey if required.
I am not saying this should always be used, but due to the way we play the diamond and the natural tendancy for Hussey and Christie to attack the flanks (leaving us open with the diamond), and teh fact this would also mean that opposition teams could not attack as freely, should be our default system.
Just my 2 cents. ''Grabs popcorn and awaits abuse.''
