If that’s our load shot, then it’s a disappointment. We talk about a change in formation but have we built the squad in such a way that change is easy? It kinda reminds me of the Mowbray second season, when we bought for a 4231, it wasn’t working so we pivoted (I think) to a 343 but without the personnel to do it, thus seeing Sordell out on the wing. Obviously it’s not as bad as that, but I still think the lack of options is concerning.
The glaring omission though has been outright pace. As BSB said, it seemed fairly obvious that this season we’d need to be more defensively compact, more direct and have the ability (through pace) to create an attack with 2 or 3 players committed to it. I don’t really see that. EMC is good but not overly quick (and never gets played a direct ball despite making the run for it about 25316 times a game), Awoniyi’s quick but can’t sustain it for 60 minutes let alone 90, Sakamoto definitely not considered quick. The only real pace we’ve added is Tchaouna but he is nowhere near capable of launching an attack on his own.