Time To Drop The 5-3-2? (1 Viewer)

Im not sure it needs to be completely dropped , but we do need a plan B, and im not so sure that the defeats were humiliating , maybe some of our supporters need to realise where and what we are these days

In my opinion against the better teams in the league it is a formation we should start the game with. We have proven that against, Barnsley Sheff Utd, Yeovil that it does work. I just think against the weaker teams we should be really going to win games and win them comfortbly maybe a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3

TrueSkyBlueLiam said:

After humiliating defeats to Scunthorpe and Rochdale

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we lost one game due to Reda being sent off, and the other because of an individual error. Its hardly "humiliating".


Within the last few years, recent games I remember going to against Charlton, Tranmere, Shrewsbury, now they were humiliating.

TrueSkyBlueLiam said:

They are 2 of the smallest teams in the league. Although they were never gonna be easy wins, we should have done better. From what I heard, we were woeful at Rochdale. And you cant rely on 1 player to win you a match so you cant put the blame all on Reda. Oh, and you forgot Notts County from that lost

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Tell that to man utd and everton fans

CraigSBA said:

Tell that to man utd and everton fans

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my colleague is a Man Utd fan, so I just to him Rochdale and Scunthorpe are two of the smallest teams in League One.

He didn't seem that bothered.

Sorry Liam, but I completely disagree with the whole sentiment, against Scunthorpe we were winning until an error from Reda Johnson and I am sure we would have gone on to win the game, Rochdale at the weekend was very similar, we were much the better team until the Penalty was given, I was convinced up until that point that we needed to remain patient and it would come but the penalty came and the momentum and game changed completely.

I am not sure either game was humiliating in such a sense either although that depends on who you ask I am sure however I am sure that many will not see it that way.

If there was a couple of things I would change it would be:

Burge for Allsopp - I can't see any difference in abilities, however with Burge being highly rated we need to give him a chance.

Drop Conor Thomas - I can't understand why the kid plays, constantly weak in the challenge and doesn't offer anything going forward. I'd replace him with Swanson, Barton or Coulibaly.

Mentality - Fans need to calm down, this league will be tighter, at this point last season we had 14 points from 9 and we were deducted 10 points and sat in 22nd 18 points shy of the top 3, this time around we are 4 points shy and 11th in a much tighter league, I am sure over a 46 season game season we will be right up there, asking if there should be changes after 9 games is mind boggling to be fair.




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I think we can have success with it but we need to utilise the wing backs more, we've done it in parts but not enough for my liking.

CCFC said:

I think we can have success with it but we need to utilise the wing backs more, we've done it in parts but not enough for my liking.

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That's one thing I wondered to myself Saturday all evening long, why drop Ryan Haynes who has been hot on form for Danny Pugh hasn't even had game time and expect Danny to produce? I know SP doesn't want to burn Ryan Haynes out, but for that reason SP needs to be introducing Pugh as a sub to the game replacing Ryan Haynes, Saturday proved that as we didn't have the attacking outlet of Ryan Haynes and Pugh didn't look at the races..


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5-3-2 against the top six away
4-4-2 against the rest
Simple.

LJC_CCFC said:

5-3-2 against the top six away
4-4-2 against the rest
Simple.

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Not far from it here, there is certainly a 'sit back' 5-3-2 formation which clearly we played at Rochdale but we certainly had an more attacking version when we have been at home. Scunny game was different due to the early sending off which changed the game for us. I think the only concern would be that we do not seem to change to a Plan B (maybe 4-4-2) when the current formation isnt working. SP Seems a little naive or just stubborn to change it.

TrueSkyBlueLiam said:

After humiliating defeats to Scunthorpe and Rochdale, I've heard quite a few City fans blaming the 5-3-2 formation. Some feel that it isn't the right formation and that the effect of the wing-backs is minimal. Is it too defensive? Do we have the right players to make the formation work? Whats your view on this? For this week's Cook's Question, we want to know if you think it is time to drop the 5-3-2 and what formation could we replace it with? Is it time to revert back to the good ol' fashioned 4-4-2? A diamond midfield? Or even the 4-4-1-1? Register your vote and let us know why you chose that option. If you don't want your comments read out on the show then please say so. Sports Lounge returns to Hillz FM this Thursday after a 1 week break at 10AM on 98.6FM, so tune in if you can. We'll also be looking into the possible arrival of London Wasps to the Ricoh and the battle for the F1 World Championship. If you wanna get involved in any matter on the show, tweet us @Hillz_SL or phone me in the studio and we can have a convo live on air. The number will be given on the show. Thanks again for your brilliant support. PLAY UP SKY BLUES!

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I stopped reading after the 'humiliating' nonsense

My fear is that a return to 442, will see us become defensively weak like last season (not overly. convinced what Reda would be like in a 2). We conceded around 1.8 goals per game last season, but had Clarke and Wilson banging in a goal a game each. Can't see this team having enough goals in them to compensate poor defence and a defensively poor centre midfield partnership.


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stupot07 said:

My fear is that a return to 442, will see us become defensively weak like last season (not overly. convinced what Reda would be like in a 2). We conceded around 1.8 goals per game last season, but had Clarke and Wilson banging in a goal a game each. Can't see this team having enough goals in them to compensate poor defence and a defensively poor centre midfield partnership.


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and we don't haver the wingers to do it

ccfcway said:

and we don't haver the wingers to do it

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TBF we only had one last year In Baker ,Moose played wide left majority IIRC.

We have Swanson ,O'brien and Coulibally.

Two of those have yet to convince .

City Boss On Coulibaly.
Coventry City manager Steven Pressley has admitted that Mo Coulibaly does not currently fit into his system.
Pressley took the midfielder, who was picked up an injury in pre-season, on loan from AFC Bournemouth, but has yet to give him a league start.

The City boss speaking at this morning's press conference had admitted that he bought Coulibaly to play in a 4-4-2 system but is currently playing 3-5-2.

<<After fustrating defeats to Scunthorpe and Rochdale, I've heard quite a few City fans blaming the 5-3-2 formation. Some feel that it isn't the right formation and that the effect of the wing-backs is minimal. Is it too defensive? Do we have the right players to make the formation work? Whats your view on this? For this week's Cook's Question, we want to know if you think it is time to drop the 5-3-2 and what formation could we replace it with? Is it time to revert back to the good ol' fashioned 4-4-2? A diamond midfield? Or even the 4-4-1-1? Register your vote and let us know why you chose that option. If you don't want your comments read out on the show then please say so. Sports Lounge returns to Hillz FM this Thursday after a 1 week break at 10AM on 98.6FM, so tune in if you can. We'll also be looking into the possible arrival of London Wasps to the Ricoh and the battle for the F1 World Championship. If you wanna get involved in any matter on the show, tweet us @Hillz_SL or phone me in the studio and we can have a convo live on air. The number will be given on the show. Thanks again for your brilliant support. PLAY UP SKY BLUES!>>



Nope, you changed it to fustrating.

Why don't you go back again and correct it then put a full stop after frustrating and delete the rest.

to a degree I am a little confused as to what SP is trying to do

He has a transfer window during which he brings in players to play 442 then having got the players to play that changes it to a defensive 352. No issue which formation but I am not convinced we have players that are comfortable with 352 and we have ended up making do.
Makes a big thing about signing Burge but then insists on playing someone elses keeper who doesn't fill many with confidence including the players I suspect.
Reda is essential not only to the back three but also the teams confidence and belief but he will get booked etc and will go missing for games and there is no replacement (whilst talking Reda - I am impressed by Willis he is composed and adds the speed to the back 3)
Haynes will need to take regular breaks so that he doesn't burn out (pretty much what has happened to Thomas I feel)
Clarke or Pugh as wing backs - not in my book but we are making do.
Webster in a back three (yes I know he has had a decent game or two) but never thought he had the speed or mobility in a four let alone a three.
The central midfield area is a concern, it is ok going forward if slowly, but you don't get the feel they are good at getting their foot in so it puts pressure on the defence.
Up front we lack real speed and composure.

As players struggle to play a system they are not entirely comfortable with as yet then I think we can expect a few blips and some lack of confidence
Early days I know but somehow you get the feeling that players are made to fit the system rather than the system fits (and therefore gets the best from) the group of players we have. Not faulting any of the effort or commitment but to get promoted it will require more than that. Early days and maybe unfair to criticise after the last two defeats, SP knows the players far better than any of us but it just doesn't feel right just now.

Fingers crossed it will all improve as they get used to it, because SP doesn't seem to like to change a plan quickly once he has decided on it. Things will settle down think we will be in the top half of the table but in the same way as I am not panicked by the system I am not triumphing a push to promotion. Its a tough tight division and it will remain so all season with every one capable of beating anyone else.

Personally I don't buy into the Pressley hype, or at least I don't anymore. He has no obvious philosophy and changes his system like the wind. It's pretty obvious that like many naive managers out there, he watched LVG and Holland at the WC and just blindly copied them. The reality is 5-3-2/3-5-2 etc systems take A LOT of time to master, you also need specific players for them. Having spoken to two mates who play a decent standard of non-league, they assure me that 5-3-2 is not an easy system to adjust to or to get right.

In response to what Stupot said I would tend to agree. Yes it certainly is a risk changing to a back four given last seasons defensive performances. However in Hines and Reda we have two centre halves who have played in back fours for basically their whole careers, much of which has been at a higher standard than League One. As for the forwards, there is no way Clarke and Wilson would score the same amount in this system, they just wouldn't get enough chances. Switch to a 4 at the back system, allowing our forwards (Jackson and Nouble) to take chances rather than create them. For me Jackson has the potentially to score more than Wilson or Clarke did.

Disagree about Hines and Reda.

Hines has played 73 league games at the age of 26 before coming on loan to us. And he played a fair amount of those appearances in midfield.

And when you look at Reda's career statistics and given he played left back for Wednesday he hasn't got more experience at centre back in a higher league than league one.

If anything, Webster is our most experienced centre an who's used to a back four

Also I think you're doing Clarke and Wilson a disservice, they created a lot of goals between them through interplay coming from longish balls. Also wilson's pace would drag the team up 10-15 yards. I don't know what the answer is but I'm certain a shift to 442 will see us start to concede more.

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stupot07 said:

Disagree about Hines and Reda.

Hines has played 73 league games at the age of 26 before coming on loan to us. And he played a fair amount of those appearances in midfield.

And when you look at Reda's career statistics and given he played left back for Wednesday he hasn't got more experience at centre back in a higher league than league one.

If anything, Webster is our most experienced centre an who's used to a back four


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Let's play Webster then

It is always good to come on here and have a laugh.

Reda being sent off so early most probably cost us a win. Missing him against Rochdale and not having Haynes lost us most of our attacking power. But to say we are poor playing 5-3-2 is a joke. Rochdale had less chances than they scored goals the game before us.

My biggest problem is that without Reda we haven't scored for over 2 1/2 hours. And ee don't have him for another two games. When Haynes and Reda run at defences they pull them apart. We need something for the next two games.

TrueSkyBlueLiam said:

We have another vote for NO on Facebook. Looks like No is pulling away. Why do you think we should keep the 5-3-2?

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It comes down to a few things I guess. In Haynes you have someone well suited to playing wing back, but there's nobody who seems able to do it on the right. We are also missing a central midfielder who can do the dirty work and offer the 3 centre backs and the more creative players more protection. Also for the first time in years we're using a relative novice in goal whose poor communication is causing a surprising number of problems.

These aren't difficult things to fix and it's just a few players away from coming good.