Can we save 3-5-2?

[Fez of Mahrez]

Getting a bit of a battering at the moment for being negative. I still think with better passing in the middle of the park, better distribution from the centre-backs and better movement off the ball throughout the team, this formation still suits us more than 4-4-2. A lot to ask but we'd still need all of that with 4-4-2 to be making an impact on this division anyway. Have we got the wingers to use 4-4-2? We've got Hayes who is probably deserving of a start at the moment but not a lot on the right hand side in terms of people who our club are actually willing to admit exist.

Still not making the most of our strongest personnel for 3-5-2 though really... we need an attacking midfielder in the centre of that midfield five (not three) i.e. Hume or King. I don't think Fryatt's the answer by a long chalk. Chambers ahead of Stearman, anyone should be able to see that. I put my hands up to Mattock looking a bit raw at the moment and Sheehan is probably a better option despite his numerous failings.

I think the problem with this formation is that if it doesn't quite work, it looks a total mess. Recently we've actually been playing a sort of weird 5-2-2-1 formation with Fryatt and Campbell playing in old-style wide forward positions and aside from the first half at Colchester where it threatened to solve our problems, it's in fact looked a bit bizarre.

[RowlattsFox]

The problem with the 3-5-2 formation at the moment is that it is a 5-3-2 formation instead which is ok away but not at home, in my opinion the wing-backs should be midfielders who help out in defence but at the moment we have natural defenders playing there who are asked to try and get forward. Our best wing-back was Steve Guppy but i dont remember him being too good defensively, maybe i'm being harsh on him though.

[mancunianfox]

Getting a bit of a battering at the moment for being negative. I still think with better passing in the middle of the park, better distribution from the centre-backs and better movement off the ball throughout the team, this formation still suits us more than 4-4-2. A lot to ask but we'd still need all of that with 4-4-2 to be making an impact on this division anyway. Have we got the wingers to use 4-4-2? We've got Hayes who is probably deserving of a start at the moment but not a lot on the right hand side in terms of people who our club are actually willing to admit exist.

Still not making the most of our strongest personnel for 3-5-2 though really... we need an attacking midfielder in the centre of that midfield five (not three) i.e. Hume or King. I don't think Fryatt's the answer by a long chalk. Chambers ahead of Stearman, anyone should be able to see that. I put my hands up to Mattock looking a bit raw at the moment and Sheehan is probably a better option despite his numerous failings.

I think the problem with this formation is that if it doesn't quite work, it looks a total mess. Recently we've actually been playing a sort of weird 5-2-2-1 formation with Fryatt and Campbell playing in old-style wide forward positions and aside from the first half at Colchester where it threatened to solve our problems, it's in fact looked a bit bizarre.

I think 5-2-2-1 is a pretty accurate way to describe our style of play atm. Its certainly more like that than it is 3-5-2. We definately do not play with five in midfield at the moment. I really think that the players would be helped by a return to 4-4-2 with players playing in their natural positions because at the moment it is quite clear that they just do not know what they are supposed to be doing. There is no organisation at all and most of the time we look like a bit of a shambles.

[blueoveru]

Add to that....... a box to box midfielder with a little bit of vision

[Dames]

It would be good if we didn't have 8 players who could all play right back playing.

[Ultra]

The trouble with 3-5-2 as we play it is that all too often it changes to 5-3-2.

Neither Stearman nor Sheehan are comfortable with it and with another defender (Chambers or Kenton) usually in midfield, the attacking options of the side are severely limited.

4-4-2 is the more effective formation with the players we have. If that means Hume having to play right midfield then so be it.

It's worked before and can work again!

[davieG]

The 5-3-2 worked for Megson because it was his way of playing he knew it inside out. Burrows doesn't have either the same belief, hence the tweaks or the same knowledge of how best to use it. This is causing confusion amongst the players who, let's face it struggle to play any sort of formation let alone one that is unfamiliar to them.

I sometimes wonder which it is, is it the managment that lacks any sort of basic understanding of how to move the ball forward through attacking wingbacks and the mid field or are the players just thick numpties. Whatever there is a distinct lack of intelligence displayed in Leicester City Teams and has been since MON left.

[Fatbloke]

I`m a biig fan of the 3 5 2 formation and lets fcae it, it was what we used during the most successful period in the clubs recent history, agree it needs the right players but it does allow flexibility even a centre half can get forward during open play, witness GMs run and (poor) shot ;-), it can look negative if we`re under the cosh as it turns into a 5 3 2 but by the same token IF we`re on top we can really push on, think the best line up, for now, would be

Fulop (of course)

Kisnorbo (he`s alway`s been alright but now he`s dynamite)

Bruno

Macca

Chambers

Weso

Clem

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuume

Sheehan

Fryatt

John (till we sign another striker)

[Ultra]

The 5-3-2 worked for Megson because it was his way of playing he knew it inside out.

So why haven't we seen it at Bolton yet?

[Fez of Mahrez]

The problem with the 3-5-2 formation at the moment is that it is a 5-3-2 formation instead which is ok away but not at home, in my opinion the wing-backs should be midfielders who help out in defence but at the moment we have natural defenders playing there who are asked to try and get forward. Our best wing-back was Steve Guppy but i dont remember him being too good defensively, maybe i'm being harsh on him though.

I don't think you are. He was one of the worst headers of a ball I have ever seen. He did a shift defensively though - as opposed to defenders who try and get forward when they can. I think the key to that is really two-fold, firstly that we need to be better at retaining possession in midfield and using the three against two to dominate the middle of the park and secondly that the man-marking centre-backs are perhaps a bit too slow.

[davieG]

So why haven't we seen it at Bolton yet?

It has to a degree, as we saw here it takes time for players to adapt to it with the appoach being to get the defence solid and then work on improving the attack. You also need to have the right players for it which Megson may not have.

Don't misunderstand me I'm not advocating Megson of his methods because he will always err on the defensive version of 5-3-2 I'm just taking an objective view of this system.

[Monk]

This is the first intelligent thread I've seen on here in weeks

[Ric Flair]

Unless we have at least 2 central midfielders who can get the ball and put a foot on it until the wingbacks and other midfileders are in a position to get forward and support our forwards then it won't work consistently. Clemence and Wesolowski are capable of this, but neither of them get the ball that regularly the way we are playing (plus neither are regularly fit!) and therefore, the wing-backs rarely get the chance to break forward as we don't have the ball in the areas to allow them to do so. We just tend to go long up to the strikers as there's nothing nearby in front of us to advance. The lack of movement in the team at the minute frightens me, plus it's our 3 centre halves who get the most of the possession and it so happens that these 3 are by far the worst passers in the team as well. Kisnorbo has always had poor distribution, McAuley I always thought was quite composed and intelligent on the ball, but his passing has been atrocious for the most of this season and N'Gotty is very incosistent with his deliveries out of defence.

Until this is rectified, we will never score many goals from open play and therefore we'll never win games on a regular basis. It only takes us to start playing even worse than we already have been doing and the 0-0's and 1-1's soon turn in to 1-0 defeats and we'll be well and truely in the shit.

We have big problems. We're every bit as bad as we were last season, and the likely lads of last season are creeping back in to the fold. We need some creativity and width in our team sharpish, but where's it going to come from? It's crying out for Jean Tigana to sort this all out, but we've missed the boat by the looks of things.

[Monk]

My view on 3-5-2 is that I'm happy with the defence and the strikeforce (well, half happy anyway). The problem as many say, is the midfield.

I don't like to refer to the O'Niell days but we had the perfect setup in the middle back then

Lennon - Holder and distributer

Izzet - Creativity and movement

Savage - mad man chasing down everything

Impey, Guppy - 2 players who could put a half decent ball in the box, note, could not defend for love nor money.

To emulate that we should try to create similar 'roles' for the midfield players.

Chambers / Sheehan (or insert reserve winger who's never going to play here) = Impey / Guppy

Clemence = Lennon

Hume = Izzet

Weso = Savage

Go on those roles and I reckon we could make something out of it. The problem on saturday was that we played 2 lennons (Clem & Kenton) and a Fryatt who to be frank does not fit into any of the above.

I think we should have the same roles up front too - DJ should be Cottee and Collins John / Fryatt should be Heskey.

I know the quality isnt the same, but there's a footballing model there which works. Why not use it.

[Koke]

Part of the problem is that Stephen Clemence and James Wesolowski are way too similar to be playing next to each other and unless there is a third midfielder next to them who are creative as hell, we will continue to struggle.

If we revert back to 4-4-2 then we would be relying on our non-existent wingers for creativity, because Clemence and Weso are not that kind of players. Especially if are chasing the game then we really need an attacking midfielder rather than Clem and Weso.

[Ric Flair]

Part of the problem is that Stephen Clemence and James Wesolowski are way too similar to be playing next to each other and unless there is a third midfielder next to them who are creative as hell, we will continue to struggle.

If we revert back to 4-4-2 then we would be relying on our non-existent wingers for creativity, because Clemence and Weso are not that kind of players. Especially if are chasing the game then we really need an attacking midfielder rather than Clem and Weso.

The Wesolowski and Clemence being similar isn't the problem right now though, we're yet to see that problem crop up. Until our defence actually pass the ball in to our central midfielders and they utilise it out to our wing-backs when they've advanced forward then we'll never create anything anyway. Even if we had Cesc Fabregas in the centre and Didier Drogba up front, without the support and the right style of play in this formation then it will fail. We must create space, allow our central midfielders to have as much of the possession as possible and move quickly in succession on the counter attack.

[mancunianfox]

The Wesolowski and Clemence being similar isn't the problem right now though, we're yet to see that problem crop up. Until our defence actually pass the ball in to our central midfielders and they utilise it out to our wing-backs when they've advanced forward then we'll never create anything anyway. Even if we had Cesc Fabregas in the centre and Didier Drogba up front, without the support and the right style of play in this formation then it will fail. We must create space, allow our central midfielders to have as much of the possession as possible and move quickly in succession on the counter attack.

Spot on post. We're just not playing intelligent enough football to score enough goals and we are not going to do that if we continue to play two defenders and a striker in midfield. We need the midfielders to be looking to provide an outlet for the ball when the defense is in posession. That doesn't happen at the minute as our players never seem to want to have the ball at their feet. They look to offload the ball to the first player when they have it and they don't move off the ball often enough. Even if we did have a midfield that can use the ball they would have no outlets because the movement off the ball by our strikers and wide players is so infrequent.

I do think we need to go back to 4-4-2. If Clemence can find his form and be the player who can take the ball off the defense and take the game on then we need to play with wide midfielders because Clem likes to knock the ball down the wing and involve the wide players. We need Clemence to step up and be the midfield rock and we are certainly not playing to his strengths if we play with three in midfield and wingbacks. At the moment the strikers are having to chase those balls and it leaves us with no attacking threat in the middle.

If we can get the ball out wide and start getting crosses into the box we do have players in the squad who will get on the end of them. Collins John and DJ Campbell both look lively around the six yard box and that is what we should be looking for in a striker. Its all well and good playing Hume and Fryatt who work hard and get shots in from outside the area but they aren't going to win us matches.

I would love to scrap 3-5-2 and I would like to see a return of 4-4-2 for the Cardiff game with players in their natural positions with midfielders who are going to chase the ball down the flanks.

Fulop

Stearman N'Gotty Kisnorbo Sheehan

Newton Weso Clemence Hayes

Campbell John

I know dropping Fryatt and Hume wouldn't be popular but they aren't suited to the way I would like to see Leicester play atm.

[Fez of Mahrez]

Spot on post. We're just not playing intelligent enough football to score enough goals and we are not going to do that if we continue to play two defenders and a striker in midfield. We need the midfielders to be looking to provide an outlet for the ball when the defense is in posession. That doesn't happen at the minute as our players never seem to want to have the ball at their feet. They look to offload the ball to the first player when they have it and they don't move off the ball often enough. Even if we did have a midfield that can use the ball they would have no outlets because the movement off the ball by our strikers and wide players is so infrequent.

I do think we need to go back to 4-4-2. If Clemence can find his form and be the player who can take the ball off the defense and take the game on then we need to play with wide midfielders because Clem likes to knock the ball down the wing and involve the wide players. We need Clemence to step up and be the midfield rock and we are certainly not playing to his strengths if we play with three in midfield and wingbacks. At the moment the strikers are having to chase those balls and it leaves us with no attacking threat in the middle.

If we can get the ball out wide and start getting crosses into the box we do have players in the squad who will get on the end of them. Collins John and DJ Campbell both look lively around the six yard box and that is what we should be looking for in a striker. Its all well and good playing Hume and Fryatt who work hard and get shots in from outside the area but they aren't going to win us matches.

I would love to scrap 3-5-2 and I would like to see a return of 4-4-2 for the Cardiff game with players in their natural positions with midfielders who are going to chase the ball down the flanks.

Fulop

Stearman N'Gotty Kisnorbo Sheehan

Newton Weso Clemence Hayes

Campbell John

I know dropping Fryatt and Hume wouldn't be popular but they aren't suited to the way I would like to see Leicester play atm.

I'd agree with that team if you take out Stearman and Newton in favour of Chambers and Hume.

[Thracian]

I'd agree with that team if you take out Stearman and Newton in favour of Chambers and Hume.

I'd be happy with that too - with King on the bench. My own choice, however would have Clemence on the bench.

[Manwell Pablo]

I think the problem with our 3-5-2 is our wingbacks don't defend or attack overly well, obviously Sheehans got his set pieces and I have to say he looks a better overall player than Stearman at the minute but from open play, neither give you a really good wide option like the Guppy sort of player being discussed in this thread, and both have their severe limitations at the back. Then of course theres a total lack of a really creative player in the midfield, something with been lacking arguable since Izzet left, our strike force feeds on scraps and it shows in the amount of goals we score, sure the three defenders do a good job a nullifying the other team but they can't keep clean sheets every game, it only takes one goal and Leicester are in trouble, as we hardly ever score more than that ourselves.

We were rubbish on Saturday then? I've herd literally nothing besides Burnley one nil Andy Gray.

[mancunianfox]

I'd agree with that team if you take out Stearman and Newton in favour of Chambers and Hume.

I would like to see players in their natural positions. I don't think Hume can cross the ball well enough to play in that position although I don't really rate Newton much either. As for Stearman/Chambers I would prefer Chambers playing there too though as Stearman has been part of a good defense it would be a tough choice.

I'd be happy with that too - with King on the bench.

I'd probably put King on the bench too.

[Fez of Mahrez]

Mablo - we were horrific. Worst home performance since QPR last season.

[Lovejoy]

Mablo - we were horrific. Worst home performance since QPR last season.

Blimey I'd forgotten about that

[mancunianfox]

Mablo - we were horrific. Worst home performance since QPR last season.

It was even worse than that. We actually weren't too bad in the first half against QPR last season. We were shit for 90 mins on Saturday.

[Fez of Mahrez]

It was even worse than that. We actually weren't too bad in the first half against QPR last season. We were shit for 90 mins on Saturday.

Hmm. Defensively we were fairly solid though, as opposed to letting Marc Nygaard score a belter from 30 yards.

We're splitting hairs though - either way, we were ****ing abysmal.