Team to Survive

[An Sionnach]

10 minutes ago, Legend_in_blue said:

You can field any team you like, if they don't want it badly enough, the team selection is irrelevant.

Our players are going to damage their careers and earning potential irreversibly if they don't give every single thing they have got in the next eight matches. It still might not be enough but accepting relegation tamely will be unforgivable. For me , managers, formation and tactics are far less important than attitude. The great escape team had that in spades.

[Dickov22]

1 hour ago, nnfox said:

At last!  A thread created that hasn't written off the season.  We still have 8 games and it's very close down at the bottom.  It is still possible that we stay up!

 

Yes, we have players that posses the talent to stay up - that's not in doubt, but they do need to quickly change their mindset and find an extra 10% effort individually.

 

                       Iverson

Ricardo     Evans      Souttar     Kristiansen

                        Mendy

            Tete   Maddison Barnes

               Kel         Daka

 

Praet, Youri and Faes all important subs.

 

How can you watch Faes on Saturday and decide he’s not worthy of a place in the starting 11? Only one who looked like he cared and had a really good game. That last ditch tackle on Solanke was fantastic. He’d be exactly the kind of bloke you want in the trenches with you and that’s exactly where we are. 

[Mark_w]

47 minutes ago, CalH said:

If Forest can take a point with a draw v Man City, why can’t we? 

Because Forest are better than us?

[An Sionnach]

Their might be an argument for Jonny Evans to join the other two on the touchline. Playing him after so long out and not match fit would be risky. However , his great knowledge and experience could certainly be used temporarily.

[ithuriel]

The team has been coached into playing, slow moving passive football, where we either pass it slowly back until we are passing around our penalty area or we are stuck up the pitch  passing it around their box, leaving huge spaces at the back, it's going to take a couple games at least to start to coach that out of them.

[Fox92]

These lot haven’t got it in them to survive.

[JamesWelshFox]

Iverson

Ricardo - Souttar - Evans - Cags - Kristiansen

Madders - Mendy - KDH

Nacho - Daka

[st albans fox]

Can’t understand why people are putting cags forward to play 

he is leaving in two months - he isn’t going to put it all in and risk an injury after what he’s been through here 

 

the main things we need are 100% Commitment and 100% concentration 

[Twitcher]

Great to see so many thinking on the same lines, with the majority of line-ups suggesting two upfront, with Soumare and Ndidi nowhere near the starting eleven, so how come the two in charge got it so wrong on Saturday, and can't see what's obvious? Just baffling.

A must win game, at home, and we go with zero central midfield creativity and movement, and one up top.

 

Iversen

 

Ricardo

Souttar (Evans if fit)

Faes 

Thomas

 

Maddison

Barnes

Mendy (Tielemans if fit)

Dewsbury-Hall (Praet if it's too unbalanced on the right)

 

Kel

Daka (Vardy to play a part last 20)

 

Would play Albrighton if he was there; ridiculous to let him go.

 

We need to win games. The mentality of the midfield has to be to attack. This side might not be as solid defensively in midfield, but so what. We need to start moving for the defence; give them passing options, and play forwards.

Edit: Forgot we played Amartey as well on Saturday. It just keeps getting worse with the flashbacks.

 

Edited 10 April 2023 by Twitcher

[Filberts lovechild]

2 hours ago, nnfox said:

At last!  A thread created that hasn't written off the season.  We still have 8 games and it's very close down at the bottom.  It is still possible that we stay up!

 

Yes, we have players that posses the talent to stay up - that's not in doubt, but they do need to quickly change their mindset and find an extra 10% effort individually.

 

                       Iverson

Ricardo     Evans      Souttar     Kristiansen

                        Mendy

            Tete   Maddison Barnes

               Kel         Daka

 

Praet, Youri and Faes all important subs.

 

Spot on. Would also consider getting Cags back in the fold

[ThorpeAstleyFox]

The biggest issue for me is the lack of leadership and fight on the pitch. We have 3 home games against relegation rivals and we must approach these with a positive mentality (two up front; Maddison as a 10; high press; fast in our transitions; attacking full backs). If we win these 3 games then I believe that we will stay up - but, based on the Bournemouth performance, I just can't see this happening.

 

Iheanacho must start with either Daka or Barnes to partner him. Controversially, I believe that N'didi can still be a key player at the base of a diamond. He needs to be told to keep it simple and protect the defence. This allows for our full backs to push up and provide the width when we attack.

 

I'd play (4-1-2-1-2):

Iversen

Kristiansen

Fees

Evans

Pereira

N'didi

Tielemans

Mendy

Maddison

Daka

Iheanacho

 

Manager: Benitez

[Pliskin]

                                 Iversen  

 

                    Faes      Evans   Soutter

Ricardo                                                    Viktor 

 

                        Youri           Mendy

 

                                Maddison 

 

            Kalechi                              Barnes 

[foxgas]

The terrible two seem to like packing the midfield with defensive players, so probably N'didi, Mendy, Soumare will all be in there at Man City.

[Guest Bilo]

After Saturday, I'd have to say Bournemouth's.

[Finnegan]

We just need to stop fvcking around and pick what's our objectively best 11.

 

Iversen 

Ricardo, Souttar, Faes, Kristiansen

Tielemans*, Ndidi/Mendy, Maddison

Tete, Nacho, Barnes 

 

Front foot, nothing complex, just fairly attacking football letting that front three and Madders essentially get by on what they know already. 

 

Is everyone in that team brilliant? Probably not, are we disappointed with some of them as signings? Maybe. But they're still better than playing stupid shapes that don't work or we aren't familiar with or dumping our best player out wide where he can't influence the game or denying ourselves width down one entire side of the park or any other moronic Rodgers hangover decision. 

 

Keep it simple and crack on. 

 

*KDH if Youri isn't fit. 

[Will1981]

1 hour ago, CalH said:

Sometimes we perform better away… 🤞

I do not know how we could possiby be any worse than we are at home.

[ARTY_FOX]

Iheanacho has to start. 

 

I think we we've got atleast 3 wins in us. The first one will spark us. We can do it. 

[Filbert Fireworks]

Iverson

 

Viktor

Faes

Evans / Soutter

Ricardo

 

Mendy / Youri if fit. 

Maddison 

KDH / Praet 

 

Barnes 

Nacho / Daka

Tete

 

Play the same team. Best form of defense is offense. Nacho can drop deeper for barnes and tete. Maddison in the midfield so we can transition and create. A double defensive pivot is just too slow and stifling. 

 

Armband is a massive issue though. Needs to go to a player commited to staying at the club if we stay up. 

 

 

 

 

[Saxondale]

Yeah and no. We were playing some banging football earlier in the season. The problem isn’t the personnel, it’s that confidence, momentum and spirit is all on the floor.

 

Our best bet is probably getting a hypnotherapist in. No pissing about with formations is going to drastically change anything.

[volpeazzurro]

29 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

                                 Iversen  

 

                    Faes      Evans   Soutter

Ricardo                                                    Viktor 

 

                        Youri           Mendy

 

                                Maddison 

 

            Kalechi                              Barnes 

When it didn't work for Rodgers, why do we suddenly think reintroducing it will work?

Lack of proper wings backs caused everything to clog up in the middle and give possession away. Wasn't Saturday enough to prove how poor Ricardo is in an advanced position? Great fullback and devastating running from deep but winger or wingback he isn't. This is merely clutching at straws.

[CalH]

Maybe a couple of players in charge till the end of the season - they know what each if them is capable of and what needs to be done. Perhaps they could all agree on the best approach, forget BR’s divisions, let them pick the team. Desperate times and all that! We know that they can play football 🦊

[trooky]

1 hour ago, SheppyFox said:

This is the one. The important thing the queens on here overlook is the teams in and around us will likely continue to lose, so a couple of wins and we’re likely to be climbing well clear. You can see it down the ground though, entitled fan base been around since 2016/17 that only sing when we’re winning. Too many historic armchair fans bought season tickets, regularly drowned out by a couple thousand away fans. 

With the exception of us, Forest and Southampton, all the other teams around the bottom have picked up wins in the last 6 games and have a bit of form. Our form is getting worse not better. We have 1 point from the last 8 games.

[SheppyFox]

Just now, trooky said:

With the exception of us, Forest and Southampton, all the other teams around the bottom have picked up wins in the last 6 games and have a bit of form. Our form is getting worse not better. We have 1 point from the last 8 games.

And yet one win with a favourable result from forest or Everton and we’re out of the drop zone. Two wins with a favourable result would likely see us 15th.

[trooky]

6 minutes ago, SheppyFox said:

And yet one win with a favourable result from forest or Everton and we’re out of the drop zone. Two wins with a favourable result would likely see us 15th.

Yes I know, I admire your optimism but I just don't see it happening. We'll be further from safety after our game against City. I've resigned myself to relegation. I personally think we're a very poor team and the table doesn't lie.

[Pliskin]

23 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

When it didn't work for Rodgers, why do we suddenly think reintroducing it will work?

Lack of proper wings backs caused everything to clog up in the middle and give possession away. Wasn't Saturday enough to prove how poor Ricardo is in an advanced position? Great fullback and devastating running from deep but winger or wingback he isn't. This is merely clutching at straws.

It’s worked previously. Kelechi went on his best run using this formation.

 

Ricardo has proven to be one of the better players recently, and we have to start playing with two attackers as we just isolate the one…….something has to change, 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 isn’t working.