Appleton plays 4-3-3 with 2 ‘number 8’s’ in his midfield 3. The emphasis is on moving the ball offensively which is a lot different to the previous Manager, I know you’ll struggle to take this
We definitely need some steel in there (Connolly or Stewart) but we’ve now got three midfielders (Fiorini, Carey, Patino) who can all comfortably handle the ball and look to play forwards.
If you had Patino sitting at 6, sticking two ‘hardened players’ in there would negate how Appleton plays and also limit creativity from the middle of the pitch which has been an issue for previous seasons if the wide men weren’t on it or well shackled.
From now, It’s two ball players & 1 grafter. The days of two sitting midfielders who go sideways and are limited attacking wise are gone
and it’ll be much more interesting to watch.
If you’re unsure of any of the above, listen to Josh Bowler post match on Saturday. Interesting stuff.
Oh and he starts for me. Fans are buzzing, we need to tap into it and even if he’s half fit he’ll still be pulling strings.