Team and Formation

AllTheBoysAreCheerin'

Well-known member
4-4-2 has clearly been our best formation. 3-5-2 has worked too so why does Critchley still try to play 4-3-3?

Team wise, playing left sided players on the right and vice versa doesn't suit 4-4-2 and isn't the best option in a 3-5-2.

Is Critchley trying to build something that I've not quite sussed out yet or is he struggling to get to grips with league football?
 
4-4-2 has clearly been our best formation. 3-5-2 has worked too so why does Critchley still try to play 4-3-3?

Team wise, playing left sided players on the right and vice versa doesn't suit 4-4-2 and isn't the best option in a 3-5-2.

Is Critchley trying to build something that I've not quite sussed out yet or is he struggling to get to grips with league football?
The clueless one is out of his depth.
 
Management inexperience shows through at times with the unnecessary chopping and changing. He wanted to play his new signings today come what may ... and it failed.
 
I like Critch and think he'll make a good manager but it's looking to me like he's not learning quickly enough to make his mark with us just yet!

Do we give him time to make his mistakes and learn his trade or do we get impatient and cut and run to somebody that may be no better?

IMO, we're playing better football, at times, than we've done in a long time. The inconsistency is frustrating though!
 
I just question at the moment if we have the right players for a 4-4-2 to be as impactful as it should be as a formation sadly.
 
What did frustrate me today was for 40 minutes we were competitive, maybe slightly bossing it, but only 3 chances created & 2 of them from set pieces. Once they scored surely half time was when Simms could have come on to partner Jerry. We went into total meltdown after that second goal & still NC waited to change anything 🥺 🔫
 
We could do with a right sided wide man that will stay wide ,i like virtue but he comes inside to much ,if it was me i would try turton at right back and play gabriel out wide ,he seems to have a bit of pace and can cross the ball but also need to play a 442 , i would maybe even try husband left back with either garbutt or mitchell wide left,shuold make us a bit more solid on either side,
 
It was definitely a 4-2-3-1 yesterday, you could really see it when they had possession in their own half. You had Dougall/Stewart as holding midfielders, then Kaikai/Embleton/Virtue behind a solitary Yates.

It is a pickle with the players we have available at the minute what formation to go with, seems your sacrificing something with whatever you pick. Whether you can put that down to injuries, bad recruitment or a combination of both I don't know.
 
What did frustrate me today was for 40 minutes we were competitive, maybe slightly bossing it, but only 3 chances created & 2 of them from set pieces. Once they scored surely half time was when Simms could have come on to partner Jerry. We went into total meltdown after that second goal & still NC waited to change anything 🥺 🔫
As you say 3 chances created, all missed by....... defenders. Yet Critchley said before and during the January window, we don’t need another forward. His naivety is beyond belief, if all the fans know when big Gaz is not playing we are toothless why doesn’t he. I am not calling Yates his industry and movement are a sight to behold however he isn’t 6’4”, I don’t care how good a coach anybody is, they can’t coach anyone to be 6” taller. Also I noticed yesterday Maxwell, instead of rolling the ball out as he usually does, as we didn’t have Madine on the field he thought it would be a good idea to keep hoofing it forward to the big fella we didn’t have. It would be funny if it wasn’t so ridiculous, makes me wonder.
 
My only slight concern with NC and it’s only a slight concern is that does he still feel like he’s coaching at U23 level where results are not that important ? I’m sure he doesn’t but we are in a results business first and foremost and he has to get them before worrying about formations and giving Lubala 5 minutes of development Game time.
 
It did not look like he had chosen a team to win this game and the players certainly lived up to that.

I like Husband and thought he was having a good game yesterday but he is in the habit recently of giving the guy he should be marking acres of space. He was 20 yards away from the guy he should have been marking for their first goal and then turned to try to blame others.
 
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