Formation/squad

[Haggischomper]

With the CURRENT squad, do you think the players we have are best served with a back four or do you think eventually we will go with three centre halves and some formation of five in midfield?

[roly]

With the CURRENT squad, do you think the players we have are best served with a back four or do you think eventually we will go with three centre halves and some formation of five in midfield?

 

Apart from ZFA we don't have anyone able to play as a wing backs. I reckon back 4 is the way to go.

[East Stand Well Boy]

Hammell is too old to play wing back now, and Ramsden isn't the type of attacking player to play wing back.

[Lobey_Dosser]

If we had good forward thinking fullbacks, I think we would be well suited to a 4312, allowing various permatations in midfield and upfront and providing Vigurs and McFaddden some much needed freedom.

 

Given the lack of mobility offered by Ramsden and Hammell though, I do think we need to consider moving to a 3412. I don't trust either defensively but ZFA and Kerr would offer some much needed pace and energy up the wings with Carswell and Lawson mopping up behind them.

[maxywell]

No chance!

 

 

 

From what i saw today and in the first few games teams are getting at us down the wings, playing with 3 at the back would only leave bigger spaces out wide for teams to break into.Imo it should be a sort of 4-2-3-1 with lawson and lasley behind angol, viguirs and faddy.We don't have the players to play on the break like we did last season so we should be looking to control the central area with 3 in the middle and let faddy drift up front when we have the ball.He's not going to run away from people so he's wasted staying out wide, Viguirs or lawson can cover the right side if we lose it.

[sbcmfc]

I had commented yesterday, we have an unusual problem of having too many left sided players!

 

A right footed ZFA or a more attack minded RB would help our shape a bit. In fact, Tom Hateley would fit quite well in the team still I think...

 

In my mind Ramsden is a centre half, Hateley had his weaknesses, but he did well getting forward from RB.

 

Without the pace of Ojamma and Humphrey we seem to have resorted to route one football, pumping balls to an isolated John Sutton, who nobody has the pace to get near before the attack breaks down.

 

Sure we'll figure it out, maybe just 1 player away from a really good side?

 

Our strength last season was the different ways we could attack teams, pure pace if Humphrey and Ojamma, or the skill of Law and Mcfadden.

[East_Stand_Al]

What's patently obvious is the current preferred X1 cannot play in a 4-4-2.

 

Managers are sometimes guilty of trying to fit players to their system instead of the opposite.

 

Time will tell, although confidence optimism and positivity meters are showing all of the above to be in short supply

[Well-Made]

What's patently obvious is the current preferred X1 cannot play in a 4-4-2.

 

Managers are sometimes guilty of trying to fit players to their system instead of the opposite.

 

Time will tell, although confidence optimism and positivity meters are showing all of the above to be in short supply

 

I was thinking about this yesterday, to play 4-4-2 we need to bring someone in to balance the midfield for a 4. If we're looking for a speedy winger, then it needs to be two wingers as we don't have one at the club. If he gets injured then there's no backup if it's only the one.

 

McCall experimented with a back 3 during the friendlies and I think this was the formation that he'd banked on being able to play this season. It would explain the abundance of centre-halves at the club.

 

To play that you'd be looking at a formation of

 

GK: Either Hollis or Neilsen, think the latter maybe needs a wee run, see if it helps shore the defence a bit better. Not saying Hollis should be dropped by the way.

 

3 x CD: You have Ramsden, Hutch, McManus, Cummings to chose from.

 

Right WB: Kerr or Ramsden. McCall has used Kerr as a right winger so may suit.

 

Left WB: Angol or Hammell. Hammy may not have the legs for it but he has a vast experience to use. Angol needs to be allowed to run at the defence and not anchored to within yards of another 'Well player.

 

That would then mean a midfield 3 of

 

Lasley, Vigurs, Lawson or Carswell

 

Faddy then either plays as an AMC behind a single striker.

 

Or you pick a pairing from Sutton, Faddy, Arnier, McHugh, Moore

 

 

With the squad at present this is the best formation I can see us playing. So that's a 3-5-1-1 or 3-5-2

 

 

 

[Special aka]

From what I've seen/heard so far this season we haven't found formation/tactics that suit the squad, and that is a major issue as confidence will take a pounding if we continue to play like a bunch of strangers.

The arrival of McManus, (imho, a quality centre back), seems to have had the opposite effect to that desired.

 

Did SM attempt to replace last season's departures on a like-4-like basis ? Sutton for Higdon apart and perhaps Anier for Ojaama - imho No - so we have to find a new way to play.

 

I just hope finding a solution to our blatant issues aint too far away.

[Ya Bezzer!]

To play 5 (or 3 if you prefer) at the back you not only need good attacking wing backs, which we don't seem to have at the moment, you also need someone who can play the 'sweeper' position which is a specialized position in itself.

 

Do we have someone that can play this role? Because if we can't defend well in the most basic footballing formation of 2 lines of 4 then I dread to think what might happen if we complicate matters with a 3/5 at the back. Just as scoring goals isn't dependent on numbers of strikers, the same can be said of defending, it is not simply a matter of having more bodies back there.

 

My preference would be for a 4-2-3-1 formation as I think that offers the most flexibility.

 

Having said that formations won't win games unless players perform and right now we look to be severely lacking in team spirit, confidence and basic competency in areas such as defending high balls and passing.

[Well-Made]

The problem I see with a 4-2-3-1 is that we really don't have any players with the pace or naturally suit that formation.

 

At present we have Faddy playing in from the right and Agnol on the left if we set up like that.

 

Neither are natural wingers and so we're playing them out of position.

 

Faddy would need to be in the centre of the 3, with the current players that doesn't really allow us to do that without putting square pegs in round holes.

 

If you want Faddy to create something, he needs to be in the centre of the park where he can get space to do that. Out on a wing he's limited, all the oppo have to do is put 2 on him , get in close and get him frustrated. He then has to try to hard to do something with the ball and the threat is snuffed out.

 

There may be games that he can play out there but for regular consistency it has to be the centre.

 

Don't get me wrong that formation may work. My formation was based on the players we have at present and trying to fit them into roles that aren't a million miles way from their natural position.

[Tweed]

To be honest from what I have seen, every formation we think of doesn't work because this team has no pace at all apart from Angol but even then he isn't lightning quick and one of them is no use because if someone keeps up with him from the opposition there is nowhere for him to go. Look at Celtic's 2nd goal yesterday. Forrest went like a train down the left wing, had that been us and Angol and Reynolds defends it properly, Angol has nowhere to go. Yes, Celtic got a fluke that it spun off Reynolds and in but we wouldn't have anyone there so he couldn't even have tried to square it.

 

Pace is the problem. Also because the midfield are so laboured the defence is under more pressure than it should be which is why in the law of averages we eventually make a mistake. I think we are only one maybe two players from sorting all our problems but if we don't do it this is going to be a season of many turgid games which we will get edged out of.

[DEWELL]

Agree with that. If we can sign someone who is a wide player with some pace it will change the whole dynamics of our team and supply our forwards who are not getting proper service.

[johnstone]

Too many player off form. Formations not going to help. They just need to gel a bit more and hopefully they will click soon.

[Ya Bezzer!]

The problem I see with a 4-2-3-1 is that we really don't have any players with the pace or naturally suit that formation.

 

At present we have Faddy playing in from the right and Agnol on the left if we set up like that.

 

Neither are natural wingers and so we're playing them out of position.

 

Faddy would need to be in the centre of the 3, with the current players that doesn't really allow us to do that without putting square pegs in round holes.

 

If you want Faddy to create something, he needs to be in the centre of the park where he can get space to do that. Out on a wing he's limited, all the oppo have to do is put 2 on him , get in close and get him frustrated. He then has to try to hard to do something with the ball and the threat is snuffed out.

 

There may be games that he can play out there but for regular consistency it has to be the centre.

 

Don't get me wrong that formation may work. My formation was based on the players we have at present and trying to fit them into roles that aren't a million miles way from their natural position.

 

With a 4-2-3-1 I would go with the standard back four plus

 

.....Lawson.....Lasley

Anier....McFadden....Vigurs

..........Sutton

 

I don't really go along with the idea that McFadden can't play in wide positions but he's been so poor if he is going to play I think we need to mix it up a bit and try something different, hence McFadden playing behind the main striker in a more central position.

 

People will say Vigurs has no pace but his reputation as a footballer mostly rests on his excellent performances last season from wide left. I say we put him back in the position that's he's been used to playing with Ross County even if like Hateley before him, he likes to think of himself as a central midfielder.

 

Anier I think could play on the right as an emergency until we get a proper right winger in at the club. He's got a bit of pace about him and I think it would be at least worthwhile to see if he could play there and increase our options. Who's to say he couldn't do on the right what Jamie Murphy used to do on the left?

[Special aka]

Vigurs tore us to shreds from the left in the 0-3 loss to Ross County, so whats the problem.

[Muzz]

Fairly simple answer for me. If we don't have 2 natural wingers in the squad then dont play with wingers. We can play a system that reflects the players rather than trying to fit players into a system. Its kinda obvious the players dont like playing out of position. Its why our performances have been poor so far this season.

[Lobey_Dosser]

Vigurs should be tucking in on the left, nowhere near good enough to play in the middle.

[Shaka]

Too many player off form. Formations not going to help. They just need to gel a bit more and hopefully they will click soon.

 

That's just crazy,the reason were off form is due to formations! We have no pace,Faddy ain't a winger,Sutton ain't a target man (possibly not even a footballer by the looks of it so far) trying to shoehorn in Lawson + Lasley,Kerr on wing etc etc.

 

McCall needs to pull his finger out pronto,this team look like poorly organized,unfit strangers! We need to review the "squad", decide formation then bring in the right player to compliment that, only then will we start to look like a team again. Personally,with the squad we have I believe it must be 3-5-2

 

Nielsen

 

Kerr,McManus,Hutch

 

? Carswell Lawson Vigurs ZFA

 

Faddy Anier

 

Bench -

Sutton

Moore

Lasley

Hammell

Ramsden

Cummins

Hollis

[fergi4]

While it will have no influence of what McCall picks on the park, I think our strongest 11, based on current personnel, will develop to be

3-1-4-2

 

Gunnar

Kerr Hutchinson McManus

Lawson

Mcfadden Lasley Vigurs Zaine

Sutton Anier

 

Plenty flaws in this, but good enough to be a top 4 or 5 team

[Frazzie]

Kerr shouldn't be in our starting XI in any formation in my opinion.

[StipeIsGod]

Kerr shouldn't be in our starting XI in any formation in my opinion.

 

Agreed.

[fergi4]

Agreed.

In my opinion I think he will oust Ramsden over time, and he did get a 2 year deal, so he is going to get quite a bit of game time in a Motherwell shirt...perhaps best to try and encourage the guy?

[Lobey_Dosser]

Baffles me that both Ramsden and Kerr got 2 year deals.

[Tweed]

Disagree, both can play in a few positions so in a smallish squad are worth their weight in gold.