Next season it's essential we become hard to beat!
Mon May 23, 2011 6:49 pm
I'm fed up with us being a soft touch and conceding sloppy goals. For me, next season is all about us being resiliant and grinding out clean sheets. I don't even care if we draw several games 0-0 next season, having a solid defense and a team of characters who battle for 90 plus minutes every game will stand us in good stead for future seasons. We can then build on this. Just look at Swansea, they drew several games 0-0 last season, now this season they have added Sinclair and Borini on loan and they're scoring goals that may take them to the Premiership, while still being solid at the back.
It's pointless being able to score goals if you're soft at the back. This has cost us this season and it's cost the likes of Blackpool this season. If you don't concede a goal, you don't lose the game, and with Whittingham we're always likely to pinch a goal from a set piece anyway. I want to see us playing a negative 4-5-1 away from home or even a 5-4-1, I think a back 4 with McNaughton sweeping behind them would make it difficult any team to score against us. McNaughton would be amazing as a sweeper in my opinion, he isn't the best distributing, but his pace, anticipation, and battling qualities would make him an amazing sweeper.
I love seeing attacking football and goals being scored, but it's about time we get our defense in order first. And when I say the defense, I mean the whole team being able to defend, and that will only come from all 11 players running their guts out and dieing for one another, something we clearly didn't have in the team this season. When we are solid enough at the back, then maybe we could be more adventurous and attack teams a little more; after all, we don't want to just sit back and allow the opposition onto us. But playing a negative system, especially away from home would allow us to not only stop the opposition and frustrate them, but it will allow us to control the game, which again is something we have rarely been able to do this season. Previous seasons have shown that this "we'll score one goal more than you" attitude doesn't work. Time for a change, time to be more organised, and time for us to see a Cardiff City team grinding out a battling 1-0 win in my opinion!
It's pointless being able to score goals if you're soft at the back. This has cost us this season and it's cost the likes of Blackpool this season. If you don't concede a goal, you don't lose the game, and with Whittingham we're always likely to pinch a goal from a set piece anyway. I want to see us playing a negative 4-5-1 away from home or even a 5-4-1, I think a back 4 with McNaughton sweeping behind them would make it difficult any team to score against us. McNaughton would be amazing as a sweeper in my opinion, he isn't the best distributing, but his pace, anticipation, and battling qualities would make him an amazing sweeper.
I love seeing attacking football and goals being scored, but it's about time we get our defense in order first. And when I say the defense, I mean the whole team being able to defend, and that will only come from all 11 players running their guts out and dieing for one another, something we clearly didn't have in the team this season. When we are solid enough at the back, then maybe we could be more adventurous and attack teams a little more; after all, we don't want to just sit back and allow the opposition onto us. But playing a negative system, especially away from home would allow us to not only stop the opposition and frustrate them, but it will allow us to control the game, which again is something we have rarely been able to do this season. Previous seasons have shown that this "we'll score one goal more than you" attitude doesn't work. Time for a change, time to be more organised, and time for us to see a Cardiff City team grinding out a battling 1-0 win in my opinion!
Re: Next season it's essential we become hard to beat!
Mon May 23, 2011 7:18 pm
if we ever play 5-4-1 i will 
Re: Next season it's essential we become hard to beat!
Mon May 23, 2011 7:34 pm
IsThatUJohnWayne wrote:if we ever play 5-4-1 i will
Even if we keep a clean sheet and pinch a goal to win?
Re: Next season it's essential we become hard to beat!
Mon May 23, 2011 7:35 pm
I'd prefer impossible to beat if I'm honest...but hard is a step in the right direction! 
Re: Next season it's essential we become hard to beat!
Tue May 24, 2011 5:00 am
Using the tried and tested "Football Manager" I have been playing about with a 2-3-2-2-1 formation.
The system is played with 2 Centre Backs. In front of them there are 2 Wing Backs and a sort of DM position.
2 Holding Central Midfielders
2 Attacking Midfielders (L R)
1 Striker
What I like about this system is that when Defending your essentially playing with 5 defenders and difficult to score against. When attacking the Wing Backs create an attacking 3-4-3 formation
It's a system that not many teams play against and therefore it's a case of taking them out of their comfort zone. Everyone knows how to play against a 442
As to results P15 Scored 45 Conceded 7
The system is played with 2 Centre Backs. In front of them there are 2 Wing Backs and a sort of DM position.
2 Holding Central Midfielders
2 Attacking Midfielders (L R)
1 Striker
What I like about this system is that when Defending your essentially playing with 5 defenders and difficult to score against. When attacking the Wing Backs create an attacking 3-4-3 formation
It's a system that not many teams play against and therefore it's a case of taking them out of their comfort zone. Everyone knows how to play against a 442
As to results P15 Scored 45 Conceded 7
Re: Next season it's essential we become hard to beat!
Tue May 24, 2011 12:15 pm
The main problem with our team is not the defence, its always the midfield and has been for years.
Out midfield always get beaten and the other side can then push their strike force and midfield forward. Usually means our defence are outnumbered 6 on 4. This has been the porblem for years we just didnt notice it as much usually due to Roger Johnson sorting out our back 4.
Therefore i think we will need at least one holiding midfielder or even a defender acting as a sweeper as you stated above, this would raise the number of clean sheets we keep. We could even keep playing 4-4-2 but at least one if not both of our midfielders would have to hold their position while our wingers and strikers attack.
Out midfield always get beaten and the other side can then push their strike force and midfield forward. Usually means our defence are outnumbered 6 on 4. This has been the porblem for years we just didnt notice it as much usually due to Roger Johnson sorting out our back 4.
Therefore i think we will need at least one holiding midfielder or even a defender acting as a sweeper as you stated above, this would raise the number of clean sheets we keep. We could even keep playing 4-4-2 but at least one if not both of our midfielders would have to hold their position while our wingers and strikers attack.
Re: Next season it's essential we become hard to beat!
Tue May 24, 2011 12:17 pm
get the spine of the team sorted ...... Olli was great with Rambo along side him , we wont be getting him back on loan from Arsenal but maybe if we can find a suitable replacement maybe ??