Time to ditch 5-3-2?
Fri Sep 16, 2016 1:38 pm
Im not one for posting onto message boards to air my views but I’m curious to see if I’m the only City fan who is praying this 5-3-2 does not stay around all season? I understand the idea behind it , look at Wales it worked wonders in our euro 2016 qualifying campaign and during the summer in France. However with City I’m not so sure. Don’t get me wrong I know we are only 7 matches into a long season but I don’t believe the system is suited to our squad.
The season has barely started however we are level on points with a solid Derby County team and just 2 behind Aston Villa who I believe have recruit well during the transfer window. Im not suggesting we are in for a season of doom and gloom. We could bag 3 wins on the trot starting with Leeds Saturday lunchtime and things look very different. However at present even the prospect of facing a Leeds team at home who we tend to do well against , Im just not confidant and its down the the 5-3-2 and the teams defensive vulnerabilitys. Below is my feelings on the defence , midfield , and stickers thus far for the 7 games played so far.
DEFENCE In the 7 games played so far we have conceded 12 goals , surely the idea behind 5-3-2 system is to be a strong defensive unit. I hate to pick on individual players but theres 2 at the moment I feel need time out of the firing line.
1st Ben Wilson. I understand he has only played in the last 3 matches but Wilson does not look ready as yet for the demands of Championship football. Some basic errors which you expect from a young goalkeeper. However for himself and for the team it can’t be helping with confidence at the back. I’m guessing Amos in time will be this seasons number 1 and hopefully Wilson can have a run out when the FA Cup comes around in January or step in should Amos suffer from injury or suspension . Secondly Declan John. When Paul Trollope came in with the idea of playing 5-3-2 with John at left back it seemed a perfect solution to what I have always thought is a weakness in Johns game , his defending. Offensively John can offer the team hell of a lot but defensively I have always had my reservations. I know a lot of you on here don’t buy in to this. Maybe because he’s came through the academy I don’t know , but harsh as it sounds thats why he been with the Welsh u21s and not the Senior set up. For me his future has to be further forward where he can play his more natural attack minded game. Maybe with an experienced guy at left back behind him. The on field management may in fact help Johns hdefensive game long term and he could well drop back there on certain occasions.
I wonder if it is time to revert to 4 at the back as the 5 clearly is not working even if we are only 7 games into the season. I would love to see us take the Tony Pullis Approach defensively and shore it up with a centre back playing at full back if necessary. One solution could be to play Connelly at left back to shore up the left side. Manga and Morrison in the middle with Peliter or Harris on the right. You may feel I’m contradicting myself saying Harris on the right if I’m suggesting a Pulls approach but I’ve been impressed early on with Harris in the role. For a player who is very much an offensively forward thinking player he seems to adapt to the right back role with ease for such a young player. Maybe he has been assisted with the 3 at the back which gives him a bit more freedom going forward and covers up the defensive side of that. However the 2nd half vs Preston at 2-0 down when we reverted to 4-4-2 he looked solid.
MIDFIELD. This so far has been very frustrating for me . Positives to Start Its great to see Gunnarsson back from his shoulder problems with the dangerous long throw he posses. As we seen in the summer what he did for Iceland against the English its a great set peace weapon to have especially now with Lambert up front occupying players , it could be the source of many a goal this season. I feel Whittingham has been very unfortunate not to start of late. I never thought I would praise him for his defensive game but the first few games he got stuck in superbly breaking up the opposition play and igniting attacks. Personally I would have him in the team over Ralls. As I just pointed out defensively I feel he is the safer choice of the two , leaving the other central midfielder(s) licence to join in with any possible attacks or to occupy space further up field. Offensively Whitts can spray a pass with superb accuaray although in fairness Ralls is not far behind in that department. Corner kicks like the Gunnarsson long throw Whittinghams corners can really shake things up in the oppositions goal mouth.
Another midfielder I hope we get to see more of sooner rather than later is Craig Noone. With himself , Pilkington , John or Harris on the flanks we could play with far more width , stretch teams around more than we have in our 7 matches to date. So far we have relied on the full backs for width. John does this job fantastically but Richards over at right back seems far less happy roaming forward to set up attacks. Peltier is a more forward thinking full back than Richards but as stated earlier I would be happy to settle on a solid defence aka the Pullis approach and let the midfield supply the team width. In the centre of midfield Lex Immers has looked comfortable but I don’t see any signs of him being a great number 10 capable of creating or scoring 10 plus goals a season. Emyr Huws no doubt has bags of potential but has yet to find a long term club and position to nail down in midfield. Hopefully for us and himself this is the season he really stands out.
STRICKERS. The deadline day capture of Lambert could be massive for us this season. Provided he stays fit and we play to his strengths theres no reason the play offs should not be an achievable target. As we know once they get up and running you have 3 games to get to the promised land. I do wonder if we will ever get to see Lambert paired up top with Gounongbe. Players rightfully should never be judged on a pre season but with pre season matches in mind and his brief championship time so far I wonder if these two could hit it off. Gounongbe looks capable of holding the ball up , has pace to stretch the defence. Maybe if not Gounongbe , Zohore with Lambert for the old fashioned big man little man.
Anyhow , After my moan and rant the team below is what I would like to see Saturday , I doubt i will but I can dream hey?! Who would you guys go far?
Amos
Harris Morrison Manga Connelly
Noone Whitts Gunnarson Pilkington
Lambert Gounongbe
Subs
Wilson
John
Peltier
Ralls
Immers
Huws
Zohore
The season has barely started however we are level on points with a solid Derby County team and just 2 behind Aston Villa who I believe have recruit well during the transfer window. Im not suggesting we are in for a season of doom and gloom. We could bag 3 wins on the trot starting with Leeds Saturday lunchtime and things look very different. However at present even the prospect of facing a Leeds team at home who we tend to do well against , Im just not confidant and its down the the 5-3-2 and the teams defensive vulnerabilitys. Below is my feelings on the defence , midfield , and stickers thus far for the 7 games played so far.
DEFENCE In the 7 games played so far we have conceded 12 goals , surely the idea behind 5-3-2 system is to be a strong defensive unit. I hate to pick on individual players but theres 2 at the moment I feel need time out of the firing line.
1st Ben Wilson. I understand he has only played in the last 3 matches but Wilson does not look ready as yet for the demands of Championship football. Some basic errors which you expect from a young goalkeeper. However for himself and for the team it can’t be helping with confidence at the back. I’m guessing Amos in time will be this seasons number 1 and hopefully Wilson can have a run out when the FA Cup comes around in January or step in should Amos suffer from injury or suspension . Secondly Declan John. When Paul Trollope came in with the idea of playing 5-3-2 with John at left back it seemed a perfect solution to what I have always thought is a weakness in Johns game , his defending. Offensively John can offer the team hell of a lot but defensively I have always had my reservations. I know a lot of you on here don’t buy in to this. Maybe because he’s came through the academy I don’t know , but harsh as it sounds thats why he been with the Welsh u21s and not the Senior set up. For me his future has to be further forward where he can play his more natural attack minded game. Maybe with an experienced guy at left back behind him. The on field management may in fact help Johns hdefensive game long term and he could well drop back there on certain occasions.
I wonder if it is time to revert to 4 at the back as the 5 clearly is not working even if we are only 7 games into the season. I would love to see us take the Tony Pullis Approach defensively and shore it up with a centre back playing at full back if necessary. One solution could be to play Connelly at left back to shore up the left side. Manga and Morrison in the middle with Peliter or Harris on the right. You may feel I’m contradicting myself saying Harris on the right if I’m suggesting a Pulls approach but I’ve been impressed early on with Harris in the role. For a player who is very much an offensively forward thinking player he seems to adapt to the right back role with ease for such a young player. Maybe he has been assisted with the 3 at the back which gives him a bit more freedom going forward and covers up the defensive side of that. However the 2nd half vs Preston at 2-0 down when we reverted to 4-4-2 he looked solid.
MIDFIELD. This so far has been very frustrating for me . Positives to Start Its great to see Gunnarsson back from his shoulder problems with the dangerous long throw he posses. As we seen in the summer what he did for Iceland against the English its a great set peace weapon to have especially now with Lambert up front occupying players , it could be the source of many a goal this season. I feel Whittingham has been very unfortunate not to start of late. I never thought I would praise him for his defensive game but the first few games he got stuck in superbly breaking up the opposition play and igniting attacks. Personally I would have him in the team over Ralls. As I just pointed out defensively I feel he is the safer choice of the two , leaving the other central midfielder(s) licence to join in with any possible attacks or to occupy space further up field. Offensively Whitts can spray a pass with superb accuaray although in fairness Ralls is not far behind in that department. Corner kicks like the Gunnarsson long throw Whittinghams corners can really shake things up in the oppositions goal mouth.
Another midfielder I hope we get to see more of sooner rather than later is Craig Noone. With himself , Pilkington , John or Harris on the flanks we could play with far more width , stretch teams around more than we have in our 7 matches to date. So far we have relied on the full backs for width. John does this job fantastically but Richards over at right back seems far less happy roaming forward to set up attacks. Peltier is a more forward thinking full back than Richards but as stated earlier I would be happy to settle on a solid defence aka the Pullis approach and let the midfield supply the team width. In the centre of midfield Lex Immers has looked comfortable but I don’t see any signs of him being a great number 10 capable of creating or scoring 10 plus goals a season. Emyr Huws no doubt has bags of potential but has yet to find a long term club and position to nail down in midfield. Hopefully for us and himself this is the season he really stands out.
STRICKERS. The deadline day capture of Lambert could be massive for us this season. Provided he stays fit and we play to his strengths theres no reason the play offs should not be an achievable target. As we know once they get up and running you have 3 games to get to the promised land. I do wonder if we will ever get to see Lambert paired up top with Gounongbe. Players rightfully should never be judged on a pre season but with pre season matches in mind and his brief championship time so far I wonder if these two could hit it off. Gounongbe looks capable of holding the ball up , has pace to stretch the defence. Maybe if not Gounongbe , Zohore with Lambert for the old fashioned big man little man.
Anyhow , After my moan and rant the team below is what I would like to see Saturday , I doubt i will but I can dream hey?! Who would you guys go far?
Amos
Harris Morrison Manga Connelly
Noone Whitts Gunnarson Pilkington
Lambert Gounongbe
Subs
Wilson
John
Peltier
Ralls
Immers
Huws
Zohore