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We were woeful first half as an attacking force (brilliant at the back...). It wasn't just that Bobby was his usual wretched self, but because we got outmuscled in midfield and couldn't keep possession. It shows how important Kelvin Henry's been for us this season. Playing five in the middle made us look much better even if we still won ugly. Think that'll be Harry's game plan from now on. Especially when Kransjar's in the team.
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Carroll is a good player but isn't the type of player you'd play in a 442. Like you said, 4-2-3-1 looked good for us today, the extra man helped loads. We missed AJ a lot today, it's his workrate and runs that open the space for us, hope he's back soon! -
Totaly agree with both posts but im still not sure Harry would have changed the shape if we had a Striker on the bench to replace Zamora.Comment
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To win games consistently a team has to be able to play different ways including what is usually called 442/433/451 and be able to switch during a game too.
Once the new boys are fit, and maybe if a striker turns up too, there will be more options.Comment
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Difficult to play 442 without wide men.started with hoilet and I must admit I was surprised when I our fragile as chocolate winger went off injured,Oneill drifts inside so we only kicked off with one winger.. Second half took the passenger Zamora off and had a 5 man midfield with the Phillips boys wide.. Swp,s best asset is his tackling which is worrying for a winger whilst the other Phillips didn't show a lot but debut,out injured etc etc so too early to judge. But we really could do with a left footed wide man to offer a better option than the cut inside onto their right foot than the 3 wingers who played today. I do think we look a lot better when Johnson/Austin is the forward line.. No forward option on the bench doesn't help especially if you need to chase a game...Comment
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Great post. But I also thought we were light in the middle playing 442. Carroll hasn't the apparatus to break up play or win the ball. Joey, great hardworking pro that he is, needs an enforcer around. He gets stuck in, but is likely to pick up a yellow and then his defensive game- rightly- takes second place to running the risk of a second yellow. There are some big ba5tards in this division and if we're not going to play big b5stards we need men in number in the middle- three- and make better use of the wings. And not play too deep!!Originally posted by 1cliveallen View PostComment
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You're right it didn't work for one reason ZAMORA. If A.J was up front Wed have been okComment
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Because AJ drops back and plays; I agree. But Brum flooded the midfield and pushed up their full backs, so we were overrun at times and pushed deep. Agree with another poster who said we need to be flexible. But we need to hustle so that means five in the middle or four one of whom is Henry... AJ gives us options though. Thought SWP did well when he came on and O'Neil played in he middle.Originally posted by dave58 View PostComment
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I thought Harry's selection was bizarre. What's the point of having two hulking centre-forwards up top in a 4-4-2? Especially when one of them is clearly not right mentally or physically. Zamora needs an operation and he shouldn't feature for us again until after that, at least. And with no one in our side apparently capable of crossing, bar Barton, it made the two target-men up front seem even more ridiculous. The fact that Harry removed Zamora for the 2nd half summed it up.
Carroll looked lightweight in midfield, and without Henry to shore things up, that job was left to Barton, meaning we had a gaping hole in the midfield that the muscular Brummies exploited with ease. Thank God their finishing was woeful, we really rode our luck first half. O'Neil is no winger, so we had no width or pace on the right and Hoilett is proving yet again to be frustrating to watch - all stop and start, pulling up twice with a hamstring it looked like and eventually coming off injured. He's got pace to burn, but he can't ****** cross or finish. Frustrating and infuriating. Charlie Austin feeds off crosses and we've got no one who can cross. Go figure. Let's hope Matty Phillips can change that. He looked lively when he came on, certainly a lot better than some people on here are making out, and in comparison to Hoilett who he replaced, linked up play much better. Hoilett is a one-trick pony for me. I actually think SWP is a better option and he made the difference yesterday; we looked so much better with him and Phillips second half and O'Neil pushed into the middle. With that formation - now one up front, we scored almost immediately. I'm sure Harry took note! Jenas replaced Carroll later in the half and has to be considered a better option at this level: Carroll, for all his obvious skill on the ball is so lightweight a puff of wind could knock him over. We have to take into account it was his first game for us and at this level though, so hopefully better to come.
Personally, I can't wait for Assou-Ekotto and Kranjcar to introduce some class into our defensively solid but totally lacking in flare team. The raucous Brum fans provided the flare, midway through the second half, chucking one on the pitch in apparent frustration at being denied a penalty. The dive was so blatant even that ref, who seemed to give Birmingham a free kick every time one of them fell over (which they did a lot), carded him for his effort.
A win's a win, but please Harry, no more Zamora and bring back Karl Henry for the time being at least.Comment
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