Kozzy_is_my_Dad
No excuses, no dickheads.
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One tactical approach that I’m surprised we’ve never tried, or at least given a run of games is a formation that pairs McNulty up front with a strike partner and more crucially, Scougall in a no. 10 role, just behind McNulty.
It’s easy to forget that they are both still relatively young (both 23 years of age), as both feel like they have been here a little while – but that said, they were brought in by Clough as “for the future”. They were brought here because of their link up play, and we’ve never utilised this. Before we go selling anyone or making any rash decisions, we ought to make use of the resources at our disposal. There are plenty of examples of the pair of them linking up well North of the border, yes in a lesser league but still…
For me, I wonder if the following is worth a look, at least in training initially:
What is evident is that the hoof ball approach isn’t working, when you’ve a squad that is manned almost entirely by short arses, but, there are names in that side that can play – we ought to make use of that. We also know that Wilder likes high tempo – it won’t be to the standards he achieved at Northampton last year but in Fleck, Scougall, McNulty and Freeman, there can be an element of that. Playing 3 at the back reverts Basham back to his better position IMO and takes the pressure off Freeman and Hussey defensively. Playing 3 in midfield brings Scougall back into a system where we saw his best football (as a 3 with Coady and Doyle).
What we do lack is a leader at the back and someone to dictate the tempo in a midfield 3 of Fleck/Scougall/Coutts – put simply, you need a hard bastard in there (formerly Doyle) that will do the graft for Fleck (formerly Coady) and Scougall, and Coutts should make way to accommodate that. Let Scougall do what he’s best at, high tempo and hustle, and get back to what he used to be good at (link up play, as a no.10) and take away the elements he isn’t good at (i.e. playing as part of a midfield 2, being too lightweight) – he never played that role before.
That would also leave us with creativity and energy to come off the bench as needed, and the possibility of changing the shape if we need to go at sides in a different way, through the likes of Duffy, Done, Clarke and Chapman.
Thoughts?
It’s easy to forget that they are both still relatively young (both 23 years of age), as both feel like they have been here a little while – but that said, they were brought in by Clough as “for the future”. They were brought here because of their link up play, and we’ve never utilised this. Before we go selling anyone or making any rash decisions, we ought to make use of the resources at our disposal. There are plenty of examples of the pair of them linking up well North of the border, yes in a lesser league but still…
For me, I wonder if the following is worth a look, at least in training initially:
What is evident is that the hoof ball approach isn’t working, when you’ve a squad that is manned almost entirely by short arses, but, there are names in that side that can play – we ought to make use of that. We also know that Wilder likes high tempo – it won’t be to the standards he achieved at Northampton last year but in Fleck, Scougall, McNulty and Freeman, there can be an element of that. Playing 3 at the back reverts Basham back to his better position IMO and takes the pressure off Freeman and Hussey defensively. Playing 3 in midfield brings Scougall back into a system where we saw his best football (as a 3 with Coady and Doyle).
What we do lack is a leader at the back and someone to dictate the tempo in a midfield 3 of Fleck/Scougall/Coutts – put simply, you need a hard bastard in there (formerly Doyle) that will do the graft for Fleck (formerly Coady) and Scougall, and Coutts should make way to accommodate that. Let Scougall do what he’s best at, high tempo and hustle, and get back to what he used to be good at (link up play, as a no.10) and take away the elements he isn’t good at (i.e. playing as part of a midfield 2, being too lightweight) – he never played that role before.
That would also leave us with creativity and energy to come off the bench as needed, and the possibility of changing the shape if we need to go at sides in a different way, through the likes of Duffy, Done, Clarke and Chapman.
Thoughts?
