LCB - it’s a problem

[Swannyblade]

Mystifyingly given that it didn’t come out of the blue, the absence of JOC and a capable replacement at LCB is costing us dearly.
We’ve now tried out every option available in our squad and no one has been able to fill the role.
Is now the time to abandon the back five and try something different?
It’s not preventing us from losing games and it’s taking up a valuable place in our starting lineup.
If the LCB doesn’t step out of defence to create the overloads, it’s also removing one of our few attacking threats.
I’d sacrifice the back five for an extra body in midfield, where we constantly look overrun and short of numbers.
The only advantage I can see to the back five in it’s current guise is keeping scorelines respectable.
However without an attacking threat to nick wins and points, there’s nothing respectable about losing every game by a narrow(ish) margin.
Our matches are close in scoreline only, as anyone who watches the games can see the gulf in class.

 

[Gavlar]

Mystifyingly given that it didn’t come out of the blue, the absence of JOC and a capable replacement at LCB is costing us dearly.
We’ve now tried out every option available in our squad and no one has been able to fill the role.
Is now the time to abandon the back five and try something different?
It’s not preventing us from losing games and it’s taking up a valuable place in our starting lineup.
If the LCB doesn’t step out of defence to create the overloads, it’s also removing one of our few attacking threats.
I’d sacrifice the back five for an extra body in midfield, where we constantly look overrun and short of numbers.
The only advantage I can see to the back five in it’s current guise is keeping scorelines respectable.
However without an attacking threat to nick wins and points, there’s nothing respectable about losing every game by a narrow(ish) margin.
Our matches are close in scoreline only, as anyone who watches the games can see the gulf in class.

Who do you recommend we get in to replace JOC?

 

[Stretch]

LCB may be a problem, but trust me, our midfield is THE biggest problem, and by some distance.

No creativity, no ability to retain possession under pressure, no energy.

Christmas may be gone for another year, but to quote Scrooge, our midfield is "Dead, yes quite dead, as a doornail!"

 

[Coily]

Who do you recommend we get in to replace JOC?

Jake Cooper at Millwall for me, decent ball player and very good in the air.

 

[JKBlade]

It’s been time to ditch it for weeks and weeks now - giving us no benefits whatsoever and missing out on another attacking player that might help us create more.

Chris can bemoan the two awful goals we conceded, but we didn’t have a hope in hell of scoring yesterday.

Our approach of trying to work overloads is clearly not working, leading to next to nothing on target every week. Instruction is not to put the ball in the box and keep trying to work it.

I have 0 confidence that even if we bring in a LCB anything will change. Tear up the current plan, we have to find a new way to win.

 

[Gavlar]

Jake Cooper at Millwall for me, decent ball player and very good in the air.

Would he sign if we are going down anyway?

 

[CoatesyBlade]

Everybody has a theory on what’s gone wrong. Recruitment being a big factor from most comments I read. I don’t think the players brought in were bad decisions in the whole. I like Burke, Ramsdale and fully believe Brewster will come good. Bogle and Lowe were fucking pointless though it has to be said. My problem with the recruitment though his is reluctance to use the foreign market. And furthermore his ignorance to buy the players in the positions we needed.
We knew O’Connell was playing through the pain last season and would require surgery. So ok fair enough, see out the season then let’s work on a new formation in the summer. Almost impossible as it is to find a LCB that’s overlaps on the wing, let’s changed to a back fucking 4! So we should’ve recruited... Burke, another winger, Ramsdale, a quality CB. For a team that’s been so innovative the past few seasons, why we’ve turned up this season trying to smash square pegs into round holes is completely beyond me!

 

[Ginger Gnome]

Wow, what an original thread, nobody has ever noticed that LCB is a problem and suggested switching to a back 4.

The problem still exists in a back 4 though. You still need two central defenders, Wilder would prefer one of them to be left footed and Stevens, Robinson and Bryan are even more unsuited to playing in a central two than they are in a three. Using Basham and Egan wouldn't have the same balance, would limit Basham's opportunities to get forward, and he was a bit ropey in a two in League One, using Ampadu or Jagielka with Egan would be suicidal. A back four wouldn't solve the left back problem either as you can get away with Osborn at wing-back, but he'd be a total liability in a back 4, so you're still left with a choice between Stevens/Robinson/Bryan to be a chronic hole on the left side of the defence. We already have three central midfielders with Basham usually joining in, so I'm not sure how the extra body in midfield is supposed to help either, numerically we're fine in midfield, it's the lack of movement and intelligence in passing and positioning that's killing us as teams just play around them.

Whether it's a back three or back four we need a left footed defender with pace who can head a ball, couldn't care less if he can overlap as a lot of games last season JOC stayed back most of the time and the formation still worked. The midfield is the biggest problem as without anyone capable/interested in either breaking up attacks, getting forward quickly or playing simple through balls to the otherwise isolated strikers, you can play any formation you like and it won't make a difference.

 

[Coily]

Would he sign if we are going down anyway?

You've got to hope we are a bigger draw than a Millwall doing nothing.

 

[CoatesyBlade]

It’s both the RCB and the LCB that’s the problem for me. We’ve been incredibly lucky to have Bash and JOC in those roles. Bash ain’t getting any younger and can’t play in any other position. Sticking with the overlapping CB’s was a huge gamble in my opinion cos it’s almost impossible to find replacement players for these positions. Why? Cos no other fucker plays with overlapping CB’s!
Oddly enough though every single CB in the game has played in a back 4.
And finally... having a back 4 gives you more flexibility to change formation... it’s was the progression I believe we should’ve made in the summer.

 

[FMBlade1]

Rojo

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

LCB may be a problem, but trust me, our midfield is THE biggest problem, and by some distance.

No creativity, no ability to retain possession under pressure, no energy.

Christmas may be gone for another year, but to quote Scrooge, our midfield is "Dead, yes quite dead, as a doornail!"

This x100000

We can piss and moan about Brewster and McBurnie, Robinson and Ampadu all we want - but the lack of any kind of physicality in midfield has ripped us apart every game this season.

Creativity is one thing, but we can't even retain shape, track runners, press, defend space, defend channels...

 

[Swannyblade]

Who do you recommend we get in to replace JOC?

I wouldn’t be looking to replace JOC until the summer. Whoever comes in as another option at LCB will need a full pre-season to learn the role - it’s too specialist to pick up in January and slot in.
As said, Jake Cooper would be a good option in the Championship.

 

[Shoreham_Bhoys]

Robinson is a decent championship CB but not quite at the PL level on a consistent basis.

Jagielka is good positionally but he’s over the hill, no pace, poor physical attributes.

Ampadu is an overrated, lower end PL player at best.

Not many replacements that could help us and would want to join with our impending relegation.

 

[Geordie Blade]

If the LCB doesn’t step out of defence to create the overloads, it’s also removing one of our few attacking threats.

It actually removes two (or ‘both’) of our attacking threats. Now that we can only go down the right, other teams set up to avoid that overload. The whole crux of our system is that the wide CDs push on and cause problems.

 

[metalblade]

LCB is not a problem if you play a back four (just a thought)

 

[Belvedere Blade]

Would he sign if we are going down anyway?

Possible because Millwall could be playing in League 1 next season if they not careful with poor run of results and afew teams below on winning runs

 

[FTPE]

Might as well loan the LCB now, JOC will be back for the Premiership push next year anyway.