Bergen Blade
Well-Known Member
They are vital in David Weir's 4-2-3-1 formation. I think Westlake did well vs Notts County, but was below average vs Burton. Williams was disappointing vs Notts County and very poor vs Burton.
The "wingers" (Murphy/Brandy and Flynn/McFadzean) have clearly been told not to play as wingers, but to roam around the box, meaning they are often very central, meaning we rely on our full backs for width. It means they have to take great responsibility going forward, they have to be our outlet out there, and they have to try create something when they get the ball.
Marcus Williams either doesn't have the ability or the confidence to help us with the latter. We've had superior possession in both our first two matches and both Notts County and Burton have defended deep. This has meant that Williams always have had an unmarked Doyle or Collins to pass back to. And that's what he's done, almost every single time.
This means that attacks stop when we pass to him, whether he receives the ball in tight areas or in loads of space. Even when we through some decent passing give him the chance to run at people, cross the ball, or find a teammate making a forward run he chooses to roll the ball backwards to Doyle or Collins. This is not taking responsibility and we need better.
A couple of photos to show the situations I'm on about:
Great chance to run at an isolated full back, or even pass to the teammate in the top right corner, but Williams stopped and passed it backwards.
A chance to play a pass between a couple of opposition players to the onrunning Flynn. Again Williams stops and passes backwards, slowing us down, making it easier for the opposition.
I don't like singling out players, but a lot of people seem to be unaware of the problem mentioned. They may look at those situations and claim that Williams didn't lose possession. But if you think rolling it sideways and backwards, rather than taking good opportunities to penetrate, will give us promotion I think you'll end up disappointed.
We have to aim at being effective, even though we're looking to be more entertaining and possession-oriented. And we need players in every position to contribute to our attacking, not least our full backs.
The "wingers" (Murphy/Brandy and Flynn/McFadzean) have clearly been told not to play as wingers, but to roam around the box, meaning they are often very central, meaning we rely on our full backs for width. It means they have to take great responsibility going forward, they have to be our outlet out there, and they have to try create something when they get the ball.
Marcus Williams either doesn't have the ability or the confidence to help us with the latter. We've had superior possession in both our first two matches and both Notts County and Burton have defended deep. This has meant that Williams always have had an unmarked Doyle or Collins to pass back to. And that's what he's done, almost every single time.
This means that attacks stop when we pass to him, whether he receives the ball in tight areas or in loads of space. Even when we through some decent passing give him the chance to run at people, cross the ball, or find a teammate making a forward run he chooses to roll the ball backwards to Doyle or Collins. This is not taking responsibility and we need better.
A couple of photos to show the situations I'm on about:
Great chance to run at an isolated full back, or even pass to the teammate in the top right corner, but Williams stopped and passed it backwards.
A chance to play a pass between a couple of opposition players to the onrunning Flynn. Again Williams stops and passes backwards, slowing us down, making it easier for the opposition.
I don't like singling out players, but a lot of people seem to be unaware of the problem mentioned. They may look at those situations and claim that Williams didn't lose possession. But if you think rolling it sideways and backwards, rather than taking good opportunities to penetrate, will give us promotion I think you'll end up disappointed.
We have to aim at being effective, even though we're looking to be more entertaining and possession-oriented. And we need players in every position to contribute to our attacking, not least our full backs.