4-2-3-1

[verlaine1979]

Seems weird that this is the formation our recruitment most readily fits and yet to my knowledge we've not tried it once since Ralph took over.

Bazunu, Perraud, Salisu, ABK, KWP, Romeu, Lavia, Aribo, JWP, S Armstrong, (a striker).

Would seem to play to the strengths of our squad, make our middle much harder to play through than it currently is, and get our captain and best player closer to the goal.

Even our less-able squad players would fit into it more easily, with the likes of Redmond and Elyounoussi only having to take on the responsibility of operating as one of a three, rather than 50% of our attacking midfield.

Can't handle any more disjointed 5 at the back or underpowered 4-2-2-2 without the athletes to play it.

Edited 6 August, 2022 by verlaine1979

[danjosaint]

I'd like to see this or 4141, much harder to play through us but reliant on a true number 9, not some powder puff striker who may be quick, we desperately need that link up play that others can play off, but the sooner Ralph goes the better, 10 games in is to late 

[SNSUN]

Right now I'd take anything but the 3-5-1-1 or whatever bollocks Ralph is playing that we clearly do not have the players for. Some kind of 4-3-3 would do me with JWP, Romeu and Lavia doing the donkey work in midfield protecting the shite defence, and a fluid front three that concentrate on the attacking side of things. (Armstrong, Aribo and Adams currently). If Lavia IS a true DM, then having him in that role should negate the need for a 3rd CB.

[Dusic]

JWP isn't a #10 and our wide attacking midfielders don't score enough for this work unless we suddenly signed Harry Kane up front.

All our best performances under Ralph have come with two strikers working together and when our full backs are a threat from deep combining with the midfield.

Long and Ings, Ings and Adams, Brojs and Adams. Each of these partnerships are/were miles better than A.Armstrong and Aribo or S.Armstrong and Aribo will ever be.

Amazed that after finally being more active in recruitment, Ralph has chosen this point to move away from his preferred formation and noy once tried it in pre season.

If we wanted to play 5-3-2 we may as well have sacked him and hired Nuno Espirito Santo.

Either go back to 4-2-2-2 which for all its flaws has shown it can work (and for which our recently recruited players seem ideal) or fire Ralph - rather than let him try to figure out a whole new system, that has been abject whenever tried, whilst we slip out of the PL.

Edited 6 August, 2022 by Dusic

[FarehamSaintJames]

6 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

Right now I'd take anything but the 3-5-1-1 or whatever bollocks Ralph is playing that we clearly do not have the players for. Some kind of 4-3-3 would do me with JWP, Romeu and Lavia doing the donkey work in midfield protecting the shite defence, and a fluid front three that concentrate on the attacking side of things. (Armstrong, Aribo and Adams currently). If Lavia IS a true DM, then having him in that role should negate the need for a 3rd CB.

This, I hadn’t even clocked this before I made my feelings known on other threads 😂

[FarehamSaintJames]

Either need to go back to that 4-4-2 (4-2-2-2 rubbish) or go 4-3-3.

Aribo is not a striker. Valery, for all his efforts, is not a Premier League CB. Bednarek is shit. Djenepo is shit. Adams is a perfectly decent striker that has little to no support or creativity. 

[verlaine1979]

28 minutes ago, Dusic said:

JWP isn't a #10 and our wide attacking midfielders don't score enough for this work unless we suddenly signed Harry Kane up front.

All our best performances under Ralph have come with two strikers working together and when our full backs are a threat from deep combining with the midfield.

Long and Ings, Ings and Adams, Brojs and Adams. Each of these partnerships are/were miles better than A.Armstrong and Aribo or S.Armstrong and Aribo will ever be.

Amazed that after finally being more active in recruitment, Ralph has chosen this point to move away from his preferred formation and noy once tried it in pre season.

If we wanted to play 5-3-2 we may as well have sacked him and hired Nuno Espirito Santo.

Either go back to 4-2-2-2 which for all its flaws has shown it can work (and for which our recently recruited players seem ideal) or fire Ralph - rather than let him try to figure out a whole new system, that has been abject whenever tried, whilst we slip out of the PL.

We don't have one decent striker, let alone two at the moment to play in a pair. A 2/3 or 3/2 midfield would at least get more of our better players playing in their best positions. At the very least, I'd expect S Armstrong and Aribo to chip in with maybe 8-10 goals between them playing as part of an attacking midfield three. 

I'll concede that JWPs position is controversial, but we've got three competent defensive midfielders in Romeu, Lavia and Diallo, but no one who can pick a pass in the middle of the attacking third. At the very least he showed today that he might be able to pop up regularly on the edge of the box like a cut-price Lampard in his prime.

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, verlaine1979 said:

Seems weird that this is the formation our recruitment most readily fits and yet to my knowledge we've not tried it once since Ralph took over.

Bazunu, Perraud, Salisu, ABK, KWP, Romeu, Lavia, Aribo, JWP, S Armstrong, (a striker).

Would seem to play to the strengths of our squad, make our middle much harder to play through than it currently is, and get our captain and best player closer to the goal.

The players you list would be better suited for a 433/4141. As Ward-Prowse isn't suited for the number 10 role you have him in.

Edited 6 August, 2022 by Matthew Le God

[FarehamSaintJames]

Two formations/line ups I’d like.
I feel like Romeu would only work in a three man midfield.
You could easily have Stephens or Bella-Kotchap partner Salisu at the back.

Another LW, maybe a CB too and it’s a decent window.

[verlaine1979]

10 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

The players you list would be better suited for a 433/4141. As Ward-Prowse isn't suited for the number 10 role you have him in.

I'm curious as to why the club's best passer and top goal-scorer isn't suited to playing in a more advanced role since we now have an abundance of talent in the water-carrying department? The likes of Sneijder and Eriksen show you don't need pace to play it if your passing and vision are good enough. When he started out he wasn't exactly a harrying midfield machine, but he adapted to that. Why wouldn't his technique and capability adapt again (especially as passing clearly isn't a new skill he has to learn)?

I'm open to being convinced otherwise, but on the basis of getting the best out of the squad we have, I'd much rather see JWP pushed forward than Romeu (who looked a bit clueless today alongside Lavia and Ward-Prowse).

[Streaky]

You can play whatever formation you want but it's not gonna matter when the squad has no respect for him and doesn't believe in what he is preaching. 

Ralph out!!

[saintant]

14 hours ago, verlaine1979 said:

Seems weird that this is the formation our recruitment most readily fits and yet to my knowledge we've not tried it once since Ralph took over.

Bazunu, Perraud, Salisu, ABK, KWP, Romeu, Lavia, Aribo, JWP, S Armstrong, (a striker).

Would seem to play to the strengths of our squad, make our middle much harder to play through than it currently is, and get our captain and best player closer to the goal.

Even our less-able squad players would fit into it more easily, with the likes of Redmond and Elyounoussi only having to take on the responsibility of operating as one of a three, rather than 50% of our attacking midfield.

Can't handle any more disjointed 5 at the back or underpowered 4-2-2-2 without the athletes to play it.

It's not in Ralph's play book.

[Saint Fan CaM]

In some respects it doesn’t matter what formation is played within reason as it’s the style of play that’s letting us down - i.e. our movement in attack is ponderously slow, predictable and easy to break down because we move the ball too slow. Too many times this leaves 2-3 players tip tapping short distance passes right on the sidelines trying to squeeze past too many defenders who’ve had the time to re-group.

To combat this we need to move the ball faster out of defence, moving up as a team, instead of having typically 4 players way ahead playing a flat front line, waiting for a through ball that never comes because the defence and/or DMF is sideways/backwards passing due to no-one offering themselves in space.  This ends up with a risky ball being played and an inevitable turn-over. To play to the strengths of the current team I think 442 or preferably 433 would help achieve this more.

[verlaine1979]

True - I think it was in the run up to the third that we were trying to build a slow attack down the left, a pass wide went square rather than forward, was cut out and they were immediately on the counter. So much of our passing is in front of the defense rather than ahead of it or through it. Lack of movement is to blame for a lot of it, and it certainly doesn't help playing with only two players committed to the attack as in Ralph's preferred formations.