5 at the back

[trousers]

Stop it. Stop it now. No more. Enough.

That is all.

[Pamplemousse]

Arrogance from our clueless manager

[Saint Matty 76]

Fucks us up every game and then he has to use 2/3 substitutes at half time to correct his mistake every time, unbelievable 

[SNSUN]

We have 3 good CBs in DCC, ABK and Salisu and only then should we even contemplate 3 at the back, probably only against stronger opposition. But when 2 of the 3 CBs are Bednarek and Lyanco, and when we’ve been playing well with the 4231 formation, AND when we were 1 nil down from the first leg, it was a bloody shocking decision. That’s all on Jones. Stick to 4231, stop playing Bednarek, Lyanco, Diallo, AMN and anyone else useless and we have a shot at survival.

[The Cat]

Ralph did it at the start of the season too and jacked it in.

I'm ok with it on the odd occasion and it can be useful to switch to in phases of play during games but it wrecks our midfield and seems to blunt what little attacking threat we have.

[S-Clarke]

Where is this coming from? It appeared under Ralph as well, yet it's clear it never worked. New manager, still appears and guess what - it still doesn't f***ing work.

It's light and day how comfortable the players look in a 4, how can they not see this. They've got an entire season of evidence to look back.

[derry]

It was a clusterfuck that handed Newcastle the semi final. It doesn't work for us but a four does. Jones will get us relegated if he continues to think we can play that way. Outnumbered up front and in the middle and pulled all over the place at the back. Totally disorganised.

[coalman]

5 at the back where you have Bednarek and Lyanco who don't have a working brain between them. KWP on the wrong side and Perraud on the bench. It's not just a stupid formation it's populating it with the wrong players.

[Dman]

2 minutes ago, coalman said:

5 at the back where you have Bednarek and Lyanco who don't have a working brain between them. KWP on the wrong side and Perraud on the bench. It's not just a stupid formation it's populating it with the wrong players.

Bednerak was fine tonight. Better than Salisu. 
 

But agreed, we need to play players in the right position and that includes Lyanco nowhere fucking near the side. 

[The Kraken]

9 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Where is this coming from? It appeared under Ralph as well, yet it's clear it never worked. New manager, still appears and guess what - it still doesn't f***ing work.

It's light and day how comfortable the players look in a 4, how can they not see this. They've got an entire season of evidence to look back.

The pre season was massive evidence under Ralph that we were going for it, Ralph was previously mostly a 4222 or other similar variant, it was clear a new formation was being pushed as a big thing, it went tits up in pre season, it went tits up in the league, and it was very soon ditched. Ralph out, Jones in, instantly we see a revert to this shithouse formation and after a few more shite 3CB performances Jones still sees this as his best option. And he plays it in a semi final. With a newbie at RWB who has never played this level, an RB in KWB to accommodate this, our best LB on the bench, our best CB on the bench, and Alcatraz who is 20 and who just isn’t going to bust this level immediately.

Jones needs to bin off 352, work on the few things that do actually work.

Bree looked like he was lost first half, much much better second half. If KWP has done his hammy then the full backs pick themselves from here. Unless Jones goes for Lyanco at RB, then fuck knows what’s going on.

Edited 31 January, 2023 by The Kraken

[LGTL]

He’s started with 5 at the back in 5 games - Lincoln, Brighton, Fulham, Forest and tonight. 5 times he has had to change it. Thick as mince. 

[Ted Bates Statue]

6 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Where is this coming from? It appeared under Ralph as well, yet it's clear it never worked. New manager, still appears and guess what - it still doesn't f***ing work.

It's light and day how comfortable the players look in a 4, how can they not see this. They've got an entire season of evidence to look back.

Mark Hughes did it too. Five years of this bullshit crossing multiple regimes.

[Archers Road Stand]

12 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

We have 3 good CBs in DCC, ABK and Salisu and only then should we even contemplate 3 at the back, probably only against stronger opposition. But when 2 of the 3 CBs are Bednarek and Lyanco, and when we’ve been playing well with the 4231 formation, AND when we were 1 nil down from the first leg, it was a bloody shocking decision. That’s all on Jones. Stick to 4231, stop playing Bednarek, Lyanco, Diallo, AMN and anyone else useless and we have a shot at survival.

Salisu isn't a good CB. 

[The Kraken]

2 minutes ago, LGTL said:

He’s started with 5 at the back in 5 games - Lincoln, Brighton, Fulham, Forest and tonight. 5 times he has had to change it. Thick as mince. 

“Maybe it’ll work this time”

”No, it’s not working, let’s change it again”.

[Dman]

A back 5 can be really effective if you have the right players and it’s coached well. 

We don’t have the CB’s to play this formation, all are far to vulnerable in the channel. 
 

We cannot play it again this season, it has to stop. 

[Give it to Ron]

Jones on the back five: "If you're passive it doesn't matter if you play back five, back four, back three. We changed because they weren't doing what we asked but we were better in a four because we were more aggressive." #saintsfc 
no it’s because we can’t play it you twat!

[Turkish]

16 minutes ago, derry said:

It was a clusterfuck that handed Newcastle the semi final. It doesn't work for us but a four does. Jones will get us relegated if he continues to think we can play that way. Outnumbered up front and in the middle and pulled all over the place at the back. Totally disorganised.

 

[Pilchards]

I’ve heard he’s going to pack in this 5 at the back. Going with 6 instead vs Brentford.

Does annoy me that we have some good players at the club now but the leader who picks them all is just not good enough.

[trousers]

Close the thread please mods... It turns out there's nothing wrong with the formation...

 

[Archers Road Stand]

2 minutes ago, Give it to Ron said:

Jones on the back five: "If you're passive it doesn't matter if you play back five, back four, back three. We changed because they weren't doing what we asked but we were better in a four because we were more aggressive." #saintsfc 
no it’s because we can’t play it you twat!

Funnily enough after the Liverpool game he said something about us being passive and saying it won't happen again under him, here he is saying we were passive once again.. Clueless clown. 

[CanadaSaint]

It's so fundamental that it creates this dichotomy: if we're going to play a back 5, we have a relegation squad, but if we play a four we have a mid table squad. Same players.

I'd say that about 40% of the criticism that falls on our players is self-inflicted and deserved. About 60% comes from trying to make Jones's unworkable system work. You can see the role confusion in their faces and in their movement and game-reading (or lack thereof). Salisu is a good example. Not that long ago he looked like a solid CB, and the Big Boys were watching him. But now he's caught in this mental void somewhere between CB and LB, and he's nowhere near as assured. He hasn't suddenly become a weak CD.

Lyanco, on the other hand, finds a spot in our back line because we're hell bent on playing 3 CDs. For me, he either plays the Romeu role in front of the Back 4 or he doesn't play at all.

So, all the marbles are down to what Jones decides/is permitted to play from hereon in.

Edited 31 January, 2023 by CanadaSaint

[Give it to Ron]

Insanity is doing same thing over and over expecting a different result. Playing 5 at back, no Lavia, no DCC, playing 2 players away in a semi final when not played before. Best right back at left back, player score 2 goals and gets dropped- I am going for insanity!

[Lee On Solent Saint]

13 minutes ago, trousers said:

Close the thread please mods... It turns out there's nothing wrong with the formation...

 

Total wanker

[Whitey Grandad]

37 minutes ago, Dman said:

Bednerak was fine tonight. Better than Salisu. 
 

But agreed, we need to play players in the right position and that includes Lyanco nowhere fucking near the side. 

Watch him for their first goal. Doesn’t attack the goalscorer and actually turns his back on him. How the heck is he going to block the shot when he’s looking at the back of his own net?

[leeham_69]

2 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

Where is this coming from? It appeared under Ralph as well, yet it's clear it never worked. New manager, still appears and guess what - it still doesn't f***ing work.

It's light and day how comfortable the players look in a 4, how can they not see this. They've got an entire season of evidence to look back.

I guess it makes sense from the simplistic point of view of getting all of your best players on the pitch together - ABK, DCC and Salisu definitely being 3 of our better performers in exchange for one of our less purposeful "attacking" midfielders. But yeah - it has never worked, it's never looked threatening, it's never helped in any way.