We have to play two up front.

[murraymints4brighton]

Another flaw in our recruitment process, signing goal poachers who only ever play alongside someone else Mackail-Smith and McLean, Baldock and Emmanuel Thomas then previously with Wilbraham at MK Dons. Colunga has spent the whole of his career playing as a defensive forward, he will not score us goals in the ilk of Ulloa. That said, all of our managers at the Amex have favoured one up top.

The potential is there for Baldock. If we had himself and Chris Wood upfront this season for example, I think the table would look a lot different. Mackail-Smith or Baldock on their own is a complete waste of time.

 

[kevtherev]

who would you drop to accommodate the extra striker?

That's what a manager gets paid £500,000 a year for. But personally as I stated, I think we have to play two upfront, as we don't have anyone good enough to lead the line alone. I think you have to play to your strenghts, with what you have at your disposal. It's make no sense to have a player with 500 odd prem games experience sitting on the bench and Sammi likes, his full backs pushing up, so given all that, I would go 3-5-2 something like this,
---------------------------Ankergren/Walton/Loan( Yes Stockdale deserves dropping on current form)-----------
---------------------Greer------------------Dunk------------------Hughes---------------------------------------
Bruno/Calderon-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bennett
----------------------McCourt--------------Holla---------------------Taixera-------------------------------------
----------------------------------O'Grady----------CMS/Baldock/Colunga----------------------------------------

 

[Thunder Bolt]

That's what a manager gets paid £500,000 a year for. But personally as I stated, I think we have to play two upfront, as we don't have anyone good enough to lead the line alone. I think you have to play to your strenghts, with what you have at your disposal. It's make no sense to have a player with 500 odd prem games experience sitting on the bench and Sammi likes, his full backs pushing up, so given all that, I would go 3-5-2 something like this,
---------------------------Ankergren/Walton/Loan( Yes Stockdale deserves dropping on current form)-----------
---------------------Greer------------------Dunk------------------Hughes---------------------------------------
Bruno/Calderon-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bennett
----------------------McCourt--------------Holla---------------------Taixera-------------------------------------
----------------------------------O'Grady----------CMS/Baldock/Colunga----------------------------------------

McCourt and Teixeira can't tackle so any Championship midfield would rip through that line up like a tank through a field of poppies.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

McCourt and Teixeira can't tackle so any Championship midfield would rip through that line up like a tank through a field of poppies.

Agree, not too robust is it?

 

[kevtherev]

McCourt and Teixeira can't tackle so any Championship midfield would rip through that line up like a tank through a field of poppies.

You can't have it all. There are six defencive players in that line up. How many would you like Unless of course you are happy with having zero creativity in the line up.

 

[AnotherArch]

This is going to be another one of those Tuesday nights 'oop north' in inhospitable weather conditions. First we need the minimum "7 for the tunnel" and then the others still must have the bottle to run with the ball and expect to get taken out from behind. So no Tex to start. Ince's style in possession, and when receiving the ball, naturally moves him forwards which is unusual for our midfield.
Oh yes ..and short-sleeved shirts only - there is a job to be done.

 

[LamieRobertson]

You can't have it all. There are six defencive players in that line up. How many would you like Unless of course you are happy with having zero creativity in the line up.

maybe he isn't saying don't play either...therefore u would have creativity ...and maybe he's saying not 3 central defenders

 

[JCL666]

For once I can see why people are calling for two up front, but tbh I just think that we need to stop leaving ourselves wide open to be countered.

Especially as I really don't think the strength in our squad are the strikers.

I think we'd be fine if played a similar set up to the last 3 seasons.

Flat back four, with the full backs pushing up but not in the INSANE Hyppia style.

Kaz/Mccourt as a winger, with maybe Baldock/Colunga in that role Barnes/Lingard played, where they are part of an attacking three.


3 in midfield. Say Holla, Tex and Ince.

Then stick that big lump COG upfront. I thought he did well at holding the ball up on Saturday and could play people like McCourt, Tex and Kaz in.

Unfortunately much as I enjoyed some of the random madness at the start of the season, my priority would be shoring up the back, and I can't see why with similar personnel we can't do that. Yeah Upsons gone, but Dunk has been pretty good so far, and Bennet looks ok too (when he's not running back to cover the HUGE gap behind him)....

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

Frankly it really doesn't matter what permutation of strikers we put out if the service provided to them is not to their strengths.

Playing the petite Baldock, CMS or Colunga as a lone striker is not going to frighten many defences, especially if we persist in hoofing high balls in their direction. Given the options available at the moment I would play COG plus one of the others, so we can mix up our attacking play and give defences more to contend with.

McCourt has enough vision and ability to provide the strikers with the defence splitting balls plus unleash his own runs, but on Saturday he was often sitting too deep and with too many 'Boro players behind the ball. IMO Paddy needs to be sitting behind the forwards, around the tip of the proverbial diamond, from where he could do more damage. Use Holla, Ince and JFC together for greater midfield protection, especially when the backs bomb on.

I'm afraid that means relegating KLL to the bench as impact sub. A pity as I enjoy seeing KLL on the pitch from the start but there's only so many times he can try his trademark cut inside and look to shoot before the defence just know what's coming and put an extra man there, as 'Boro did after 10 minutes. Sami doesn't allow KLL to play wider and swop wings, so it's a bit too predictable. Yet for me KLL's best cameos were at Leeds and a brief period at Watford when he caused real problems cutting in from a wider position.

I'd like to see this line up get a chance:

Walton
Bruno--Greer--Dunk--Bennett
Ince---Holla---JFC
McCourt
COG-----Colunga (or Baldock)

I look forward to Stephens and March being fit so Sami has other options. Sadly that seems some way off.

 

[Bry Nylon]

O'Grady is not good enough to play up front alone and CMS, Baldock and Colunga are the wrong type of player . Unless we get a loan in we must play O'Grady and one other. It's the only way to go, with what we have to work with....Although whos to blame for that is another subject altogether.

To paraphrase Dorothy in Jerry Maguire, you had me at O'Grady is not good enough.

 

[Frutos]

Perhaps if Sami were to leave, we should get Dolly Parton in to replace him - that way we'd be guaranteed an impressive front pair.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Perhaps if Sami were to leave, we should get Dolly Parton in to replace him - that way we'd be guaranteed an impressive front pair.

Made me chuckle

 

[brightonmark1234]

We won't play 2 up front so no point talking about it

 

[bhawoddy]

That's what a manager gets paid £500,000 a year for. But personally as I stated, I think we have to play two upfront, as we don't have anyone good enough to lead the line alone. I think you have to play to your strenghts, with what you have at your disposal. It's make no sense to have a player with 500 odd prem games experience sitting on the bench and Sammi likes, his full backs pushing up, so given all that, I would go 3-5-2 something like this,
---------------------------Ankergren/Walton/Loan( Yes Stockdale deserves dropping on current form)-----------
---------------------Greer------------------Dunk------------------Hughes---------------------------------------
Bruno/Calderon-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bennett
----------------------McCourt--------------Holla---------------------Taixera-------------------------------------
----------------------------------O'Grady----------CMS/Baldock/Colunga----------------------------------------

I like the 3-5-2. With our current set of players I think this could be quite effective

 

[bhawoddy]

We won't play 2 up front so no point talking about it

Wouldn't be much of a forum without debatable formations.

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

We won't play 2 up front so no point talking about it

I think Sami started with CMS and Baldock together at Ipswich?

I thought they did 'ok', and their mobility certainly gave the defence the run around for an hour or so. Despite the poor service they received (contrasting with the excellent crosses from Ipswich) we still created several decent chances, drawing a couple of decent saves from their keeper plus a couple of others that he knew little about. We were a tad unlucky.

I would like to have seen the CMS / Baldock partnership get other opportunities, but injuries have denied Sami that option.

 

[brightonmark1234]

I think Sami started with CMS and Baldock together at Ipswich?

I thought they did 'ok', and their mobility certainly gave the defence the run around for an hour or so. Despite the poor service they received (contrasting with the excellent crosses from Ipswich) we still created several decent chances, drawing a couple of decent saves from their keeper plus a couple of others that he knew little about. We were a tad unlucky.

I would like to have seen the CMS / Baldock partnership get other opportunities, but injuries have denied Sami that option.

one of them against ipswich was playing out wide so not really a centre forward

 

[LamieRobertson]

I like the 3-5-2. With our current set of players I think this could be quite effective

Until one of the central defenders gets suspended...we don't seem to have much cover in that dept

 

[BensGrandad]

one of them against ipswich was playing out wide so not really a centre forward

They pinned the Ipswich back line into their penalty box and they only manged to get forward when CMS was taken off and subsequently scored 2 goals. Must be a story there as Ipswich are a good well organised team.

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

one of them against ipswich was playing out wide so not really a centre forward

Neither of them are 'centre forwards'. They are both more mobile than that and yes, at times they drifted wide, sometimes a bit too far apart to be fully effective. Plus they had KLL sitting in just behind them.

However Ipswich was the first time that our two most expensive strikers were on the pitch from the kick off - and sadly only given an hour to form a partnership against a pretty decent defence, that often outnumbered them. As previously mentioned the service that CMS and Baldock received was poor, so harsh to judge them on that performance.

That's why I'd like to see them get a few more games together, especially now we have McCourt to play just behind them. Imagine CMS and Baldock running onto the sort of passes Paddy could provide - or them dragging defenders around to give Paddy space for one of his mazy scoring runs into the 'box........