FA Cup run

KVetch

Key Player
They're currently 6 points from the drop. Hopefully they field a weaker side. But it's a home draw. We lost 3-1 in July with this lineup. They've only scored 14 goals in 15 matches. We could win this.

Swansea City: Benda; Naughton, Cabango, Bennett (C) (Butler 90), Bidwell (McFayden 90); Walsh (Williams 32), Smith (O Cooper 75), Dhanda (Lloyd 84); Lowe, Cullen (Joseph 84), Whittaker (Piroe 60).

Subs not used: Hamer.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
We could win but playing this line-up:

Benda; Naughton, Cabango, Cooper, Bidwell; Downes, Grimes, Fulton; Piroe, N'tchem, Cullen.

I'd like to play Whitaker but not sure who to leave out. This is really the same 3+2 we've always played except the CCB role usually played by Naughton is replaced by a sweeper in the form of Downes who is usually that deep anyway. We still have 2 WBs on the field in Naughton and Bidwell.

Laird has been / is being found out by other teams in our league. He's not a winger and is a weak FB. Decent opposition defenders know how to stop him, contain him and force him to pass back.

Smith really doesn't offer much. Paterson needs to rest. Whitaker and Cullen need game time. N'tchem struggles with fitness and stamina - he needs game time. Cooper needs to play.
 

CroJack

Key Player
I watched Whitaker in a recent under 23 game , he was next to invisible , I can see why Martin is not using him .
Maybe he was next to invisible because Martin is not using him? :unsure:

If I was constantly ignored I wouldn't be interested in giving 100% in a meaningless U23 game. Also, I would do everything to leave the club.

I will never accept the argument that 3-4-2-1 is the only suitable formation for our passing football, and that we don't have place for more attacking-minded players in the starting XI. We could easily switch to 4-3-3 with Cullen, Piroe and Whittaker up front, Paterson and Ntcham/Fulton behind them, Grimes or Downes as defensive anchors, and four at the back. That's how Liverpool play. This formation has many advantages over the current 3-4-2-1 formation.

First of all, up front. We dominate possession but we do fuck all with the ball, and that's simply because we attack with defenders and defensive midfielders who are not goal-scorers. Piroe and Pato are the only players who score regularly and we shouldn't be surprised - they are the only attacking-minded players in our starting XI. Smith and Ntcham are central and defensive midfielders. Bidwell, Manning and Laird are full-backs. Grimes and Downes are defensive midfielders. The others are either centre-backs or full-backs.

Second, our pressing game sucks. Not because we don't win the ball back, but because the defensive-minded players in our squad are defensive-minded, they don't know what to do with the ball, so they instinctively pass it backwards. Or even worse, they don't have any options up front because there aren't any. There is only Piroe there.

Third, we have full-backs who play so high as wing-backs that they are waste of space because they don't score goals. It doesn't make sense to have players who are not natural goal scorers so high up the pitch.

Fourth, our full-backs play so high that they don't offer any protection at the back. That's a mind-blowing paradox. They are not goal scorers/strikers and they are not defenders. So, what are they? Yeah, they provide some assists, but that's far from enough. Players who play so high up are wingers, and wingers, just like Mané and Salah, or Bernardo Silva and Sterling, have to score goals and provide assists.

Fifth, we currently play with one centre-back Naughton. The other two centre-backs are acting like full-backs. That's a double-trouble. Why? First of all, none of our centre-backs has pace enough to play as full-backs and to counter the pace of the opposition wingers. Second, our centre-backs play so wide that we lack hight in front of goal when opposition puts in crosses.

Sixt, we play possession football and dominate the ball, but the pattern of our attacking game is identical to the pattern of the Steve Cooper's ball.
 
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Yankee_Jack

Key Player
I think you called it spot on. A traditionalist would call the way we play at the back mayhem, and Naughton in his role nuts,and the fact that we have to protect a back 3+2 with Downes and Grimes over kill.

I agree with you that a 4-2-3-1, with authentic wingers / wide forwards supporting Piroe would be a better option. Rogers had Dyer and Sinclair and then Dobbie as a #10 - can we really compare Dobbie to N'tchem ... frankly N'tchem doesn't play centrally he drifts wider so no. In the 4-2-3-1 we could still give our FBs license to be attacking minded, to overlap the winger when opportunity strikes. Bidwell could do that role perfectly ... Laird is too weak a defender IMO to be a Rangel-esque RB.

I question Martin's buy-in to his own philosophy. If he was a true believer then Benda would be the starting keeper. That Benda was benched for following orders is not only hypocritical but shows a lack of balls on the part of Martin. Walk the Talk. Benda is not only the best keeper, but balls out the best keeper for Martin's philosophy.
 
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