match thread (image) Rangers 0 - 1 Kilmarnock

[DMAA 3,658]

21 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

Take away Windass' goals and we'll have someone who can 'get stuck in'. We'll be in a better position then...  

 

I don't think Jason Cummings could be described as someone who "gets stuck in"

 

All I've said is this formation hasn't worked at home and I think it's time to try something different. Windass hasn't performed at home and is the obvious candidate to drop out with a switch to 4-4-2. His style of play suits away games far more.

[DMAA 3,658]

A switch to 4-4-2 at home is a switch away from trying to play through defences (which we routinely fail abjectly at in homes games) to a more direct style of play with Morelos and Cummings giving the midfield options for through balls and crosses etc.

[Rousseau 10,823]

3 minutes ago, DMAA said:

I don't think Jason Cummings could be described as someone who "gets stuck in"

 

All I've said is this formation hasn't worked at home and I think it's time to try something different. Windass hasn't performed at home and is the obvious candidate to drop out with a switch to 4-4-2. His style of play suits away games far more.

Perhaps my post went too far.

 

I don't see 'taking the chances' as the issue, it's the 'creation of chances'. I think we can do better with our first-team. A change in formation won't change the way we play. 

 

4-4-2 is out of the question for me, unless it's a diamond. I think we're asking for trouble with 1 DM -- the other CM will be roaming forward -- and high full-backs on the break. 

 

I don't think we have the pressing game in the defensive transition to make the 4-4-2 work. It can work -- see Leipzig and Atletico -- but we don't look like we can play it; it needs to be coached. 

[Rousseau 10,823]

4 minutes ago, DMAA said:

A switch to 4-4-2 at home is a switch away from trying to play through defences (which we routinely fail abjectly at in homes games) to a more direct style of play with Morelos and Cummings giving the midfield options for through balls and crosses etc.

We're pretty direct as it is; get it wide a get a cross in or wangle a shot. 

 

I'm not sure lumping it in the box from even deeper gives defences in this league anything to worry about?

[aweebluesoandso 290]

I'm not fussed whether our system is a 4-4-2, 4-4-1-1 or even a 3-4-2-1, whatever it's horses for courses, but our two best strikers Cummings and Morelos need a start. You can't have any of those two sitting as a spectator when they have goals in them, you have a solid squad of what at the moment with all the injuries? Say  ten players who are a definite start then any permation between five players for that last spot, then the manager needs to work out the system and possible changes to the system depending how the opposition line up. Easy for me to write on a forum, but surely it's not out the reach of a savvy manager. 

[MacK1950 2,399]

Numbers bloody numbers give us back the days when football was a free flowing game,no zones, players interchanging naturally without the help of clip-boards/diagrams,videos etc.

Suppose there is no harm in dreaming

[Rousseau 10,823]

1 hour ago, MacK1950 said:

Numbers bloody numbers give us back the days when football was a free flowing game,no zones, players interchanging naturally without the help of clip-boards/diagrams,videos etc.

Suppose there is no harm in dreaming

It went out of fashion when teams with "numbers [...] clip-boards/diagrams, videos" humped them. 

[Gaffer 1,665]

To break teams down we need our most creative players on the pitch.

 

Currently, I'd suggest they are: Murphy; Candeias; Docherty; Goss; Tav; John; Morelos and Cummings.

 

There is little doubt (after simple examination of the facts) that 4-2-3-1 appears to work well for us away from home, or against teams that open up as they attack us.  However it's not appropriate without a top number 10.  So, we need to change our formation and tactics.

 

To accommodate our creative players we need something that offers two wide roles (Candeias and Murphy) for the overlap (from John and Tav), two strikers and cover in midfield (to prevent the break always from teams playing the counter against us).  That means there's really are only two options available to us.  We either play 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 (or equivalent).  The problem we have then is that we are playing a different group of players with a different system for home and away games.  I don't think this is sustainable.

 

Perhaps the best way to achieve the same result is to stick with the same basic structure, but play two creative midfielders instead.  That would mean we play 4-1-4-1 which is the same as 4-2-3-1, except the number 10 is moved to a holding midfield role and have the other two central midfielders play in attacking positions.

 

The team would look like (based on current fit players):

 

Tav, Alves, Martin, John in defence

 

Holt or equivalent as the holding midfielder

 

Goss and Docherty as advanced playmakers

 

Candeias and Murphy as wide players

 

Morelos OR Cummings to spearhead the attack

 

This would make it so much easier to play against packed defences.  We could continue to use Windass in the away games if we wanted but at least this keeps the majority of our best players involved in a similar style and structure each game.  Murty is a smart guy and will obviously know this but the problem appears to be that Windass is his favourite and cannot be dropped.  Pity, because his persistence with Windass means that's he is jeopardising his own future.

 

Its going to be very interesting to see how we shape up in our next game.

[Frankie 8,663]

It's enlightening that this thread has so few replies.

 

We were awful on Saturday and whilst Killie weren't much more than organised themselves as opposed to being good, they fully deserved their win as they took one of the few chances they had whilst we (again) missed ours.

 

The changes from Murty were also very strange.  Sure, not one player could say they didn't deserve to be taken off but to remove all three of our most creative players seemed ill-advised.  Goss was poor but Holt was unlikely to do any more than his usual running around to win the ball back.  Candeias was also poor but chucking Cummings out wide in his place didn't seem sensible.  Windass, again, was dreadful but Morelos arguably the correct replacement but I think a change of system would have benefited the team rather than supposed like-for-like personnel changes.

 

The lack of leadership on the pitch was also evident.  Tav tried his hardest to make things happen (but didn't play well) yet he was the only player that really seemed to want to win the game.  I thought Alves' attitude in particular was very disappointing.

[compo 7,217]

No point in playing wide if we don't have decent wide players try playing a bit more narrow , go through the middle with Moelos  and Cummings as the main strikers .