We CTO posters are all pretty much clueless amateurs (with few exceptions), but as a wise man once said - even a broken clock is right twice a day! Surely between us we can come up with some good ideas? I'll get the ball rolling with a couple of suggestions.

1) We often hear about 'striking partnerships' or 'centre half partnerships', but less emphasis is placed on wide men. I would say our best combination on the right flank is Doran at RM with Raven behind him at RB. The two of them have a good understanding having played alongside each other for years, and work well together. Now that both lads are fully fit I would say lets start them together.

2) A new 'great wall of China'. Who else remembers this regular Butcher talking point? He put Draper and Tudor-Jones together in the middle as an impenetrable barrier to protect the back 4. It worked pretty well for the most part before Jones left for Hibs. Alex Fisher has played pretty much exclusively as a forward since his arrival, but what has impressed me most about his game is his energy, work rate and intense pressing game. I would give him a run in the middle of the park alongside Draper. He's a decent footballer (coached by Glen Hoddle no less) and if nothing else the two of them would give our midfield some steel.

Edited January 30, 20179 yr by AlexJones

A winger on each side of the park pulling defenders and creating a big hole in the middle for attacking midfielders/strikers to run into and score goals.

What could be simpler?

 

 

 

I listened to a good interview with Ruud Gillit a few months back and he made a good point about playing with one up-front.  It can work, but he's got to have pace.  Billy Mckay could do it because he had the skill, the pace and the work rate to hold up the ball, pressure the opposition backline and brings others into the game, as could Rooney and Storey and to a lesser extent Ofere.  The problem with us is Doumbouya (who always seems to start no-matter what) is pretty awkward in possession, doesn't seem interested in the ball unless it's played right to him and is perhaps one of the slowest players we've had in years.  Boden has been a hideous signing while Anier looks more like a number 10 and Ebbe is an unknown quantity.  

That then leaves Fisher.  He has the work rate and a fair amount of pace and from what I've seen looks like he could be a very good striker if he's given a run of games.  To my mind, when he's fit he should always start especially if we stick with the one up-front philosophy.

Good topic for a thread. I've cut and pasted what I wrote on another thread.

One of the areas where we are poor is the movement off the ball.   One of the things that bugged me about Hughes was the obsession with possession such that nearly every pass had to be into feet and we created very little because the ball was rarely played into spaces behind the defenders.  That also meant we were slow coming forward and opponents had plenty time to regroup. It seems that this mindset has become ingrained in some players and players are not looking either for the space for the ball to be played into or to take defenders away and create space for others (Billy Mckay was great at doing that).  As a result the only forward option is often the long punt.  There's nothing wrong with the long punt from time to time, but it is not a game plan.

We are too predictable and therefore easy to defend against.  We need to be quicker coming out of defence, we need attacking midfielders to use the width of the pitch and the front men to move opposition defenders around creating uncertainty and space.  We then need our central midfielders to be more positive in moving into the space created.  

To my mind the way to build a successful side is

a) Have a dominant CB or sweeper who determines when the line steps up to compress the space and when to sit in, with full backs who know when to tuck in and when to go forward.

b) Midfield is a personal battleground where generally the side who wins most of the individual battles wins the match depending on having a midfielder or preferably several who can see and execute the pass eg a Paul Sheerin, or Charlie Christie.

c) up front where I played till my mid 30's I always preferred to play with a strike partner plus one winger who could either play in a 443 or 442 formation rather than as a single striker, two up front can create more havoc than one on his own, also, if the only option is to flick the ball on you need someone to flick it to. Re wingers I prefer the Barry Robson type with a good shot on him rather than the lightweight type like Doran, who is a fine player. The one thing about young wingers is they are consistently inconsistent as has been seen with Mulraney, they take time to mature into consistent players, to judge when to take the man on or play a one two and to cross consistently between goal and the penalty spot rather than behind the goal. Mulraney is only a young man and I've no doubt if he gets enough games and remains injury free he will be a good player by his mid 20's by which time he will also have bulked out a bit.

I don't rate any of the so called strikers but then, perhaps it's not their fault, delivery into them is poor though you can't excuse being unable to control or strike a ball on target

The most mature performance I have seen from an ICT side was the home tie against Astra who were no mugs and only a goalkeeping mistake cost us that night but the amount of control we had around their penalty box with young Ryan Christie looking like a genuine no 10 trying to thread balls through for our depleted forward line (we had lost watkins) was really excellent and a testament to the style of play that Hughes had instilled in the team despite our having lost our two best players and having several injured.

The ball has to be played through the opposition midfield 90% of the time so that you have midfielders supporting the front men and should a defender get a tackle in chances are it will break back to one of your own players. The other thing this style of play ensures is that the entire opposition team has to defend it thereby ensuring they have almost no outball should they win possession back.The way the Cameroon midfield played the year they almost knocked England out of the World cup was textbook midfield play at its best, had Roger Miller been able to play 90 mins they would certainly have won handsomely. All the top sides know when to press as a unit and when to stand off which takes hours of practice on the training field, think of the great AC Milan side, they literally won the ball back without making a tackle so expertly did they reduce the space as a unit.

I don't know what the training has been like with RF or what they have been working on but I don't see much shape nor a controlled style of play. JH's team was able to control the tempo of a game and knew how they intended to get at the opposition whether you liked the style or not, it took time for the players to buy into it and it started with some real disasters, Dundee Utd at home springs to mind. Once the players bought into it and understood the purpose, they became much more comfortable and patient in possession. Yes you might say they overplayed at times or were over cautious at times (Rangers away in the league cup comes to mind) and I would agree but it was still very much a work in progress weakened by transfers out of the club. I feel we have thrown all that good work away which could have become a template for the way in which ICT played the game for many years to come, as a club culture, irrespective of who the Manager was.

As to what we can do to get us out of our current predicament? no idea, there is no magic wand, it takes months of disciplined practice in the right areas.

 

 

 

 

Should read 433 and 442 above, my mistake.

Just have faith in your ability and your fellow players.

Be creative and help a team mates creativity.

Have a game of non contact Rugby for training as something different. Team work, making space, creativity, influencing the movement of the opposition, instigating the next move. 

Make scoring a goal the norm, it's not a big deal, don't think about it just put it in the net, think of the game for 90 mins and think about the points when the final whistle blows.

Edited January 31, 20179 yr by 12th Man

Worst tactic is the lack of ability to defend. Yet more defensive mistakes, we have gone from a solid unit at the back to a disorganised shambles with a lack of concentration - with largely consistent personel. Severe questions need to be asked about the defensive coaching and who or where is it coming from. I've been saying it most of the season its clear that RF & BR dont work and we need to bring in someone. Whether on here he's liked or loathed there is no doubt that Yogi could fire the boys up and organise a defence - afterall same coaching staff bar the RF to Yogi change and same players yet we are a real horror show.

The board are backing RF with bringing in players like Billy - but maybe they need to see what he is providing in return. if the board intend to keep RF they need to give him support and bring in anyone with experience right now to help with tactics or punt him now and change the management team. I'm sorry to say but even going down I dont think RF will be able to take us back up.