I couldn't criticise the team selection. The fact is though that half the players selected didn't turn up. Paddy had the only shot on target in the first half hour. After the balls up for their goal we capitulated & could have been 3 down at least. If the ref hadn't gifted us a pen we didn't look like creating anything. After the pen we got some belief & could have had a couple ourselves. This team needs a shake up & a good kick up the arse. The Hill / Flitcroft era is over. We need a fresh start not a continuation. I had planned to pick up a ticket for Elland Road after the game, but won't be wasting my money on that rubbish.
I would play with wing backs, a variation of 352 with just one up front, another playing just off the shoulder of the striker. So Butland in nets 3 cbs being cranie, Hassell, mvoto Lwb would have recalled RNl Rwb wiseman Dm perkins Cm mellis Cm Dawson or fox McCourt just off the striker Tudgay up front.
Had there been another striker on the bench am not sure this apparent managerial brilliance would have happened
Have to confess I couldn't believe my eyes when he came on up front. Brilliant save, otherwise it would have paid off & things would have been given a slightly better sheen. Shame we didn't show up earlier however & we had to resort to what was obviously an act of desperation. No shots in first 20 mins of second half, after a good last ten minutes of the first, after the penalty gift.
Exactly the same system as Mellon picked, but with O'Brien on the right wing instead of Pedersen. I've been thinking for weeks one of our critical weaknesses is the inability to pick forward passes from our own half and isolate opponents one on one. Playing Mellis deep and selecting Cywka & McCourt as part of 3 players off the striker is designed to do just that. Mellon has analysed what he thought was wrong and developed a clear strategy to address it. Full marks for that. The players let him down. 4 of the back 5 were an absolute shambles for the first 45 mins. Bad decisions were made in good positions at 0-0, then we gifted them their goal. Despite the damage done by that, Mellon spent the whole match sticking to a strategy to try to win the game. It was completely open, and on reflection it may well have led to a defeat. But again, full marks from me for trying to get the 3 points we desperately need. I wouldn't give him the job personally, but I don't think we could ask any more from him than he's delivered.
It's not the players he picked it's the commitment from the players. As has been pointed out on umpteen occasions on here, these are the same players that ran through a brick wall second half of last season. I think all of us were expecting something on the lines of a performance as against Leeds last January. Instead it was same-old same-old. I'm now in favour of a complete change. If Mellon could not motivate them to play for him in a game like this, then we have no chance. A new man, with a fresh take on our situation is what we need.
Team was right yesterday but too many underperformed which was disappointing in such a pivotal game. I thought the offensive players other than Pederesn performed well but the defensive ones were very poor other than Wiseman.
M`voto for Ramage O`Brien for Pederson Scotland for Tudgay. Thought Scotland played like he did end of last season when he came on just without the goal. O`Brien was his usual self chasing down, whipping in crosses, offering an out ball through his movement and a great covering run after Wiseman had gone on the attack to the byeline, also attacked a cross/corner with an header at the front post having said all that he shooting leaves a lot to be desired but then again he does try to work the keeper or the fans. He also had an opportunity on his left foot which he played out wide. Chances of that going in if he had hit it would be 1 in 20 or more.
I would say that the problem with our team is the defence and conceding goals, yesterday the opposition played off the shoulder of our defence with through balls, luckily for us they were pretty poor at it, otherwise we would have lost. So if you want a suggested team, here goes:- 3-5-2 Goalie: Butland (although if Steele ever gets fit again, I would be tempted to bring him back) back 3: Nyatanga, Mvoto, Wiseman Wing backs: Hassell, RNL Midfield 3:- Cranie, Mellis - Cranie as holding mid McCourt or Cywka behind front 2 of:- Tudgay and Scotland Alternative would be to put Cranie in defence instead of mvoto and play 3 from Mellis, McCourt, Cywka,JoB if you want to be ultra-attacking. Simples.
My ideal 11 with the players at the club and who are fit would be Butland Wiseman, M'Voto, Cranie, Kennedy (purely because of a lack of a replacement) McCourt, Mellis, Digby, Cywka Scotland, Tudgay/Pedersen (undecided which)
I think Wiseman's best 2 games for us have been at centre half in a 3 and the Leeds game where he played as an out-and-out winger. So he can play either, as long as we have Hassell in the other position - what it shows is we have formation and selection options which have not been explored this season!!!
RNL, Digby & Rose… admittedly rose may not be fit & RNL is on a ludicrous loan spell. If we aren't gonna give em a game vs Yeo Ville it is time to shut down operations, go for a fish & chip supper & a ****.
Yep, really can't believe Scotland can't get a start, he must be seriously p*ssed off. Pedersen is raw, inexperienced, shows a lot of promise but Scotland has done it at this level for years! Scotland and Tudgay up front for me...
Did we start with 4-2-3-1 yesterday? I couldn't work out what the formation was! It was absolutely criminal to play McCourt, Mellis, Cwyka and Pederson as four of five midfielders (whatever actual position they lined up with). Despite only playing with one defensive midfielder, who lets be honest doesn't actually play defensively, we still let our full backs continue to bomb forward leaving the midfield and centre backs completely exposed. Perkins runs around a lot harassing the opposition, but that doesn't mean he protects the back four. We beat Brighton, followed that up with an apparent strong performance at Burnley, but then decided to change it and play Pederson on the right wing. Scandalous. I know exactly where you're coming from with the challenge on formations, Flicker, Mellon, and how fans never seem happy. But for me, Flicker's problem was he never got the balance of creativity and solidarity quite right, leaning towards being solid far too often this season. Yesterday, Mellon turned in to Ossie Ardilles and just went for it - which is crazy. That game was there for us to win, we just chucked it away before a ball was even kicked. So I'm actually answering your question, I would have gone for Butland, the same back four, but then a midfield of Dawson, Etuhu, Mellis, Cwyka, and McCourt, with Pederson up front. Mellis on the outside right of the three, Cwyka on the outside the left, and McCourt playing off Pederson - and hardly ever coming within 40 yards of our goal. Dawson and Etuhu would have been told to hang back the minute Wiseman or Kennedy bombed forward, providing the support that was so badly needed whenever we lost the ball. It's as if we want our full backs to be as effective as Zabaleta, but don't want our midfield to be as supportive to the defence as Toure or Fernandinho.
Re: Did we start with 4-2-3-1 yesterday? I couldn't work out what the formation was! All valid points, well argued and I tend to agree with it. If we'd played one forward at home and hadn't won Mellon would have been crucified even more than he is at present.