Best midfield in the division?

Connell's demonstrated a really high ceiling of ability, but his passing has often been sloppy this season.

 

Correct. If Phillips' all-round game was close to peak Hourihane's, he'd be playing in the Premier League.

 

Phillips reminds me of early Hourihane - great numbers and creative contributions but not one to take a game by the scruff of the neck. Hopefully it'll come, as it did with Conor.

 

It's hard for midfielders to gel when the shape is wrong & the team selections are too.

We have plenty of quality, but as yet I'm flummoxed by what we are trying to do over 90 minutes. We often look world beaters for 15-30 minutes, then devoid of ideas, other than lofting balls forward, that get nowhere.

 

Benson has the ability to change the pace of the game and pass and move. Should be in the team ahead of Craig.

 

I agree with the comments that we don’t need both Connell and Craig in the team.

In the minority here but it would be Matty starting over Luca for me. I’ll put my tin hat on but be honest, when did he last have a good game? I notice Matty much more in terms of breaking play up and the more defensive aspects of the position.

Every time Luca passes a ball forward he loses possession. There was one occasion last night when he had a simple, cushion header to Humps, no more than 5 yards away, and he managed to put it out of play for their throw. The Ponte start singing this “putting on a show” nonsense immediately after! I asked my son what do others see that I don’t and he agreed with me. He’s poor.

And don’t get me started on his corner kicks. Pub league stuff.

 

I agree but unfortunately someone somewhere decided that Luca can play further forward. He’s always busy and will play regularly in the championship one day but he seems to struggle playing the 10 or 8 role, as the commentators like to call it nowadays.

It used to be 8 and 4 in midfield when I was a kid. 8 was the playmaker or box to box and 4 was the defensive player.

I don’t agree that Philips’ all round game is irrelevant.
Once upon a time you could get away with having a passenger in midfield. But in modern football where everyone has a job it’s very difficult to hide. You couldn’t play Phillips in a 442, you’d get mullered.
His goal output at this level for a midfielder is good but how much does it cost us overall, I don’t know the answer, just thinking out loud.

 

Glad it's not just me. There has to be someone in the team that can take them better. Has to be.

 

I never thought of John Bettanny and Ronnie Glavin as defensive midfielders and there wore number 4.

 

I think Luca has put in some decent shots in a more advanced role, but his decision making up the park is not great & passes go wrong. It is not a role he's used to & with so many other changes in the squad it is a bit mistake to be trying this transition now, when we have Phillips & DKD, who naturally play that role.

I think it is affecting his game badly. Maybe he sees himself in that role, but we are messing up the shape of the team badly. Too many cooks in certain areas & big gaps elsewhere.

 

I would play both C & C but tweak their positions.
I’d have both playing in the middle, that would allow the wing backs to break more freely and not leave us exposed, allow to play through the middle instead of hoofing up, collect second balls and set up the attacking side better to get most from DKD & Phillips.

Currently Craig being defensive & Connell attacking leaves nothing in the middle, which is why we are getting pushed back all time and full backs leave us exposed when attacking and lose the ball.

 

Craig’s done nothing wrong but I’d drop him as it’s glaringly obvious we can’t play both him & Connell. Connells been played higher up the field which doesn’t suit him or us, put him back to his best position just in front of the Defense and as many above have stated we need to be starting Benson the other positions up for grabs. On paper individually we have one of the strongest midfields but the balance between how we’re picking them and the tactics makes us look awful. Time for Clarke to have a long hard look in the mirror with his selections and system.

 

In a traditional 4–4–2 system in the UK, the squad numbers 1–11 would usually have been:

• 1 Goalkeeper
• 2 Right-back
• 3 Left-back
• 4 Central midfielder (more defensive)
• 5 Centre back
• 6 Centre back
• 7 Right winger
• 8 Central midfielder (more attacking/box-to-box)
• 9 Striker (usually a target player)
• 10 Second striker (usually a fast poacher)
• 11 Left winger

I’m sure it’s not a fast and hard rule, Gwyn Thomas springs to mind

 

I would play Luca in the more traditional defensive midfielder position. However, I would encourage him to shoot from distance. He has an excellent shot from distance and should be looking to get 8-10 goals from range per season.

there is no need for Craig. He’s a good sub to have.

Then I would play Benson and another midfielder who wants to play on the front foot, possibly Philips or Hourihane.

that midfield 3 can’t be chopped and changed. It’s critical they know each others’ game inside out. He has to choose his 3 then trust them.

I would then play either DKD or Philips just off the striker , who at the moment would be Humphrys.

 

Let’s hope this Nwakali is worth the wait and can offer us something different i think we need a proper athlete in the centre who can have a presence.

 

Or we could just play the best midfield player at the Club. Just a thought.

 

We need someone who can make progressive passes. I lost count of the times Connell & Craig passed to Pines for him to make the progresses passes. Craig out and Benson in who can look forward and pass and move. That improves tempo.

 

Absolutely mental the amount of central midfielders we’ve got for 2-3 positions. Even more so when you think we’ve got one recognised left back/wing back (I know Earl can play there but he’s not a full back). Proper scattergun approach to recruitment.

Connell
Craig
Benson
Russell
Hourihane
Phillips
DKD
Nwakali
Wolfe

 

They both could do that though if they played slightly different roles. We have no link up as the gap between defence and attack is too big, that forces them to go back.
That said Benson has looked good when he has come on so I wouldn’t object to him either.

 

Won’t be a popular opinion but our best player from last year & the one midfielder we had who could control a game left in the summer.