Yes absolutely stick to the Preston formation. I thiink a lot of us would have liked the same against QPR.Cannot see where T. Roberts will fit in inless there are injuries.
MozballTo me it was more of a 4141/4123. Bielik seemed to drop deeper with the other two CMs ahead of him. Think it worked well.
Yep that’s exactly how o saw it
Bielik a deep lying MF between midfield and defence
JJ and Paik as the 2 CMs
Bacca and Myoshi wide….Bacca especially alllowed to push on
Thought Bielik worked well in that role
theAtlasRab C NesbittTilton RifleLairds weight of passes was horrible yesterday. And I love him.I liked yesterday's team and balance. I'd probably swap Laird for Drameh to make us a bit more solid for certain games (like Leicester).
Laird's performance was strange yesterday. Seemed to lack urgency (see the jog back after he got under his header that Aiwu then struggled to deal with).
I also wouldn't mind starting the odd game with Hogan up front to give Stansfield a chance to play a bit wider and give him a rest from the lone role.
On the subject of Laird though how did he not get a foul for the shove in his ribs when he was mid air for the header just in our half?
I’m a fan of Laird too but he looked very subdued yesterday. He rarely got forward which is unusual for him. In his post match interview Rowett did make a reference to defenders needing to be defenders first and foremost and I did wonder if he’s had his wings clipped a little bit in that respect.
Thats quite funny if true as Mowbray clipped Buchanan's wings for not getting forward enough.
These boys must be confused as eff with all the manager changes and different philosophies!
theAtlasI’m a fan of Laird too but he looked very subdued yesterday. He rarely got forward which is unusual for him. In his post match interview Rowett did make a reference to defenders needing to be defenders first and foremost and I did wonder if he’s had his wings clipped a little bit in that respect.
I think this is what happened, he was told to stay back and not go bombing down the line (as we were aiming for a clean sheet). Buchanan went forward more than normal, they had a makeshift right back (due to injuries) so it seems we made a deliberate effort to attack down that side, Bacuna did well and the Preston forum was blaming injuries for being weak on that side.
Laird staying back and trying through balls isn’t his normal game and it showed, but he and the team got the clean sheet - so it worked out.
Thought Bielik was a very significant part of our success yesterday - his height was important as were the many interceptions and tackles he made, plus his mostly effective passing.
The swap of Hogan for Stansfield - the young man had not only showed extreme calm to score, he'd run himself into the ground which hurried their keeper into not very good clearances on many occasions. The drop off in energy up front was worrying when protecting a one goal lead - at the time wondered if Roberts might have been a better choice with the simple instruction to run like mad at the defenders and gk - their gk was decidedly uncomfortable with Stansfield chasing him. Hogan is now slow. A fully fit Hall would have been interesting for those last minutes?
But it all worked out well at the final whistle!
Same again for the remaining games would be my feeling.
Yep Bielik coming back is significant. Let's hope he stays fit. We need his quality.
Tilton RifleI liked yesterday's team and balance. I'd probably swap Laird for Drameh to make us a bit more solid for certain games (like Leicester).
Laird's performance was strange yesterday. Seemed to lack urgency (see the jog back after he got under his header that Aiwu then struggled to deal with).
I also wouldn't mind starting the odd game with Hogan up front to give Stansfield a chance to play a bit wider and give him a rest from the lone role.
We absolutely should not give Hogan the odd game upfront.
I wouldn't be upset if we started Hogan at Leicester and saved Stansfield's legs.
Nikola ZigicmI wouldn't be upset if we started Hogan at Leicester and saved Stansfield's legs.
Is that based on assuming we won’t get anything either way and saving Stansfield for the remaining games though? Rather than thinking hogan could add something
For me it's simply because Hogan is a centre forward. Sure he's had a crap season but we haven't got many options up top. I'd let him start a couple with Stansfield playing in his preferred position just to give Stansfield a bit of a breather. If it doesn't work we can switch back easily with either Stansfield going up top or Tyler Roberts.
Ideally we'd have a mobile target up there but Juke is injured and there are no other options.
KCYes absolutely stick to the Preston formation. I thiink a lot of us would have liked the same against QPR.Cannot see where T. Roberts will fit in inless there are injuries.
Roberts has a role as a sub. To avoid injuries.
The worst thing we could do at the moment is play Stansfield or so much he gets an injury. Also Bacuna and Miyoshi.
We need them as fresh as possible for the games we have the highest chance of winning.
Nikola ZigicYou can’t be serious after ripping others for doing it 😁I wouldn't be upset if we started Hogan at Leicester and saved Stansfield's legs.
Agree.
It's a difficult decision for the Leicester game. Having won on Monday, my feeling is to save Stansfield especially for the rest of the games - he gives so much energy up front and hassles defenders + gk - just what we will need v Huddersfield, Cardiff + Rotherham. Possibly the same also for Myoshi.
At this stage of the season with the table as it is, I'd be very tempted to treat the Leicester match as something of a free hit. But we don't have the squad depth to rest people such as Bielik who I think will be vital for the run in.
Difficult.
Stick to 4231 which is what we played yesterday and have played for the majority of the season. The 5 didn’t work against qpr imo.
drpeterI agree with this. Theres no way Stansfield should play Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. To get the best out of him he needs to be fresh.Agree.
It's a difficult decision for the Leicester game. Having won on Monday, my feeling is to save Stansfield especially for the rest of the games - he gives so much energy up front and hassles defenders + gk - just what we will need v Huddersfield, Cardiff + Rotherham. Possibly the same also for Myoshi.
At this stage of the season with the table as it is, I'd be very tempted to treat the Leicester match as something of a free hit. But we don't have the squad depth to rest people such as Bielik who I think will be vital for the run in.
Difficult.