If we were to hypothesize about the 3-5-2 (even though it totally isn't going to happen) could Pontius potentially play as a left wing back? That's the one drawback of this formation is that I don't see Pontius as one of the two forwards, and LWB is really his only other spot. With his production last year, he needs to be on the field. If he could play there, something like what I have below could work (and since this formation is never going to happen, I'm going to stay in Imagination Land and put Edu in the lineup too). You could tinker with the forward pairings but that back 9 is pretty strong. The other weak point here is that I don't know where Herbers and Ilsinho would fit in as subs. (Please disregard the glaring spelling mistakes)
By my count, that's 4 drawbacks. Hence Scotty's "Island of misfit toys" running commentary. How quickly we so easily dismiss the JC "Favey-fave " factor around here........
Yeah we're really playing lesser of however many evils with any formation we choose. And that formation was totally hypothetical. If we're trying to guess an actual formation, the JC "Favey-fave" factor will need to carry the most weight, and that's why Alberg will never see the starting 11 regardless of how many goals he can pull out of thin air.
I'd rather run an empty bucket with Simpson and Herbers up top, Bedoya and Pontius out wide, and Creavalle/Jones and Meds sitting above the CBs.
600 lb gorilla would like to chime in at this point. Have you noticed something in the preseason minutes divisions? Roland......he ain't rollin no mo. Tried at the 10 with disastrous effect. Lacks the speed to work and press from the wing ? A given. Pivot-al to the shape ? So what is he ? A shadow striker. an under forward. My Bundesliga club currently plays with one. Not an easy fit. What I'll tell you about Roland is three things: ( taking time to count correctly........) 1: Nobody on the team I'd rather see standing on the spot. 2: Only guy I've seen threaten the goal from distance with two legs. 3: No role as currently constructed. Same as Davies......Same as Herbers. They're all forwards, playing for a coach who doesn't believe in forwards-only wants target strikers.
The philosophy may be "Two Deep" but the problem is that in order to afford two decent players at each position we are now "Too Deep" in mediocrity. I'm hoping we come up with 2 more "Well that turned out better than expected" players like Rosenberry and Herbers this year but I don't think we will get that lucky. Maybe Jones? Oh yeah, and what is the goalkeeper answer once Blake gets sold?
I think our best option might be inverting our midfield. Medunjanin can sit deeper and distribute while Bedoya and Jones do most of the running, pressing, and general defensive work. Haris won't have to run much and can be the deep option for recycling the ball. Additionally, I am not convinced Bedoya is a great creator, so this lineup would let him rely more on his work rate than his creativity. The obvious issue with this lineup is that there is a damn good chance that the forward is left on an island, so the wingers and center mids would be expect to run a lot and provide extra support. Luckily, work rate is the best trait of several of our players.
I think that the CM you've posted gets steamrolled......but I wouldn't mind watching it happen. More interesting than what I'm likely to observe Sunday night. Want to give you xtra credit for trying to come up with something different to work with what is given. Would you like to coach this team? They could use the creativity. Also; consistency is a virtue. Here at the Nexus home office-we've taken note of your resoluteness in omitting lil' sinho despite his svelte play of late. Keep up the good work..........
I don't think he gets steamrolled but I do think Bedoya and Jones would need to stay too deep to be effective on offense in that formation. But yeah, Meds needs some help. That's why I went cynical and suggested the bucket.
Cynicism aside, that's what I'm left with as well. I'd expect the same formation as always though. I expect Warren at the 6, Haris at the 8, Sap on top and if Pontius doesn't train at full-go....Herbers to replace him.
I meant cynical in play style - I try and keep on the silver lining side of the forum in outlook Agree with you on the players and the absolute inability to consider new tactics, though.
Its almost like Earnie was building the team for 2018 when he wouldnt have Curtin and the 4-2-3-1....
Pretty much any midfield group will be overrun since Earnie decided to ignore the DM spot. The Bedoya and Jones pairing looks as though it could cover enough space to cover Haris. Don't forget I started the Nexus and coined it.