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IF we could get the hard working target man then we may be better with 4-5-1 similar to how we finished last season.

The current 3-5-1 which became a 5-3-1 last night, may be more suited to away games in a 'role a dope' formation but would like us to show more willingness to get players high and wide to attack teams when at home.

We will see what transpires over next couple of weeks

UTM

Quoted from Cloudy

IF we could get the hard working target man then we may be better with 4-5-1 similar to how we finished last season.

The current 3-5-1 which became a 5-3-1 last night, may be more suited to away games in a 'role a dope' formation but would like us to show more willingness to get players high and wide to attack teams when at home.

We will see what transpires over next couple of weeks

UTM

If we are going to play with 10 men we have no chance.

Just to clarify, pre season games mean no more than fitness, players shouldnt be judged until at the earliest the middle of September.

If Sunderland try to play it around at the back through their no.5 like last night they will be closed down and exposed. With two front men we should have been able to do that more than we did. Hopefully Hooper and Cook won't allow League 2 defenders to take those liberties.

Quoted from Croxton

If Sunderland try to play it around at the back through their no.5 like last night they will be closed down and exposed. With two front men we should have been able to do that more than we did. Hopefully Hooper and Cook won't allow League 2 defenders to take those liberties.

With 5 across the back ( and holding midfield players) the two up front dont have the support to close down the opposition defenders. The front two tried to close down defenders but it was extremely easy to play around them because they didnt have others suporting them and closing down full backs and midfield players

Quoted from barralad

If we are going to play with 10 men we have no chance.

It's what happens when they have cookery lessons in school instead of maths.

Best way for me to see the development of this side is to compare it to two points; 1) when Jolley first arrived and 2) the end of last season.

1st reference point is to see how we've come along under Jolley.  2nd is to see how we compare to the team that Jolley has decided he needs to evolve (which I don't think any of us disagree is the right thing to do).

From the side that Jolley inherited then.  Much more organised.  Far, far more solid and disciplined in defence.  Hold their shape better, have some notion of where other players should be when trying to pick out passes, distribution is faster and with much more intent.  Important to note that the side Jolley inherited couldn't have got much worse.

From the side that ended last season - Similar levels of organisation and discipline, especially in defence.  Collins organised very well last night with the two younger lads either side of him giving a nice balance of pace and experience.  The players recognised the shape they were in and I didn't really pick up much confusion on who was playing where etc.  That said the players don't look totally comfortable in this system.   Fox and Clifton started at wing-back but neither look a wing-back.  Fox looks to me like a player who needs three or four games before he gets in his stride but even then I'm not sure he's a wing-back.  Don't get me wrong, I think he was excellent as an attack minded full-back who makes runs from deep, but that's not a wing-back.  Clifton on the other side can do a job as a wing-back but again it's not his game.  His energy and physical attributes mean he'll get away with playing there but I would much rather see him in the middle.

Tamewo was tidy on the ball and looks very much a modern defender, he wants to play rather than just clear it.  Reminded me a bit of Toto actually in that sense.

In midfield Welsh looks a little off the pace.  Reads the game well but was slow off the mark a couple of times last night, sure that'll come with game time.  Rose has improved under Jolley, no doubting that, I'm just not sure what type of role he would be best in.  A more defensive role is where we've a fair bit of cover but I don't think Rose's natural game is to go beyond strikers with his runs or pick people out with a range of passing.  If he can continue to improve his fitness levels, I think he would be an effective Kante sort for us, getting in to the opposition all over the pitch, breaking things up and winning back possession.  Woolford was and is very tidy but as was the problem last season, he's playing in a midfield with little pace or attacking intent.  If it's a 3 man midfield you need at least one of those guys to be pushing forward and/or creating things.  A trio of Rose/Woolford/Welsh is not going to have that.  Hessenthaler looked very comfortable on the ball when he came on and looked to move things quicker than what the lads in the first half did, again he doesn't look the type who will push forward.  

The two trialists didn't really have much of a chance to impress.  Most seemed more impressed with the lad from Walsall but I thought the ex-Liverpool lad, O'Hanlon, looked a better bet.  Moved the ball well and with intent (maybe lacking a bit of fitness though) whereas Flanagan was an eager runner but seemed to lack a bit of know-how where and when to run.  Difficult to judge either on those circumstances.

Up top Cook and Hooper showed enough to suggest there's a potential partnership there.  Cook wants to drop into the gap between attack and midfield, which is useful as our midfield don't push into that space.  He came short quite a lot and was comfortable in spinning with the ball to bring others into play, including Hooper.  However when he did come short it just left Hooper isolated as none of the midfield five had pushed forward in support.  I think on one occasion Clifton managed to get behind his fullback.  

Second half the mass changes meant the midfield had a very experimental feel to it.  Hall-Johnson added a bit more pace on the flank and is probably the best suited to playing as a wing-back in the squad.  Dixon on the other side is not capable of that role, that's not a slur on the lad it's just not his game at all.  

Akheem Rose looks even quicker than last season but he has no idea where to run or when to run.  Some brilliant raw ingredients there but we shouldn't get carried away with him.  He needs a lot of developing.  

All in, it's still a work in progress. I think we'll be difficult to beat but I've not seen the intensity that served us well in the final games of last season.  That could be as players get used to the new system or that it's simply pre-season.  For my money we need an athletic striker and a midfielder who can step into that No 10 role.  Solely based on the two games we've played so far, I wouldn't object to putting Cook at the top of that midfield trio and having someone else operating up top with Hooper.

Agree with DHM on most of that with the exception of the two triallists. The 'lad with the silly haircut' didnt look a footballer in any shape or form to me

Bear in mind our attacking midfield option has an ACL injury.

Quoted from oldun

Bear in mind our attacking midfield option has an ACL injury.

eggs in 1 basket