Question 4-5-1 at Wembley

[Pubey]

I do agree that 4-4-2 is the way to go at Wembley, especially after we played so well at RH on Thursday.

We got better and better in that game, but we didn't play particularly well in the first half on Thursday. Stevenage went ahead, and we gave them some chances. Wycombe are far better than Stevenage.

 

[Jam_Man]

We got better and better in that game, but we didn't play particularly well in the first half on Thursday. Stevenage went ahead, and we gave them some chances. Wycombe are far better than Stevenage.

That's very true and 442 has not seen us scoring more than a goal a game often anyway (even Stevenage we needed an extra 30 minutes :) )

Even so, its was a good performance and surely would leave the players in a confident frame of mind so personally wouldn't change it.

 

[onceknownasrab]

Ceratinly see the sense in that, but who would you drop then and what system?

Seems harsh to leave anyone out from that last game.

I agree its harsh but then there will be a lot of disappointed players on the day that have contributed throughout the season. The club and this game are bigger than individual disappointments.

The bigger problem is the formation and personnel after the back four and holding mid. 4-1-?

 

[Pubey]

Wembley: 115 yards x 75 yards
Adams Park: 115 yards x 75 yards
Roots Hall: 110 yards x 74 yards

 

[Angell Delight]

Wembley: 115 yards x 75 yards
Adams Park: 115 yards x 75 yards
Roots Hall: 110 yards x 74 yards

More space allows good wide players to shine. We have some very dangerous wide players in Worrall, McLaughlin and Coker who often have great delivery and like to run at defenders so I'm not at all concerned about the bigger pitch at Wembley.

 

[Ricky Otto]

451 for me. Wycombe score goals and they tend to score them early and then concede.

In their last 6 games (4 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss)

Goals scored 1st half = 7
Goals scored 2nd half = 3

Goals conceded 1st half = 0
Goals conceded 2nd half = 7

Keep it tight and frustrate them. Don't panic if we go one down. Keep Payne, Piggot and Weston on the bench and they can all be game changers in the 2nd half.


Bentley
White Bolger AB Coker
Worrall Lenny Deegan Timlin Atkinson
Corr

I think this is almost spot on, i'd have McLaughlin in for Deegan though. Don't think this will be a physical battle and Atkinson can do the "donkey work" getting around the pitch. McLaughlin looked very talented on the ball last game and on the carpet that is Wembley we will need players like that.

 

[Little Blue Rooster]

451 for me. Wycombe score goals and they tend to score them early and then concede.

In their last 6 games (4 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss)

Goals scored 1st half = 7
Goals scored 2nd half = 3

Goals conceded 1st half = 0
Goals conceded 2nd half = 7

Keep it tight and frustrate them. Don't panic if we go one down. Keep Payne, Piggot and Weston on the bench and they can all be game changers in the 2nd half.


Bentley
White Bolger AB Coker
Worrall Lenny Deegan Timlin Atkinson
Corr

completely agree!

I was in the Collymore suite (cupboard under the stairs) for the Stevenage game and PB came in and chatted to us while we were eating our lovely Lasagna before kick of and said to us how he had put two teams and tatics out for the two games because of their pitch amoungst other things and I beleive he will do the same at Wembley. Its all well and good keeping the same team but that team was set up for a completely different game. Its a ****ing massive pitch and if Wycombe come out the blocks find pockets of space, they could be 2 up in 10 minutes.....stick Deegan in there that aint happening haha. But really with five in midfield it gives us alot more options on the bench more chance of keeping them out and also our midfielders do score goals! Second half get into them abit more bring on weston (only saying that after how good his impact was against stevenage..same again please) and payne and the pig against tired legs.......

 

[mrsblue]

completely agree!

I was in the Collymore suite (cupboard under the stairs) for the Stevenage game and PB came in and chatted to us while we were eating our lovely Lasagna before kick of and said to us how he had put two teams and tatics out for the two games because of their pitch amoungst other things and I beleive he will do the same at Wembley. Its all well and good keeping the same team but that team was set up for a completely different game. Its a ****ing massive pitch and if Wycombe come out the blocks find pockets of space, they could be 2 up in 10 minutes.....stick Deegan in there that aint happening haha. But really with five in midfield it gives us alot more options on the bench more chance of keeping them out and also our midfielders do score goals! Second half get into them abit more bring on weston (only saying that after how good his impact was against stevenage..same again please) and payne and the pig against tired legs.......

I like Deegan as the type of guy who will protect the back 4 BUT I feel at Wembley Deegan will be found out and then lose his head,the bigger pitch will Imo see him mistiming tackles.

 

[mrsblue]

In their last 3 games Wycombe have gone 2-0 up twice, and 3-0 once. They've won all three games (but ended up conceding in all).

They are very decent going forward but they've had a bare squad for a while and I think we'll be in a better position regarding fitness/injuries and options from the bench. We need to be in the game at half time. I don't want to be 2-0 down at half time which is a very real possibility if we play 442 and are too open on a large pitch (although the Wembley pitch-size thing is a slight myth).

We are playing WW not Arsenal,play to our strengths which is 442,if we go defensive and concede then Phil will be forced to switch back to 442 meaning he is forced to make changes from the bench,I understand what you mean but playing defensive at Wembley will be football suicide Imo.

 

[TTS]

I rate Atkinson, as I think his work rate is second to none, however we looked really good and threatening once McLaughlin came on. With his introduction, we were able to really stretch the game out, his wide left and Worrell wide right and for me Wembley is a perfect pitch to stretch the game out. He will start with Atkinson I believe, however for me, the first change if we need to change it would not be Payne, just for the reason stated here.

 

[Pubey]

I like Deegan as the type of guy who will protect the back 4 BUT I feel at Wembley Deegan will be found out and then lose his head,the bigger pitch will Imo see him mistiming tackles.

LOL.

What are you on about?

Since when was a pitch size a significant issue for a professional footballer?

The only tangible way is that larger pitches may result in teams getting tired, but seeing as Wycombe's pitch is the same size I doubt it's going to be a big issue.

I think there's a small psychological effect of playing at Wembley where people do tire more quickly and the games can be both lethargic and stretched. I think that's more down to being at the end of a long season and playing on a sunny day.

However I don't think playing at Wembley is going to turn Deegan into some sort of rabid dog who's going to lose his head!:hilarious:

 

[Ricky Otto]

We are playing WW not Arsenal,play to our strengths which is 442,if we go defensive and concede then Phil will be forced to switch back to 442 meaning he is forced to make changes from the bench,I understand what you mean but playing defensive at Wembley will be football suicide Imo.

4-5-1/4-3-3 with McLaughlin and Worrall isn't necessarily defensive though and gives us the option of packing the midfield if needed. We could go 4-4-2 and they might find all kinds of space, then again they might not. Dismissing anything other than 4-4-2 so readily is football suicide IMO. Did you not see how we were breaking and the wingers were been found unmarked at the back post in the last game? If we play 4-4-2 on sat then I trust that Brown and staff have considered everything and have made the sensible decision, I won't dismiss it as "football suicide".

 

[mrsblue]

4-5-1/4-3-3 with McLaughlin and Worrall isn't necessarily defensive though and gives us the option of packing the midfield if needed. We could go 4-4-2 and they might find all kinds of space, then again they might not. Dismissing anything other than 4-4-2 so readily is football suicide IMO. Did you not see how we were breaking and the wingers were been found unmarked at the back post in the last game? If we play 4-4-2 on sat then I trust that Brown and staff have considered everything and have made the sensible decision, I won't dismiss it as "football suicide".

Corr cannot retain the ball on his own in 451/433 thus we drop deeper hence invite pressure !,just my view of course.

 

[mrsblue]

LOL.

What are you on about?

Since when was a pitch size a significant issue for a professional footballer?

The only tangible way is that larger pitches may result in teams getting tired, but seeing as Wycombe's pitch is the same size I doubt it's going to be a big issue.

I think there's a small psychological effect of playing at Wembley where people do tire more quickly and the games can be both lethargic and stretched. I think that's more down to being at the end of a long season and playing on a sunny day.

However I don't think playing at Wembley is going to turn Deegan into some sort of rabid dog who's going to lose his head!:hilarious:

Haha you ain't got a clue,Wembley well renowned for the energy sapping pitch,Deegan mistimes challenges but gets away with them,the open spaces at Wembley will leave him in the spotlight and it only takes 2 poor tackles.

 

[Little Blue Rooster]

I like Deegan as the type of guy who will protect the back 4 BUT I feel at Wembley Deegan will be found out and then lose his head,the bigger pitch will Imo see him mistiming tackles.

In that case why would we ever play him??...He is our best defensive midfielder, I think this whole losing his head type of thing is a bit over the top if you take away the aggresive side of his game you lose the player. He will show their forwards that we can be physical and seen as Barrett and Bogler cant play a ball out from the back to save their lives (not a massive dig they get the ball out when it matters) it would be good to have Deegan in their to do that job also

 

[MK Shrimper]

I, for one, will not be that surprised if PB goes for a 4-5-1 formation, at least to start with, on Saturday.

Seems to me that with the large pitch at Wembley we have to be careful to not get caught out, especially early on, a la Plymouth.

Plus, thanks to McGlaughlin's improvement in the second leg against Stevenage, we have at least 5 'in-form' midfield players (assumimg everyone is fit) who almost select themselves and who are finding the net.

The possibility of extra time adds a further dimension - for example can the Pig last the full 120 ?

There's not much in the pitch size difference, especially the width: (115 x 75y [Wem] vs 110 x 74y [RH])

 

[CC51DAS]

Fair enough when you look at the measurements but last tiime out we looked swamped in the extra space so maybe those 5 metres could make a difference.

 

[CC51DAS]

451 for me. Wycombe score goals and they tend to score them early and then concede.

In their last 6 games (4 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss)

Goals scored 1st half = 7
Goals scored 2nd half = 3

Goals conceded 1st half = 0
Goals conceded 2nd half = 7

Keep it tight and frustrate them. Don't panic if we go one down. Keep Payne, Piggot and Weston on the bench and they can all be game changers in the 2nd half.


Bentley
White Bolger AB Coker
Worrall Lenny Deegan Timlin Atkinson
Corr

Pretty much my thoughts - except I'd be inclined to play McGlaughlin rather than Deegan with a view to him giving extra support to BBBC. Deegan could also be a liability if he gets an early booking as others have said.

This bit - 'Keep Payne, Piggot and Weston on the bench and they can all be game changers in the 2nd half' - seems particularly important to me. I remember Tilly playing a very low key first half at the Cardiff POF, conserving energy, which proved all important once we reached extra time.

 

[Welly7]

I, for one, will not be that surprised if PB goes for a 4-5-1 formation, at least to start with, on Saturday.

Seems to me that with the large pitch at Wembley we have to be careful to not get caught out, especially early on, a la Plymouth.

Plus, thanks to McGlaughlin's improvement in the second leg against Stevenage, we have at least 5 'in-form' midfield players (assumimg everyone is fit) who almost select themselves and who are finding the net.

The possibility of extra time adds a further dimension - for example can the Pig last the full 120 ?

I think Payne will play in that system.

 

[jaffa1]

I'm happy with 4-4-2, I thought young Piggot held the ball up really well the other night (until he tired second half) when that happens let Weston and Payney loose. So him and Corr up top, the back 5 pick themselves, with a midfield of Worrall, Leonard, Timlin and McLaughlin.