I was brought up in Billy Best Bill Garner erea with a center forward two inside men and two out and out wingers feeding them. Over the years the front men have been sacrificed one by one to add another defender or bolster up the middle of the park until we are left with this bloody awful diamond thing that seems to be the vogue now, where we only have the one out and out striker. I've always wondered how long it would be before some bright spark did away with him as well...and load and behold its our very own PB who for some games played Weston who by no stretch of the imagination is a center forward... on his own. The supporters turn up to see goal action and the tacticians are ruining our game, whether it be in a sincere belief that they are making our wonderful game more entertaining ...which it is not..or in fear of loosing.... and in turn their jobs. I fear the latter.
I'm from a different generation to you (sorry if that makes you feel old!), but the "diamond" has been around for a while even if the formation looked like a flat 4-4-2.
There are 2 teams I can remember growing up watching, Arsenal and Man U. Both of them had 2 central midfielders, with one being more defensive and another more attacking. Both had out and out wingers too with full-backs who would overlap them.
After seeing Barnard play on Saturday, I think he would have done better with Corr next to him. Corr came on and won everything played up to him, while Barnard tried and won somethings he got frustrated with being pushed around by the defender.
If we play 4-4-2, then the problem is who to play in the middle and getting the mix right.
For example, Deegan and Payne are different types of players with Deegan more defensive playing his best when he is in the opponent's face and Payne more attacking playing his best when he is given the freedom to float behind the strikers, picking a pass or dribbling through. That is a possibility.
Another example is Leonard and Payne, while Leonard is good defensively and works hard in that area, I firmly believe he is at his best when running at the opposition at full speed with the ball at his feet. However, Leonard can not do this with Payne already in that attacking position and we could be counter-attacked very easily with 2 out and out wingers, 2 supporting full-backs and 2 attacking midfielders.
Personally, I'd pick this for Tuesday:
Bentley
Leonard Thompson Prosser Williams
Deegan
Worrall .............Atkinson
Payne
Barnard Corr
Subs: Smith, Bolger, Timlin, Clifford, Hurst, Weston, Coulthirst
As an extra thought, I reckon Coulthirst could possibly play on the wing or even behind the strikers like Payne is above. When he does run at defenders, he causes them problems.
