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Echo News Mark Molesley feels new formation can work well for Southend United and was not to blame for defeat

What was to blame then?
And what will, maybe, work in coming games?
What have we got that is okay?

Ox, as good as most in this division.
Elvis, Ralph, Clifford, generally more than adequate at this level IF properly set up to their insides and helped by wide midfielders but vulnerable when isolated.

We have a choice, when fit, of CBs, who is best PAIR needs sorting pdq.

Centre midfield of Taylor, Demi, Macca ought to be okay, new Arsenal lad is needed, no strength here in injury free players or number of.

Wide midfielders? None that are good enough to do wing work and auxiliary full back imo, and that includes young Tyrell and Sterling.

My possible solution is sort centre back pairing.
Play Elvis and Demi on right, Clifford and Ralph on left.

Centre midfield of Taylor and a n other, preferably a fit Macca.

Pair Goodship and Sterling as forwards and hope Akinola is available soon. Get a robust, awkward CF such as was Jason Lee, Brett or BBBC model , strong, determined.
 
We are just too inexperienced and lightweight in every sense to compete in this division. The manager and his backup have never worked at this level either.
To go through yesterday's lineup:
Oxley, one of the few experienced pros in the side
Bwomono has clocked up a number of appearances but is weak defensively
Hobson - a big step up to this level
Dieng, one of the few proven to have the ability to survive in L2
Lennon- injury prone and never had a full season in his entire career
Demetriou - as Dieng
Taylor - his first game was his best, has looked successively worse with each game
Ralph- not proven at this level, must have forgotten what it's like to be on the winning side
Up top - three who are having to learn on the job. It's a big step up from non league for Goodship, the Spurs loanee is way out of his comfort zone from the protective cocoon of premier league under 23s and Acquah is very raw.
None of this is a criticism of these players. Too much is being asked of them and with so little genuine experience in the squad they are having to learn too fast to have a real chance of surviving at this level, which is a pity because the potential is there in most cases.
 
Clifford could still be injured, I was thinking that must be the answer coz surely he'd play otherwise

I assumed he got dropped after a poor showing in the JPT against Pompey in which he conceded a penalty but I didn't actually watch that game.
 
the formation played to all our weaknesses ... and undermined all the things we had done well..

I think MM should have stuck his hand up and said "that one is down time me"
 
When youve paid your tenner there is not much worse , in whatever formation, to watching us constantly pass the ball back from the halfway line , then sideways, then back ,and back again until poor old Ox makes some desperate clearance under pressure to lose possession and concede a goal. Our lads are not great at it, We have few clues going forward and dont seem to be able to create much , but surely this can be taught more over time, as defensive drills are?
 
When youve paid your tenner there is not much worse , in whatever formation, to watching us constantly pass the ball back from the halfway line , then sideways, then back ,and back again until poor old Ox makes some desperate clearance under pressure to lose possession and concede a goal. Our lads are not great at it, We have few clues going forward and dont seem to be able to create much , but surely this can be taught more over time, as defensive drills are?

The patterns can be drilled but when you change formation it changes where everyone is.

I don't think the formation change was the cause of our struggles on Saturday but it didn't help either and whilst I feel we can get overmatched in midfield in a 4-4-2 I feel we lost some momentum by switching formation to one we haven't even used in pre-season. That tactical flexibility is something a manager would look to develop but I think after the progress of the 2 previous games I'd have wanted to consolidate that. I don't know much about Salford but it will be interesting to see if MM sticks to the 3-4-3 or reverts back to 4-4-2. He won't have had much preparation time with this being a Tuesday long away game.
 
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