Formation, formation, formation - Three is a magic number
Aug 28, 2015 18:08:01 GMT
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Post by mehewmagic on Aug 28, 2015 18:08:01 GMT
To all you De La Soul fans out there here's my weekly article for the Bristol Post.
www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-magic-number/story-27692585-detail/story.html
BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - Three is a magic number
by Martin Bull
Daniel Leadbitter has been lauded in this blog many times, and it is a shame that he pulled up lame whilst on a typical gallop down the right flank against Barnet.
I rated him the first time I saw him play because whilst touch and tactics can be taught, the pace and height he possesses are not quite so easy. The 3-5-2 formation really suits his strengths, in fact, it really suits all our players at the moment, even if a few are still adapting to it, and it leaves three or four ‘proper’ wingers sitting on a bench twiddling their thumbs and lacking game time.
I was sceptical of the formation when losing to Birmingham City in the League Cup a fortnight ago, because it seemed more like a 5-3-2 at times, or a lopsided system as Lee Brown couldn’t get forward much and no-one seemed to spot Daniel Leadbitter hugging the touchline, getting lost against the advertising hoardings, and no-one passed to him. When three at the back was tried last season it didn’t seem to work either, especially when used in a 3-4-3 formation. However, it has certainly worked far better in the last three games.
With Chris Lines and Lee Mansell usually first on the team sheet for central midfield, The Beard’s talents can easily be wasted in a 4-4-2 crammed with central midfielders; it either forces him out wide and away from the real action, or can result in a narrow midfield and a lack of crosses into the box.
Whilst we all love Stuart Sinclair and he is never one to complain, in this situation his happy bunny attribute is strangely not helpful. It’s very lovely to know that The Beard is happy to play anywhere but he is nowhere near as effective stuck out wide. This new midfield ménage à trois ‘solves’ this problem, although Darrell Clarke will soon have a new selection headache because Ollie Clarke has put in his best run of Rovers performances just prior to Lee Mansell’s return from injury.
The back three are soundly balanced, although it is unexpectedly Tom Parkes, often our outstanding performer, who probably looks the weakest of the triumvirate at the moment.
The potency of three at the back is that it still manages to let our trio play pretty much in their own best positions. Readers of this blog will know that I was not a big fan of Tom Lockyer as an almost permanent fixture at right back last season.
He is a very good centre-back, and it’s great to finally be able to fit his round peg in a round hole this season. Parkes has been a bit quiet, and maybe a bit heavy, but the role should also suit him, as a left footer and someone who is increasingly comfortable at trying to bring the ball out from the back.
The complete revelation though is James Clarke. What a ball player this man is. A centre-back who has often been played at right back by previous managers; the epitome of the modern defender, with a bit of pace, a pass, a willingness to get forward and real comfort on the ball. Not hugely tall, but hardly Prince-like in his stature either. If we want to look upwards we need as many ball players in our team, and currently James Clarke is leading the way.
Finally, the no-brainers of Lee Brown and Daniel Leadbitter as wing-backs. Or is it a no-brainer? Lee Brown is easily one of my favourite Rovers’ players for many years, but I think he is the one who has slightly struggled with the 3-5-2. Last season he excelled as the conventional over-lapping foil for Andy Monkhouse, often ending up higher up the pitch than his left-sided partner, but safe in the knowledge that Monky would be providing quite an obstacle to get past if the play broke down.
The new season must have required a rethink of his brief, although he is already looking more comfortable there now. Daniel Leadbitter is almost a born wing-back, with gazelle like legs, pace to cover any breaks or youthful mistakes, and a curiosity to want to know what is going on up the other end of the pitch.
It comes as no surprise to see him designated as the player left on the centre spot when the others go up for a corner, nor that in his youth he was a promising 400m runner and last February knew more about Gateshead Stadium’s athletics track than its football pitch.
The only real issue is the age-old question of whether the understanding of a new system can come quickly enough. Patience is not a well known quality in football and the problem with these complicated new fangled dangled formations is often that it takes a while to bed in, whereas fans, and managers, will often jettison them at the first sign of trouble.
That happened to a degree last season, when three at the back was tried, mainly as a 3-4-3, but in that case the swap back to a trusted 4-4-2 was more because we had different, and regularly changing, personnel at the club and DC didn’t risk us getting forward a bit more or upsetting the lop-sided left and right wide partnerships that often worked quite well.
A spirited Cup loss to a Championship team, followed by three straight wins whilst only conceding a solitary goal, certainly seems to suggest it is now bedding in well. There will of course be tests to come: maybe a team with pace up front and on the wings; Leadbitter’s injury perhaps; or trying to break down a deep defence with little room to manoeuvre, but it is a nice weapon to have in our armoury, and possessing what is usually a Plan B as your Plan A can often prove to be a headache for any opposition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that with 40 other fans has published a new book about them - www.awaythegas.org.uk
www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-magic-number/story-27692585-detail/story.html
BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - Three is a magic number
by Martin Bull
Daniel Leadbitter has been lauded in this blog many times, and it is a shame that he pulled up lame whilst on a typical gallop down the right flank against Barnet.
I rated him the first time I saw him play because whilst touch and tactics can be taught, the pace and height he possesses are not quite so easy. The 3-5-2 formation really suits his strengths, in fact, it really suits all our players at the moment, even if a few are still adapting to it, and it leaves three or four ‘proper’ wingers sitting on a bench twiddling their thumbs and lacking game time.
I was sceptical of the formation when losing to Birmingham City in the League Cup a fortnight ago, because it seemed more like a 5-3-2 at times, or a lopsided system as Lee Brown couldn’t get forward much and no-one seemed to spot Daniel Leadbitter hugging the touchline, getting lost against the advertising hoardings, and no-one passed to him. When three at the back was tried last season it didn’t seem to work either, especially when used in a 3-4-3 formation. However, it has certainly worked far better in the last three games.
With Chris Lines and Lee Mansell usually first on the team sheet for central midfield, The Beard’s talents can easily be wasted in a 4-4-2 crammed with central midfielders; it either forces him out wide and away from the real action, or can result in a narrow midfield and a lack of crosses into the box.
Whilst we all love Stuart Sinclair and he is never one to complain, in this situation his happy bunny attribute is strangely not helpful. It’s very lovely to know that The Beard is happy to play anywhere but he is nowhere near as effective stuck out wide. This new midfield ménage à trois ‘solves’ this problem, although Darrell Clarke will soon have a new selection headache because Ollie Clarke has put in his best run of Rovers performances just prior to Lee Mansell’s return from injury.
The back three are soundly balanced, although it is unexpectedly Tom Parkes, often our outstanding performer, who probably looks the weakest of the triumvirate at the moment.
The potency of three at the back is that it still manages to let our trio play pretty much in their own best positions. Readers of this blog will know that I was not a big fan of Tom Lockyer as an almost permanent fixture at right back last season.
He is a very good centre-back, and it’s great to finally be able to fit his round peg in a round hole this season. Parkes has been a bit quiet, and maybe a bit heavy, but the role should also suit him, as a left footer and someone who is increasingly comfortable at trying to bring the ball out from the back.
The complete revelation though is James Clarke. What a ball player this man is. A centre-back who has often been played at right back by previous managers; the epitome of the modern defender, with a bit of pace, a pass, a willingness to get forward and real comfort on the ball. Not hugely tall, but hardly Prince-like in his stature either. If we want to look upwards we need as many ball players in our team, and currently James Clarke is leading the way.
Finally, the no-brainers of Lee Brown and Daniel Leadbitter as wing-backs. Or is it a no-brainer? Lee Brown is easily one of my favourite Rovers’ players for many years, but I think he is the one who has slightly struggled with the 3-5-2. Last season he excelled as the conventional over-lapping foil for Andy Monkhouse, often ending up higher up the pitch than his left-sided partner, but safe in the knowledge that Monky would be providing quite an obstacle to get past if the play broke down.
The new season must have required a rethink of his brief, although he is already looking more comfortable there now. Daniel Leadbitter is almost a born wing-back, with gazelle like legs, pace to cover any breaks or youthful mistakes, and a curiosity to want to know what is going on up the other end of the pitch.
It comes as no surprise to see him designated as the player left on the centre spot when the others go up for a corner, nor that in his youth he was a promising 400m runner and last February knew more about Gateshead Stadium’s athletics track than its football pitch.
The only real issue is the age-old question of whether the understanding of a new system can come quickly enough. Patience is not a well known quality in football and the problem with these complicated new fangled dangled formations is often that it takes a while to bed in, whereas fans, and managers, will often jettison them at the first sign of trouble.
That happened to a degree last season, when three at the back was tried, mainly as a 3-4-3, but in that case the swap back to a trusted 4-4-2 was more because we had different, and regularly changing, personnel at the club and DC didn’t risk us getting forward a bit more or upsetting the lop-sided left and right wide partnerships that often worked quite well.
A spirited Cup loss to a Championship team, followed by three straight wins whilst only conceding a solitary goal, certainly seems to suggest it is now bedding in well. There will of course be tests to come: maybe a team with pace up front and on the wings; Leadbitter’s injury perhaps; or trying to break down a deep defence with little room to manoeuvre, but it is a nice weapon to have in our armoury, and possessing what is usually a Plan B as your Plan A can often prove to be a headache for any opposition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that with 40 other fans has published a new book about them - www.awaythegas.org.uk
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