Graham Clark":31ys471e said:
Whilst it is early days admittedly in the three competitive games we've played (QPR, Blackpool and Orient) the opposition have had a total of 57 shots at goal (24 on target) - that is 19 shots per game. Argyle have managed 42 shots (16 on target). Our average last season was 14 shots on target for and 13 against.
It may be coincidence but the three teams have played 4-3-3 with a high press on our back three and despite having watched all three games through the narrow prism of the single iFollow camera there have been a number of occasions in all three games where the ball has been played behind our wing backs leaving either Aimson or Watts overloaded. Committed defence as against Blackpool , where our shot blocking was superb, will get you results but less resolute defending as was on show time and time again against Orient will not.
Once the opposition get to grips with Mayor as Orient did second half all our creativity and pace in attack seems to dissipate if not disappear. Playing with advanced wing backs is fine but a misplaced pass or a dispossession leaves us extremely vulnerable to a swift counter attack in the wide areas (witness Orient's third goal although assisted by Wooton's wretched mistake).
Ryan Lowe did tinker with a 3-1-4-2 last season as a variant to his favoured option. I wonder if Macleod or Grant could play there to drop into the back line if Aimson or Watts have to push wide to cover a counter attack on the flanks. Something needs to change as the first three games have demonstrated that we are far too open and vulnerable to a counter attack and on the evidence so far we will lose more games than we will win if we allow the number of shots on goal we have already each game. Of course if Telford has not screwed his shot wide at 2-0 it may have been a different result but the essential point remains.
I mentioned on another thread that the formation tinker was to a 3-2-3-2, as I think it is already a 3-1-4-2, with Edwards, Josh Grant and then Bakinson all having spells as the '1' last season. However, when Sarcevic was suspended, Conor Grant played a deeper role alongside Bakinson, and a move to this formation (certainly away from home) early on in the League campaign would perhaps give us a little more protection when losing possession. It would certainly allow Mayor to play as a 10, rather than one of 2 8's, and dictate our attacking play even more than he does currently.
They did a job on McLeod second half last night- he just couldn't get free to receive the ball, so time and again all 3 CB's (but especially Watts) were just blasting aimless long balls up the line. With Grant or Camara or Reeves or Randell (whose range of passing I was very impressed with in the Norwich U21 game) sitting alongside McLeod it gives us more options playing out.
It would also allow Moore and Cooper to push forward even further as Aimson and Watts could effectively sit as auxiliary full-backs, with Wootton or Canavan (jury's out for me) in the centre, with the 2 DM's ahead of him.
We might lose a little bit of attacking threat at times, but after nearly 50 shots between us last night, and bucketloads of chances for QPR, Norwich and Blackpool so far, I would settle for a steadier 90 minutes on Saturday (and so would my blood pressure).
