Formation…

[Colinton Hibby]

Ive been totally baffled by the formation in recent games.

Three centre halves, a holding midfielder and one main striker. Yes we had two up top tonight but to be honest you would never know it. It looks to me he is has to play three at the back because Porto cant play left sided but after recent performances he needs dropped. No big deal him not signing a new contract as he thinks after one Scotland call up he’s Franz ****** Beckenbaur.


Mitchell as a wing back? Mental. Hanlon and Stevenson still playing for us. Mental. They were both finished five years ago. Jair? Whoever scouted him needs shooting.

Any one with half a footballing brain could see we are crying out for 433.

Thank God for the World Cup break.

[Smartie]

Ive been totally baffled by the formation in recent games.

Three centre halves, a holding midfielder and one main striker. Yes we had two up top tonight but to be honest you would never know it. It looks to me he is has to play three at the back because Porto cant play left sided but after recent performances he needs dropped. No big deal him not signing a new contract as he thinks after one Scotland call up he’s Franz ****** Beckenbaur.


Mitchell as a wing back? Mental. Hanlon and Stevenson still playing for us. Mental. They were both finished five years ago. Jair? Whoever scouted him needs shooting.

Any one with half a footballing brain could see we are crying out for 433.

Thank God for the World Cup break.

It’s easy to criticise the formation we’ve been using but much harder to suggest an alternative.

We go 4 at the back - which CH drops out?

We go 3 up front - who plays either side of Myko?

Who plays the number 10 role?

Nisbet, McGeady, Boyle and Magennis could answer some of these questions. A few more performances like tonight and Porteous answers another.


But I don’t think it matters which formation we choose if Melkerson, Henderson and Myko show the touch they showed tonight and Cadden crosses the way he did.

[S4uzee]

It’s easy to criticise the formation we’ve been using but much harder to suggest an alternative.

We go 4 at the back - which CH drops out?

We go 3 up front - who plays either side of Myko?

Who plays the number 10 role?

Nisbet, McGeady, Boyle and Magennis could answer some of these questions. A few more performances like tonight and Porteous answers another.


But I don’t think it matters which formation we choose if Melkerson, Henderson and Myko show the touch they showed tonight and Cadden crosses the way he did.

For me I’d go back to 4-3-3

Marshall

Cadden
Rocky
Porteous
Cabraja

Kenneh
Magennis
Newell

Boyle
Myko
Youan

[Colinton Hibby]

In the recent formation we have Porto playing right wing and Hanlon on the left wing. It’s nuts.

we should be playing full backs as defenders not wingers. Defend with five, attack with five.


Marshall

Cadden - Rocky - Porto (until we get someone else) - Cabraja

Kennah

Magennis - New Player (until then I would persevere with Hendo)

Boyle - Miko - Youan

[JohnM1875]

Can't believe folk would be starting Youan after seeing that performance tonight.

[Smartie]

Can't believe folk would be starting Youan after seeing that performance tonight.

Yeah, I thought he was abysmal.

What’s happened to him? He looked very good early in the season and was supposedly very highly thought of by our players due to his performances in training?

[Colinton Hibby]

Probably cos there’s no one else at the moment. Tavares? Amateur at best. McGeady? Finished. Possibly Melkerson but he’s not a wide man.

[JohnM1875]

Probably cos there’s no one else at the moment. Tavares? Amateur at best. McGeady? Finished. Possibly Melkerson but he’s not a wide man.

Thought Tavares was better than Youan tonight, at least him and Melkersen are our players.

But surely we have someone in the young team worth giving a try? Then we have McKirdy and McGeady back fit after the world cup break.

[Unseen work]

Thought Tavares was better than Youan tonight, at least him and Melkersen are our players.

But surely we have someone in the young team worth giving a try? Then we have McKirdy and McGeady back fit after the world cup break.

Tavares was a million times better than Youan tonight.

Youan’s touch is laughable, I can’t even describe it.

For someone that’s not played a lot this season I actually thought Tavares done relatively well when he came on. Looked after the ball and protected it much better than the start of the season, tried to take on his man and put crosses in the box.

Within a minute he had a good bit of movement to get on a through ball, chopped and beat his defender and then had a shot at goal that was deflected for a corner.

With the way our attacking players are playing I wouldn’t be against starting him against killie

[JammyDoidger]

Youan is mince, said it for weeks, and the more he keeps thinking he's a player on his social media the more the majority of the fans base will turn on him, doesn't get us atall. Frustrating team this, seems a lot like to do their talking of the park rather than on it, Mckirdy is another.

[Hibee Daft]

Id like to see us play 4 at the back with the wing backs staying back the majority of the time.

Cadden and Cabraja dont have the pace to be running up and down and neither ever tries to beat a man.

Four at the back

Kenneh and Campbell in front as defensive mid pairing bringing energy and making us abit more solid.

Then Maggenis as AM

Youan LW
Boyle RW
Myko St

I was excited for Johnsons attacking football but for all the men we push forward we arent creating enough good solid chances. We are way too open at the back

5-1 vs Celtic, 4-1 vs Aberdeen and now 2 from Ross County

I dont want to see Lee Johnson go but he has to adapt his style of play.

[basehibby]

I've been pretty flumoxed by LJ's decision to switch religiously to 3-5-2 over the last 4 or 5 games. I get that we have three good CBs but prior to getting humped at CP (3-5-2 would have made more sense that day) we'd racked up a string of 4 wins from playing 4-3-3. I was surprised that we then turned out 3-5-2 at home vs St Johnstone amidst all the fanfare of VAR. It didn't work out that day and with the exception of St Mirren it's not worked out since.
Today we were ponderous in the 1st half and that for me was down to the formation. It's easy to make passes around the back with the extra defender and for all our posession we made few clear cut chances. Second half we were better but already chasing the game - and we were really playing a flat back 4 with Porteous at RB and Cadden pushed forward to wide mid.
Another surprise for me was taking off big Myko so early - he's been on fire lately and would have been the last I'd have taken off when chasing a goal

[JammyDoidger]

3 good centre halfs? Have to say I disagree, I don't think our centre halfs are any better than the rest of the teams in the league's centre halfs. I wouldn't play 2 of them never mind 3 of them. Brutal.

[Blaster]

3 good centre halfs? Have to say I disagree, I don't think our centre halfs are any better than the rest of the teams in the league's centre halfs. I wouldn't play 2 of them never mind 3 of them. Brutal.

The overall point is thought that (as a team) we were doing better with 4 at the back. As well as Rocky has done, get back to that same 4 and see what happens

[hibee1875]

Can't believe folk would be starting Youan after seeing that performance tonight.

Youan receives the ball at the edge of the box and his touch takes him back to the half way line

[I'm_cabbaged]

It doesn’t matter what formation we play, it’s been proven over the last season and a half that we rely on Boyle playing well. We’re a team of substandard footballers.

[Jones28]

For someone that binned 5-3-2 after 25 minutes against rangers he’s been really strictly sticking to it in the last few games.

[McGruber]

4 at the back and playing well, getting results. Ripped up because we lost at Celtic.

Everyone saying Cabraja class signing (playing left of a 4) everyone saying he's been poor in a 3. Benched. Not even second choice. Johnson said at his signing he went with a good distributor full back more than a forward going wing back.

Porteous - Scotland cap, MOM, couple goals, playing tremendous and clamouring for him to sign new deal in a 4. Now playing in a 3 wanting him dropped, pull new contract etc. He was playing central, breaking the lines down the middle with forward passes and forays forward (see Ross Co away). Now playing in a 3, practically at right back. Can't push on, balls down the line, out of position.

Hanlon, came into the team - 1st game v Livi was ropey then settled. LCB in a 4. Consistent, good. Now in a 3, practically left back

The whole balance of the team has been thrown out. Accomodating Rocky has been so detrimental, yet individually he's been our best CB - he is the one probably more effective in a 3.

Formations aside. Players brutal last night so wouldn't have mattered. We need to get back to what we were doing though. Scoring goals v Hearts and Rangers with cut backs from the bye line - wingers on the park and not floated balls or shells coming in from full backs from deep.

I'm guessing big Mykola injured now aswell (no way a sane manager takes off our only goalscoring striker chasing a game) which isn't going to help.

No confidence of anything other than another loss to Killie now

[Trinity Hibee]

I'm guessing big Mykola injured now aswell (no way a sane manager takes off our only goalscoring striker chasing a game) which isn't going to help.

No confidence of anything other than another loss to Killie now

Think he came off as the county players were doing everything to get him sent off and he was on a booking.

[Blaster]

4 at the back and playing well, getting results. Ripped up because we lost at Celtic.

Everyone saying Cabraja class signing (playing left of a 4) everyone saying he's been poor in a 3. Benched. Not even second choice. Johnson said at his signing he went with a good distributor full back more than a forward going wing back.

Porteous - Scotland cap, MOM, couple goals, playing tremendous and clamouring for him to sign new deal in a 4. Now playing in a 3 wanting him dropped, pull new contract etc. He was playing central, breaking the lines down the middle with forward passes and forays forward (see Ross Co away). Now playing in a 3, practically at right back. Can't push on, balls down the line, out of position.

Hanlon, came into the team - 1st game v Livi was ropey then settled. LCB in a 4. Consistent, good. Now in a 3, practically left back

The whole balance of the team has been thrown out. Accomodating Rocky has been so detrimental, yet individually he's been our best CB - he is the one probably more effective in a 3.

Formations aside. Players brutal last night so wouldn't have mattered. We need to get back to what we were doing though. Scoring goals v Hearts and Rangers with cut backs from the bye line - wingers on the park and not floated balls or shells coming in from full backs from deep.

I'm guessing big Mykola injured now aswell (no way a sane manager takes off our only goalscoring striker chasing a game) which isn't going to help.

No confidence of anything other than another loss to Killie now

Spot on

[MWHIBBIES]

We played 4 at the back 2nd half and we still absolutely sucked

[sauzeelegod]

Need to get back to 433/4231
I’d even be tempted to go 442.

[Smartie]

We played 4 at the back 2nd half and we still absolutely sucked

Did we play 4 at the back for the whole second half? Genuine question, I don't know.

I did notice that towards the end of the game it looked like a simple 442 - Porto and Lewis at FB, Cadden and Jair out wide, Newell and Campbell in the middle and Youan and Melkerson up front. And it was every bit as inept as (if not more than) what went before.

Not sure how it evolved towards the end of the first half, start of the second, when most of the subs were being made.

[McGruber]

We played 4 at the back 2nd half and we still absolutely sucked

We were going to suck last night regardless because the players had a collective ****fest. That said we need to get back to 4 at the back going forward.

As for 4 at the back 2nd half - who? Porteous at right back? At no point did any of the 3 CBs come off so if we went 4 at the back it wasn't a natural 4... again not that it mattered when our 1st touches and ball control were brutal all over

[Brightside]

We were going to suck last night regardless because the players had a collective ****fest. That said we need to get back to 4 at the back going forward.

As for 4 at the back 2nd half - who? Porteous at right back? At no point did any of the 3 CBs come off so if we went 4 at the back it wasn't a natural 4... again not that it mattered when our 1st touches and ball control were brutal all over

It was 4 at the back but it was a shambles. Porto cannot defend as a RB.

[FitbaFolkKen]

I thought Lee s*** the bed last night and one of the central defenders had to come off at half time. Porto at right back and Cadden in front just doesn’t work. Cost us the second goal and resulted in aimless balls into the box.

Taking off our target man for Youan and then lumping balls in the box against Ross County another mistake. It must have been a dream for them.

Melkerson was looking for the ball in the channels constantly and it never arrived, apart from once when his original run had to be checked and as he headed back inside it was played through.

On the plus side we are without our first choice front three, you have to hope that with McGeady, Boyle and Nisbet we have a wee bit more guile and creativity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sauzeelegod]

Need to get back to 433/4231
I’d even be tempted to go 442.

[MWHIBBIES]

Did we play 4 at the back for the whole second half? Genuine question, I don't know.

I did notice that towards the end of the game it looked like a simple 442 - Porto and Lewis at FB, Cadden and Jair out wide, Newell and Campbell in the middle and Youan and Melkerson up front. And it was every bit as inept as (if not more than) what went before.

Not sure how it evolved towards the end of the first half, start of the second, when most of the subs were being made.

We did yes, evident right away Ryan was right back.

[Broken Gnome]

We did yes, evident right away Ryan was right back.

At no time were we ever a structured four at the back really. I know we were less of an identifiable three at at the back, but we were allowed all the ball and it hardly had any shape to it at all with players desperately popping up everywhere.

Lewis was basically an inside left at various points.

[basehibby]

We played 4 at the back 2nd half and we still absolutely sucked

Not as much as the 1st half for me - despite some square pegs in round holes the play was much zippier with more attacking intent and less pissing about at the back. Not sure of the stats but I'd wager we created more 2nd half. Of course we were chasing the game but I reckon the formation change allowed us to get forward more.