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Is NOT a fucking right winger stop playing him there please Mr Malpas. Just drop Timlin and partner Easton in the middle with Nalis and give Marshall a run on the right. For most of the second half tonight we had no right side to the midfield and Paynter of all people ended up playing there to plug the gap..........when you have to right midfielders on the bench it is bloody ludicrous.

I can't justify to myself dropping Timlin or Easton, but I do agree the system doesn't work.

The only way you could incorporate the 3 in midfield would be to play a 4-2-3-1 like:

Smith

Amankwaah  Ifil  Aljofree  Smith

Timlin  Nalis

Marshall  Easton  Macca

Cox

I concur, It's about time that happened, although i would probably save until after leeds, as that will probably be attrition.

That'd be seen as an own goal by MM I feel though and wouldn't really solve the width problem as there would be no striker to head in the crosses........its a hard one yeah but Nalis does the same thing as Timlin really but is better at it therefore Timlin should bench it for a bit. Only room for 2 central midfielders in a 442 formation which I feel is the only formation we are capable of playing.

If we played both Marshall and Macnamee with only 2 central midfielder we'd get destroyed away from home...I like easton out wide away, but if not he should be in the middle over timlin

but tonight we had no right side so whats the difference? Easton did not play wide right second half there was just a hole there eventually plugged by Paynter.

yeah but surely that was the point, we changed to a 451. It didn't really work and if you're gunna play 451 then play Marshall and Macnamee, I agree, but starting with a midfield of say macnamee timlin nalis marshall would be very light weight. At the the end of the day we've lost two points because again we couldn't defend for 90 minutes. We've created more than enough to win tonight.

Oh and we can't defend anyway so may aswell try the attack is the best form of defence option. At the end of the day when we got to the play-offs in this league we had Igoe and Howard on the wings........one was midget and the other lazy at the time so I don't think its much different to that. Definitely worth a go against trash like Hereford....

I would try Macca Nalis Easton and Marshall......nothing else has worked so worth a go.

Only problem is when Marshall has a crap game he's not going to do anything. Not the sort of player who can tackle. That said he must be getting closer to a starting place and perhaps it would be effective to start him, wear the opposition down with his direct style, then bring on someone who can cross the ball as they will get more space due to tired players (McGovern???).

I think the only reason McNamee is getting starts all the time is because there is nobody there to replace him. He's been pretty average so far this season. Down the right we've got McGovern, supposedly a right sided player and Easton, supposedly a central midfielder. Both offer little width, but I'd rather have Easton over McGovern. Whether Marshall is on the brink of a starting place, time will tell.

I think you are wrong about Marshall and tackling, seen him do more in the odd 10 mins than Macca has done all season so far. But i like the point of no competiton for Mac, as he's definately tailed off from the 1st game, a bit more competition needed perhaps?

Can't really say hes not the sort of player to tackle when we've only seen him in a very limited capacity.  Marshall made several challenges today and did well in my opinion.  Think theres far more to see from him yet.

Oh come on, he's lightweight. You're going to get situations where he's up against some big players (take Colchester for example). Sure, he'll catch them out with his pace going forward, but he will be outmuscled defensively.

I'm not being critical of his footballing ability, it's just a fact. Someone like Easton will be far better and hustling for the ball. If that's what Malpas wants then that's why Easton is playing on the right. McGovern can't tackle, which is a shame because he does have the physical attributes to do it right, but he seems to bottle a tackle, which is completely different to being outmuscled.

I'd say exactly the same of McNamee, but that's different as we don't have any other options for that position (perhaps only Timlin).

Yes hes lightweight but done ok so far in the few times that we've seen him.  Quick on his feet and pretty nimble helped him win the ball this evening.

I just hope he continues to work hard and improve his game.

Yeah I like what I have seen so far, certainly been one the players that has looked to make things happen. I think the best thing is he's right on it from the moment he's on the pitch. Obviously he's got nothing to lose because he's a sub, but it usually takes a bit of time to get up to speed with the game. This lad has no trouble with that.

I do like the way Easton gets himself forward and into the box. I think there is a case for starting him in the centre soon and Marshall on the right.

The question is, what has happened to McGovern? Is he carrying an injury or has he fallen out with Malpas? Malpas said he was going to be our main right winger this season.

I said to someone earlier I wondered what had happened to JP.  Wonder if theres been a falling out somewhere or hes just fallen out of favour?  Either way I can't say I'm particularly fussed.

hes not being played as a right winger, more as  right sided in a midfield 3, then mcnamee playing left wing, so like mm said last season its 4/3.5/2.5 formation, we have a left winger but no right winger, if macca is well marked then we we are pretty fucked cos nothing will go down the right

as for JP he had a falling out with adi Williams in training but I think he started a game since then so wouldn't have thought thats the reason

JP did play against Aldershot actually.  Good point.

Or 5 3 2 (or 3-5-2 if you prefer), with wing backs overlappinging to provide width. I don't think we have any wing back though so maybe not.

I prefer the straight 4-4-2 with proper left and right sided midfielders/wingers. Whenever JPM plays out wide he drifts inside, same to a certain extent with Easton. This seems to unsettle the midfield and it becomes confused in shape and thus non-effective.

I agree with Si Pie though, playing Marshall and McNamee is too risky week in week out. We've already seen McNamee get marked out the game, and whilst Marshall has pace there will be times where he is physically dominated and nullified.

In short this is a whole load of waffle to say I don't know how to solve the problem. I guess that is why we originally went for Betsy over Marshal. It would have given us a more robust if less skillful option.

two wingers would be great,just our luck not having any strikers over 5 foot 10.
oh there,s painter,
and corr,
and peacock,
cox to get the knock downs,
defences doubling up on mcnamee and marshal leaving big holes in the middle leaving space for easton to make late runs,
just like the good old days.

Sounds so easy when you put it like that!!

I like Paynter but he doesn't seem to commit himself/take a gamble in goalscoring situations. He alwat=ys seems to be thinking about setting somebody esle up rather than having a go himself.

just seems odd to play wide men in the middle and central midfielders out wide i think mm is trying to be too clever instead of getting players to do the simple things eg. their own job.

That is exactly the formation I deploy in my sunday league team-and it works!Ashford and District Div3 Cup winners 2008.

We'll soon be joining Oxford in the non-league then.

Using Easton on the right of 3 is the option we used towards the end of last season to try and bring some solidity to the team.  We had 3 put past us at home, had 3 away games on the bounce, os it's not rocket science to believe the use of Easton in that position is all about giving the defence some protection.  I think it works, it certainly seemed to bring back some confidence last season, and I would bet we open up more in home games after the Leeds one or if we go on a little run.

The only change I'd be inclined to make would be to play Marshall wide right and lose a front man, but I suppose their scoring record this season simply means we go with form there so Marshall stays on the bench to offer options later in the game when players are a little tired.

Last time I checked we hadn't lost any of the 3 with Easton being used in this role, have I missed something?

i dont like the formation at all.malpas came in last season and tried it,and our results went downhill.it was only when we went back to 4,4,2 that we improved.this season he started with a 4,4,2 and has changed it again.the results have not been bad to be fair, but easton isn't best used as a right mid or tucked in right mid imo.

away from home I dont have a problem with it. 4 points from Franchise and Hereford is good enough for me.

However, its simple....3 into 2 doesnt go. Malpas needs to play 2 of Nails, Timlin and Easton and drop one. On current form it has to be Timlin, which is a shame because I thought he looked our best player in pre-season but hasnt exactly started the season on fire.

If there are no injures/suspensions and the fact we're at home i'd go 4-4-2 with 2 wide me

Smith, Amankwaah, Ifil, Aljofree, Smith, Marshall, Easton, Nalis, McNamee, Cox, Paynter

Our front two are scoring goals and playing well together. There is no reason to break that up.

I'm in agreement with DV.

i'd be a bit worried if we come under the cosh with two lightweight wide men.if we are on top then all well and good mind

I'd agree with that.

McNamee does very little defensive work (although he did a fair bit at MK) and Marshall, we'll we've only seen him on for the last 10/15 minutes when we've been chasing a goal for a win/draw (Cheltenham, Colchester, MK & Hereford) so its really anyones guess as to what hes like defensivly.

I'd assume (...and hope) Malpas will have a better idea than me. If he isnt that strong defensivly then i'd rather have JPM there so we at least have a winger either side...

on friday the formation was 4-3-1-2 which malpas used for the latter part of last season with mixed fortunes. I think it can work away from home with 3 solid midfielders in the centre and Mcnamee the free licsence to roam and run at the defenders. At home i'll stick with the 4-4-2 with the same team as DV added earlier.

Agreed, I just don't get people who complain about our defensive frailties and then start questioning the use of 3 solid midfielders.  I think we may stick with it for Leeds, but I would think, as the first few games suggested, a proper 4-4-2 will be the norm at home.  It's good, in some ways, that we can play a couple of ways, so we can react to problems of the like that we were faced with after Colchester.  It's worked, it might not be the prettiest football or the most expansive, but it's got us some results.

Should always play 4-4-2 to start with, play 4-5-1 or 1-1-8 or whatever if we are winning/losing and need to play in a certain way but in our league I've noticed that mental formations don't seem to work if you want to actually do reasonably well

Would just like to point out that playing 442 with two wingers saw us beaten by cheltenham and colchester.since the change we are unbeaten in 3 away games. Imo that justifies playing it

Excellent point

A midfield of Jon-Paul McGovern, Lilian Nalis, Michael Timlin does not work. They seem to lose shape with McGovern being sucked into the middle too much.

The way we have switched it around does seem to have, but there is nothing to say playing different personnel in a 4-4-2 wouldn't work just as well. I'm not sure we can do that without dipping into the loan market mind - playing Marshall and McNamee would be too lightweight.

I guess it depends on the opposition. If you're playing a team with slower full backs but probably bigger lads, keep it on the deck and we're laughing. The CBs and CM will end up getting sucked into the wings leaving a gap for someone in the middle. That's why we need Easton to go forward. However, it's all about balance, which I think is the point a lot are trying to make, just that they are arguing a balance can be achieved in different ways.

Personally I'm just glad McNamee and Marshall don't appear to dive at the first opportunity, unlike Zaaboub did.

If we was not creating chances it would be a concern.leeds will be the real test of the formation saturday and if we win then maybe its paid off. Two solid fullbacks play a big part in this formation though

I'm pretty nervy about the Leeds game this season, not sure why, but just don't have the confidence going into this one.

Hopefully by the time Saturday comes and a couple of pre match pints have been consumed I'll be much more confident of 3 points for town.

Now how much of that is due to the actual formation and how much of that is due to the fact Easton has started the last 3 games?

Um i cant explain that

Or that we haven't won at home when I haven't worn an eye patch.