Swindon Town v Stockport County matchday thread

[adje]

I know it's a stat that portrays the bleeding obvious but even so I found it interesting to see that only the top side have scored more than us and only the bottom side have conceded more

[Batch]

we are 4th from bottom in the form for over the last 10.

our home form last 6 is reasonable.
out away form....

Harrogate is massive with still unbeaten Mansfield next up at home

[Pookemon]

FBT can play proper CB effectively, he did so for most of last season and was our best defender consistently. He's being asked to do something different this year, and I agree it's leaving us very open.

He really can't.  From November onwards last season we were the worst team in the EFL.  
He's a decent left back at this level but a crap centre half.

[Sippo]

I've said it before, but I'd move FBT to LWB and Dokes to RWB and get some proper out and out defenders in at CB. 

Its the only way I see 3-5-2 working going forward.

Hutton hasn't done too bad this season. Plenty of assists. Like to take his man on. Very direct which is good to see.

[Quagmire]

Flynns last 42 games as a manager are quite scary. (21 with us, 21 with Walsall)

Played - 42
Won -  7
Drawn - 19
Lost - 16

There are a few cup games in there, and I used 21 for each club as that’s how many games he’s had with us. But if that was over a league season, it would leave him on 40 points with 4 games remaining.

Last season Rochdale went down bottom on 38 points and Hartlepool with 43

[Batch]

Rochdale went down on 38, Hartlepool 43

[Quagmire]

Rochdale went down on 38, Hartlepool 43

Fuck knows what I looked at then  

Edit - I can tell you what I looked at, the goals for column 

[dogs]

Shouldn't be an excuse but we are off the back of most likely the most testing run we'll have for now. Clearly failed it but unlikely to carry on maintaining the current form.

Can't see us getting relegated but with this side as it is, highly likely to end up 14th -20th. The saving have is it's only league two, the standard outside the top 6 or so is shared shite, and we take a slice of it.

[Audrey]

What’s worse is that we have probably 4 of the best players in this league - Young, Kemp, Hutton and Mahoney. If Flynn can’t build at least a competitive side around those 4 he needs to be gone. He bangs on about getting players in and out in January but if he just replaces players but continues to play the same way nothing will change.

He either believes totally in having 2 ball carrying CBs - in which case I doubt he’ll get better than UGM and FBT - or he’ll have to ditch it and get a couple of hairy arsed CBs and completely change his approach. Of course, doing that is admitting he fucked up in the first place.

[DV]

I don’t even think the poor defending is majority down to the players or even the formation - it’s the style of play / instruction.

In FM terms - it’s like we are playing 352 ‘all out attack’ when really we’d be better off playing 352 ‘counter’ or ‘standard’

I wouldn’t be against a 4411 back to basics next game just to stop the rot.

I guess you’d probably have to go Dokes, Brewitt, FBT, Kokolo as the flat back 4. Hutton, McEachran, Khan, Shade as the midfield 4. Then Kemp off of Young.

Few square pegs in round holes but we have little room for manoeuvre. I’m certainly not convinced by that left hand side but I’d rather have Shade further up the pitch away from defensive duties.

I’d probably even consider sticking Kinsella in midfield and McEachran on the left or even left back.

The whole debate on squad size has been done to death repeatedly but to not try ANYTHING different tactically is unforgivable.

What the worst that could happen?

[DV]

Maybe a 4231

Dokes
Brewitt
FBT
Kokolo

Kinsella / McEachran
Khan

Hutton
Kemp
RHM / Shade

Young

[Bennett]

I'd drop one of our strikers and add in a holding midfielder (I assume we can sign one who isn't 5' tall?) in free agency.
Go for a more orthodox 352
Kemp basically plays as a ten/off the striker, just let him go nuts, tell the remaining striker to stop dropping deep just to get a touch and start stretching teams.

I think the underlying factor is that our midfield are fucked and we need to have more bodies in there to share the workload

[DV]

I'd drop one of our strikers and add in a holding midfielder (I assume we can sign one who isn't 5' tall?) in free agency.
Go for a more orthodox 352
Kemp basically plays as a ten/off the striker, just let him go nuts, tell the remaining striker to stop dropping deep just to get a touch and start stretching teams.

I think the underlying factor is that our midfield are fucked and we need to have more bodies in there to share the workload

Concur. A lot of shade thrown at the defence but feel if you are going to play 352 with very attacking wing backs you need a holding midfielder in the three who has the nous and thought process to drop back 10 yards when we attack.

The DM drops into CB and shifts the two wide CBs wider to create a make shift back 4.


So if Hutton & the LWB bomb forward - DM drops and the back line becomes Dokes, DM, Brewitt, FBT.

[JoeMezz]

I’ve said this over and over this season, Khan is not a holding midfielder and it is costing us.

[Bennett]

I don't think we play with a holding midfielder. I think McEachran and Khan are both great players at getting the ball forwards in their own ways and will fall into the back line when UGM and FBT go forwards, but they're not defensively minded which I think we need