Tactics - what would your tactics be ?

[wwbug]

For me I can now begin to understand why our most successful managers played half a game.
I think we should revert to a contained defensive low energy first half and then go GON full on after 60 minutes. When the opposition is tiring.
I was not happy when Nuno did this all the time , but now I realise that’s the way a small squad has to play.
Start 5 at the back move to 4 at the back later.
Silva and Cunha starts and Hwang Sasa or Cunha finish .

 

[manchesterwolf17]

Deploy Nuno esque tactics against stronger sides, where we're compact in defence and use pace on the break as our main threat.

Against lesser sides, play how we did yesterday in the first half, but with Sasa up front who does look like he can finish chances. And imperatively make sure we get support from the midfield into the box. Bellegarde may well be the answer to that.

 

[Chisels_n_ommers]

For me I can now begin to understand why our most successful managers played half a game.
I think we should revert to a contained defensive low energy first half and then go GON full on after 60 minutes. When the opposition is tiring.
I was not happy when Nuno did this all the time , but now I realise that’s the way a small squad has to play.
Start 5 at the back move to 4 at the back later.
Silva and Cunha starts and Hwang Sasa or Cunha finish .

What would you do if the opposite manager went low energy defensive first half?

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

3-4-3 counter attacking football

The back 4 doesn’t work

Collapsed against brighton palace and liverpool just this season alone it doesn’t work. We come under sustained pressure we collapse

Semedo Kilman Bueno Toti Doc

Doc Bueno Dawson Kilman Toti

Either would be an improvement

 

[Chisels_n_ommers]

3-4-3 counter attacking football

The back 4 doesn’t work

What would you do if the opposition went 343 counter attacking?

 

[OLDGOLD]

One half high press, high intensity like the first halves we have done well in. Second half, substitute our three most knackered players , play Sasa and look for knock downs from a more route one approach.

 

[OLDGOLD]

3-4-3 counter attacking football

The back 4 doesn’t work

Nowt wrong with the back four if we score simple efforts

 

[wwbug]

What would you do if the opposite manager went low energy defensive first half?

You have to start with a plan then review and adapt.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

What would you do if the opposition went 343 counter attacking?

Play the same and play possession game

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Nowt wrong with the back four if we score simple efforts

We can’t defend with a back 4! Collapse after collapse game after game palace brighton Liverpool we probably will against Luton too

 

[old wittonian]

One half high press, high intensity like the first halves we have done well in. Second half, substitute our three most knackered players , play Sasa and look for knock downs from a more route one approach.

As Graham Taylor said "Route one is best and easiest source of goals (I parphrase)".

 

[O.W.E.I]

I would play at 150mph for 35 minutes and then when we can barely walk, sit back and defend our 4-0 lead, so we win 4-5.

Best,
Gaz.

Hobbs - Job's yours, kid!

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Same tactics we battered Liverpool with. Jjst take the chances

 

[wwbug]

We can’t defend with a back 4! Collapse after collapse game after game palace brighton Liverpool we probably will against Luton too

Was that tiredness .

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

2 things from me:
a. Can't we play hard for 90 minutes? Are these multi-millionaire footballers not training to play a full game? FFS
b. As I'm going to keep repeating, without a goal scorer whatever plan you have, short ball, long ball, inside, outside, if Cunha can't score from 2 feet out, Silva runs around but not where it hurts the opposition and Sasa is crocked you're pretty much knackered before you start.

 

[TheConcourse]

We have to build confidence, and that can only start with clean sheets.

Sa
Bueno Dawson Kilman
Semedo Gomes Lemina RAN
Bellegarde Neto
Cunha

It’s a tough one. You can’t drop Neto or Bellegarde, and I like Cunha, but he can’t lead the line.

That said, I don’t see a world where Sasa has the mobility or the physical conditioning to cope with the demands of the Premier League, and so if we’re chasing games then we can always flip to a back four.

That’s how I’d start v Luton, Semedo would be high, Bellegarde central and Neto as wide as possible.

The first priority is to stop leaking goals. You simply cannot concede 2/3/4 every week and then complain that we don’t pick up points.

 

[waveney wolf]

To pass the football to another person in the same coloured shirt

 

[Slothmonkey]

This is a long one....

Changing to a back 4 was with a quest originally for more goals and more attractive football. Has this worked? In the majority now.

For me we do not have the players to play a back 4 constantly and it's shown over the past year. Our full backs are not defensively good enough and centre backs not good enough. I also think a back 4 takes away the strengths of players we have available for those positions.

A back 5 does not have to be a defensive formation but when needed it feel it would make us defensively more solid and harder to play against.

Playing a back 5 though it's self is not that straight forward it's what you instruct each player to do. Under Nuno Coady played deeper and acted like a quarter back. We do not have that type of player in the squad. Dependent on what type of player Bueno is, I have only read the blurb on the official page.

I would play a back three with a solid centre and cb either side quicker, good on the ball and able to bring it out. With the wing backs able to push up knowing they have cover but also when needed be able to tuck in the create a traditional back 5.

For me the midfield and attack is where with this squad I would be confused of what to do. Because we are very mismatched with our forwards avaliable. Do you go 3 in the middle and 2 up top or the Nuno way of 2 in the middle and 3 up top?

With what we have avaliable in this squad, I would go for a midfield two of Lemina and Gomes. Then Bellergarde just a bit further forward. When we are attacking he has to get up and amongst the centre forward. Help with runs into the box etc.

I would play 2 forwards, all have different strength I would start with Hwang and Cuhna and get them to press high and win the ball as high up as they can. Not run around like headless cjickens though. Set traps and as a team go.

Problem though with this formation is it leaves out Neto, who has been our best player this season. Reason being is we have no other you would say out and out wingers apart from him. So the team would lack balance. In this formation the width would come from the wing backs. When they vacate their space it would be upto Lemina/Gomes to fill it.

I would try and keep the ball more and stretch the pitch. When wide get the ball into what should be 3 players in the box waiting.

The press has to be balanced as we do not want to tire as we have done so far this season. As the game goes on, you can change players and the system. If needed adapt. If we tiring and under pressure go to an orthodox back 5, out Sasa and Neto on for example and got to a Nuno 3 4 3 with wider attackers.

We all have our ways of playing right or wrong. Each way of playing has its risk and reward. You can never account for as GON called it chaos. But, you can limit the chance of that happening. Problem is with the players we have and the culture of the club chaos has happened on and off the pitch too much. It all started to be seen in that game vs Leeds at Molinuex in March 2022.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Was that tiredness .

So then you have to change something lol

The formation and become more defensive

 

[JohnB]

Can we have different sides first half vs second half?

Age old question here re attacking and scoring vs leaving our defence exposed.

For me Doc and RAN are better suited to 3/5 at back. Semedo and Toti to 4 at back.

If we play 4 at back then need discipline amongst FBs and let attackers score. If we play 5 we will lose a forward….
…….so for me we should have ability to play 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 3-5-2, 3-4-3, 4-4-2 depending on who we are playing.

Saturday 1st half was 4-2-3-1 with Bellegarde in no.10 and Hwang on right. Second half Hwang, Bellegarde and midfield tired as Klopp changed formation and went 4-2-4.

Without having seen S Bueno play I’d go with…

Sa
Semedo Dawson Kilman Toti
Gomes Lemina
Hwang Bellegarde Neto
Sasa

with after 60 mins something like the following if we’re winning.

Sa
Semedo Bueno Dawson Kilman RAN
Gomes Traore Doyle
Cunha Neto

 

[AndyY]

Nowt wrong with the back four if we score simple efforts

Sure. But we don’t. So you have start with a plan to keep a clean sheet.

 

[Contrarian]

What would you do if the opposition went 343 counter attacking?

Phone Nuno. Quick!

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Feel like in the second half of last season the general pattern was that we stayed in the game for an hour, looked for where the opposition were vulnerable and then tried to win it. This season we're coming out like we need to win it in 45 minutes, failing to make our superiority pay and then running out of steam or showing our weaknesses to others.

 

[DanishWolf]

Some good thoughts here.
Just want to add this, with regards to the 3 at the back debate.
Last Suhday Denmark played Finland and Dominated them, but couldn't find a way.
To my surprise with 10 mins to go Hjulmand takes off an attacking player for an extra defender, switching from a 4222 to a sort of 5212..
It worked extremely well. Suddenly the two wingbacks (who like the Wolves wingbacks are better in attack than defence) could push much further up, meaning Denmark put on even more pressure, and ended up scoring.

Now I personally don't understand why we don't do much the same. We've the central midfielders for a 343 and we'd be both more solid defensively as well as having lots of opportunities to hurt the opposition with Neto and Bellegarde on each side of a striker and our wingbacks utilising all their attacking strengths.

 

[wwbug]

So then you have to change something lol

The formation and become more defensive

I agree but I suggest we save the full throttle stuff until later not do it first .

 

[Jay Jay de Wolf]

Almost similar suggestion by me here to your last post @wwbug ..

Change all the good 1st half performances for the 2nd half from now on.. 10 out of 11 Wolves goals conceded have been in the 2nd half..

The only game we won at Everton our only result with 3 points was by keeping it 0-0 until as long as we can then bring on the SAS

 

[Barnet Wolves]

can we play Kalajdzic, Silva, Cunha, Neto, Hwang at the same time?

 

[Hophead]

I'd like to see Fabio with Neto and Hwang. I think there were opportunities that Cunha missed because he felt like he needed to shoot. Play Cunha or Bellegarde in behind Fabio.