Given the improvement of the defence this season the back seven appears to pretty much pick itself (barring injury and suspension). We are struggling to create and score from open play though and it seems that Ralph is still trying to find that magic formula up front. Which combination of players do you think would be the most effective for the front four? I would like to see Stuey on the right, Tella on the left and Che and AA as the strikers. With JWP out I wouldn't mind Stuey dropping back in the middle with Oriol and Tino replacing him on the right with KWP at RB and Perraud at LB. I was going to post a poll but there are wayyy too many combinations!
Since none of them are really setting the world alight, I'd like Ralph to pick Tella and Broja and give them a couple of games to gel. I don't think Adams is anywhere good enough for this league, and doesn't offer a whole lot to someone up front with him either. A well taken goal at Everton and winning the penalty has brought Armstrong a little time, but not much.. Tella and Broja up front for me. Obviously Stuey in midfield, the rest are all a bit meh
Let’s give Armstrong some time. If he were an overseas player we would be banging on about settling in to a new league etc. Romeu Armstrong Armstrong Broja
I need to see Stuey in this team to see if that changes things. He’s still the key player who can transition from defence to attack with real purpose That might liberate the front 4 because none of them are good enough to create and score individually at present Tino does at times but rarely seems to get that final ball right
A physically fit as opposed to a match fit Stu is what we can expect from his first appearance this season. I do hope the fans will be patient and allow him to play himself into the season.
Interesting that we are being linked with Fabio Carvalho and Kyogo Furuhashi in January already. If true suggests Saints are recognising the squad deficiencies, rarely ever see us linked with anyone in January.
Wouldn’t read too much into it in October. The media would surely have noticed that we can’t score goals so could just be 2+2 equals 5.
He could well have a couple of matches under his belt by the time the Leeds match comes around but i'm with you on expecting too much too soon from him.
I really appreciate that our host of strikers (Armstrong, Adams, Broja and Tella) may not be world class however I would ask how many chances in the box have been created for them? I would suggest not many The issue is one of a complete lack of creativity from our No.10's who are supposed to provide these opportunities. Except Stu Armstrong we have Redders, Djenepo and Theo, none of which score or create very much This has been made worse by Ralph's rather strange full back choices (nothing new there!), Perraud with a left foot has swung in a few lovely crosses when given a chance but sadly with KWP playing out of position at left back he cant do that as he has to check and come inside those reducing the opportunities for those in the box. Like so may others, moving Tino up to wide right midfield and bringing KWP into his proper position of right back would open up more opportunities down the right but I don't hold my breath that Ralph will consider this Its easy to blame the strikers for not scoring but they do need help
You're absolutely right about the lack of creativity. Unfortunately, that has been the case for a very long time now. The difference between this season, and the previous two, is that Ings didn't need chances to be created for him. He was good enough to score a goal out of nothing. (Although just imagine how many more he might have scored with good service!) So whilst, yes, it isn't the fault of the likes of Armstrong and Adams that they are left to feed off scraps, we also can't overlook the difference between them and Ings (so far).
Completely agree with all of this. We were lucky that Ings was able to create his own chances and was extremely clinical. Adams just isn't at that level (few are) and Armstrong still needs time before we can make any judgement - but to have any hope in getting us 10-15 goals each this season they both need the midfield to create chances for them and that is just not happening.
And when we have panicked into buying then Carillo comes to mind at £20m. Better to work on getting the ball into the 6yd box etc to give those we have a better chance. Getting to the byline sending in decent and lethal crosses might help too!
Yes, i've always banged on about that and i'd like to see much more running at defenders to commit them. Stu is great at carrying the ball forward and coming up with an end product but Redders, Theo and Moussa very often run themselves down blind alleys and choose wrong options. Mo El just never runs at defenders period. I think that Tella has the pace and ability to cause problems but needs a run in the team.
There’s a lot of hope being placed on Stu providing our forwards with better goal scoring opportunities. I definitely hope it materialises but I worry other teams will also figure out (if happens), lock him down & we’ll be back to square one. All very dynamic of course but just me being nervous Stu being our saviour.
He creates space, by committing midfield players to tackles, that he goes round, which disrupts the back four, if they step out to meet him. Stuart, IMO, tends to start games slowly, with his passing tending to be a little bit wayward, until he gets up to pace. Patience will be needed.
I'm wondering if Ralph might opt for Stuey to replace JWP for saturday given that Oriol and Diallo are both DMs and that it's a home match against a potential rival that we need to win. I believe that Smallbone is also available now which would mean that Stuey could also play on the right.
