Good wing back option when we need to change shape 

1 minute ago, boltonboris said:

Good wing back option when we need to change shape 

Indeed. Good point.

7 minutes ago, TrickyTrotter said:

Lovely goal from Conway, but it will be his defensive skills that he will be judged on.  

Work in progress in that area as SS said last week.  No way he's keeping a fit Taylor out at LB but nice to have him as an option.

This.

Folks going overboard about Conway but he's been out of position loads defensively, especially at Barrow.

He's been great going forwards but SS will be hammering it home to him about his defensive responsibilities.

Hopefully he's a quick learner as I'd like to see Taylor as LCB with Conway at LB.

Get a CF onboard asap and we're looking decent.

17 minutes ago, boltonboris said:

Good wing back option when we need to change shape 

ffs no......That system has gone in the bin

What do you do drop Gayle and Duberry

1 minute ago, masi 51 said:

ffs no......That system has gone in the bin

What do you do drop Gayle and Duberry

We’re not gonna play 4-4-3 for the entire season. One thing we’ve seen from Schumacher is a tactical flexibility that his predecessor didn’t offer 

Just now, masi 51 said:

ffs no......That system has gone in the bin

What do you do drop Gayle and Duberry

It's just an option, should the manager deem it suitable in a given situation. 

He has always said he will be flexible, even if he has a preferred method.

1 minute ago, boltonboris said:

We’re not gonna play 4-4-3 for the entire season. One thing we’ve seen from Schumacher is a tactical flexibility that his predecessor didn’t offer 

we are not playing 4/4/3......We are playing 4/2/3/1 that is the system Schumacher is building his team 

The sooner we get a couple of Schon, Desmond, Gomes out the better.........Just do not fit in Schumacher plans

2 minutes ago, masi 51 said:

we are not playing 4/4/3......We are playing 4/2/3/1 that is the system Schumacher is building his team 

The sooner we get a couple of Schon, Desmond, Gomes out the better.........Just do not fit in Schumacher plans

He's not told any of them to find a new club though- so it would appear they have been given an opportunity to prove their worth.

As above, the manager has said he would be flexible, and iirc, he has used wing backs previously at times.

It is simply a nice option to have.

11 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

He's not told any of them to find a new club though- so it would appear they have been given an opportunity to prove their worth.

As above, the manager has said he would be flexible, and iirc, he has used wing backs previously at times.

It is simply a nice option to have.

Very true, but every man and his dog can see the shape and the first 11 is starting to come together.

None of those three will start many,  but will get plenty of time off the bench and are under contract

Will  also get efl games and 20 mins each week, if they are happy with that . Then theres nothing Schumacher can do, but we are no way going back to a 5 at the back period

Edited July 22, 2025Jul 22 by masi 51

I'm sure some people don't actually watch our games or can count in rows

37 minutes ago, boltonboris said:

We’re not gonna play 4-4-3 for the entire season. One thing we’ve seen from Schumacher is a tactical flexibility that his predecessor didn’t offer 

I reckon we might do alright with an extra man on the pitch.

😉

 

1 hour ago, Steejay said:

This.

Folks going overboard about Conway but he's been out of position loads defensively, especially at Barrow.

He's been great going forwards but SS will be hammering it home to him about his defensive responsibilities.

Hopefully he's a quick learner as I'd like to see Taylor as LCB with Conway at LB.

Get a CF onboard asap and we're looking decent.

Playing wingers will see the fullbacks exposed from time to time.

Solid midfield should help to cover when necessary. 

Wouldn't describe folk as going overboard-the lad has been playing well.

47 minutes ago, masi 51 said:

Very true, but every man and his dog can see the shape and the first 11 is starting to come together.

None of those three will start many,  but will get plenty of time off the bench and are under contract

Will  also get efl games and 20 mins each week, if they are happy with that . Then theres nothing Schumacher can do, but we are no way going back to a 5 at the back period

Of course we can all see what he is intending.

Doesn't mean at some point, he won't switch during a game if he thinks it will work. He made one or two odd selections/set ups last season.

That is far from saying he would be going back to the previous set up from last season.

8 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

Of course we can all see what he is intending.

Doesn't mean at some point, he won't switch during a game if he thinks it will work. He made one or two odd selections/set ups last season.

That is far from saying he would be going back to the previous set up from last season.

Yes i can see him changing it during games but the days of ponderous slow playing it out from the back has gone

That is not to say we will go long all game, it is about mixing it up and not doing the same thing week in week out.

I think Schumacher quickly realised the 5 did not work but we did not have full backs to change it to a 4.

Hence why he even played Thomason there......And as for the keepers that was addressed before the season ended.....He had seen enough of both keepers

1 minute ago, masi 51 said:

Yes i can see him changing it during games but the days of ponderous slow playing it out from the back has gone

That is not to say we will go long all game, it is about mixing it up and not doing the same thing week in week out.

I think Schumacher quickly realised the 5 did not work but we did not have full backs to change it to a 4.

Hence why he even played Thomason there......And as for the keepers that was addressed before the season ended.....He had seen enough of both keepers

Now you're getting it!

 

One of the most exciting things to come out of the preseason so far is that when a player gets within range, they’ve had a shot, whether it’s been the wingers or Conway or someone else coming through from the back.

Sounds simple, but to me we have been far too over elaborate in front of goal in recent seasons and the fact that the lads have permission to shoot on sight seems like a big thing - and Im firmly in the “if you don’t buy a ticket…..” camp.

Perhaps this has been forced on the lads in the absence of a quality striker in the box to pass to, but I’m hoping that it’s an approach that will be used regardless of who is up top because it’s also clear that we now have players that can actually shoot. 
 
Obviously they need to make the right decisions for the situation, but it now seems that having a dig when there’s no better alternative is back on the menu whereas previously it seemed the instructions were to go backwards and recycle it to retain possession.

Maybe Im imagining it, but that’s how it seems to me so far in the preseason.

 

7 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

One of the most exciting things to come out of the preseason so far is that when a player gets within range, they’ve had a shot, whether it’s been the wingers or Conway or someone else coming through from the back.

Sounds simple, but to me we have been far too over elaborate in front of goal in recent seasons and the fact that the lads have permission to shoot on sight seems like a big thing - and Im firmly in the “if you don’t buy a ticket…..” camp.

Perhaps this has been forced on the lads in the absence of a quality striker in the box to pass to, but I’m hoping that it’s an approach that will be used regardless of who is up top because it’s also clear that we now have players that can actually shoot. 
 
Obviously they need to make the right decisions for the situation, but it now seems that having a dig when there’s no better alternative is back on the menu whereas previously it seemed the instructions were to go backwards and recycle it to retain possession.

Maybe Im imagining it, but that’s how it seems to me so far in the preseason.

 

I’ll have a bit of that Lusty. Clearly there’s a time where there’s a better option on but our lack of taking shots over the past few years has been infuriating.

League one keepers have a mistake in them, deflections happen, players get rebounds, saves often mean a corner etc etc. Plus it keeps the opposition guessing as to what we’ll do in a situation.

Up the giant, bastard, shoot on sight whites.

 

 

8 hours ago, Wanderlust said:

One of the most exciting things to come out of the preseason so far is that when a player gets within range, they’ve had a shot, whether it’s been the wingers or Conway or someone else coming through from the back.

Sounds simple, but to me we have been far too over elaborate in front of goal in recent seasons and the fact that the lads have permission to shoot on sight seems like a big thing - and Im firmly in the “if you don’t buy a ticket…..” camp.

Perhaps this has been forced on the lads in the absence of a quality striker in the box to pass to, but I’m hoping that it’s an approach that will be used regardless of who is up top because it’s also clear that we now have players that can actually shoot. 
 
Obviously they need to make the right decisions for the situation, but it now seems that having a dig when there’s no better alternative is back on the menu whereas previously it seemed the instructions were to go backwards and recycle it to retain possession.

Maybe Im imagining it, but that’s how it seems to me so far in the preseason.

 

I know this may not fit your narrative, but we averaged 13.6 shots per league game last season, more than any other team. 

Shooting, and to a large extent scoring, was never our problem. Poor mentality, conceding first and defensive disorganisation (especially on set pieces) were the primary reasons for our relative disaster of a season. 

SS has been clear he’s focussed on defensive set up in pre season and this will pay dividends I imagine. 

I think the set up of the team, and type of winger we’ve signed, may lead to more shots from outside the area, but there’s a reason teams don’t do it more. Because it’s friggin hard to score from 20 yards. Big Sam famously didn’t want players shooting from outside the box. 

I’d say it’s only acceptable to shoot outside the box when there’s contraception doubts. 

Edited July 23, 2025Jul 23 by thebells

The keepers can only hold the ball for 8 seconds so more reason to shoot.

17 minutes ago, thebells said:

I know this may not fit your narrative, but we averaged 13.6 shots per league game last season, more than any other team. 

Shooting, and to a large extent scoring, was never our problem. Poor mentality, conceding first and defensive disorganisation (especially on set pieces) were the primary reasons for our relative disaster of a season. 

SS has been clear he’s focussed on defensive set up in pre season and this will pay dividends I imagine. 

I think the set up of the team, and type of winger we’ve signed, may lead to more shots from outside the area, but there’s a reason teams don’t do it more. Because it’s friggin hard to score from 20 yards. Big Sam famously didn’t want players shooting from outside the box. 

I’d say it’s only acceptable to shoot outside the box when there’s contraception doubts. 

With all the possession we had, you’d have thought it would be higher but that average was dragged up by cup games and the fact that we were frequently chasing a last gasp equaliser. Haven’t got the split stats to isolate Schueys tenure last year but over the last few seasons there weren’t too many memorable goals from outside the box to remember - maybe 10? And yet we’ve had 3 so far in this preseason so something has changed and maybe it’s the players as much as the manager? 
As for Big Sam, if he’d encouraged his players to shoot when the opportunity arose, maybe he’d have actually won something other than a promotion with the team that Colin Todd built?😂

8 hours ago, Wanderlust said:

One of the most exciting things to come out of the preseason so far is that when a player gets within range, they’ve had a shot, whether it’s been the wingers or Conway or someone else coming through from the back.

Sounds simple, but to me we have been far too over elaborate in front of goal in recent seasons and the fact that the lads have permission to shoot on sight seems like a big thing - and Im firmly in the “if you don’t buy a ticket…..” camp.

Perhaps this has been forced on the lads in the absence of a quality striker in the box to pass to, but I’m hoping that it’s an approach that will be used regardless of who is up top because it’s also clear that we now have players that can actually shoot. 
 
Obviously they need to make the right decisions for the situation, but it now seems that having a dig when there’s no better alternative is back on the menu whereas previously it seemed the instructions were to go backwards and recycle it to retain possession.

Maybe Im imagining it, but that’s how it seems to me so far in the preseason.

 

watch the SS interview with the Everton TV bloke. Talks about signing players for Plymouth.

Gives an insight into his approach and relevant to your post above.

(it's about 2 hours long mind ... I did it in stages)

23 minutes ago, CJG said:

The keepers can only hold the ball for 8 seconds so more reason to shoot.

Biggest reason for me is that defences won’t just stay in two lines on the edge of the box in the full knowledge that we were guaranteed to recycle it back and start again rather than have a dip - it will force them to come out and block which will create spaces behind. We were so predictable and now we’re not.