Our Current Squad's Best Eleven

[Forest Fan Olly]

If we had everyone fit I'd go with a narrow diamond midfield (our wingers are crap)
Vlad
Lichaj Mance Perquis Pinillos
Cohen
Lansbury Osborn
Pereira
Britt Lord

 

[MASE]

Surely you cant go with Lam considering he's hardly played.


Vlad

Lichaj - Mance - Perquis - Pinillos

Pereira - Lansbury -Vaughan - Osborne

Lord - Britt

Unfortunately its now illegal to play 4-4-2 unless you want to win the Prem...

Would love to see Bendtner & Assombalonga as a two, but its the implications in midfield that stop some of us advocating it.

Fulham served to prove we aint ready to take a player out of midfield. Particularly given our wingers seem reluctant to track back.

I just see two up front as an excercise in conceding more goals & having two strikers up front struggling for service.

 

[Senior Flange Technician]

J think with Osborn and Dredz they could drop in and help protect. It would mean a slow build up while we progress up the pitch and less counter attacking though.

 

[stockers]

Would love to see Bendtner & Assombalonga as a two, but its the implications in midfield that stop some of us advocating it.

Fulham served to prove we aint ready to take a player out of midfield. Particularly given our wingers seem reluctant to track back.

I just see two up front as an excercise in conceding more goals & having two strikers up front struggling for service.

Issue for me is that we always seem to have one central midfielder who isn't playing anyway so rather than being a man short in the centre we're worse off because there's a man getting in the way, losing the ball and generally f***ing things up... I'd always rather have two in the middle on their game.

Vlad
Eric-Mance-Perky-Phil
Dreadzone-Welsh-Lans-Ossie
Lord-Beast

That team has no passengers in it, you'd get 100% out of all of them ever game..

 

[Rzar]

For 4-1-4-1, I'd go with this.

Stojkovic

Lichaj -- Mancienne -- Perquis -- Pinillos

Vaughan

Pereira -- Lansbury -- Kasami -- Carayol

Assombalonga
​

Cohen in for Kasami and I would say that is bang on mate.

I would maybe sneak Lica in ahead of Carayol if we see more of him though. I think he will show to be our best deadline day signing.

 

[Rzar]

Would love to see Bendtner & Assombalonga as a two, but its the implications in midfield that stop some of us advocating it.

Fulham served to prove we aint ready to take a player out of midfield. Particularly given our wingers seem reluctant to track back.

I just see two up front as an excercise in conceding more goals & having two strikers up front struggling for service.

I would like to see us try and switch to 3-5-2 over time. I think we have the players for it.

Pereira & Pinillos on each side, Henri & Cohen in the middle, Bendtner & Assombalonga upfront. Could work.

 

[Master Yates]

Vlad
Lichaj Mance Perquis Cohen
Pereira Lansbury Vaughan Osborn
Britt Bendtner


A fully fit Nicklas Bendtner and Britt Assombalonga has got to be up there with the most dangerous strike pairing in the league.

Wingers look our weak spot so a narrowish 4-4-2 with Osborn and Pereira getting through lots of work would be my line-up.

For what it's worth, I reckon PM's would be:

Vlad
Pereira Mance Perquis Fox
Lansbury Kasami Cash
Britt Bendtner Osborn

 

[Carlos]

Vlad
Vlad Vlad Vlad Vlad
Vlad Vlad Vlad Vlad
Vlad Lord.

 

[Pugwash]

We're not bad on paper, but I've felt for a long time that our teams have lacked brains over recent years.

Technically and physically good players (when not injured), but with a pin head of grey matter between them.

 

[Brian Fantana]

Is anyone else starting to feel a bit concerned we've filled the squad with some mediocre dross?

Defenders who can't defend. Wingers who offer nothing. And Kasami - I haven't figured out what he does yet.

 

[Kjetil Osvold's Cat]

Struggling to really be satisfied whatever formation I think of, but there's not a complete lack of quality (maybe Montanier feels the same).

Being optimistic about how Lam could do as a sweeper (though maybe he needs to work on or drop his Beckenbauer/Booby Moore impressions in dangerous positions anyway)...

Stojkovic; Lam; Mancienne, Perquis; Perreira, Lansbury, Vaughan, Osborn, Cohen; Carayol; Assombalonga

(With Carayol in a free role to move to both flanks and pick the ball up where he wants - I know there are reservations about him but with the squad we have now then without him it's all a bit static and predictable as the passing game isn't slick enough on it's own at the minute and nobody else except Perreira coming from deep seems likely to go past players and open things up that way....although I know in theory it's the goals against column that is the downfall and not the goals for one but Burke helped with the latter and also carrying an attacking threat at all times and being better in possession, especially transitioning from defence where the option seems to be give it away short, dwell on the ball or give it away long too much at the moment wheras we should be able to counter attack better and with more quality, should alleviate pressure and the confidence of the opposition to come forwards).


Alternatives:

4-3-2-1 Stojkovic; Perreira, Mancienne, Perquis, Cohen; Lansbury, Vaughan, Osborn; Carayol, Cash; Assombalonga

4-2-3-1 Stojkovic; Perreira, Mancienne, Perquis, Cohen; Lansbury, Vaughan; Carayol, Grant, Osborn; Assombalonga

Diamond - Stojkovic; Perreira, Mancienne, Perquis, Cohen; Vaughan; Cash, Osborn; Lansbury/Carayol; Assombalonga, Bendtner/Carayol.

Pinillos at left back if it doesn't work with Cohen as well as it had before. Velios probably on the bench as an option rather than partnering Assombalonga for me, but I get why people would disagree with that at the moment - I just think if the service to them isn't great they won't thrive or score many goals as a partnership and it'd be better to play with a proper support striker or number 10 if we had one.

 

[Kjetil Osvold's Cat]

That said, I'm not against the options in post 1 at all either, and I think Montanier would like to go with something like that (maybe the 4-1-4-1 more than the 4-2-3-1) and it'd be best to judge him when he's had more time to get everything gelling as he wants and also play his best team a lot or something close to it even if he might still rotate a little. I know that most managers have to deviate from their first choice teams, and that Pearce and Freedman etc could also have done better with better players. But to me it does seem like Montainier could potentially put a very decent and quality side together if he had the time and players to do it.

We are pretty short on depth and variety at the moment I think anyway. But there were signs vs Birmingham (which their fans agreed with) that we can be an ok side for this division at least weren't there? And at the moment that is what is achievable at best maybe?

 

[stockers]

However you line us up I'd say our par is around the 12th position. The main X factor which would change that being Bendtner and Britt. Even then I'd say a playoff push is only an outside bet at utmost best (so getting luck with injuries & decisions)

Surprized how many think some of these sides are "strong". I'd say OK, maybe good-ish. Not a patch on teams like Norwich, Newcastle, Wendies etc.

Also surprised how many seem to think Lam is a midfield genius when it's not where he plays and judging the dithering on the ball and pulling out of tackles I can see him being worse than Mance.

 

[stockers]

Doris
Lichaj
Mance
Hobbs
Phil
Burke
Cash
Vaughn
Lansbury
Osborne
Britt

 

[MASE]

Also surprised how many seem to think Lam is a midfield genius when it's not where he plays and judging the dithering on the ball and pulling out of tackles I can see him being worse than Mance.

Easy on the eye & can pick a pass, theres definitely something to work with.

Problem is he looks to be struggling to make the transition from the easy paced Dutch league to the hustle of the Championship.

Needs more urgency in everything he does.

 

[youreds1986]

If we get Britt and Bendtner fit, we simply have to find a way to play both as a front two, they are by far and away the players in our squad capable of being real difference makers and firing us up the table somewhat (as well as being two of our most bankable assets).

Given our lack of quality in the middle of the park, I'd play two of Vaughan, Lam and Cohen centrally, drop Lansbury to the bench and play a 4-4-1-1 with Bendtner in the hole (add Mick McCarthy gif here) holding the ball up and letting Britt play on the shoulder of the last maan, with wingers having the head of Bendtner to hit or space behind the defenders for Britt.

 

[MASE]

The only way you can play 2 up front is to play 3 at the back.

We dont have 2 central midfielders who can cope with the workload. Its just compounding our defensive problems & lack of service to an extra striker looking for service.

Whichever way we go, we have to retain a midfield 3 to compete.

Stojk
Mills Hobbs Mance
Pereira Vaughn Lansbury Osborn Traore
Bendtner Britt

 

[OLDMANRED]

Time for the young uns to be unleashed

 

[Otis Redding]

Time for the young uns to be unleashed

We have some excellent youngsters OMR (two of whom were sat on the bench yesterday because of the injury crisis) but I'd be fearful of throwing them into the team at the moment, especially at the CG, where the moronic element of the crowd are liable to turn on them at the first mistake.

 

[OLDMANRED]

We have some excellent youngsters OMR (two of whom were sat on the bench yesterday because of the injury crisis) but I'd be fearful of throwing them into the team at the moment, especially at the CG, where the moronic element of the crowd are liable to turn on them at the first mistake.

We seem to be breeding a set of young UN's with balls Otis. The ones that have come through haven't let anyone down and I'd argue have done as good as if not better than their more illustrious team mates

 

[Otis Redding]

We seem to be breeding a set of young UN's with balls Otis. The ones that have come through haven't let anyone down and I'd argue have done as good as if not better than their more illustrious team mates

I'm glad that PM resisted the temptation to put Anel and/or Edser on yesterday. Sending them out to get valuable first-team experience away from the CG makes more sense to me mate. The period that Matty Cash spent at the basement of Division Four being a perfect example of the benefit of that policy, to the extent, in fact, that we're actually missing his presence now.

 

[stockers]

Which is why I'm surprised Worrel isn't getting a game over Lam having spent a successful loan period out last year.. I can't remember the last time we were let down by a youngster yet week in week out players like Kasami, Dumitru, Lam, Traore look off the pace completely...

 

[Brian Fantana]

The only way you can play 2 up front is to play 3 at the back.

We dont have 2 central midfielders who can cope with the workload. Its just compounding our defensive problems & lack of service to an extra striker looking for service.

Whichever way we go, we have to retain a midfield 3 to compete.

Stojk
Mills Hobbs Mance
Pereira Vaughn Lansbury Osborn Traore
Bendtner Britt

Great minds think alike - I put a similar team down in another thread.

I think this formation fits us best for the players we have.

Trying to play two wingers currently isn't working well because we just don't have the quality wide.

3 CBs should stop the silly crosses. Traore and Hilde can both attack like they want to from deep but drop back to a flat back 5 if we need. And as you also said our strikers are arguably the 3 best players at the club - we should be looking at a system that gets two of them on the pitch at once.

Remember when we had Huckerby, Johnson and Harewood tearing forward!?