What formation would you play?

[ashowellPV]

I personally think putting McDonald in there has made it worse, considering he was in a Walsall side with the worse defence in League 1.

[Warren]

It depends who the opposition are, who we have fit, home or away and is it a must win game. I can live with 532 but it does offer the opposition a week's training ahead of the game practising getting the ball in behind the full backs.

 

Sometimes the big size of the Vale pitch makes it harder to judge the tactics going on because anything attacking works. But at Tranmere last Tuesday on a much smaller pitch I was uncomfortable when their players had the ball behind the full back and naturally caused McDonald in particular to have to come out to the wide area. Any good team is going to exploit that and I don't think 442 can be attacked so easily.

 

Anyway I would choose, subject to all the above and fitness:

 

Martin, Yates, Green, Collins, McDonald, Owen, Griffith, Loft, Little, Richards, Rigg Subs McCombe, Roberts, Dodds, Taylor, Williamson. But I also want to see Burge get match fit.

[CJ Valiant]

One thing for sure is that the current 5-3-2 formation is not suitable for every match and we should be more flexible. Let's look at the current best team in the world, Barcelona. Yes, before anyone shoots me down I am well aware of the fact that their players are infinitely better than ours but we do not play against the class of players that they do. Why not try and adopt a system similar to theirs by playing 4-3-3, which can be very flexible. I'd go with

 

Tomlinson.

Yates. McCombe. Owen. Collins.

Roberts. Griffith. Loft.

Dodds. Richards. Rigg.

 

This provides solidity at the back (the best defence in the league last season under MA), fight and creativity in midfield and goals from 5 or 6 different players. It's also flexible for players not to stay in these positions but to move around and confuse oppositions.

[Paul6754]

4-1-3-2 for me, Rigg playing just behind Richards or Pope.

[breo1959]

It makes no difference what formation is used if the players don't perform.

[Fegg Hayes Fozzie 1968]

----------------MARTIN---------------

 

---------McCOMBE, OWEN, COLLINS-------

 

YATES GREEN

GRIFFITH

 

LOFT MORSY

 

DODDS

 

RICHARDS

 

That is the formation I would use with the player's at our disposal

 

subs would be

Tomlinson, Taylor, Little, Roberts, Pope

[Fegg Hayes Fozzie 1968]

Sorry that formation did not turn out as I typed it we seem to be a bit top heavy down the right!!!!!!! I will try again

 

------------------------MARTIN-----------------------

 

----------------McCOMBE, OWEN, COLLINS-------------

 

YATES------------------------------------------GREEN

 

--------------------------GRIFFITH---------------------

 

----------------LOFT----------------MORSY-------------

 

----------------------------DODDS-----------------------

 

--------------------------RICHARDS----------------------

 

SUBS: TOMLINSON, TAYLOR, LITTLE, ROBERTS, POPE

[Darlo001]

for me, 433 or 442, with exactly the same players playing in each formation.

Tomlinson

Yates, Mccombe, Owen, Collins if fit, if not green.

Dodds, Roberts, Griffith, Loft

Rigg, Richards,

 

or change it to a 433 with..

 

Tomo

Yates, Mccobme, Owen, again collins or green

Loft, Griff, Roberts,

Dodds, Rico, Rigg.

[FAMILY STAND ROWDY]

4132 griff plays in front of the defence and force roberts more up field where is passes can do some damage ,if roberts is having a mare drop morsey into his place

gk...get a new one tomlinson / martin not good enough

lb ... green rb ... yates

cb ... mccombe cb... collins

dm..griff

mid..loft mid..roberts/ morsey mid.. dodds / burge

cf.. pope / richards cf ... dodds / williamson

[PV1993]

With a fully fit squad I would look to play this line up:

 

-------------------Tomlinson----------------------

-----------------------------------------------------

----------Collins----Owen----McCombe----------

--Yates------------------------------------Taylor--

---------------------Griffith-------------------------

----------Dodds-------------------Loft-------------

-----------------Richards--Rigg--------------------

 

We've been letting goals in at the back this season, but last season we didn't. So, whats different? Lee collins was at CB then, whereas now we've got McDonald. In this formation, we get Collins back at CB, and it also allows Rob Taylor to bomb down the Left wing, and hopefully as we know - score a few goals.

 

The Midfield consists of 3 players in Dodds (ATT), Griff (DEF) and Loft (ATT). Dodds and Loft have been scoring and playing well (when on the pitch), so why should they be dropped, especially Dodds, when Roberts would replace him, and so far this season he's had far more off days than on days. If Griff sits back and links up with build up play, it allows Dodds and Loft to bomb down the centre, take a few long range shots, and they can assist the wing backs. Griff is also able to protect the back 3 against counter attacks.

 

The frontline speaks for itself. Richards and Rigg will both get us goals. They are different types of strikers which makes it harder to defend against. In this formation, we've got plenty of goals and attacking flair, and hopefully the same back line that helped us get the recognition of a defense that does not condeed. I also think this line up makes good use of our width, especially at home!

 

SUBS:

 

Green

Burge

Roberts

Haldane (Little)

Williamson

[Seamus O'Wye]

Rob Taylor needs to be played in the opposition half all the time. His asset is pace which needs to be utilised up the field. Forget playing him as a wing back - he can't defend well enough (as previous managers have found out), and it leaves him too far from doing what he does best... attacking and taking on the full back in dangerous areas.

[supervale]

5-3-2 is best for Vale.

Martin in goal. Tomlinson is awful, well recently anyway.

McCombe, Owen and Collins at the back, with Yates on the right and Taylor on the left.

Griff, Roberts and Loft in the middle. A mixture of tackling, passing and creativity.

Richards and Pope up front. Might work out, with Pope playing off Richards.

[George]

My favoured formation is a 4-2-3-1 as used by the majority of the worlds top clubs.

 

This is the formation Gannon tried to impliment when he arrived. Unfortunatley this formation requires intelligent players....which is something we don't appear to have.

[Spunk Trumpet]

Why confuse the life out of average 4th division players??

 

4-4-2 worked a treat under Micky before so lets go back to basics.

 

Why is Griff roaming up the pitch this season when previously under Adams he was asked to sit and protect the back 4?

 

Id prefer to win ugly than be as open as we have been this season.

[Valiant62]

play 1-9-0 like Barcelona

 

Martin

Owen

MorseyRobertsLoftGriffithTaylorBurgeRiggDoddsJames

We'd start thrashing teams then