Team for Brighton (H)

[Bart7]

With two days to go until Brighton , who would you play?

Al-Habsi

Watson
McShane
VdB
Gunter/Obita

Quinn
Swift
Williams

Beerens
Mendes
McCleary

I don't see the benefit of moving VdB out of defence at home where we want to play a dominant possession game; especially if Cooper is the only option. Would like to see Quinn come in if he is fit enough and maybe it's time to give Mendes a shot in the league!

[Maneki Neko]

gunter mcshane cooper obita
VDB
Mcleary Swift Quinn Meite
Rakels

[maffff]

gunter mcshane cooper obita
VDB
Mcleary Swift Quinn Meite
Rakels

No keeper? Bold move.

[Berry]

Kerm
Rakels,Weiser,VDB,Harriot
Swift,Steward1,Steward2
Any selected Reading fan from an international country

[Sutekh]

Habsi

Gunter
McShane
New centre back please (but we know it'll be Berg)
Obita

Wieser

Williams
Swift

McCleary
Beerens
Mendes

[maffff]

----------------------Jaakkola--------------------------
-Watson------McShane----Wieser------Gunter-
-------------------Van den Berg----------------------
-------------Evans----------------Swift----------------
-McCleary----------------------------------Beerens-
-----------------------Mendes--------------------------

Al Habsi, Cooper, Obita, Meite, Williams, Kermorgant, Rakels

[russyb]

habsi
gunter mcshane cooper obita
VDB
Mcleary Swift Quinn Meite
Mendes

Please have a back four with DFM in front of them it will make so much difference.

[John Smith]

----------------------Jaakkola--------------------------
-Watson------McShane----Wieser------Gunter-
-------------------Van den Berg----------------------
-------------Evans----------------Swift----------------
-McCleary----------------------------------Beerens-
-----------------------Mendes--------------------------

Al Habsi, Cooper, Obita, Meite, Williams, Kermorgant, Rakels

Handing out debuts to players after being with the club for two days is certainly one reason you will never come close to being a manager.

[RoyalJones]

GK: Jaakkola
RB: Watson
CB: McShane
CB: Keown - brave move but if we don't get Moore in time something has to change, idk if he's injured
LB: Obita
CDM: Van Den Berg
CM: Swift
CM: Quinn
LW: Beerens
RW: McCleary
ST: Mendes

[maffff]

----------------------Jaakkola--------------------------
-Watson------McShane----Wieser------Gunter-
-------------------Van den Berg----------------------
-------------Evans----------------Swift----------------
-McCleary----------------------------------Beerens-
-----------------------Mendes--------------------------

Al Habsi, Cooper, Obita, Meite, Williams, Kermorgant, Rakels

Handing out debuts to players after being with the club for two days is certainly one reason you will never come close to being a manager.

Well, I doubt he's up to speed, but seeing as we've thrown vdB into defence and this guy has apparently played defence before it's an option, although this game is too soon.

I'd like to see something different there, neither Cooper nor vdB appear to be the answer.

I'd throw Moore in if we got him before midday tomorrow though.

[John Smith]

Well, I doubt he's up to speed, but seeing as we've thrown vdB into defence and this guy has apparently played defence before it's an option, although this game is too soon.

I'd like to see something different there, neither Cooper nor vdB appear to be the answer.

I'd throw Moore in if we got him before midday tomorrow though.

To be fair you've got the right idea. I like your choice of Jakkola and also van den Berg protecting the back 4.

Question: is 4-3-3 proposed by Stam working/look like it's going to work? My suspicion would be no... Can I have your thoughts please?

[Top Flight]

I would select in a 4-4-2 formation

GK: Jaakola
RB: Gunter
LB: Obita
CB: Cooper
CB: McShane
RW: McLeary
CM: Williams
CM: Quinn
LW: Beerens
CF: Kermorgant
CF: Mendes

We would go back to a Coppell style of play. I'd have Gunter overlapping McLeary on the right hand side.
Obita overlapping Beerens on the left.

Our midfielders job would be to win the battle in the middle of the park and get the ball out to the wings. I would want to see plenty of crosses aimed towards Kermorgant and Mendes. I'd have Mendes, Beerens and McLeary all good to go to attack Brighton on the counter when one of their attacking moves breaks down.

Back to the proper Reading way! None of this passing nonsense across the back line. Just win the ball and get it out to the wings. Let our wide players do the damage. Let's concentrate on getting great service to the front men.

[One8Seven1*]

Jaakkola

Gunter
Cooper
McShane
Obita

Swift
VDB
Quinn

McCleary
Mendes
Beerens

[CountryRoyal]

If we keep the same team we could be looking at our heaviest home loss in years.

Al-Habsi

Gunter
McShane
Cooper
Obita

Quinn
VDB
Swift

McCleary
Mendes
Beerens

[Ian Royal]

Al-Habsi
Gunter, McShane, VDB, Obita
Williams, Swift, Quinn
McCleary, Kermorgant, Beerens

We need to be conservative with the changes, just the odd tweak here and there, where players get a couple of games minimum to show if they are an improvement. I'd start by getting Quinn back in the side. If VDB and Williams have another duff game, I'd bring Cooper back in and push VDB into midfield at Williams expense as my next move.

Personally I'd think of our midfielders as follows:
Defensive: VDB, Wieser
Hard working: Quinn, Evans
Attacking: Swift, Williams
Playmaker: Kuhl

Personally I only think we should be playing one from each of the first three categories at a time, with Kuhl as a different option to either defensive or hard working positions if necessary.

[Scrotts]

Al Habsi
- - - -
McCleary - Harriot - Evans - Swift - Williams - Van Den Berg - Stacey - Wieser- Quinn - Berens
- -

I would have liked to have got an eleventh midfielder / winger into the team but that might have left us in trouble at the back and lightweight in front of goal.

Oh what the hell........... Kelly in for Al Habsi.

[Ian Royal]

Well, I doubt he's up to speed, but seeing as we've thrown vdB into defence and this guy has apparently played defence before it's an option, although this game is too soon.

I'd like to see something different there, neither Cooper nor vdB appear to be the answer.

I'd throw Moore in if we got him before midday tomorrow though.

To be fair you've got the right idea. I like your choice of Jakkola and also van den Berg protecting the back 4.

Question: is 4-3-3 proposed by Stam working/look like it's going to work? My suspicion would be no... Can I have your thoughts please?

From the limited amount I've seen, I'd say the defence is weak, the midfield lacks the ability to protect it and the frontline are playing too far apart to support each other.

Stam's 4-3-3 appears to be

.........................GK
......RB....CB...............CB....LB
.............RCM............LCM
.......................ACM
RW...........................................LW
........................CF

I think it just leaves everyone too isolated, and I hate the idea of splitting centrebacks, because if there's a turnover, there's an enormous gap through the middle and no support for either. You can plug that gap with a midfielder - but they're not defenders and that takes one of your better passers too deep to affect the game, as well as unbalancing the midfield shape.

I think we should have been aiming for this, it worked well to start last season, but I'm not sure we have the forwards for it.

..........................GK
RB...............CB........CB.............LB
..........RCM.......CM........LCM
........RF..............CF..............LF

I think it gives more flexibility and support for each player, it makes us more compact and hard to break through. Yeah it's a bit narrow, but the whole thing can shift across as necessary. If we had enough CBs I'd want to go three across the back and push Gunter / McCleary and Obita into wing backs and relieve them of some of the defensive work they're not great at.

[sandman]

Al Habsi

Gunter
McShane
Cooper
Obita

McCleary
Williams
Quinn
Swift
Beerens

Mendes

Subs: Jaakola, Watson, Van Den Berg, Weiser, Evans, Harriot, Rakels

[Top Flight]

From a defensive point of view, what is wrong with having 2 banks of four? Let the opponent try and penetrate through 2 banks of four. If only everyone would do their jobs properly we wouldn't be so lightweight.

[Ian Royal]

From a defensive point of view, what is wrong with having 2 banks of four? Let the opponent try and penetrate through 2 banks of four. If only everyone would do their jobs properly we wouldn't be so lightweight.

1) We don't have one decent striker, let alone two.
2) We're getting overrun in midfield with three central midfielders, let alone two.
3) You don't abandon your ethos and plan because of two matches and a handful of internet bedwetters.