Formation next year | PASOTI
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Formation next year

Mar 15, 2007
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Plymouth
There's been a lot of talk in the last few months about whether we'd persist with 3 at the back next year, or play with a back four. Below is a snippet from Ryan Lowe's interview with Errington about the signing of Dan Scarr today:

"We know there is still a little bit of work to do with Dan in terms of the way we play because he has never really played a three at the back.

"But he's 26, he's 6ft 2 and we will have a powerful back three in the next few days, and that's what we have wanted to do.

Guess that puts that debate to bed!
 
Mar 21, 2010
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Plymouth
Nobby":uvwczhvu said:
There's been a lot of talk in the last few months about whether we'd persist with 3 at the back next year, or play with a back four. Below is a snippet from Ryan Lowe's interview with Errington about the signing of Dan Scarr today:

"We know there is still a little bit of work to do with Dan in terms of the way we play because he has never really played a three at the back.

"But he's 26, he's 6ft 2 and we will have a powerful back three in the next few days, and that's what we have wanted to do.

Guess that puts that debate to bed!

Also sounds like like a deal is almost there for another centre back .
 
Nov 2, 2004
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Lowe has always made it clear that 3 centre backs is the way that his teams play. Any deviation will only be by force of circumstance.
 
Apr 20, 2008
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Plymouth
Thats a shame IMO, because that's not the system that will get the most out of Mayor and Cooper. The 4-2-2-2 that we saw on occasions last year would be prime for them both to fill to attacking midfield slots.

If we went 3-4-3, we could play DM and GC next to a lone striker, but as we know, all of our 3 (very good) strikers are much better in a pair than as a lone front man.
 
Jun 27, 2019
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Not just formation, but style of play. Dan Scarr by all accounts is not very good (Walsall fans used stronger words) with the ball at his feet. James Wilson is another who likes to defend first and ask questions later. This third centre-back we're bringing in will apparently add to our 'powerful' new defence, which suggests RL is prioritising defenders over footballers.

I wonder if we're about to see a change of philosophy, with Michael Cooper told to go long rather than give the ball to his CBs?

Comments like this from the Walsall forum:

The thought of Scarr trying to be told to pass it out quickly worried me, no doubt he’d have passed it straight to the opposition forward after not mastering the art of looking up before picking out a pass and instead kicking it aimlessly into the centre of the pitch.

...bring to mind that game at Northampton not long after Lowe took over when our defence badly struggled under a high press and kept passing the ball to the oppo, or straight out of play.

Lowe must know about that aspect of Scarr's game, so has he decided to ditch the ball-playing part of his philosophy until he's able to sign better players in a higher league?
 

JannerinCardiff

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Jul 16, 2018
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WoodsyGreen":155wq5bn said:
Not just formation, but style of play. Dan Scarr by all accounts is not very good (Walsall fans used stronger words) with the ball at his feet. James Wilson is another who likes to defend first and ask questions later. This third centre-back we're bringing in will apparently add to our 'powerful' new defence, which suggests RL is prioritising defenders over footballers.

I wonder if we're about to see a change of philosophy, with Michael Cooper told to go long rather than give the ball to his CBs?

Comments like this from the Walsall forum:

The thought of Scarr trying to be told to pass it out quickly worried me, no doubt he’d have passed it straight to the opposition forward after not mastering the art of looking up before picking out a pass and instead kicking it aimlessly into the centre of the pitch.

...bring to mind that game at Northampton not long after Lowe took over when our defence badly struggled under a high press and kept passing the ball to the oppo, or straight out of play.

Lowe must know about that aspect of Scarr's game, so has he decided to ditch the ball-playing part of his philosophy until he's able to sign better players in a higher league?

The defenders we seem to be going for can defend really well when we've not got the ball but if we have defenders who are not as good with the ball when we are in possession then we seriously need to think about bringing in a target man up front or we really need our next defender we bring in to be good on the ball and to be able to start moves from the back.

Unless...….. we intend to use a holding midfielder who will drop deep all the time to dictate play -then this could work really well...… based on Adam Randall's performances that got him his player of the season award at Torquay - we could have the ideal deeper lying play maker already perhaps?
 
Nov 18, 2011
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Lowe will stay with his 3-5-2 but I'd like to see a little change to the midfield. I feel that instead of 2 playmakers and 1 ball winner, we should flip that around have have two ball winners along with Mayor as the playmaker. Maybe Edwards and someone else, hopefully the lower league version of N'Golo Kante.

If Cooper is going to play wing back then 1 of the ball winners can help him with covering the flank.

I'd like 1 decent ball playing defender in the middle flanked by 2 big ugly defenders who just defend, a bit like the old sweeper/libero systems. The defender can receive the ball from Cooper if Lowe still wants to pass the ball out.

We have too many quality strikers so need to play 2 up front which does limit us a bit with formation choice and I'm not sure any of them could play on the flank.
 
Mar 14, 2009
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In his last interview, he clearly states he is looking for a winger and a striker.

I’ve also heard him state earlier this summer he is looking for wing backs.

I’m kinda confused. If we play his 3-1-4-2 system we need better wing backs. Where are wingers going to play?

Edwards has done a decent job at RWB but he gets found out defensively and he doesn’t give Argyle the attacking presence on the right hand side. His strength is running from deep which is when he comes alive in the RWB. Yet we need someone who can put decent balls on the box from a wide position. At LWB lm still not convinced C Grant is a first choice player for that position. Good on the ball but not sure he has the energy levels for that role.

We have G Cooper to come back. He shouldn’t be anywhere near that LWB spot as he struggled defensively at L2 level. So where does he go?

So lm hoping we have a new 3ATB formation up our sleeves. Otherwise we will see the shoe horning of players in positions that don’t suit them and don’t benefit the team.
 

JannerinCardiff

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Jul 16, 2018
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Metal_Green_Mickey":3a951iu6 said:
In his last interview, he clearly states he is looking for a winger and a striker.

I’ve also heard him state earlier this summer he is looking for wing backs.

I’m kinda confused. If we play his 3-1-4-2 system we need better wing backs. Where are wingers going to play?

Edwards has done a decent job at RWB but he gets found out defensively and he doesn’t give Argyle the attacking presence on the right hand side. His strength is running from deep which is when he comes alive in the RWB. Yet we need someone who can put decent balls on the box from a wide position. At LWB lm still not convinced C Grant is a first choice player for that position. Good on the ball but not sure he has the energy levels for that role.

We have G Cooper to come back. He shouldn’t be anywhere near that LWB spot as he struggled defensively at L2 level. So where does he go?

So lm hoping we have a new 3ATB formation up our sleeves. Otherwise we will see the shoe horning of players in positions that don’t suit them and don’t benefit the team.

I wouldn't be surprised if the winger is a right sided player. One who can play RWB instead of Edwards when we need a goal and also when there is space on that side and someone who is capable of beating a man and delivering crosses from the that side of the pitch (something we haven't got as there's no real width on the right) and also the winger could play in a 4-4-2 formation or 4-3-3. It's a type of player we don't have on the right.
 
Mar 14, 2009
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JannerinCardiff":3z0hh3gt said:
Metal_Green_Mickey":3z0hh3gt said:
In his last interview, he clearly states he is looking for a winger and a striker.

I’ve also heard him state earlier this summer he is looking for wing backs.

I’m kinda confused. If we play his 3-1-4-2 system we need better wing backs. Where are wingers going to play?

Edwards has done a decent job at RWB but he gets found out defensively and he doesn’t give Argyle the attacking presence on the right hand side. His strength is running from deep which is when he comes alive in the RWB. Yet we need someone who can put decent balls on the box from a wide position. At LWB lm still not convinced C Grant is a first choice player for that position. Good on the ball but not sure he has the energy levels for that role.

We have G Cooper to come back. He shouldn’t be anywhere near that LWB spot as he struggled defensively at L2 level. So where does he go?

So lm hoping we have a new 3ATB formation up our sleeves. Otherwise we will see the shoe horning of players in positions that don’t suit them and don’t benefit the team.

I wouldn't be surprised if the winger is a right sided player. One who can play RWB instead of Edwards when we need a goal and also when there is space on that side and someone who is capable of beating a man and delivering crosses from the that side of the pitch (something we haven't got as there's no real width on the right) and also the winger could play in a 4-4-2 formation or 4-3-3. It's a type of player we don't have on the right.

This is the issue. Wing backs aren’t full backs. What makes a great full back doesn’t always translate into a wing back and vice versa. If you want a player who would of made a great wing back you have to think of someone like mark patterson. Had the energy to bomb forward but had decent delivery in the final 3rd. Yes he was a full back but his attributes could of converted him into a wing back role as if he had a weakness it was defensively.

I think he is definitely going back to a 3ATB. The 4ATB was a panic because he was on a desperately bad run and was running out of ideas. My issue with him has always been the players he picks in certain positions (for the system he wants to play) and finding it doesn’t suit some key positions and so hinders the team.