Total football or not, we used to choke teams out by playing two mids just in front of a tight back four.
This has completely disappeared in the space of half a season.
Gates are open for all to wander through now.
Funnily enough, we still play that formation, and yet look what's happened?
Yeah sorry my point being, how has it disappeared? Players encouraged to get forward not tracking back? Laziness? Legs too slow now? Defenders charging out of the line for at times no reason? This is off the ball stuff so not much to do with possession that's gone.
I do think they are quite lazy. Once the ball is lost there is very little effort to get it back most of the time.
Our two current DMs appear to have no ability to hold and once beaten they definitely have no chance of catching up. They are just giving it away. That shot of Brockie doing the tracking back chasing a break with Lia jogging along in the distant background said it all for me.
I'd try Manny, Sanchez and Ifill in mid next week. Ifill can live on the ball, has enough pace to track, play a great ball and is a threat around the box himself. Sanchez doesn't do a bad job holding and distributing. Hopefully Manny can get back to his best in front of a back four.
Smith, Lia, Lochhead and Bertos (at times) are guilty of being 'joggers' week in week out I think. Not good enough, not enough fight.