I have not heard anybody talking about it, but I believe it is time for us to change our system. We all knew that when it came to formations, former boss Paul Cook was very much a one-trick pony. When Kieran McKenna took charge, he was not afraid to shake things up a bit but more recently, that inclination seems to have deserted him. It is hard to fathom out why? We are clearly not scoring enough goals, and playing with just one out and out striker is not helping our cause. McKenna has nothing to lose.
I would like to see a side that contained at least two strikers tomorrow in a 3-4-1-2 formation. I would start with Pigott and Bonne up front, with the deplorable James Norwood on bench-warming duties. Town fans need to see more goals – especially at Portman Road, and this would be the perfect way of satisfying their desires. The Town support base at home, and particularly away, has been incredible. We all know that we have under-achieved again, but we can all see some light at the end of the player’s tunnel, so we must all keep the faith. Next season will surely see a big improvement.
In the meantime, McKenna has the chance to experiment a bit. He should keep young Thai-born central defender Elkan Baggott in the team by way of further punishment to Cameron Burgess. I know he was apologetic for that unfortunate red card away at Shrewsbury, but Baggott looked good alongside Luke Woolfenden, and they could strike up a good defensive pairing. Nothing much else needs to change, but I do believe the formation does! We are not creating enough chances, and our set-plays are bang average. When was the last time we had a penalty for example? As a matter of interest, who is our penalty taker these days? It’s been so long, I can’t remember!
The reality of the situation is this. We are a third rate team in the third division of English football so we cannot expect miracles. That said, some of our squad are technically very gifted, and I would include Luke Woolfenden, Bersaant Celina, Wes Burns, Sam Morsy and Sone Aluko in this equation. It is not so much our technical ability that is letting us down, it is our collective application towards it. We constantly make the wrong decisions. Passing when we ought to shoot, and shooting when we ought to pass. It happens at the highest football levels too, but nowhere near as often.
Forget playing the Loan players for the remaining three matches. For this evening’s match bring back Burgess and play another of our promising young players Cameron Humphreys.
Who to play up front, I have no idea.!!
It’s not a bad idea John but Baggott did nothing wrong on his league debut so it would be cruel to drop him now. That said, it would be a bit cruel not to give Cameron Burgess a recall. Upfront remains our endless enigma.
Seen enough of Pigott and Bonne together to know they are pretty ineffective both are lacking pace and confidence. All i keep hearing is give Pigott a run of games why he hasn’t shown any desire or passion when he has been on the pitch and must be one of the poorest signings we have ever made. The only player who looks capable of playing up front on his own is Jackson who before he got injured was showing the necessary passion and commitment required. We cant afford the luxury of two Donkeys up front.
Interesting observations Keith, but I disagree. How can you refer to Macauley Bonne as a donkey when he has played at a higher level and is still our top goalscorer? If you have a good memory, you will recall some fantastic goals he scored earlier in the campaign and what he needs most of all is to start matches again and play himself in. He is still our top goalscorer by the way! As for Pigott, this combination with Bonne has not been used by McKenna, and it is worth a punt.