So what has gone wrong? The simple answer is nothing much. We had a great start to the season with, virtually, a new team. Anybody who thinks that a new team will simply gel, and keep gelling is living in cloud cuckoo land. Since the first day of the season, new signings have added to the squad, and those new signings have had to adapt to our system under the pressure of the Championship, rather than the other new signings who had pre-season friendlies without the competitive pressure. None of this is to say, that we, as paying fans, shouldn't be allowed to moan. But, there is a reality, that we should be more patient and see what our situation is at Christmas. We should also remember that a few injuries have kept key players like Kalas out. We could argue that we need to be prepared for injuries, but with a new team injuries will upset the status quo even more. It is clear where the most serious problem lies and that is in the striker position. Do we blame the system, the midfield supply line, or the strikers? It would be too easy to blame the strikers. Big Matty Smith is not the most mobile and he needs a pacy, small strike partner to be more effective. From what I have seen of Martin, he doesn't get nearly enough service to make him a decent "box striker". Woodrow, does not have the strength, or guile, to play as a "box striker" when he is heavily outnumbered by Championship defences that seem to be full of giants. Possibly, the only squad member who could play as lone "box striker" is Aluko, but that is not his natural game and his finishing leaves a little to be desired. That leaves Slavisa with a headache, as how can he play his preferred 4-5-1 when none of the striking options are suited to be a lone striker? Or does he switch to a conventional 4-4-2 and watch us get overrun in midfield. I suspect, that Slavisa wanted a natural "box striker", but the board and Kline would not sanction signing a player who didn't match their required statistics. Hopefully, come the January window, Slavisa will have had time to persuade the board that we need to have more upfront and they will sanction the signing of a Defoe type player. Our 4-5-1, or 4-2-3-1 formation will give us the vast share of possession, and, for me, it is the best formation in this division as we need to flood and control the midfield. This formation also allows our full backs to get forward with cover. One thing that stood out against QPR was that we were playing too many short passes, and getting nowhere fast. When McDonald is fit he gives us the option of playing longer passes out wide, where our full backs can push on, knowing they will get service. It also seems that Slavisa is trying to form defensive partnerships between Kalas and Madl, and Sigurdsson and Ream. Before Kalas was injured, we were much more solid at the back, and he is our biggest loss. Madl has also been excellent, but if I am correct, then Slav only sees him as being effective with Kalas by his side. Whether Madl trains with Sigurdsson as his partner, or whether Slavisa tries to pair Sigurdsson with Ream in training we can only speculate. But, I am certain that he is trying all partnerships out on the training ground. We should, again, remember that all of this takes time, and we as FFC fans should be patient and give the gaffer time to work with all of the new signings until we have a machine that is working in unison.
From the games I have seen this season, 100% home, I can see the day where everything comes right and we thrash somebody. We have the players with the necessary skill, and, in my opinion, a dedicated manager who will work and work until we get it right. I have total faith in Slavisa, and I know that we will be comfortably, mid table or above come the end of the season. The international break is a god send as the team will have more work on the training ground, and more time to gel.
IN SLAVISA WE TRUST
COYWs
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© Nic Smith
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