Delphinho123

Not at all sad to see him not used. I think he’ll be excellent for us but we have a squad now. If you want to swan off to Argentina for a couple of training sessions for absolutely no reason, fine, but you’ll have a fight on your hands if you want to get back in the side. Might think twice about it next time.

I thought he was very good until he went off. Right now, Luiz, McGinn and Ramsey should be starting every match in a 3.

Shout out for this bloke today. Most of us didn’t want him to come on but he shut us all up. He was understated, simple but very, very good.

That beautiful moment where everyone in the Holte End knew he was going to pull the trigger.. And he did.. And we have our new hero.

Who the hell is this lad?!?!

What annoys me so much about the formation isn’t the formation itself, I actually quite like a 3-5-2, it’s the fact we’re playing it now all of a sudden. How long have we being playing 4-3-3 and improving? We even played it for the first 3 games of the season because that’s the system I’d argue we’re most comfortable with. Everybody knows their role and we’ve just signed two quality forward players to play behind Watkins/Ings who could just slot into the system to make up for the loss of Grealish. But now we’re playing 3-5-2, why? Because both Ings and Watkins are fit therefore we have to change everything to fit them both in? It’s just daft. I absolutely don’t mind changing the formation every now and again if it’s tactical against the better sides but the fact we have played it again today shows it wasn’t really tactical, it was to fit Ings into the side. I find it frustrating. We have three flair players on the bench in Buendia, Bailey and Traore and we’re not using them and our wide players are now Cash and Targett. Just seems daft to me.

Pathetic.

McGinn has been our best player too. Midfield 3 working well actually. Ings and Watkins not really clicking.

Sanson didn’t fancy it this week then..?

Who’s said that?

Where is Sanson?

Sacrificing all that attacking talent just for Ings. Brave.

It really was a daft decision for him to go. I’m afraid it’s all on him as well.

There’s a harsh truth to this.

FWIW though, a 3-5-2 is just a means to fit Ings and Watkins into the same side and I don’t think it’s the best use of our squad and our summer signings. I think the Ings situation might become a problem for Smith.

Yeh I think you might be right tbh. Personally, I prefer the 4-3-3 with Bailey coming in but can see him sticking with this line up.

I’m interested to see how he plays Ings and Watkins in the same team together. If we don’t perform, I can see it being used as a stick to beat Smith with. Personally, the overhead kick aside, I actually think Ings has been very average in the matches he’s played for us where as Watkins has played once and I thought he looked excellent against Chelsea. I think we go 4-3-3 with Ings on the bench. (when all players fit/available).

Hopefully. Competition for places is great. What I don’t want though, is for it to be obvious that we’re shoehorning players in because of their price tag or their reputation. We need to work to a system and the players need to fight it out as to who gets the shirt for that position. Right now, as an example, Ramsey starts. No way is he dropped unless he plays badly and even then it’s harsh. You earn the shirt.

Martinez Cash Konsa Mings Targett Luiz Ramsey McGinn Bailey Ings Watkins

Yep, agreed. What makes him so exciting is his ability to carry the ball at pace. It looks so easy but so many players struggle to do it. It can get you out of so many situations and it also scares opposition. This kid has all the tools to be a fantastic player. I really hope he realises his potential and doesn’t go the way of say, the Moore brothers. So excited to see him and Aaron running our midfield in 3 years time.

Yeh, exactly. The plan is clear, develop the youth, play a certain way, spend big on a couple of players each year to improve the team. Sell a player occasionally for a big profit to balance the books. Well, at least that's what Leicester do and it works. If we get rid of Smith, they will bring in another progressive manager rather than a Bruce, Allardyce type. It's not like days gone where we'd sack a manager and we'd have to start again, from the youth team set up, the backroom staff, the scouts etc. If Smith goes, who else leaves... Shakespeare? Maybe Cutler? That isn't a problem. Most managers will want at least two coaches of their own anyway. If Smith leaves, I'd trust the board to get it right.

He'll have to wait his turn and play extremely well if he wants to break into the team and keep his place. I'd argue Ramsey and McGinn have been our best two players this season.

But we've built that system so that we can remove the head coach with less disruption. Smith is the head coach and if we aren't performing, I think the board will pull the trigger and parachute someone in to the current set up. Where that bar is set, is anyones guess. You could be right, it could be serious relegation trouble but I have a feeling the bar wont be set quite that low. Personally, I hope Smith continues for a few more years yet, but let's not pretend that our owners wont have ambitions that match their investment. Smith is just a cog in a massively expensive wheel to them.

He has options and I'd bet the board want to improve on our 11th place finish. If we're struggling and hovering around relegation at Xmas, he'll be under pressure.

No.