TC Tactics A-Z

Watching the Leeds game and just imagining what Bielsa could do with McGregor as a deep lying playmaker...

 

Even watching both teams and the movement of the players making space for the pass or chipped balls into the midfield with strikers making a movement away from defenders.

Just night and day and something so simple as just moving. Our players are so static and just watch the ball, there is very little movement or interchange, part of that will come from a lack of instruction and lack of clear game plan and structure of building the play.

 

We had a midfield without Brown recently and it didnt work.
It wont work when we come up against strong opposition.
We need a class defensive mid. We are celtic ffs.

 

Do you think he would get as many tackles per game as Kalvin Phillips?

 

Being fair we beat RB Leipzig with that midfield, I know one game doesn’t prove anything but as others mentioned it was some of the best football we played. Christie was everywhere as a box to box, he was also scoring every week at the start of last season as a 10 so he can be effective at either role.

What Christie gives you as a box to box midfielder is running power, similar to what Armstrong did when he broke into the team as at the moment neither Brown or McGregor(often enough) drive forward and break the lines from CM it’s all very safe back to the CBs or between each other.

We are also sorely missing a creative spark who is capable of taking an opposition player out of the game with skill and either getting a shot away from a good position or playing a clinical through ball.

Sadly I also agree that ideally we needed a fresh mobile option at DM with Soro not currently getting a look in. We could have then looked at playing a 4-4-2 diamond. With the flexibility to transition to more of a 3-4-3 in games.

 

This is how I would like to set up. One holding midfielder and full backs that can get up the pitch. Plenty options for personnel changes and the system staying the same. Moi in a more natural wide-ish position to come in and let Laxalt bomb on. McGregor in a more creative forward role. Front two playing like a front two and good changes available on the bench. Press and hustle. Then quick and ruthless in attack.

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And going forward this would look like:

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Still have Christie and Forrest who could start, as could Duffy be in at the back
Turnbull and Rogic to come on, Brown can come off and Cal drop in
Klimala and Ajeti too
Ntcham if he can be arsed
Taylor

Just get bodies up the park and stop sitting so deep

 

@Marty McFly If we play with just two central midfielders, there is no room for Brown.

McGregor's influence in a three-man midfield has been limited this season because he has been picking up the slack for the other two. If you remove another body from there, he will have to cover even more ground, and we will simply be overrun. We need more than one player in the middle of the park who can play a forward pass, too.

Against most domestic opposition, a defensive midfielder is redundant - particularly one as conservative as Brown.

 

Fair point, I actually think Calmac is being asked to play deeper rather than making up for others, but see what you are saying.

In response to what you are saying, we replace Brown with Christie/Ntcham and just have a traditional 4-4-2. And go old school, when one fu back goes, the other stays?

 

I remembered recently that we had some success with a kind of lopsided 4-4-2, with one of the wide midfielder tucking in, during Lennon's first spell. I believe it was normally Ledley who tucked in on the left.

I wonder if we could get maybe set up like this, with Christie playing a similar role to Ledley's:

Barkas
Frimpong Ajer Jullien Laxalt
Forrest Turnbull McGregor Christie
Ajeti Édouard​

Johnston should be available soon. He gives us another option on the left.

 

I honesty don’t think Ntcham should be anywhere near the starting 11 and certainly not over Brown.

I realise this is the tactics thread, but my reasoning is pretty simple - he’s been * for ages.

 

Quite like that setup but think folk are kind of forcing the issue with Mo a bit.

If we’re not playing in a 4-5-1 then for me, he simply doesn’t play.

 

Lot of talk of the 433, when we played the 4231 our wide players were very isolated from the rest of the play. Like the 4231 it's very dependent on the wide players playing well and positively influenceing play. Brown gets a raw deal ye he's lost a yard of pace but it showed when he wasn't on the pitch v st Johnstone and he was one of the better players on Saturday. Also playing edoaurd wide left is to accomdate ajeti and again we have no elyounassi.. playing brown in the centre of a midfield 3 in which both players either side of him have to play as 8's leaves him even more isolated .

.................barkas..............
Frimpong jullien Duffy laxalt
...Christie brown mcgregor
..Forrest edoaurd elyounassi

..................barkas...............
Frimpong jullien ajer laxalt
.Christie McGregor Turnbull
...Dembele ajeti edoaurd...

Think Mikey Johnson could have a massive impact on the team if we get him back fit. One of very few in the squad who can come in from a wide position and open things up. Can't be ignored that a lot of sevcos chances come from Kent's ability to take his man on and bring the ball in field. His movement caused the foul in which they scored their first and won the corner that lead to their second . Can Mikey Johnson play RW?

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I think Gerrard has passed the Liverpool model that they had throughout their various teams after Klopp came in. Remember hearing how all the teams played the same way, and Liverpool. And Bayern seem to be the best attacking teams around with their quick attacking play.

Looks like Gerrard has just improved his team and in a lower level getting a similar outcome.

We look more like BR old Barca type model of passing for the sake of passing which is getting outdated.

Rangers look a very easy on the eye team if that's how they play, quick and decisive, at times they easily moved the ball around us.

Hoping Lenny changes the way we line up and play. 352 will defo work but we must use proper strikers and get the midfield and wingbacks sorted.

442 and 433 are also a viable option.

 

Would like us to go 4-3-3 especially against that mob. Match them up and i bet we beat them as we have the superior team when all available

 

I dont think Gerrard has done anything new.
He has been playing the same formation for ages and his set up vs us is always to suffocate the play and condense the middle of the pitch to limit us to long balls or a pass to nothing. We seem devoid of answeres when we are unable to play through Brown.

The attackers sit off the centre back and they press as soon as we try to advance the ball into midfield.

So far we have had little answer, but if we had scored first it could have been a different game as it would have forced them to open up. If and buts.

 

Aye, we definitely have a problem when we play them and it's really that they are happy for the opposition to have the ball and are confident at sitting in and countering. It's near impossible to imagine us playing like that though as we've never really played like that since Strachan but it definitely gives them an edge over us. A wee bit like how Arsenal play now where they kind of sit in and are happy to defend in bigger games and have also got good results.

When you look at the huns in recent big games they pretty much always concede possession to us, Galatasaray, Braga, Porto and whoever and yet they are getting the better of us.

I also think scoring first is the most important in not allowing them to do that, as they are probably happy with draws so getting 1 in the lead puts them in a really comfortable position.

I still think 3-5-2 would work against them just not the players who played at the weekend, it was always an uphill task just looking at who was available.

 

In the bigotdome game last year we didn't go gung ho and sat deeper to combat their three forwards coming in the midfield to stifle ours and we hit them on the break and won 2-0 .
The way the zombies set up they like a team to come at them and we play into their hands in the last few games .
We match them formation and sit deeper so their midfield and forwards don't squeeze out ours and that's why Hibs and Livingston at home get joy against them .

 

Looked like we used this shape 2nd half tonight.Same again on sunday. We looked much better with this setup, i'd bin the 3-5-2 for the forseeable.

 

The 4-3-3 you can tell will deffo suit us..

 

If Lennon has the balks to drop Brown and Duffy, so...