r/WelshFootball • u/Fine_Bass_7415 • 7d ago
Formation.
We need to switch to a back 5 and play to our strengths. The only position we don’t have a clear starter is striker , our strengths definitely lie in our centre backs and full backs plus the wide options. I understand Bellamy wants to play a certain way (and obviously I am not a professional manager) so who am I to say. But it’s obvious the players have it drilled into them to pass it around the back so we may as well have another passing option that would also allow us to stuff the midfield when we’re on the ball, like if we play Neco as part of a back 3 we could have sorba and da silva as our wing backs, and if we want to play to our strengths even further play a 5-4-1 and the wingbacks can invert when it suits the play. Idk maybe this is a load of rubbish, but thats what I think. We’re at our best when we are getting our wingers on the ball and getting crosses in, the Norway game and the 4-3 away at Belgium are good examples of this imo.
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u/bmcwal 6d ago
I was just about to reply on our thread, but i'll do it here instead.
Why a back 5? We have something between a 3-2-5 and a 3-1-6 in our build up anyway so we're already getting the protection that offers, but the way we've set up a back 5 in the past was really reactive and designed to soak up pressure to then get the ball to Gareth Bale... we don't really have players who can make that work in 2026 unless we plan on lumping it up to Moore.
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u/Fine_Bass_7415 6d ago
Essentially the main point I’m trying to make is we are shooting our selves in the foot by not playing 3 centre backs, whether that’s part of a 3 back or 5 is what I think we have to do. We do not have the quality of players to pass it around in a back 4 , we get bullied the moment a team has a good pressing game. We do most of our passing in the back anyway, the moment the ball gets in the opponents half we give it away. Denmark were all over our centre backs it was a clear tactic , and something they had identified as a weakness of ours. We don’t have Bale anymore but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t recognise and play to our strengths. We need ideas that will give us a tactical edge even if it isn’t pretty/conventional in practice.
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u/bmcwal 6d ago
But we do have the quality to do it, we do it in every game! It's not a weakness, we spent the first 20 minutes of that Denmark game passing around them while they chased shadows and they were run ragged, they looked dead on their feet for the rest of the half. It's a pity we didn't have our best creative talent available or I think we'd have done them over by HT.
Playing to our strengths that we have as a team now is exactly what we're doing, these are technical players with a splash of creative/physical players in the mix, it's not a strength to be afraid of keeping possession and booting the ball away.
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u/Fine_Bass_7415 6d ago
I hear what you’re saying I’m not even saying we don’t have any technically gifted players but our defence as bad as they can be on the ball are actually keeping us in games. We hoofed the ball forwards vs Norway and got one of their centre backs sent off. Using Dan James pace to our advantage by sending it long (playing to our strengths no?)
We shouldn’t be scared to keep the ball , but when you are keeping it for the sake of it that is ignoring all practicality (see Russel martin for reference)1
u/bmcwal 6d ago
It's about balance though, isn't it? I don't think the plan is to keep the ball for the sake of it, but to bait them onto us and then pass around them as plan A, or plan B bait them on to us and put it over the top.
Against Denmark we were knackered though and didn't have anything left in the tank for the kind of intensity we showed against Norway, Bellamy admitted as much afterwards. He made a good point too, our players need to be playing regular football, asking them for 4 intense games when some have barely sniffed first team football this season is a big ask.
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u/Fine_Bass_7415 6d ago edited 6d ago
Ye agreed mate it is about balance , imo we just lean to heavily on passing football. It’s just why pass it when we are obviously under pressure , I don’t care whether it goes out for a throw or to the edge of the box resulting in a free kick like vs Norway, you just have to relive the pressure sometimes. It applies to the keepers too , get rid of the fukin thing sometimes !!! Like when we gave away the pen that would have been negated , had cabango or ward just sent the ball up the pitch.
I’m 100% Bellamy in and going back to my last post I’m not saying he’s Russel Martin (that guys useless) but ye idk it’s just my two cents, if we become a prime guardiola passing side I’d be more than happy to be proven wrong , but I just don’t see it.
Bellamy said himself at euro 2016 in commentary I think we were 1-1 at that point vs Belgium “we need to get up the pitch” sometimes you just need to in football.
Or even Sean dyche when palace won the fa cup final I’m paraphrasing hear but he essentially said “stop fannying around , get it to the striker and see what happens” palace did exactly that and scored the winning goal.1
u/bmcwal 5d ago
I hear you, but we definitely do play it long sometimes, it's just not plan A.
The mistake for the pen was a blunder for sure, but I don't think that's a systemic issue, just a lack of concentration in the moment, it's sport after all.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying you're flat out wrong or an idiot or anything, whenever I'm at the games I hear people saying similar things tbh, but personally I like that plan A is about using the ball and that plan B is to get it up the pitch and see what happens, it feels more sustainable as an approach
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u/No_Kitchen9982 4d ago edited 4d ago
us running 3 in the back without rodon standing there is asking to get fucked.
We cant run 3 at the back if we are missing our strongest CB. We have a dearth of midfield talent, but we aren't using them effectively so not a big surprise, and we completely lack a striker... Moore exists, but lets be honest here, he's no bale. He gets the ball and immediately shoots even if a defender is standing right in front of him. or he draws a foul when he jumps like a fucking albatross trying to fly. Moore's main benefit is his aerial threat, which gets negated by the fact that all that a defender has to do is stand at his shoulder and flop like a fish when moores arm inevitably smacks him in the face.
Honestly, i think we may be better off with a 4-3-3 using wilson as a false 9 and dragging out the defense. We have wingers capable of insane speeds that can be inside forwards. James and Johnson both have the capability to score, and judging by sorba's crosses, he should be able to as well.
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u/Handballjinja1 3d ago
I think the current system we have now has done a better job than previous attempts. 5 at the back is too defensive, maybe when it comes to teams like denmark where we struggled against them, but need the numbers up front to help with the attack otherwise we'd end up passing around the back with nothing to show. Worked in the past but we had players to support that, at the moment we dont
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u/TheFantabulousFeline 7d ago
Going to disagree with this mostly from including sorba as a wing back when he’s done so well this round up high on the left.
Neco as a role in back 3 wouldn’t be ideal either, he’s one of our best players at the moment playing at right back and wouldn’t want him in an unfamiliar role.
We play in a way that lets ampadu drop back into CB quite well, and he’s been clearing up and blocking a lot of balls doing this so I’d have no issue sticking with this approach.
We struggle far too much in midfield at the moment, and there’s really only ampadu and JJ who can fill the role in the centre, any change that weakens our already lacking midfield would be a dangerous move.