Both for me. We've had to tweak our initial buildup this season with the losses of Cardwell, Kensdale and even Fonguck (all inadequately replaced). No ball carrier in Kensdale, no exploiter in Fonguck and no all rounder in Cardwell, the biggest loss of the lot for me. Our buildup as a result is slower, we have no outlet to make the ball stick or even maintain a good pressure on the opposition backline and we have no one making penetrative runs in-between lines.
Our whole style is built around 3 at the back. A lot of teams do it. We want to control as much possession as we can, dictate as much as we can, exploit wide areas and, believe it or not, put the opposition under pressure as often as we can. A mixture of players not being good enough, the balance being way off, players form being in the mud and an inability to be proactive rather than reactive have led us down to being an inconsistent mid table side. I actually think there's a problem with players not being able to handle the pressure as well but that's another discussion.
The ball not really sticking up top is huge for any side. Bonne and Hopper are probably the only ones who can occupy defenders but don't offer the same physicality, athleticism and goal threat as Cardwell. When under pressure as a team, if you don't have a striker that can make it stick or at least put a huge amount of pressure on a defense then you've got no chance really. Attack vs defense at that stage. Dreadful recruitment on that part. We could have signed a striker at step 3 that would offer more up top than what we currently have, I have zero doubt about that.
The better sides in this league, and even some average ones, have really outplayed us this season in my opinion. Various styles and reasons, and it's not as simple as this, but a huge thing lacking for me has been desire. Not wanting that second ball, not giving up on a loose pass, not giving up on a channel ball, not believing in themselves enough. The Sittingbourne goal came from a wide player not giving up on an absolutely nothing ball. Looked to be going out for a throw in and he didn't give up. Desire. Our initial contact rate must be shocking. Just look at pretty much any goal we've conceded from a set piece. The 3 at York and 2 against Barnet immediately spring to mind. Zero desire to make that initial contact. Inexcusable that.
For me this shape is dying under us. I actually believe a lot of these players suit the shape, but we're missing any spark whatsoever. They look a bit lost now and don't have an answer against any side with either quality or a well structured game plan. We have no standout players who excel in their positions. That's not me saying I think they're bad and maybe harsh on a few, but as a collective we're an extremely average, predictable, pedestrian side. I struggle to name many players who I think would have played week in week out for any of the recently promoted sides. We've seen some excellent individual performances when on form. Currently though, we're seeing why these players have never really taken the step up before.
I'd like to see us try to adapt to a 433 / 4231 moving forward. Probably only missing a natural wide right player in that but Walker could probably fill that void for a bit. We can still have the exact same principles Kev wants but in a slightly different shape. Not that I want this but you can even adapt to a back 5 in a 433 if we're that adamant.
I don't really know how to end this as I could go on all day, I've missed out loads. There's shared responsibility throughout this rant from top to bottom. I don't know what the answer is, but we need to address what appears to be a very disjointed club at present
