After 21 games of this current season, we're just 2 games shy of the halfway point; we are bottom of the league, without a win in 10 games.
It's runs like this where manager's start to be put under pressure from the board, but do we stick or twist. Blackburn have recently stood by Steve Kean and offered him a new deal, whereas Sunderland called time on Steve Bruce's reign at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland quickly reaped the rewards, as O'Neill brought on an attacking winger as substitute who turned the game.Personally, I have no problem with Andy Thorn as manager of Coventry City. He's a manager who is proud to be giving the job 100%, and he is working in the confines of a very tight budget.
I can't think of many managers of the years who have been this committed to a sinking ship.My only issue with AT is his lack of ideas; we have no plan B other than sending Goalzilla (Clive Platt) on and returning to the hoof ball that many fans slandered Aidy for during his reign.With Clingan out on Saturday, we played our most creative player as the anchorman in midfield.
Gary Gardner has already proven to be an outstanding talent in Villa's reserves, and we have the fortune of having him on loan until the end of the month. Instead of playing him at the tip of the diamond, we use him as the holding role.We have a host of players who could do the holding role, and I can think of no better than Martin Cranie. He has composure on the ball, and whilst he lacks pace, he reads the game.
With Cranie sitting in defensive midfield, we then have the choice of players around him, and the move would even free up Clingan.When a team is struggling, the thing we see all experienced managers doing is reverting back to the tried and tested 4-4-2 formation. Everyone knows their roles, and most of them have been playing that system since they were kids at school.We have natural width in Bell, Baker and McSheffrey, and whilst none of them will set the world alight, they can all provide the sort of delivery Juke and Plattini thrive on.
We could even try Cyrus or Hussey out on the wings if we need to inject some much needed pace!We don't have the best players in the Championship, and the gems we do have (Juke, Cranie, Clingan and Gardner) will more than likely have left by the end of the transfer window.
We need a change, and there is no shame in playing 4-4-2! I'd much prefer to see a team that is set up to play simple football, than a struggling side trying to play a style of play that we simply don't have the quality for!So come on AT, let's see you admit that the style doesn't work and actually do something about it!
Source: FOOTYMAD
