If we keep Mitrovic - 2 up top?

[ChesterTheTabby]

Do we think that Mitro really could last the sole striker up top? I still stand by the idea that there is merit in a 4-1-2-1-2, with Cairney in the CAM role behind a Mitro/Gayle (just a name plucked out) combo. This would allow pairings like Johansen/McDonald/Norwood/Anguissa (again just names from recent seasons) to play out from the back. If we kept Seri, could have Cairney as part of the 1-2 triangle with Seri behind Mitro Gayle?

Just ideas being tossed out there. I see no reason why Odoi, Ream, Mawson, MLM, Bryan, Christie couldn't hold their own in the Champ.

[wheelerdeeler]

Personally want us to play 3-4-1-2 next season. Think it suits the players we've currently got like Mawson as the central Centre-Back, Joe Bryan as a LWB rather than a LB, Cairney as a proper #10, Zambo being best with a partner (if he stays) etc. and will also help us to bring through players like S. Sessegnon at RCB.

I'd look at pairing Mitrovic up with someone who can for want of a better way to put it, do the running for him and can also run in behind (and that goes for if we sell him and sign another Target Man). Would give opposition defences different things to worry about. I talked about Fredrik Gulbrandsen on a free or Adrian Dalmau (Heracles) with that in mind in my transfer blog that's in the Summer Gossip thread.

[The Rational Fan]

If TK provides the below squad of 26, even with one injury you can do any formation 4-2-3-1, 5-3-2, 4-1-4-1, 4-3-3 or 4-4-2

I am have filled in those positions that have an obvious person, other players are not so clear.

Some players are obvious, but a better player could be an improvement.

3x Goalkeepers  (2+1)
Betts, Fabri & Rodak

9x Defenders (6+3)
RWB/RB - Christie
RB/RCB - Odoi
RCB/CCB - Mawson
CCB/LCB - Ream
LCB/LB - MLM
LB/LWB - Bryan
CB reserve - ? or Djaló (HELP!)
RWB/RB reserve - ? or Fossey
LWB/LB reserve - ? or u21 Player

7x Midfielders (5+2)
DM-solo/DM-duo - McDonald
DM-duo/CM - Anguissa
CM/B2B - Johasen
B2B/AM - Seri
AM - Cairney
DM reserve - Cisse or Edun
RM/LM reserve - Kebano or u21 player

7x Forwards (5+2)
RM/RW - ?
RW/CF - Kamara
CF - Mitro
CF/LW - ?
LM/LW - ?
CF reserve - ? or Fonte
RW/LW reserve - Atyie or u21 Player

[The Rational Fan]

We need to keep Mitrovoic because he destroys teams when we are on top, in 18/19 he scored 10 goals in 12 games against the six lowest Premier League teams and in 17/18 he scored 12 goals in 17 games against Championship teams. If Mitrovoic can get anywhere near 22 goals in 29 games next season, he is worth a lot more than a striker that scores 15 goals all season for £15m.

[Deuce]

Cant see how we'd fit two strikers AND Cairney in a favourable role, unless we go with a back three/five and even then we'll be forced to play without proper wingers. Not loving that idea tbh.

[grandad]

In 1966 England played without orthodox wingers. Worked out quite well.

[Statto]

Would prefer just to stick with the tried and tested 4-3-3 the team is set up for but have more direct goalscoring players, eg Gayle or Assombalonga, in the LW and RW positions, as we've done previously with Kamara and Babel working well in those positions.

[Deuce]

Cant see how we'd fit two strikers AND Cairney in a favourable role, unless we go with a back three/five and even then we'll be forced to play without proper wingers. Not loving that idea tbh.

Simple you don't fit them in, you play two of three
21 Games : Start Mitro and Cairney (bring striker on at 60 mins if available)
10 Games : Start Mitro and 2nd Striker (bring Cairney on at 60 mins if available)
10 Games : Start Striker and Cairney (bring Mitro on at 60 mins if available)
3 Games : Only one of Mitro, 2nd Striker and Cairney available.
So, Mitro plays 3,180 minutes (same as this season) and 2nd Striker plays 1,920 mins (same as Christie 18/19)

But that idea is based around a compromise of letting the strikers and Cairney get equal playing time. To me, thats backwards and I dont think thats how managing players and teams works.
At the end of the day, you'll need a tactic and starting XI that you prefer when everyones fit and ready to play. You can always change things around during a long season but players coming into the side will want to know if they are going to start games. Gayle wont be coming to Fulham knowing he'll be on the bench every other game. And introducing your rotational ideas to players will probably seem a bit weird considering

[The Rational Fan]

Cant see how we'd fit two strikers AND Cairney in a favourable role, unless we go with a back three/five and even then we'll be forced to play without proper wingers. Not loving that idea tbh.

Simple you don't fit them in, you play two of three
21 Games : Start Mitro and Cairney (bring striker on at 60 mins if available)
10 Games : Start Mitro and 2nd Striker (bring Cairney on at 60 mins if available)
10 Games : Start Striker and Cairney (bring Mitro on at 60 mins if available)
3 Games : Only one of Mitro, 2nd Striker and Cairney available.
So, Mitro plays 3,180 minutes (same as this season) and 2nd Striker plays 1,920 mins (same as Christie 18/19)

But that idea is based around a compromise of letting the strikers and Cairney get equal playing time. To me, thats backwards and I dont think thats how managing players and teams works.
At the end of the day, you'll need a tactic and starting XI that you prefer when everyones fit and ready to play. You can always change things around during a long season but players coming into the side will want to know if they are going to start games. Gayle wont be coming to Fulham knowing he'll be on the bench every other game. And introducing your rotational ideas to players will probably seem a bit weird considering

Simply you don't fit them in together you start with two out of three, 17/18 season was 52 games so you can start Mitro 39x (18/19 total), Cairney 37x (17/18 total) and 2nd Striker 28x (13x with Mitro and 15x with Cairney) without ever starting two at the same time. In addition, any 2nd striker will get countless subs on (e.g. 14 of the 24 games remaining), because as well as the normal reasons for subs (i.e. tired, injuries and form), if we are two ahead Mitro should be rested and if we are two behind an extra striker is required. The Championship is a Marathon, FFC need to score 43 of 46 games like Norwich.  049:gif

Dwight Gayle knows one of two things is true: i) we are going into the premier league in 20/21 or ii) Mitro will be leaving for PL in 20/21. Gayle would probably starting as CF/SS in 28 games, for the remaining 24 games he will either be a) left wing, b) coming off the bench or c) resting on the bench, which is around 3,000 mins playing time same as Mitro this season.

[ScalleysDad]

We need to keep Mitrovoic because he destroys teams when we are on top, in 18/19 he scored 10 goals in 12 games against the six lowest Premier League teams and in 17/18 he scored 12 goals in 17 games against Championship teams. If Mitrovoic can get anywhere near 22 goals in 29 games next season, he is worth a lot more than a striker that scores 15 goals all season for £15m.

Mitrovic has to get the ball before he can do anything and that was'nt happening enough. Unfortunately the stats will show that on too many occasions even when he did get the ball things went astray. Unless Parker has a shopping list of very good wide players I feel we have to look at Mitrovic playing in a 4.4.2 giving us the option of attacking teams from midfield and right up the middle and giving he himself more opportunities. How many times did the playing it wide and waiting for a quality cross actually routine work with the personnel we have? Just because these players have dropped a league being expansive and pacey down the flanks should not be our only plan. Mitrovic is a conundrum at the moment. Stick or twist comes to mind.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Play two up front or one in the hole just behind Mitro, he needs support to get the best out of him. But we also need to defend at the front more, we don't do enough of that. We have to learn to be ruthless again, and the players we recruit have to be tenacious and aggressive with plenty of pace and upper body strength. We also need more height and players with the X Factor, nice blokes don't win anything, as we found out this season, one of the many reasons we finished second from bottom, a soft underbelly with no leaders gets you relegated, that's a definite.

[The Rational Fan]

We need to keep Mitrovoic because he destroys teams when we are on top, in 18/19 he scored 10 goals in 12 games against the six lowest Premier League teams and in 17/18 he scored 12 goals in 17 games against Championship teams. If Mitrovoic can get anywhere near 22 goals in 29 games next season, he is worth a lot more than a striker that scores 15 goals all season for £15m.

Mitrovic has to get the ball before he can do anything and that was'nt happening enough. Unfortunately the stats will show that on too many occasions even when he did get the ball things went astray. Unless Parker has a shopping list of very good wide players I feel we have to look at Mitrovic playing in a 4.4.2 giving us the option of attacking teams from midfield and right up the middle and giving he himself more opportunities. How many times did the playing it wide and waiting for a quality cross actually routine work with the personnel we have? Just because these players have dropped a league being expansive and pacey down the flanks should not be our only plan. Mitrovic is a conundrum at the moment. Stick or twist comes to mind.

This season against the bottom seven in the Premier League is more representative of next seasons challenge. Mitrovoic was completely on first against these lower ranked teams 10 goals in 12 games, because the ball got through the midfield and he had less than 45 minutes of defending. We should not be changing our tactics. we should use the same tactics we used against the top ranked championship team as we used against lower ranked PL teams. 

Bottom Seven   W-D-L   GS-GA
Total    6w-1d-5l   19s-18a
14 Bournemouth   1-0-1   1s-3a
15. Burnley   1-0-1   5s-4a
16. Southampton   1-0-1   3s-4a
17. Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1-0   6s-2a
18. Cardiff City   1-0-1   3s-4a
20. Huddersfield Town   1-0-1   1s-1a

Next Season requires Marathon Performance, but we don't need to do much better than we did against bottom seven PL teams

This season, we got 19 points in 12 games against the bottom seven teams, which is 1.58 points/game and that's enough for top championship teams.
Next season, we will get 75 points, which is a playoff place, if we average 1.58 points/game against 22 teams and get six points against 1 weaker team.
Next season, we will get 90 points, which is automatic promotion, if we average 1.58 points/game against 17 teams and get six points against 6 weaker teams.

[ScalleysDad]

We need to keep Mitrovoic because he destroys teams when we are on top, in 18/19 he scored 10 goals in 12 games against the six lowest Premier League teams and in 17/18 he scored 12 goals in 17 games against Championship teams. If Mitrovoic can get anywhere near 22 goals in 29 games next season, he is worth a lot more than a striker that scores 15 goals all season for £15m.

Mitrovic has to get the ball before he can do anything and that was'nt happening enough. Unfortunately the stats will show that on too many occasions even when he did get the ball things went astray. Unless Parker has a shopping list of very good wide players I feel we have to look at Mitrovic playing in a 4.4.2 giving us the option of attacking teams from midfield and right up the middle and giving he himself more opportunities. How many times did the playing it wide and waiting for a quality cross actually routine work with the personnel we have? Just because these players have dropped a league being expansive and pacey down the flanks should not be our only plan. Mitrovic is a conundrum at the moment. Stick or twist comes to mind.

This season against the bottom seven in the Premier League is more representative of next seasons challenge. Mitrovoic was completely on first against these lower ranked teams 10 goals in 12 games, because the ball got through the midfield and he had less than 45 minutes of defending. We should not be changing our tactics. we should use the same tactics we used against the top ranked championship team as we used against lower ranked PL teams. 

Bottom Seven   W-D-L   GS-GA
Total    6w-1d-5l   19s-18a
14 Bournemouth   1-0-1   1s-3a
15. Burnley   1-0-1   5s-4a
16. Southampton   1-0-1   3s-4a
17. Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1-0   6s-2a
18. Cardiff City   1-0-1   3s-4a
20. Huddersfield Town   1-0-1   1s-1a

This season we got 19 points in 12 games against the bottom seven (i.e. 1.583 points per game), we need to only do this well against good teams.

We get 75 points (playoff place), if we average 1.58 points/game against 22 teams and get six points against 1 weaker team.

We get 90 points (automatic promotion), if we average 1.58 points/game against 17 teams and get six points against 6 weaker teams.

Those stats and figures are fine but if the man himself is not tuned in, as we saw from about January or perhaps post Brighton, then things need to change. Call it plan B, options, tactical changes or a particular style of play. Call it anything you like really but Mitro up top on his own is going to be found out very quickly.

[The Rational Fan]

We need to keep Mitrovoic because he destroys teams when we are on top, in 18/19 he scored 10 goals in 12 games against the six lowest Premier League teams and in 17/18 he scored 12 goals in 17 games against Championship teams. If Mitrovoic can get anywhere near 22 goals in 29 games next season, he is worth a lot more than a striker that scores 15 goals all season for £15m.

Mitrovic has to get the ball before he can do anything and that was'nt happening enough. Unfortunately the stats will show that on too many occasions even when he did get the ball things went astray. Unless Parker has a shopping list of very good wide players I feel we have to look at Mitrovic playing in a 4.4.2 giving us the option of attacking teams from midfield and right up the middle and giving he himself more opportunities. How many times did the playing it wide and waiting for a quality cross actually routine work with the personnel we have? Just because these players have dropped a league being expansive and pacey down the flanks should not be our only plan. Mitrovic is a conundrum at the moment. Stick or twist comes to mind.

This season against the bottom seven in the Premier League is more representative of next seasons challenge. Mitrovoic was completely on first against these lower ranked teams 10 goals in 12 games, because the ball got through the midfield and he had less than 45 minutes of defending. We should not be changing our tactics. we should use the same tactics we used against the top ranked championship team as we used against lower ranked PL teams. 

Bottom Seven   W-D-L   GS-GA
Total    6w-1d-5l   19s-18a
14 Bournemouth   1-0-1   1s-3a
15. Burnley   1-0-1   5s-4a
16. Southampton   1-0-1   3s-4a
17. Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1-0   6s-2a
18. Cardiff City   1-0-1   3s-4a
20. Huddersfield Town   1-0-1   1s-1a

This season we got 19 points in 12 games against the bottom seven (i.e. 1.583 points per game), we need to only do this well against good teams.

We get 75 points (playoff place), if we average 1.58 points/game against 22 teams and get six points against 1 weaker team.

We get 90 points (automatic promotion), if we average 1.58 points/game against 17 teams and get six points against 6 weaker teams.

Those stats and figures are fine but if the man himself is not tuned in, as we saw from about January or perhaps post Brighton, then things need to change. Call it plan B, options, tactical changes or a particular style of play. Call it anything you like really but Mitro up top on his own is going to be found out very quickly.

Yes, we need a Plan B that doesn't include Mitrovoic, and we have to be able to beat lower ranked teams without him playing at all. But, I think selling "24yo Mitrovoic for £30m" to buy "29yo Gayle for £20m" would be stupidity, given how FFC went well this season against lower table premier league teams.

[ScalleysDad]

True enough. If at all possible I hope Parker is given the scope to look for key players who will be part of the promotion squad and still fit in the Prem League.

[The Rational Fan]

True enough. If at all possible I hope Parker is given the scope to look for key players who will be part of the promotion squad and still fit in the Prem League.

The most important thing is to take up into the premier league is "core formational spine" of central defence and central midfield. If we get promoted with Championship #4, #5. #6, and #8, then new buying ones (e.g. Chambers, Mawson, Angussia & Seri) after promotion will mean starting the premier league season poorly again.

[filham]

Parker needs an answer to the question on Mitrovic staying or leaving as soon as possible, his team building for next season depends on it.

Of course the likelihood is that the situation will drag on all through the summer with someone coming in with a late offer that cannot be refused and we are left high and dry.

When is the window deadline, before or after the season start date.