Parkerball. Stick or twist?

[70sPimlico]

I wonder, after going through the videos of the games this season, whether SP will tweak things.

I don't think anyone would argue that overall we've underperformed. I do think we have a "safety-first" way about us and I think this hurts us against teams we should beat. I believe momentum plays a huge part in football. We tend to let them get in the game and too often this gives them a head of steam. This in turn tends to rattle us...the rest is we end up drawing or losing and we all get irate on here. You could argue that's just the Championship but we didn't feel quite like it all fitted.

I'll be amazed if all teams don't make small tweaks. I fear if we don't, the season won't end well. We didn't feel like a team that would win the "must win" game.

I got a sneaky feeling that we will come out a bit more on the front foot. Out of all the teams in the league, even in 3rd place I think we have the potential to play far better than we had been.

On the plus side, we are pretty much a new team and in many ways this will feel like a 2nd season. Players will be far more used to each other.

The major issue for me is our talisman. Mitro has been playing round the year football since he was with us. He looked jaded at times this season. I remember when he joined from NUFC he had not been playing much and he made an instant impact for us and looked to have so much energy.

I hope we see a rejuvenated Mitro on fire with a extra yard of energy rather than a player taking 4 or 5 games to get upto speed.

[FulhamStu]

I think it is impossible to tell how this next period will go.  The Championship is unpredictable at the best time, then again, over a season those at the top are normally the teams with the best players and coaches and we all think Fulham certainly have amongst the best players.

I think the fact we have had a rest period but retain the same squad should make this different from starting after a close season.   What I don't know is quite how skilfully and effectively Parker will use the squad.  Who starts in midfield is a complete mystery to me, the back 4 and keeper are must easier to predict but who do you play either side of Mitro from the 4 players in contention is also difficult.

Mixing and matching players, keeping them fresh and utilising the 5 substitutes well is going to really test Parker and this could be the key.

[bill taylors apprentice]

Parker will stick with the style that's got the team to 3rd place.
Why would he add to the risks after this unprecedented break where nobody knows how teams will react?

[H4usuallysitting]

I would start with Mitro & AK47 up front to bully bully bully....that would also give us the option to go long as well as predictably short....teams will play a high line against us

[filham]

Parker will stick with the style that's got the team to 3rd place.
Why would he add to the risks after this unprecedented break where nobody knows how teams will react?

Agree, it is going to be more of the same.
We have little chance of catching the top two and Parker is not going to risk dropping out of the top six so it will be safety first football. Expect something like three 1-0 wins, a three 1-1 draws and three defeats from the remaining nine games.
Those 12 points added to our present nine point lead over the team in seventh position means they will need to get 21 points from 9 games to knock us out of the top six.
The football is not going to be exciting but every match will be tense.

[General]

Apart from Kongolo who is out injured from our squad? I know players were tested positive for covid, but they should be fine after 7 days isolation? It's their families, or who they live with who will have to quarantine for 14 days, right?

[filham]

Apart from Kongolo who is out injured from our squad? I know players were tested positive for covid, but they should be fine after 7 days isolation? It's their families, or who they live with who will have to quarantine for 14 days, right?

Well that it what the opinion seems to be on this board but I cannot understand why it is not everyone you have had contact with, particularly those you work with. If it is only their families then why have so many people been enlisted to operate the Test, Track & Trace system.

[Luka]

Apart from Kongolo who is out injured from our squad? I know players were tested positive for covid, but they should be fine after 7 days isolation? It's their families, or who they live with who will have to quarantine for 14 days, right?

Well that it what the opinion seems to be on this board but I cannot understand why it is not everyone you have had contact with, particularly those you work with. If it is only their families then why have so many people been enlisted to operate the Test, Track & Trace system.

Apart from Kongolo who is out injured from our squad? I know players were tested positive for covid, but they should be fine after 7 days isolation? It's their families, or who they live with who will have to quarantine for 14 days, right?

Well that it what the opinion seems to be on this board but I cannot understand why it is not everyone you have had contact with, particularly those you work with. If it is only their families then why have so many people been enlisted to operate the Test, Track & Trace system.

It could be the case that those that tested positive last week with no symptoms are now feeling like sh#t. 
If so there is no way they are going to be in the managers plans..

[SuffolkWhite]

To win anything you generally have to take a risk, we will make the play offs so we might as well playing attacking football. If we are to go up then we need to be clicking as a team which this extra time out may have helped with.

[ChesterTheTabby]

Great discussion! I don't see Parker changing the system too much, why should he, however I think this break will have been great for Mitro. He was run ragged playing for club and country. Hopefully he's hungry and back to his best. Who will be in our midfield? No idea. With a fully fit squad I don't see where Onomah fits. I see TC, Cavs, Bobby Reid, and ? ? Depending whether or not we go with two strikers or two additional midfield

[Statto]

I think it is impossible to tell how this next period will go. 

Have to agree with this observation.
The break and wider situation has just introduced many more variables into a situation that was already unpredictable IMO.
Some players will prefer not to have the pressure of a crowd, others might find struggle to motivate themselves in the flat atmosphere of an empty stadium. Will the refs be better without that pressure, or did it serve to dilute and drown out the pressure they got from some teams' coaching staff? Some players will have stayed in shape, others will be unfit. Some will be nervous about the virus, others won't care. Some players will have come back from injury, but then you have players like Charlton's Lyle Taylor now refusing to player. All very complicated.

But Parker won't change anything IMO. I don't think he has the sophistication to adapt and evolve his tactics, yet.

[We Are Premier League]

Top of the table and long may it last...ANNUAL TABLE CHAMPIONSHIP 2020

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/championship/tabelle/wettbewerb/GB2/saison_id/2019

[FPT]

I'm quite interested in seeing this, the only time coaches get this kind of time to think over these things is when they're out of the job. The idea of a this being like a second season is interesting, especially given Tony Khan's manic rebuilding of the playing squad each and every summer means both Slavisa and Scott have had to start on the back foot in preparation for the coming season.

Scott Parker for the past three months knows what players he's coming back to work with and hasn't had to worry about reinforcements coming in the days before first match back. I'm interested in what he sees as his best midfield, including Bobby Reid he's had six central midfielders (also Cairney, Johansen, Onomah, Arter and Reed) play over 1000 minutes this season - compare back to Slavisa Jokanovic and that number was 4 (McDonald, Johansen and Cairney with Norwood on rotation).

I'd like to see us play a little quicker and a little more on the counter, somewhat like Sir Alex's Manchester United sides where they could be a mix of the two.

It'll be interesting to see what side Scott goes with against Brentford, before lockdown, Aboubakar Kamara had deservedly forced his way back into the 11 ahead of Anthony Knockaert with TC looking to get back to his best. As of right now, I'd say the only players I'm confident about starting game one back would be Marek Rodak in goal, Michael Hector and Tim Ream in the middle of defence, Joe Bryan at left back, TC in midfield, Aleksandar Mitrovic up top and Ivan Cavaleiro on the left.

I'm quite interested in how the intensity of matches plays out with a lack of crowd. What will benefit stylistically within games? Is there the same home advantage? How will your players cope mentally?

No matter what, the end of the season for all competitions will have some what of an asterisk.

[Whitesideup]

I hope it is clear to Parker, and indeed all of the coaches, that the 4-3-3 system with two ultra-wide men does not work that well. It leaves Mitro isolated too frequently. Defensively we are looking good and Hector is a great addition, a big improvement on Mawson (sorry Statto) but our transition from defence to attack is often too ponderous. We have the players who should be able to cause defences problems in BDR, Knockaert, Cavaleiro and AK, (as well as a proven goalscorer) but too often they have regrouped and we find it hard to break them down. If we could only sort that and do it consistently, we have the players to have a strong finish to the season.

But we are Fulham. And as others have said, who knows in this division. I am hopeful but not confident, in fact low expectations (because I don't think Parker will find the right balance) but high hopes.

COYW !!

[FPT]

I hope it is clear to Parker, and indeed all of the coaches, that the 4-3-3 system with two ultra-wide men does not work that well. It leaves Mitro isolated too frequently. Defensively we are looking good and Hector is a great addition, a big improvement on Mawson (sorry Statto) but our transition from defence to attack is often too ponderous. We have the players who should be able to cause defences problems in BDR, Knockaert, Cavaleiro and AK, (as well as a proven goalscorer) but too often they have regrouped and we find it hard to break them down. If we could only sort that and do it consistently, we have the players to have a strong finish to the season.

But we are Fulham. And as others have said, who knows in this division. I am hopeful but not confident, in fact low expectations (because I don't think Parker will find the right balance) but high hopes.

COYW !!

On this, I'm actually surprised on what 'Parkerball' has become. I thought he'd expand on the 4231 from his Premier League stint, he had Chambers and Anguissa guard the back four, Seri or Cairney in the 10 with Babel and Sess wide. That set up saw three consecutive wins all with clean sheets which won him the job full time.

Alas, I guess.

[70sPimlico]

It would appear I was wrong.

I just hoped that Scott would tweak the tactics and not make us so focused on Mitro up front all the time. He's got so much right but this makes us so predictable.

I really want it to work with him but I just think he needs to be a bit braver/flexible with the attacking tactics.

As I said in my original post that I fear the rigid tactics will always make us come up a little short in the must win games and we've got 8 of them in a month.

[bobby01]

We continually talk about the top  3 as Mitro, and two wide men. In reality by playing them inverted it slows the tempo because they are always cutting in.  I would still like us to play 352, because we are continually caught out and outnumbered in midfield with bdr, Cairney, Bryan all high up the pitch.
I personally think parkerball is dire , bores me and makes us easy to play against. I know he will not change his system,but the least he can do is not play inverted wingers. Snippets of him and his coaches on Saturday showed by their expressions that they were unable to come up with an idea to change things. Parker and his assistant, Matt, neither have the experience or bravery to change things when change is desperately needed.
We should be going into games with alternatives in formation already worked out and players drilled in a change of system.
Just my two penny's worth as I find it all so frustrating.