Try McNeil in centre midfield

[Quickenthetempo]

Now, before you all start saying it's a ridiculous idea and we will get overrun. That we're used to two workhorses in there.

The passing in general of our team is bad but the last two games have been woeful.
Put our best passer of the ball in the middle and see if he can improve link ups between everyone.
Happy to receive the ball in tight spaces, can ghost past players.
Has improved his defensive side of things and will be trained to death in blocking passing lanes.
Could take the ball off the CHs and limit the long balls forward.

It's time to get someone in there who makes the ball do the work, rather than chasing everything all game.

Might make a good partnership with Brownhill. Both would appreciate each others skills.

[RVclaret]

Wouldn’t work in Dyche’s 4-4-2 and disagree he’d work well with Brownhill in a 2. Brownhill has performed very well lately alongside Cork who has a great reading of the game, sits back and allows JB to push on / be more dynamic.

I’ve suggested McNeil playing as an advanced 8/half 10 in the past behind the striker but Dyche is clearly reluctant to try it. It would mean we likely get the best out of Cornet too who’s best position, for me, is an advanced winger / inside forward - this is also where he got his best stats at Lyon. Allows MC to make those high runs in behind as there’s an extra body a bit deeper to cover.

[Quickenthetempo]

A lot of other formations could work better but Dyche simply won't change it.
Having a midfielder in there who can play the right pass would improve us dramatically.

[Stevie Morgan]

Back 4

Brownhill Cork mcneill

Lennon cornet
WW

[RVclaret]

Back 4

Brownhill Cork mcneill

Lennon cornet
WW

Yeah I get this idea too. Cork in more of a defensive mid position in front of the back 4, I think he played there a lot for Swansea. We’ve never ever played this formation under Dyche though so it’s hard to see that changing. The 4-4-1-1 though we played with Hendrick in the space where I’d give DM a go. It just gives that bit of extra license for the wingers to push on.

[Tricky Trevor]

Anything that gets Max out of a striking role and out wide. Good player but his partnership with WW just isn’t a partnership. They play like strangers whereas in a very short time WW & JRod has looked good.

[CoolClaret]

This is why Dwight can’t play in the middle summed up

In this instance (ok he did brilliantly to get here), what way/foot do you think he took this on with(see photo)?

I couldn’t believe after making that space he’s so one footed that he put it back onto his left because he’s so one footed. It’s almost criminal how poor he is with his right foot. I can’t see how a midfielder with such a weak foot can play in the team - especially in a 2

[Quickenthetempo]

Anything that gets Max out of a striking role and out wide. Good player but his partnership with WW just isn’t a partnership. They play like strangers whereas in a very short time WW & JRod has looked good.

Looking good is stretching it. Jay competes more in the air and if we are to continue lumping balls forward then play him.
This thread is to talk about getting better with the ball on the ground that would suit Cornet and WW.

Posters on here have claimed for years that Dyche would play better football when he had better players at his disposal.
I've seen no evidence of that up to now.

[Quickenthetempo]

This is why Dwight can’t play in the middle summed up

In this instance (ok he did brilliantly to get here), what way/foot do you think he took this on with(see photo)?

I couldn’t believe after making that space he’s so one footed that he put it back onto his left because he’s so one footed. It’s almost criminal how poor he is with his right foot. I can’t see how a midfielder with such a weak foot can play in the team - especially in a 2

On the still picture he was right not to shoot as the only place he could hit the ball was where we had an offside player. The best play would be the right footed square pass. But we don't know what Dwight sees.
In the video it will show how quickly he got closed down.

[RVclaret]

This is why Dwight can’t play in the middle summed up

In this instance (ok he did brilliantly to get here), what way/foot do you think he took this on with(see photo)?

I couldn’t believe after making that space he’s so one footed that he put it back onto his left because he’s so one footed. It’s almost criminal how poor he is with his right foot. I can’t see how a midfielder with such a weak foot can play in the team - especially in a 2

Fair point, he is so reluctant at times it’s painful. Like your example, just give it a go with the right, if he can’t then he needs to get practicing. He actually finished the offside goal at Brighton with his right quite tidily too which makes it even more odd. I still don’t think this would be such a hindrance played in an advanced 8/half 10 position though, plus we need to get Cornet (probably our most talented player) into games more.

[CoolClaret]

On the still picture he was right not to shoot as the only place he could hit the ball was where we had an offside player. The best play would be the right footed square pass. But we don't know what Dwight sees.
In the video it will show how quickly he got closed down.

Watch it back all you want, you’ll see he awkwardly repositions himself to play it on his left and the move gets intercepted

It’s just highlighting why for me he can’t be a CM in the PL.

[Blatherwickstattoo]

Too weak. Too one footed. Not fast enough. It’s a No from me. In the hole ..yes not in a flat 2

[jojomk1]

This is why Dwight can’t play in the middle summed up

In this instance (ok he did brilliantly to get here), what way/foot do you think he took this on with(see photo)?

I couldn’t believe after making that space he’s so one footed that he put it back onto his left because he’s so one footed. It’s almost criminal how poor he is with his right foot. I can’t see how a midfielder with such a weak foot can play in the team - especially in a 2

Thought exactly the same !

Strange how "lefties" are so much weaker/confident on their opposite foot

[jojomk1]

Too weak. Too one footed. Not fast enough. It’s a No from me. In the hole ..yes not in a flat 2

And yet many on here lauded David "Messi" Jones

[Quickenthetempo]

Too weak. Too one footed. Not fast enough. It’s a No from me. In the hole ..yes not in a flat 2

The natural thought of a football fan would be to play an attacking player in the hole, so he hasn't as much to do to get an effort on goal or create one.

But this team needs something further back. To start the passing process, that the receiver gets a pass that's easy to receive and favours the attacking player.

Calling him weak is harsh. In the past few games he has protected the ball well when there's been 3 players all trying to get it off him. He goes down in positions where free kicks would be of benefit. Like most footballers.

[Ric_C]

Dwight suffers as the opposition target him as our major thread. How many times did they double up on him last night? God knows why we didn't try the same approach with Harvey Barnes.

[RVclaret]

Dwight suffers as the opposition target him as our major thread. How many times did they double up on him last night? God knows why we didn't try the same approach with Harvey Barnes.

They played 3 in the middle, allows for an extra body to push across (and very quickly with Ndidi).

[Sheedyclaret]

Try him on the bench for abit maxwell left

[Tricky Trevor]

Looking good is stretching it. Jay competes more in the air and if we are to continue lumping balls forward then play him.
This thread is to talk about getting better with the ball on the ground that would suit Cornet and WW.

WW & JRod have been better on the ground than WW & Max. The goal against ManU is the standout but the disallowed goal against CP was good movement and away from the penalty area they just seem to understand each other. Some lovely 1-2s and appreciating the others runs.

[Stayingup]

This is why Dwight can’t play in the middle summed up

In this instance (ok he did brilliantly to get here), what way/foot do you think he took this on with(see photo)?

I couldn’t believe after making that space he’s so one footed that he put it back onto his left because he’s so one footed. It’s almost criminal how poor he is with his right foot. I can’t see how a midfielder with such a weak foot can play in the team - especially in a 2

Another reason is he allows the man he should be marking to just run away from him as he did in particular incident in the first half and they nearly scored as a result.

[Elizabeth]

Protecting players like Cork and Rodriguez plus the lack of match fitness of Taylor didn’t help last night.
A few people on the match thread expressed that Dyche had put out our strongest team before the match. They may be reappraising their opinion this morning.
The no need to panic thread strikes me as relevant and while there are a lot of different opinions on where to play McNeil, the 3 games in a week where we picked up 7 points, including 4 points away, is the evidence that trying him in centre midfield is an unnecessary change to what works.

[MT03ALG]

I would try McNeil as a Number 10 behind the striker. Give him a free role and see what he can do....

[Vino blanco]

Yes I would try him on the left of midfield, anything would be better than watching Westwood punting it aimlessly forward.

[Stayingup]

Looking good is stretching it. Jay competes more in the air and if we are to continue lumping balls forward then play him.
This thread is to talk about getting better with the ball on the ground that would suit Cornet and WW.

Posters on here have claimed for years that Dyche would play better football when he had better players at his disposal.
I've seen no evidence of that up to now.

Because the 'better' players are not in our midfield or on the wings.

[Dy1geo]

To me i would tell McNeil to stay as close to the line as possible and his job would be to send in crosses and track back and support Taylor.

His lack of right foot is something teams have realised and that can be compared last night to Harvey Barnes who is comfortable with either foot where Roberts couldn’t shepherd him down a certain way.

[Vegas Claret]

the problem is who do you then play on the left wing ? At the minute Cornet looks like he's struggling to tie his shoe laces never mind beat a man and put a cross in

[PremierLeagueClass]

As others have mentioned, he’s simply nowhere near good enough with his right foot to get by in midfield.

[Devils_Advocate]

Id consider swapping Taylor and McNeil around. McNeil's defending has really improved and I think Taylors ability to drive forward with the ball would scare the opposition right back to death.

Stick Collins in the midfield when Tarks and Mee are both fit to give Brownhill more licence to attack and use Cornet off the bench as an impact sub and we have one hell of a team.

Only improvement would be if Vydra was fit as he is far better than Jay-Rod and would be brilliant alongside the big Dutchman

[taio]

Id consider swapping Taylor and McNeil around. McNeil's defending has really improved and I think Taylors ability to drive forward with the ball would scare the opposition right back to death.

Stick Collins in the midfield when Tarks and Mee are both fit to give Brownhill more licence to attack and use Cornet off the bench as an impact sub and we have one hell of a team.

Only improvement would be if Vydra was fit as he is far better than Jay-Rod and would be brilliant alongside the big Dutchman

Nice one

[Elizabeth]

the problem is who do you then play on the left wing ? At the minute Cornet looks like he's struggling to tie his shoe laces never mind beat a man and put a cross in

You come up with a solution then belittle it

[Quickenthetempo]

Id consider swapping Taylor and McNeil around. McNeil's defending has really improved and I think Taylors ability to drive forward with the ball would scare the opposition right back to death.

Stick Collins in the midfield when Tarks and Mee are both fit to give Brownhill more licence to attack and use Cornet off the bench as an impact sub and we have one hell of a team.

Only improvement would be if Vydra was fit as he is far better than Jay-Rod and would be brilliant alongside the big Dutchman

Vydra would work well with WW, but I don't know how long until he's back and if there's enough games left.

I can't see him being here next year.

[Devils_Advocate]

Vydra would work well with WW, but I don't know how long until he's back and if there's enough games left.

I can't see him being here next year.

Sadly I agree its not gonna happen and he will leave. Its also a shame the way some posters on here are so unfairly critical of Vydra. It used to be Hendrick, now its Vydra so lets see who they pick on next season

[Vegas Claret]

You come up with a solution then belittle it

how do you work out that I came up with a solution ??

[Elizabeth]

how do you work out that I came up with a solution ??

When you posed the question who to play wide left you brought up the name of Cornet with no alternative name.
Instead of mocking Cornet what is your solution then ?

[Vegas Claret]

When you posed the question who to play wide left you brought up the name of Cornet with no alternative name.
Instead of mocking Cornet what is your solution then ?

wow, if you can't work out the solution from what I posted then I can't help you

[DCWat]

I do think that McNeil would be better centrally. What I can’t see though, without changes to the formation, is how he can be accommodated. I think that we’d be massively overrun with just McNeil and AN Other.

What puzzles me more is where Cornet was actually brought in to play. Was it as a striker or a winger?

We were close to bringing in a right winger, so certainly not on the right hand side, which leaves either striker or left wing. He’s not been given much of a go on the wing - I wonder if he’s not trusted there to support his full back.

If he was brought in to free up McNeil, to move inside, it baffles me even more that we didn’t go all out to bring in a central midfielder. The position that we were most desperate for.

4-2-3-1 seems to be the most obvious solution to accommodate Cornet and McNeil but there’s no denying that we are most effective using 4-4-2 and at the moment, probably with Rodriguez and not Cornet.

[Elizabeth]

wow, if you can't work out the solution from what I posted then I can't help you

Then I don't want your help thank you

[Elizabeth]

I do think that McNeil would be better centrally. What I can’t see though, without changes to the formation, is how he can be accommodated. I think that we’d be massively overrun with just McNeil and AN Other.

What puzzles me more is where Cornet was actually brought in to play. Was it as a striker or a winger?

We were close to bringing in a right winger, so certainly not on the right hand side, which leaves either striker or left wing. He’s not been given much of a go on the wing - I wonder if he’s not trusted there to support his full back.

If he was brought in to free up McNeil, to move inside, it baffles me even more that we didn’t go all out to bring in a central midfielder. The position that we were most desperate for.

4-2-3-1 seems to be the most obvious solution to accommodate Cornet and McNeil but there’s no denying that we are most effective using 4-4-2 and at the moment, probably with Rodriguez and not Cornet.

Maybe we cannot accommodate both McNeil and Cornet in the same team

[DCWat]

Maybe we cannot accommodate both McNeil and Cornet in the same team

And there is the puzzling part - if that’s the case, why did we buy Cornet and not use the money elsewhere?

Who knows, perhaps Cornet is McNeil’s replacement ahead of a summer sale.

[Elizabeth]

Maybe Weghorst coming in January .

Weghorst being more versatile than Wood in linking up play has made a big difference to the way we now can play and has meant that Dyche has needed to look closely at the balance of the midfield. Something that wasn't an issue when Cornet was signed

[Vegas Claret]

Then I don't want your help thank you

apologies, I was a little terse in my response

Given Cornets complete lack of form (he can't beat a man at all) then there is no option to play McNeil in midfield, he has to play on the wing.

[Elizabeth]

Ok , I'm willing to give Cornet the opportunity to play his way into form in the same way I was willing to give Rodriguez and Cork the same chance. That also applies to Taylor.
In fact any player who hasn't had regular football in matches for some time

[Vegas Claret]

Ok , I'm willing to give Cornet the opportunity to play his way into form in the same way I was willing to give Rodriguez and Cork the same chance. That also applies to Taylor.
In fact any player who hasn't had regular football in matches for some time

given our position do we have that luxury though ? Up until last night our performances were really good recently without Cornet

[Iloveyoubrady]

It’s an interesting one, with brownhill I think it could work. The major problem with us last night wasn’t Cornet, wasn’t Dwight, wasn’t anyone but the issue is a lack of link between defence/midfield and strikers/wingers. This leads to the long balls which very rarely work.
When we are at our best is when we mix play, playing it on the deck into the midfield and forwards, sometimes going wide and crossing, sometimes going long/channels. It is the various different ways of attacking which upsets teams and makes space. When we are as one dimensional as last night, where flick ons are our only chance of creating anything, it becomes easy to defend.

It is about finding a way to get the defence passing it into the midfield two who then play forwards from there, not the centre backs looking to find strikers - that rarely works.

[Elizabeth]

In response Vegas .Absolutely and if Dyche sticks with McNeil and Lennon I expect Cornet on the bench at the weekend and Rodriguez back supporting Weghorst which is the best option based on those recent good results and Jay's personal effectiveness as he has been allowed to build up his match fitness.
For me, it's time for Westwood to be back up in central midfield allowing Cork to build on his match fitness.
Bringing back Rodriguez and Cork seemed to me much easier decisions and as I've mentioned in other posts I consider McNeil is the luxury I don't think we can afford.

[warksclaret]

McNeil needs to hug the left touch line but more advanced to stretch their right back. . He has become a defensive wing full back. To help him we need a better understanding between VW and Jay-we get situations where both are going for the same ball, or neither at all getting into good spaces. Because he is so left footed, DW frightens me to death at times about not retaining the ball

[corporal jones]

This is why Dwight can’t play in the middle summed up

In this instance (ok he did brilliantly to get here), what way/foot do you think he took this on with(see photo)?

I couldn’t believe after making that space he’s so one footed that he put it back onto his left because he’s so one footed. It’s almost criminal how poor he is with his right foot. I can’t see how a midfielder with such a weak foot can play in the team - especially in a 2

of all the options available to him at that moment, pulling back on his left foot was the last. Hoofing it all the way back to Pope would have been better.

[boatshed bill]

And there is the puzzling part - if that’s the case, why did we buy Cornet and not use the money elsewhere?

Who knows, perhaps Cornet is McNeil’s replacement ahead of a summer sale.

I wondered if this might be the case, particularly when we tried to sign a 3rd left-winger (Orsic).
Perhaps we were expecting a bid in January??

[AlargeClaret]

Doesn’t have one of the worst “ losing ball in possession “ ( or very similar stat) in the whole prem ?