How to Fix This

[ironmaidenmania]

Kodjia has to start as he's the only goal scroing threat we have. Hogan makes excellent runs so the midfield have got to start seeing them and play the ball on the ground. Amavi has been shocking and needs to be dropped, Grealish has been worse and needs to be sent back to the U23s. Jedi needs to sit behind the midfield duo of Hourihane & Lansbury. Jedi take the ball from the centre backs and that stops Baker hoofing the ball back the opposition. I really thought the back 3 might work with variable wingbacks. Adomah & Green at home to attack more. Hutton and Taylor away from home to bolster the defence. Hutton was arguably our man of the match against Barnsley along with Lansbury and yet both were subbed! Kodjia and Hogan need to be introduced to each other, it's obvious that hasn't happened.

[adrenachrome]

1. Find a goalkeeper who can actually use his hands, and hold on to a shot
2. Realize that Nathan Baker is NOT a ball playing Center half
3. Alan Hutton is NOT the cause of all of our problems
4. Jedinak or similar as a defensive Midfielder.
5. Get Albert, Amavi, Hutton and Green to practice crossing.
6. Teach JK and Hogan to play as a partnership
7. Drop Jack 'Big Bollocks' Grielish.

Seems reasonable on the face of it.

Incidentally, there was a very loud cheer when Jack was substituted last night but that may just have been because SB was actually changing something.

[brontebilly]

It's possibly like the Darren Bent conundrum. He'll score plenty, but will it be to the detriment of the team as a whole. He's scored our only 2 goals in the last 4 games, with a player passing more would we have scored more than 2 goals?

Bent is banging them in again under McClaren I see. Robinson doing well at Preston. I know there were valid reasons for both leaving but we didn't get a penny for the pair of them.

[tomd2103]

Lansbury and Hourihane need to be further up the field, so we need a DM in behind them.

4-3-3

Hutton   Chessy   Baker   Taylor
               Jedinak/other
        Lansbury    Hourihane
    Adomah     Hogan     Kodjia

After seeing the debacle first hand, I would agree with this.  Lansbury could do with playing further forward and Jedinak would provide a bit of stability.  I think given time, Bjarnason could fit into that formation as well when he has found his feet. 

My one concern is that Hogan isn't really the kind of striker who is going to be the much needed focal point in that formation.

[cheltenhamlion]

The short answer is we pick the same formation, whatever that might be, between now and the end of the season. And some consistency of team selection would help plenty as well.

[Jockey Randall]

Sorting out our issues with offensive set pieces would be a good start. We've scored 3 all season and everyone else in the league has at least 8. Hourihane should have gone some way to fixing the issue with his delivery but I suppose he can only do so much when we lack any real threat in the box? The centre halves rarely look like they have a goal in them and no one jumps out in the forward line as being great in the air either. Arguably this would have been a good time to have Gestede still around.

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

it has all gone wrong since Elaine the receptionist walked out on the club

BRING BACK ELAINE!!!!

[dave.woodhall]

it has all gone wrong since Elaine the receptionist walked out on the club

BRING BACK ELAINE!!!!

Hello Franksy.

[Proposition Joe]

Just nuke VP from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[LukeJames]

That sounds like the only plausable solution, you'll take st Andrews and the Hawthorns out too so its not all bad.

[N'ZMAV]

If Bruce if to stay, which I assume he is, then he needs to do a few thing. Some of which are probably already mentioned, but this is just my thoughts.
Get a way of playing - everything I've seen so far, is just rigid and very unimaginative, especially at a time where we have the ability to do a lot better.
Play a formation where the players fit in, round pegs/round holes.
Get in a solid, commanding and experienced GK.
Get rid of the real deadwood - Hutton, Richards, Agbonlahor, Bunn... and other players who he doesn't fancy - Elphick, Tshibola, McCormack etc...
Then get players in to suit a modern and effective way of playing. We can't just have Nathan Baker lumping aimless balls forward from the back.
Get more leaders in the dressing room - apparently we've got a few captains on the pitch: Hourihane, Lansbury & Chester - however, I'm not seing any real leadership qualities from them at the moment. We need players that are strong mentally, like when we had Dublin, Southgate, Ehiogu, Merson - obviously, we can't get players in of their quality, but surely there's leaders with some experience that we can attract - like Jedinak.

Maybe this start XI for half a dozen games may work

Johnstone

Bree
Chester
Baker
Taylor

Jedinak
Hourihane
Lansbury

Adomah
Hogan
Kodjia

in a 4-3-3 sort of sytem... Kodjia cutting in from the left seemed to work ok earlier in Bruce's reign.... Hogan can be the forward.

[N'ZMAV]

1. Find a goalkeeper who can actually use his hands, and hold on to a shot
2. Realize that Nathan Baker is NOT a ball playing Center half
3. Alan Hutton is NOT the cause of all of our problems
4. Jedinak or similar as a defensive Midfielder.
5. Get Albert, Amavi, Hutton and Green to practice crossing.
6. Teach JK and Hogan to play as a partnership
7. Drop Jack 'Big Bollocks' Grielish.

THIS.

[Monty]

If we're going to play two strikers we can't play Adomah and have to play Jack - but if you want to play Adomah and drop Jack, you have to also either drop one of Kodjia and Hogan or play one of them out of position. Unless you want to play 3-5-2. Or try Adomah in the number 10 position in a diamond 4-4-2.

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

If we're going to play two strikers we can't play Adomah and have to play Jack - but if you want to play Adomah and drop Jack, you have to also either drop one of Kodjia and Hogan or play one of them out of position. Unless you want to play 3-5-2. Or try Adomah in the number 10 position in a diamond 4-4-2.

why cant you play two strikers and Adomah?

[Monty]

If we're going to play two strikers we can't play Adomah and have to play Jack - but if you want to play Adomah and drop Jack, you have to also either drop one of Kodjia and Hogan or play one of them out of position. Unless you want to play 3-5-2. Or try Adomah in the number 10 position in a diamond 4-4-2.

why cant you play two strikers and Adomah?

Because the flat 4-4-2 would be rubbish, the 3-5-2 has already been rubbish, the 4-4-2 diamond wouldn't suit Adomah, and the 4-3-3 means one striker either on the bench or out of position.