Yesterday’s friendly

KingKieffer

KingKieffer

Star Player
Thought it was very interesting that we lined up with a 3-4-1-2/3-4-2-1 in both halves yesterday. Interesting because we currently don’t really have the correct personnel to do this (Adam Smith played RCB in the first half and Lerma played CB in the second half.) If we’re going out of our way to line up like this during pre season before we’ve even recruited enough defenders then it indicates to me a clear change in direction in the way that Parker wants to approach next season.

I am a fan of this, I think we’ve got players who are naturally suited to this way of playing. Zemura’s main strength is his ability to drive with the ball and playing as a LWB will naturally suit him more than an out and out left back, playing Kelly as a LCB will also allow him to better utilise his attacking qualities by getting higher up the pitch. It would also give us the ability to get both Solanke and Moore on the pitch at the same time which could be key in ensuring that Dom does not become too isolated.

Just an observation and it might mean nothing as it’s only a friendly but I don’t see another reason why we would go out of our way to line up like this in both halves. Anyway, it’s very quiet right now so figured it was worth bringing up as a discussion point.
 
Good discussion point, I would say probably not how we will go into matches this season but player versatility is always a key theme for in game changes and given our current options at centreback, giving Lerma more time there might not be such a bad idea! Could also be a reason why it was played behind closed doors (not allowing opposition scouts to pre-identify specific weaknesses when we do move someone “out of position”)
 
Red_Dez said:
Good discussion point, I would say probably not how we will go into matches this season but player versatility is always a key theme for in game changes and given our current options at centreback, giving Lerma more time there might not be such a bad idea! Could also be a reason why it was played behind closed doors (not allowing opposition scouts to pre-identify specific weaknesses when we do move someone “out of position”)
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Could well be the case that he wants to give players the opportunity to improve their versatility. I think that pre season is pretty important in terms of building a play style and different patterns of play though, so would indicate to me that a change is more likely than not.
 
TrevorMorganFanClub said:
The only important things from pre-season friendlies are getting the players match fit and finding something negative to post about, probably...
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Respectfully disagree. Pre season friendlies and pre season in general is a vitally important period in terms of trying to mould the team to play in the way that you would want. Parker even said in his post match that ‘some of the things they had worked on on the training pitch had come out in the game.’
 
To Portugal ...to play Sheffield Wednesday ? Beggars belief....why spend money on travelling that distance to play them... Weird ...and no disrespect to Sheffield but would Benfica fly to Harrogate to play Porto...could we not have played them at DC so people of Bournemouth can see how the team is shaping up.?
Or is it about Elitists, (the Nouvo Prawn Sandwich Brigade type ).jetsetting around Europe to make up for their 2 seasons 'in absentia ' !

Pre - season friendlies have Zero value in terms of results .especially those played out on foreign soil in the Sun....waste of time....training should be done back home on surfaces and weather more akin to English pitches .

Time... would be better spent sending spies and trainers to Aston Villas, Man Cities and Arsenals training grounds and friendlies..and studying their possible weaknesses that can be exploited in our first 3 games.
 
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KingKieffer said:
Respectfully disagree. Pre season friendlies and pre season in general is a vitally important period in terms of trying to mould the team to play in the way that you would want. Parker even said in his post match that ‘some of the things they had worked on on the training pitch had come out in the game.’
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To a degree yes but aside from one year where Howe literally stuck with the 11 that had beaten Marseille (?) the previous week there has never been a consistent starting 11 or the ability to gel the same team together going into the first game. It is definitely more about fitness with the emphasis on tac tics increasing the closer to the first game of the season. Not to mention plenty of time to add to the squad etc.
 
blandford_cherry said:
To a degree yes but aside from one year where Howe literally stuck with the 11 that had beaten Marseille (?) the previous week there has never been a consistent starting 11 or the ability to gel the same team together going into the first game. It is definitely more about fitness with the emphasis on tac tics increasing the closer to the first game of the season. Not to mention plenty of time to add to the squad etc.
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Yes, all true. I by no means think that will be the eleven that start the first game but found it interesting he chose to set up that was in both halves. If you remember back to last pre season he did not deviate at all from the 4-3-3. It would make sense as well to be honest, the way we set up last year was to be a possession orientated team. That’s fine in a league where we had better players than most and were likely to enjoy most of the ball but is unlikely to work when most sides will have more technically gifted players than we do.
 
I think we will line up with 3 at the back in some matches: against the likes of Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea etc. I think we'll have 2 centre backs only against teams that are considered to be easier to draw/beat. EH followed this approach, so this will be nothing new to us. Parker's Fulham also often played with 3 at the back, so it'should nothing new to him. It makes sense for us to switch formation like this depending on the opposition/score in a match/players available.
 
KingKieffer said:
Respectfully disagree. Pre season friendlies and pre season in general is a vitally important period in terms of trying to mould the team to play in the way that you would want. Parker even said in his post match that ‘some of the things they had worked on on the training pitch had come out in the game.’
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Respectfully disagree, it’s all about fitness. The players know the jobs they have to do
 
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