The main criticism this season with MB is that we can't score, and we have no idea what the plan is.
Dropping in someone who seemed, in the Champ, to score whenever he fancied with no plan, can't be the worse solution, can it? Even if it gives us a much-needed bit of anarchy at times.
Interesting how a Vokes / Uche partnership would could work. I think Uche is more capable of receiving a ball from the midfield than Hanlan is. And as we have a glut of passing class in the midfield I sincerely hope this is the plan. Lumping it is not the answer.
I agree - he just often preferred a wild swipe from distance when there were passes on. It's not a huge indictment - there is something to be said for betting on yourself, and I do think he is the kind of chaos that we need in what is a slightly anemic attack currently.
I'd like to point out that if we can regard the 150K spent on Hanlan as coming from the 750K we got for Uche, we might end up going from having Uche on the books to having made a net 900-950K or so from selling Uche and Hanlan....and having Uche back on the books! In other words, back where we started, but with almost a million extra made from the sequence of events.
Vokes is strong in the air and a target man. Uche is poor in the air but excellent with ball into feet and turning defenders and creating himself. He also has some pace about him to run off Vokes’ flicks. They would be an excellent partnership and really cause some headaches in League 1. Vokes was at his best with Barnes alongside him to deflect the load which on paper would not have looked good, but was very effective. I’d prefer a 4-3-3 with both Uche and Taylor off Vokes but Matt seems wedded to a 5 at the back sadly, but as a 2 I still think they would be great…
I see lots of REALLY talented players in this squad but I just don't see how they come together. And Uche will be another puzzle for me. We are in danger of making good players ...less good players. Phillips for example last night was lost. I would be happier with Wheeler playing up front with Vokes in the absence of Taylor.
There's that, and although Vokes is obviously primarily tasked with the target man role, he is decent with ball to feet as well, just doesn't often get the chance to show it as he's starved of service.
So if we could get some kind of passing interplay between the two frontmen, then great.
The other answer is, if Ikpeazu signs, then of course he doesn't only have to play with Vokes. We will have 3 decent strikers* in that case (I haven't seen much from Taylor thus far but heard good reviews from his time at Burton), so we will need to rotate them to find a combo that works.
We've seen that MB is not afraid to make full use of his subs, so any player that doesn't start won't necessarily be restricted to frustrating cameos.
*haven't forgotten DeBarr or the promise he showed towards the end of the last season, but he's still not the finished product yet to my mind
I like the idea of that 3 - Liverpool got a lot of joy out of Darwin Nuñez, another ungainly lump, by shifting him out there, and Uche can be lethal cutting in from either side.
I am worried about Vokes - looks well off it at the moment. Hopefully just getting up to speed in his advanced years.
I think with Taylor on the left cutting in onto his right (which he has shown a few times already he looks good at), Uche on the right cutting onto his left (whic we know he can do), and McCleary in behind, Vokes would look far more effective. Scowen and Leahy as classy defensive midfielders, right and left. Boyes, Forino, Low, KVY/McCarthy and Stryjek in goal. That to me looks an excellent, balanced side.
And you’d still have Taf, Keogh, JJ, Grimmer, Potts, Phillips, Breckin, TJ, Wheeler etc on the the bench.
They are really not that similar, Vokes is the aerial threat flick on provider, Uche the maverick starting from out wide, Taylor is probably the textbook accompanying striker for Vokes really but in a long season full of long games we could scare the shit out of some opponents on our day.
Mostly want to see him come back to score a worldie and watch the the drummer throw down his sticks , silence the terrace and lead all four sides of the ground in a pitch perfect yet slightly adjusted chorus of Pie Jesu .
This is EXACTLY what I want to see moving forwards. If the Uche return falls through, we'll still have Wheeler, Phillips and TJay to fill the right wing role. This system, in my eyes, would comfortably get the best out of the individuals that we have.
This may appear drastic to some but, for me, the 5 back has worked dreadfully so far and has thankfully been masked by luck (red card against Leyton Orient), poor opposition (Burton), and grit (at Bristol). That's not to say we haven't deserved the 7 points in our last 3 games (by and large, we have been the better team in those fixtures), but the performances really have been woeful.
I feel we're at the point now where Blooms needs to eat humble pie, show his adaptability as a manager and change system from his beloved 5-back to a 4-2-3-1 and the sort of line-up @Quarterman has suggested. He used this system for the majority of his spell as gaffer last season, admittedly with not much success (a very different squad plagued by injuries, bear in mind).
Ditch this bloody 5 at the back that's really holding us back. It's been a long time since I've watched a Wycombe side so bereft of ideas in the final third. I don't claim to have exceptional tactical knowledge, but surely it's blindingly obvious that there are not enough bodies in attack. And when there are we're far too pedestrian, don't make the right runs with anywhere near enough intensity, and eventually lump it forward anyway after several minutes of passing around our defence. It's such a shame as Blooms' recruitment has been absolutely exceptional and, with such a talented squad, surely we should play to its strengths and not let this opportunity pass us by.
Every single factor is pointing towards a move to a 4: our current squad, our uninspiring performances, and our history of success with the formation (and, barring our purple patch at the back end of the Championship season, lack of success with the 5-back). Sure, results may not improve, in which case revert back to the 5. But I fear it'll take a couple of drubbings from some of the stronger teams in League One before Blooms even contemplates making the switch.
I may end up being well off the mark (I sincerely hope I am and the 5 back starts paying dividends) but, for now, I feel something desperately needs to change.
Comments
It's only selfish if you don't score 😀
Most of his chances were chances he’d created himself out of nothing with no-one nearby.
The main criticism this season with MB is that we can't score, and we have no idea what the plan is.
Dropping in someone who seemed, in the Champ, to score whenever he fancied with no plan, can't be the worse solution, can it? Even if it gives us a much-needed bit of anarchy at times.
Interesting how a Vokes / Uche partnership would could work. I think Uche is more capable of receiving a ball from the midfield than Hanlan is. And as we have a glut of passing class in the midfield I sincerely hope this is the plan. Lumping it is not the answer.
Yes I don't know if some people's memories are woefully short or whether they refused to watch the Uche half season.
But he's on a different planet to any of the signings we've brought in this season.
Get him in, will be fun if nothing else
Also, in that Champ season, we finished with a 3-5-2ish thing, which suited Uche down to the ground. He was fantastic at bringing in players
I agree - he just often preferred a wild swipe from distance when there were passes on. It's not a huge indictment - there is something to be said for betting on yourself, and I do think he is the kind of chaos that we need in what is a slightly anemic attack currently.
And despite being 'a big unit' he was excellent at winning freekicks!
That's what people said about Boris Johnson
That's one disappointing big unit I would not want to see at Adams Park.
C’mon Uche you know you want to. You’ll score a brace on your debut, you know you will.
My first 'memory' of the scruffy prick was him rugby-tackling someone in a charity game
Yep. Add some real excitement into what has been beyond McCleary cameros aside, utterly bereft of any so far.
I agree, and I would chuck Stocko into that mix as well
I'd like to point out that if we can regard the 150K spent on Hanlan as coming from the 750K we got for Uche, we might end up going from having Uche on the books to having made a net 900-950K or so from selling Uche and Hanlan....and having Uche back on the books! In other words, back where we started, but with almost a million extra made from the sequence of events.
Well done to the club, if it works out this way!
Uche is a fantastic player, surprised anyone thinks otherwise. Vokes and Uche up front would be a nightmare to defend against.
I can't see how he could play alongside Vokes?
Me neither
Long ball to Vokes laid off to Uche...audacious run and shot...it could happen.
Vokes is strong in the air and a target man. Uche is poor in the air but excellent with ball into feet and turning defenders and creating himself. He also has some pace about him to run off Vokes’ flicks. They would be an excellent partnership and really cause some headaches in League 1. Vokes was at his best with Barnes alongside him to deflect the load which on paper would not have looked good, but was very effective. I’d prefer a 4-3-3 with both Uche and Taylor off Vokes but Matt seems wedded to a 5 at the back sadly, but as a 2 I still think they would be great…
I see lots of REALLY talented players in this squad but I just don't see how they come together. And Uche will be another puzzle for me. We are in danger of making good players ...less good players. Phillips for example last night was lost. I would be happier with Wheeler playing up front with Vokes in the absence of Taylor.
There's that, and although Vokes is obviously primarily tasked with the target man role, he is decent with ball to feet as well, just doesn't often get the chance to show it as he's starved of service.
So if we could get some kind of passing interplay between the two frontmen, then great.
The other answer is, if Ikpeazu signs, then of course he doesn't only have to play with Vokes. We will have 3 decent strikers* in that case (I haven't seen much from Taylor thus far but heard good reviews from his time at Burton), so we will need to rotate them to find a combo that works.
We've seen that MB is not afraid to make full use of his subs, so any player that doesn't start won't necessarily be restricted to frustrating cameos.
*haven't forgotten DeBarr or the promise he showed towards the end of the last season, but he's still not the finished product yet to my mind
I like the idea of that 3 - Liverpool got a lot of joy out of Darwin Nuñez, another ungainly lump, by shifting him out there, and Uche can be lethal cutting in from either side.
I am worried about Vokes - looks well off it at the moment. Hopefully just getting up to speed in his advanced years.
Everything about Uche suggests journeyman striker. He’ll go to whomever offers the most wages, that probably won’t be us.
I think with Taylor on the left cutting in onto his right (which he has shown a few times already he looks good at), Uche on the right cutting onto his left (whic we know he can do), and McCleary in behind, Vokes would look far more effective. Scowen and Leahy as classy defensive midfielders, right and left. Boyes, Forino, Low, KVY/McCarthy and Stryjek in goal. That to me looks an excellent, balanced side.
And you’d still have Taf, Keogh, JJ, Grimmer, Potts, Phillips, Breckin, TJ, Wheeler etc on the the bench.
They are really not that similar, Vokes is the aerial threat flick on provider, Uche the maverick starting from out wide, Taylor is probably the textbook accompanying striker for Vokes really but in a long season full of long games we could scare the shit out of some opponents on our day.
@thecatwwfc or @kipper - any insight into the Uche rumour?
Mostly want to see him come back to score a worldie and watch the the drummer throw down his sticks , silence the terrace and lead all four sides of the ground in a pitch perfect yet slightly adjusted chorus of Pie Jesu .
This is EXACTLY what I want to see moving forwards. If the Uche return falls through, we'll still have Wheeler, Phillips and TJay to fill the right wing role. This system, in my eyes, would comfortably get the best out of the individuals that we have.
This may appear drastic to some but, for me, the 5 back has worked dreadfully so far and has thankfully been masked by luck (red card against Leyton Orient), poor opposition (Burton), and grit (at Bristol). That's not to say we haven't deserved the 7 points in our last 3 games (by and large, we have been the better team in those fixtures), but the performances really have been woeful.
I feel we're at the point now where Blooms needs to eat humble pie, show his adaptability as a manager and change system from his beloved 5-back to a 4-2-3-1 and the sort of line-up @Quarterman has suggested. He used this system for the majority of his spell as gaffer last season, admittedly with not much success (a very different squad plagued by injuries, bear in mind).
Ditch this bloody 5 at the back that's really holding us back. It's been a long time since I've watched a Wycombe side so bereft of ideas in the final third. I don't claim to have exceptional tactical knowledge, but surely it's blindingly obvious that there are not enough bodies in attack. And when there are we're far too pedestrian, don't make the right runs with anywhere near enough intensity, and eventually lump it forward anyway after several minutes of passing around our defence. It's such a shame as Blooms' recruitment has been absolutely exceptional and, with such a talented squad, surely we should play to its strengths and not let this opportunity pass us by.
Every single factor is pointing towards a move to a 4: our current squad, our uninspiring performances, and our history of success with the formation (and, barring our purple patch at the back end of the Championship season, lack of success with the 5-back). Sure, results may not improve, in which case revert back to the 5. But I fear it'll take a couple of drubbings from some of the stronger teams in League One before Blooms even contemplates making the switch.
I may end up being well off the mark (I sincerely hope I am and the 5 back starts paying dividends) but, for now, I feel something desperately needs to change.