Can I just ask anyone who watched it to confirm something:
Did Babel play up top? IE partnering Ngog?
If so, I don't think you can put it all on Ryan. Sure, he thinks he's a striker, but none of his coaches ever really have done, and towards the end of last season he was actually showing signs of becoming a pretty consistent player in (surprisingly) the LW/LF slot he HAS been used in for most of his career. Even besides that, Babel is a speedster - if you are going to play him up top in a traditional 4-4-2, especially with 2 deep, narrow, banks of 4, then you need some muscle next to him. It's not really surprising that the one striker to thrive so far under Roy is the only one who actually seems to understand how to play as a target man (though I don't think that's really Ngog's big strengths either).
I can't for the life of me undrestand why Roy used Duff and Davies on their 'wrong' sides for Fulham, yet he arrives here, implements essentially the same tactics, only with the wingers on the 'correct' side, plus his 'alternative' plan seems to be the exact same tactics but in a flat 4-4-2. Very strange. From what I've seen I thought Roy's tactics were a lot better at Fullham then they have been here.
Anyway, back to Babel, he was starting to put in a good shift down the left. Roy has taken it upon himself to tell the lad he's a striker now, based on nothing, heaped pressure on the players before this match with the comment that 'you have to ask questions about their ability as professionals', set them up, seemingly, in a 4-4-2 that doesn't remotely suit Babel, especially next to an Ngog, then massively laid into them after the match, having talked about Ryan never really having had a 'fair chance'.
Not blaming Roy for all Ryan's problems either, but it does strike me as glaring that, based on Fulham's tactics, Jova and Babel are our only two wide players who seem suited to bridging the kind of gap we have between midfield and defence, who can actually carry the ball over a distance - both things Fulham's wingers did quite a bit, yet Babel hasn't been used on the wing for more than a few minutes, Jova's already been relegated to the 2nd string, and none of our wide players are being used in the way Roy did successfully at Fulham.
Then to not make any changes whatsoever through the whole 90 minutes. Nah, Ryan has his issues, but there was plenty of other coaches and video footage etc etc for Roy to research as to why it is that so few coaches have played Babel up top, despite the players own desires. Babel being anonymous when starting up top and running offside a lot is exactly what Babel does when he starts up top - because he lacks positional sense, brains and a consistent first touch - all things you really need to be a pacy forward, I reckon.
To be honest I feel quite sorry for all the team put out last night, well, to an extent anyway. Most of them have done well in the Europa in a 4-2-3-1 - none of Rafa's players anymore have meaningful experience of a flat 4-4-2, especially in combination with Roy's approach to the game, and now they've all had an absolute roasting off the manager, when the 'first 11' has been coddled after every shit performance they've put in this season. Don't like that kind of inconsistency, don't like the coach putting so much on the players when there's youth out there and we also need some of these players.
Sorry, I've rambled again, but can anyone confirm the formation for me please?
