We have as good a 10 outfield players as any of the top 7 provided we play to our strengths – 4-3-3 with a good tempo.
Problems start for one of 2 reasons:
Injuries, suspensions, daft team selection and/or daft substitutions leave us with less than our best 10 outfield players. Whitehall, Roberts and Rowleys impact is so great they are irreplaceable from within our squad without seriously reducing our quality. We have between 1 and 4 maximum capable deputies for our best 10 which is understandable given our budget. The advantage York, Rochdale and Carlisle have over us is not the quality of their first 11. It is the quality of the second 11. That is the benefit of spending the million or so extra on your playing budget.
The second cause of our problem is when Butler and team use formations and tactics the players don’t have the aptitude or capability to use properly. Things like 5 at the back, hoofball, turning the game into a scrap and the most damaging tactic of all – setting up to negate the perceived threats posed by mediocre and downright poor football teams.
If we go into the playoffs with our 3 irreplaceables fit and well and most of the other 7 are there too and we play our game then I think we would have a good chance of making Wembley. Once you’re there anything can happen.
Butler trying out 5 at the back “just in case we need it” worries me greatly. Him likening himself to the Tinkerman the other day suggests almost Trump levels of delusion. PSG and the like can switch formations and tactics at will. National League level players can not.
