Absolutely agree with this team - with the midfield and forwards moved to the centre a bit more! Hedges looks like he will be playing a specialist right wing role rather than partnering Diaz. Will be really interesting to see if JDT does try and persist with the 4231, but we got absolutely demolished last night. Didn't do anything except last ditch defending well.

Everyone whose played in midfield has been rubbish because we are asking two of our mids to compete with three or four oppo mids so we can push all our other attacking players up against the opposition's back line. Its daft. I'd hesitate to judge any of our players in the current situation.

Tbh I think if the Rotherham manager looks back over the last few games he will have a tough job guessing how we will setup. I know Im not a football manager, and there's probably loads more to it than I think, but to sort us out seems pretty simple... -We should play three at the back so if we are trying to pass it around we have options, and so the wing backs can push right up, and so we are defensively solid. -We should stop passing the ball around our six yard box. It's incredibly dangerous and creates absolutely nothing for us. -We should play three in midfield so we don't get outmatched in the middle, can retain the ball, and can pick up positions in the number 10 role to slide it though to the fowrads. -We should play two up front as we don't get the ball enough into three anyway and need more bodies in midfield and defence. Two feeding off through balls from midfield and crosses from wing backs is enough. It seems pretty obvious to me and thought that was where we were headed until the team came out last night. -

Early days still and results not too bad but have to say his decisions do worry me.

JDTs interview will be interesting. Total disaster of a game. I really hope he recognises that.

Lol - why did Hirst take that?

This is a loss 100% down to the manager. The team was setup poorly and we did nothing about it.

Can't begrudge Cardiff that at all.

Move me into the worried about JDT camp. Weve been hugely tactically outplayed but weve just soldiered on. Cardiff should be two or three ahead at least, it's pure luck, Cardiff being rubbish, and good last ditch defending that we're all square .

If we don't go back to three at the back at half time JDT needs shooting.

I don't think its fair on him and Travis. Theyre outnumbered and overwhelmed.

Theres passing out from the back and there's pretending were Man City or Barcelona. This is farcical.

Have to say this is one of the all time tactical disasters for me.

Were tactically all over the show. It's kind of disrespectful to Cardiff. Were saying we can pass through them from the 6 yard box and leave four players up front. It's mad?

You can see how the whole balance of this game hugely fancies Cardiff. We have to do something.

That was ridiculous from Dolan...Hedges was free. Let's get S Wharton and Dack on and get back to 352. Will be a huge improvement.

Well yeah that's a massive issue in itself. But also with the 4231 they can just ghost through us anywhere. We were defensively really good against Millwall till the last 10 mins. Why have we put that in the bin?

JDT keeps on pushing so many players up. Why not have one more in the middle?

We look so much more vulnerable in a 4231.

Really odd that we've gone 4231 again off the back of a win. Also Scott Wharton is our best distributor from the back. Maybe it's fitness related?

Hedges at right wing / number 10 combo was certainly interesting and Hedges had a good game himself, but I didn't really see enough in it to continue with the experiment. He added link up play centrally on one hand, but completely robbed us of width down the right. Better teams than Millwall could have had a field day down our right side. Brittain should come back in unlesss there is a significant fitness issue. He's one of our best players.

Can't see us changing the system. We need to settle into it. Ayala could be dropped but then I guess Hyam goes central and Carter at RCB

Team I'd like to see.... Kaminski Hyam Ayala S Wharton Brittain Travis Buckley Pickering Dack Hedges BBD Just think Hedges links up and offers more of a goal threat than Gallagher up front, while Buckley will be more incisive than Morton. Harsh to drop Dolan but we need to give Dack a go in this formation. Dolan and Gallagher to come on around 60 mins for Dack and Hedges, and we shift to 343.

The way I'd sum us up now is if we can sort out the final pass we should make playoffs. Reckon we'll do it. Just need to get Dack/Buckley/Adam Wharton into the midfield and make it work. Were not in a false position, we've played some good teams. Just need to keep refining. Winning games while not playing particularly well is a good sign, not a bad one. Shows we've got more to come.

Good context that, thank you for posting. I don't really see why people reckon we will do worse than last season. We should be aiming to do at least as well. We lost Lenihan, Nyambe, Rothwell but Hyam, Brittain and Morton/A Wharton/Buckley seem roughly as good to me. Not really sure how we are supposed to have got worse, as evidenced by the results.