Who needs a 'number 10' ?

[MACK]

Am really looking forward to today's game. There really is something about the FA Cup.

If fit, I'm sure that Hitchin's playmaker or ' mumber 10' Luke Brown will play- and let's face it, when he's on song, so are Hitchin. But any team, at any level, that plays with a playmaker/ number 10 can often be vulnerable at the back. Any if the number 10 has an 'off' day (we are all human), the team struggles. Monday' game was great entertainment but it could easily have been 5-5. I'm not sure this is good for my blood pressure.

So the question is this: What formation will Hitchin use to try and get the best out of our number 10 without putting the defence under serious strain ? Cast your votes:

4-1-3-2
4-2-3-1
4-3-3
4-1-2-1-2 ( the so-called midfield diamond)
4-2-2-2 (that's what looked like to me on Monday)

Or maybe even 3/5 at the back- last employed by Hitchin about two years ago as far as I can recall.

[pudgy]

Average teams get average results.

[Steve]

Agreed and it doesn’t help when our manager isn’t there !

[Steve]

We were told he is on holiday in Spain allegedly!

[Steve]

It was actually a stag weekend apparently confirmed this afternoon.
Parks was in charge it seemed!

[Brian Parker]

Can't see us being very successful this season without big improvements in some areas.

1. Better support for Callum Stead. He is asked so often to plough a lone furrow up front. I dread to think where the goals are going to come from should he move on. Others rarely look like scoring.

2. No one up front seems capable of heading the ball effectively at corners and set pieces. We are over reliant on Webby moving forward for these and with his abscence we seem incapable of posing any threat whatsoever.

3. Wingers or wing backs need to get to the bye line more often to cut the ball back to (hopefully) on rushing forwards.

4. More experience is needed to guide this young side. Webby seems to be rather injury prone these days and the only other player who fits the bill seems unfit and totally ineffective.

[Peter]

Can't see us being very successful this season without big improvements in some areas.

Better support for Callum Stead. He is asked so often to plough a lone furrow up front. I dread to think where the goals are going to come from should he move on. Others rarely look like scoring.

We are in serious trouble now that Callum has moved on. Oh well I might win the prediction league now.

[Roblio]

You must have had a sixth sense Brian. Callum Stead has left the club and accepted an offer to join South Shields. See today's home page of the club website.

Gutted - love watching him play

[High Flying Bird]

Stead follows Marsh out the door.
That’s the season over then!
We were short before these departures, now we are threadbare.
The club should really explain why the manager wasn’t at one of the biggest games of the season.

[Alan C]

I notice that South Shields are unbeaten and top of the league having scored 21 goals whilst conceding only 2. Is Callum going to get into that team or will he just be sitting on the bench? If so, what a waste! Good luck to him, though.