Two Upfront?

Ryan Shotton’s signing, to me, speaks volumes. He is a pacey, strong and quite attack minded player who loves to be creative when it is safe to do so. These kind of players fit the type of player that we are used to seeing at Birmingham City and I think that it is a sign of things to come.

Due to this, I feel that maybe we could venture to playing two up front. Now I know that I usually like to stick to the principle of, if it’s working, then what is the point in changing it. But I feel that despite the getting 7 points from the last 3 games, all of them being clean sheets, we still need to work on being unpredictable.

I wasn’t a massive fan of Clark, particularly towards the end of his reign, but you never knew that formation or personnel he would choose. For Rowett it is completely different, often you can predict 9,10 or even the whole 11 that will be in the starting line-up as well as the formation. We have gone to the other extreme which has worked because it is more stable and our players know their roles so partnerships can form. I fully understand.

But soon, there will be a point where teams will be able to identify a game plan against us and because we are so rigid, they will frustrate us. All of the better teams in the Championships adapt their game plan for every game and I feel this makes them harder to play against.

My proposition of a two up front would mean that the opposition would not be able to predict our formation and therefore may not have the correct shape in which to deal with the potential threats that our attack currently has.

The best method to play if you have two up front is what I like to call the ‘Shearer method.’ A lofted ball is played into a striker who is physically strong and tall, in this case it would be Donaldson, who would flick the ball into space for his pacey partner to have a 1 vs 1 with the goalkeeper.

I propose that the man to run onto these balls is the new recruit, Fabbrini. He is very nimble and looks to be quite speedy! Not only this, he will have the composure to finish the shots when his time does come. Also, if the long ball isn’t working, he can drop into the number 10 role to feed the wingers or Donaldson himself. I believe this to be a good idea.