Last updated 11:43, Tuesday, 15 July 2008

WASN'T Euro 2008 great? Lots of exciting football and for once the best team emerged triumphant.

It will have certainly given England much food for thought, but there are lessons that Carlisle United can learn too. Those who watched the tournament witnessed tactical evolution in formations, quick and effective counter attacking play, and the great impact of players introduced late in games.

It will be interesting to see how John Ward, below, utilises the personnel at his disposal and approaches the next few matches.

Most sides in League One tend to play 4-4-2 especially at home when the onus is on attack. Assuming that is Ward’s preferred option, you could feasibly expect United to line up as follows: either Ben Williams or Chris Howarth in goal, a back four comprising of David Raven, Danny Livesey, Peter Murphy or Josh Gowling and Evan Horwood, a midfield quartet from a combination of Cleveland Taylor, Paul Thirlwell, Chris Lumsdon, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Simon Hackney, Scott Dobie and Danny Graham leading the attack.

Other alternatives could be 4-4-1-1, with Thirlwell and Lumsdon in central midfield, Dobie on the right wing, Bridge-Wilkinson playing as a second striker behind Graham as the sole frontrunner.

Or 4-1-3-2, with Thirlwell or Lumsdon protecting the back four, MBW in the hole flanked by Taylor or Dobie and Hackney or Jeff Smith, and Dobie, Gary Madine, Danny Carlton or the new striker we are all eagerly anticipating alongside Graham.

Or 4-2-3-1 which was employed to such brilliant effect in the play-off semi-final at Leeds, with two from Lumsdon, Thirlwell, Grant Smith and Luke Joyce as anchormen in front of the defence, and Graham ploughing a lone furrow up front supported by the trio of attacking players. This could continue to be especially potent away from home when the opponents take the game to United.

I have been encouraged by JW's recent comments saying that everyone is playing for their places in the friendlies and specifically in respect of Carlton and Joyce, two players who didn't feature as much as they each would have hoped last season and who will be looking to make the most of any opportunities which come their way. Their goals against Kendal will have done them the world of good and hopefully they will be able to push on.

It looks like there will be possibly two further additions to the squad before the big kick off, in the shape of a forward challenging for a first team berth and an understudy at right back. This will increase the already intense competition for starting places and that can only be a good thing.

The remaining warm-up games will provide the opportunity to look at different systems, assess the form of players and offer the ideal preparation for the tough campaign ahead. Roll on 9th August!

CHRIS AYERS

nCHRIS AYERS' column is in no way representative of the views of the management of the Beehive.