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Just speculating, but I think having an extra tall that is directed to simply lockdown releases both May and Lever to play to their full potential. May can play stopper or interceptor, but he'll have the confidence to make the right decision in the moment if there's lockdown defender behind him.

This in turn lets Lever not worry about his direct opponent as either the third tall / lockdown defender will shift and cover him or May will make the decision to move to him, depending on everyone's position. This way Lever can play to his strengths and get the best out of himself.

Because he's not playing to his strengths he's down on form. Because he's down on form he's down on confidence. So now he's ****ing up the basics too.

We need to look at what our defensive structure was like at it's best and get back to that.

We can try Tomo as that third tall now, but if he's genuinely cooked for good it leaves us with a choice on Petty. I hate to say it because I like what he brings up forward, but if it comes to it we should probably send him back. I think we can sort out some of our forward issues with coaching, regardless of personnel.