At first it was the 3 at the back and Brunt at centre mid, with the insistence on playing out under pressure. Bartley was never going to be a ball playing centre back and Dawson and Hegazi didn't look comfortable, Johnstone isn't the type of keeper to play that way either as his distribution is a weakness. Brunt just cannot play centre mid, I've been a fan of his but he's honestly woeful virtually every time he plays there. So we started the season with our two most expensive summer signings, the best two centre backs in the league, and our club captain looking completely inept in the system we were playing.
Moore/Jones were too slow to change the above, and we ended up with the blessing of Brunt and Bartley getting injured which forced the switch. Since then, the issue has been solely Moore's in game management. Yes the team selections have been iffy at times and since Barnes was recalled (+ Phillips injury) HRK has been given too much game time, but the glaring weakness was the in game management. I've been saying it for months, and it's cost us quite a few points in that time. I think Darren got it spot on against Stoke though, for the first time in a long while, subs were what we needed at the right times. This has given me some hope that he'll improve in that aspect, especially because he has a stronger bench now and when Phillips is back we're at full strength.
Tuesday will be the acid test though, we've thrown games away at home recently. Another two game week so we'll need fresh legs early in the second half, especially in that midfield 3. If he gets the subs right I'll be much more confident for the run in.