Regarding formation and not conceding I posted something similar in the Tyler Smith thread earlier.
It’s not how I want to play the game, but needs must.
To my mind 3/5/2 and 5/3/2 is basically the same. The former when you have the ball and attacking, the latter when the opposition have the ball and we’re defending.
Also without a specialist DCM we can’t continue with 4-3-3 and expect different results.
With the players available we simply need a pattern of play/formation that will make us more difficult to beat and build from there. Confidence is a fragile thing and needs rebuilding quickly, we’re in a relegation battle, keep it simple for the players, don’t over complicate things needlessly.
Whether the front two is Wildschut and Joseph or Baldock and Smith, and/or O’Donkor, what it is does do is to have options on the bench to bring on fresh legs within the same formation If necessary.