A Christmas tree, a magic box, a diamond . . . no it’s not the Generation Game conveyor belt but some of the formations used in football over the years.

In Britain we tend to stick with the ‘good old’ 4-4-2. Tried and trusted, it has come under threat from the recent revival of the 4-5-1, but it still favoured by most teams – including Telford.

The Bucks’ problem with that is wingers — Telford haven’t got any. With Sean Evans out on loan only Andre Gray would look at home out wide. Recently it has been Jon Adams and Phil Trainer on the flanks — neither of whom I would consider specialist wide men.

Last time out at Southport the Bucks tried a 4-3-1-2 in a bid to provide more of an attacking thrust. It worked to a degree in the first half but ultimately the lack of width allowed Southport room down the flanks to break the Bucks down.

Previously Telford have enjoyed success with a 5-3-2 formation, which I would back a return to.

You would be hard-pressed to find three better centre halves than Shane Killock, Adam Dugdale and Stuart Whitehead at this level, and with Lee Vaughan and Sean Newton both forward thinking players, they would be ideal wing backs.

Immediately that would give Telford a solid platform defensively, something which is a necessity if the Bucks are to put together a run of results to try and gatecrash the play-offs.

Building from the back might not be easy on the eye but if you’re keeping clean sheets you’re not losing games.

Adams could then return to his favoured position in the centre of midfield where his energy and tenacity would be most welcome.

The other two positions in the middle of the park would be best suited to a defensive minded player to play the holding role, and an attacking midfielder who can chip in with goals – Liam Blakeman and Carl Rogers would be the two on my teamsheet.

And with goals so hard to come by at the moment Andy Brown – Telford’s chief goal threat – definitely needs a partner alongside him. My vote would probably go to Danny Carey-Bertram. He looked lively in the first half last week and unlike Thompson he has at least found the net this season. Damien Reeves is another contender and realistically a case could be made for any of the three to start.

Ultimately though the formation is not worth the tactics board it’s written on if the players can’t produce the goods on the pitch, but with Vauxhall Motors the visitors on Tuesday night, a return to 5-3-2 might well help yield three priceless points.

By Alex James