good afternoon one and all.Beradi has signed a new contract so that's another player given a decent three year deal.makes sense to me doing it this way rather than the crappy deals the last idiot did.
Good to see berardi contract. Versatile defender... wasn't sure he'd be orta/Christiansen's type as he's less of a ball player and more an up and at em type. Be interesting to see what changes TC makes tomorrow... wholesale or whether this early in the season he wants a few from Sunday to get more game time together I suspect the former as it would be 3 games in 6 days otherwise.
Apparently they didn't get scanned on Monday as planned. Waiting for the swelling to go down. Think we can safely say that neither will be lining up against PV. And that's perhaps just for starters.
Very difficult to pick a team for the PV match. Little if any choice in defence, and too much everywhere else. Let me have a dabble ..... 'Keeper. Got to be Green over Double-Barrel, I think. Should be a chance for him to shine & claim his berth back, but then, if there's a move being mooted, he's got no chance. Would prefer if we kept him myself. Defence. Not too many options here. Only cert is Cooper at CB. I suspect that Shaugnessy will get the nod over Ayling at CB, with Ayling being benched for a rest. If we are indeed resting Ayling, or using him as a CB, then the only other options open to us are new boy BJ at LB, & Anita at RB. Mid 2: Toughie. Saturday's 2 will be rested, but which 2 out of Bridcutt, Viera, & Klich? You can only rest Viera so much before he ends up miles short of match fitness. And the club & fans alike would love to see Klich start if his fitness is up to it. You'd normally think that with Bridcutt being a tad out of favour, that the other 2 would start, but it's a bit of a political hot potato with him. TC has come out & stated that he has a role to play with the team, but can he fail to pick him first real opportunity after saying that? My feeling is that if he doesn't play, Bridcutt will be leaving one way or the other - either by being sold by the club, or choosing to move on himself as the writing's on the wall. Mid3: I can't see past Dallas, Saiz & Sacko starting. They need game time, and need a chance to show they're snapping at the heels of the current first team incumbents. Only other possibility I can see is perhaps Alioski getting some more 'settling in' game time. Can't see Gomes starting when there are more senior players needing the game time. Attack: Ekuban IMO. Doukara could do the job, but not as well as Wood. Ekuban needs the game time to show what he can do. So I'm going to stick my neck out & suggest the starters are going to be: Green; Anita, Shaugnessy, Cooper, BJ; Klick, Viera; Dallas, Saiz, Sacko; Ekuban. Not a bad wee reserve side, is it? Only one starter from Saturday. Been quite a while since we've been able to do that. It's the subs that puzzle me. Double-Barrel will surely be first choice. Ayling is our only available defender (wild card Diagouraga?). Wood as our only attacker? That leaves 4 spots for mids. Doukara can cover mid & attacker. Gomes has played at LB & LM, as can Alioski. Pablo will surely be rested. I think Sat's mid 2 will deffo be rested. Roofe can run forever, so probably won't ever need a rest this season This is more difficult than picking the team, so I'll have a wild stab at: Double-Barrel, Ayling, Alioski, Bridcutt, Roofe, Doukara, Wood. I want to change it already!
Think we need to be a bit careful, I know it's not our priority but I still think that the Sutton debacle was the start of the slide last season
There's a lot of truth in that. But we've got an even bigger squad this season, and you've got to show your faith in them, or there's no point in having them Frankly, I have no idea what the line-up will be, for exactly the reason you mention. But it was fun to go through the options & see what I could come up with. Have a go - it's bloody difficult.
Do we have another CB? With the injuries on Saturday, I wouldn't want to risk the first choice back four, unless we have the trust in the squad you talked about. I wouldn't risk cooper as it can only really be him and Pontus for Preston
I enjoyed the read WJ and can't fault the logic. Years since we had a second string you'd believe could do a first string job comfortably, with spares.
Only other 'real' CB we have is Ayling. Indeed, he may be preferred to Shaughnessy, who is a youngster & came to us as a DM, yet we've played him as a CB 'cos he's tall (I'm guessing). Who knows, being the League Cup, we may give McKay or O'Connor from the u23s a run out. All 3 are about the same age (20?). I don't think we have any option other than to play Cooper. Not enough experience in the back 4 to drop him. Guess he'll be captain again too. Which begs the question - who is our captain? Surely the players vote took place before the opening of the season? If so, kinda looks like it's not Cooper, as the announcement was not made before he wore the armband on Saturday (or did I miss it?). Looks like it's been won by someone who didn't play Saturday & they're waiting until he actually plays. If so, sounds like Pontus to me, rather than Bridcutt retaining it. So much for my prediction of O'Kane with Cooper being vice-captain.
Wow! I expected him back on Saturday. He tried to get on the park but they wouldn't let him. That's why I had such high hopes. Guess that gives Cooper & Jansson a chance to get a good understanding - unless we sign someone else.
