Due to his recent form he is now hard to drop,but where does he play? He played on the left whilst covering for Lallana, but now Lallana is back. I think he is 4th choice in the middle, so this only leaves the right. So does Guly make way or does Connoly make way for Guly? Personally I believe he should play on the right and play Guly or Connoly up front in shifts. The team is much better balanced with Chaplow on the right and he gives the fullback more confidence to push forward more than Guly does. For me Chaplow can be a secret weapon, I`m sure every other manager believes Saints are about Lallana receiving the ball, beating a few players and the laying it onto Lambert to score. Lambert now has 2 defenders watching him- yet yesterday Chaplow was at times pulling 3 defenders out of place and leaving so much space for others. Chaplow is also invaluable in the last 15 minutes when we need to close a game out- is energy is priceless. He is a player that may not receive much notice or press- but I think this year he could be our player of the year.
On merit, Chaplow must be in the starting line-up. At the moment he is consistently one of our best performers, and with Lallana back on the left he provides excellent balance to the side when on the opposite wing, Guly looked more comfortable alongside Lambert, and the team with this make up battered a usually very effective Middlesbrough defence.
You play him exactly where he was played against Boro. Which means you play Guly up front where he'd rather be. Which means Connolly has a break occasionally. Or [and not something that I'm overly keen on] Cork becomes an occasional CB and gives a break to the others while Seaborne is still fighting his way back to fitness. Either way, Chaplow gets to start - unless De Ridder becomes a 95 minute player. Oh, and Schneiderlin hits top form. Crikey, then you have a real selection problem. Competition, I love it.
It's great news and his performances are a massive plus. It's a long season and we're unlikely to go through with all our players being fully fit and available. With his injury problems and age Connolly would be hard pushed to play two games a week and with only two fit recognised strikers it's allowed Guly to play up top, but with Guly and Lambert you need people to run beyond and Chaplow fits that mould. I think Guly cramped up a bit yesterday so a returning Lee Barnard will be a plus too.
Something which never really occurred to me before is that it's not just a choice of 2 from 4 in centre mid, and Dean, Morg, Chappers and Cork can all play all over the pitch. Hence why all four have been included in the 16 when available, even though the bench is much more of a squeeze this year. If you start Chaplow on the wing then either Guly or Connolly has to go, and both scored on Saturday. And that's not even mentioning De Ridder...or Barnard. All I can say is I'm glad I'm not Nigel* *not actually true, I want to be Nigel.
whilst we are all coming in our pants over his performance, the bbc did not even deem his effort worth any print. His name is not mentioed once- not even his 90 yard run, beating two guys, winning the ball back and then sending in a lovely cross that almost results in a goal. He is our scret weapon http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15413456.stm
Chaplow can play anywhere across the middle, so he's a utility player really. We don't have many options out wide, so Chaplow is doing his part on the wing at the moment.
Agreed. The beauty of having Guly and Rickie up front is that between them they suck in at least 3 defenders, more if Chaplow is around as well. Then you can put in diagonal balls like Butterfield did for Guly's first on Saturday and either Rickie or Guly will get on the end of them. Mix in Lallana and Chaplow dominating the wings, and Corky and Hammond/Morgan dominating the centre and all of them running around and losing their markers, and we can beat anybody. And then you still have De Ridder and Connolly to come on as well! Great times to be a Saints fan
This isn't a problem - this is good news. More realistically there will be injuries or suspensions and this "problem" will sort itself out. I call it depth.
