I'm assuming that's a Duffy reference? Probably Captain America i'd imagine but it will be interesting to see what Hoff does.
Were he to play, Sørensen would be the obvious choice IMO, but he is unlikely to feature that much on Saturday. If the question was who among the likely starters exhibits most in the way of real captaincy material, I would say Marcondes, from what I've seen and read of him. But realistically, I'd say the armband will likely go to Sargent, with Duffy prompting and cajoling from CB.
No brainer - Shane Duffy. Right position for a Captain in central defence, decent organiser and vastly experienced.
Thorup seemed to laugh off the suggestion that he would make Duffy captain in Wednesdays press conference. JHT said they were still forming a leadership group and that he wanted some younger heads to be part of that and also a long term option. So I would suggest that may be the direction that he goes with it. The long term plan and youth idea may rule out Marcondes. My thoughts would be Sargent, Cordoba, Slimane or Fisher.
No idea what a leadership group is but appears to be long term - the present problem starts this Saturday. I might be old fashioned but surely the Captain is there to inspire, organise and basically replace the Manager on the pitch. Would I be inspired by a 20yo who has only been in the team a few months? Cordoba who is probably still struggling to speak English? Slimane who has also only been here a couple of months and only on loan? Sargent does his job well but does not appear to be somebody very inspirational and is at the wrong end of the pitch to organise the team. Short term problems need short term solutions. Why look further than Duffy who appears to tick all the boxes unless Hanley is in the team.
I thought he was laughing because Davitt asked the question and then provided the obvious answer himself, i.e. Duffy. JHT simply didn't want to give a definite answer there and then. Much like when he deflected questions about Wilshere by saying, with a big grin on his face, "Can we talk about this on Friday?"
Because of his conviction in the summer? But given the club's supportive reaction and Duffy's own response, documented by Glen Riddersholm in a recent interview, I wouldn't expect that to rule him out as an option for temporary captaincy.
Two weeks? Thorup said he's closer than that, fit enough to give him (Thorup) a decision to make for next Saturday against Bristol City. Based on that, I wouldn't be surprised if Nacho came on at some point in that game.
That's great, but only marginal as the international break occurs after the Bristol City game. Will he be risked for a cameo appearance? On a side note, I was curious about his nickname 'Nacho' and it turns out that his second name is Ignacio, which is often shortened to Nacho in Spanish. Nothing to do with the Mexican crisps.
Agree with you, seems crazy to rush him back - with the horrific injury list (once again!!) made worse by McClean’s idiocy (I can’t hold it against him too much as he’s been fantastic, but what an idiot…) - best to treat the Bristol City game as a free shot and try to ensure no more injuries
Forsyth out of tomorrows game with knee injury. The worst news - Sargent requires surgery - out for 8 weeks
With Sargent and Barnes out, Connor Southall wonders if we look for a free agent striker. Otherwise probably Sainz/Crnac leading the line?
The downside of Sainz being in such a hot streak is that virtually all our attacks involve getting the ball to him. Last season, it was Sargent, the focus being on through balls from Sara for Sargent to run onto beyond the opposition CBs. This season, that has been demoted to second line of attack, with Sargent frequently making runs only to find them ignored while team mates look for Sainz. As a result, Crnac barely seems to feature in anyone's thinking, despite often getting himself into good positions; I've previously commented on him being unmarked in the opposition box, calling for the simple ball, but being ignored while Sainz shoots or looks for Sargent. We now have an opportunity to release Srnac from the disciplined, right-sided structural, role he has assiduously performed post-Swansea, and have his team mates start prioritising him as a target to get the ball to in the opposition box.
That could be, but I suspect that JHT will stick to his 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 tactics but it's anybody's guess who the third midfielder might be. He could move Schwartau to play behind Crnac and either Fassnacht or Gordon start at WR. Sargent looks like missing 11-12 games to hopefully return in January. Crnac and Schwartau did all right at Cardiff and we have to hope they can accelerate their adjustments and make an impact over those games. We now have 9 players out and 15 senior players to choose from, of whom 5 are 20 or younger.
That could be, but I suspect that JHT will stick to his 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 tactics but it's anybody's guess who the third midfielder might be. He could move Schwartau to play behind Crnac and either Fassnacht or Gordon start at WR. Sargent looks like missing 11-12 games to hopefully return in January. Crnac and Schwartau did all right at Cardiff and we have to hope they can accelerate their adjustments and make a impact over those games. We now have 9 players out and 15 senior players to choose from. With the attack diminished, we need to improve our defending.
That’s what I thought Marcondes was for, but Thorup has been forced to use him in midfield which I’m sure was not the plan
I think Marcondes is more a midfielder who can play in attacking areas if needed, than a pure forward. There was perhaps an element of him being mis-sold by the press before signing? Looking through his career history, he's never really been a consistent attacking player, much more commonly pops up in midfield. He's certainly not the type of player who can cover for Sargent.
