Tweeting stuff from Mon presser, Bramble and Bardsley struggling for Sunday and Tuesday, Richardson not trained all week with illness, turner still out. Our back four could be very makeshift on Sunday.....
Wonder if we've still got George McCartney's phone number? Back 4 of Elmo, Nosworthy, Kilgallon, McCartney????
MARTIN O'NEILL will spend the next 48 hours finalising his defensive plans for the visit of Manchester City amid fears that both Titus Bramble and Phil Bardsley could miss out. Neither of the injuries have been deemed serious by O'Neill, but it is likely both will sit out the New Year's Day visit of the Premier League title contenders. That means O'Neill is mulling over his options to slot in at the heart of the defence, which could even pave the way for a return to action for forgotten man Matt Kilgallon. With Michael Turner not expected to return to action until mid-January, Kilgallon plus youngsters Louis Laing and John Egan are the only central defensive alternatives to John O'Shea and Wes Brown. And while O'Shea finished the draw with Everton alongside Brown, the Irishman has been playing right-back and central midfielder Craig Gardner had to be used there when he moved to the middle. O'Neill will not be keen to play Gardner as a full-back for the entire 90 minutes against a team comprising of the wing quality of David Silva, Samir Nasri and Adam Johnson. The reason for the possible Nosworthy return ?
Its bold i'll give u that! Apart from the last game has Gardner ever played right back? Dont fancy Gardner vs Silva, O'Shea vs Aguero, Colback vs Johnson/Nasri but would fancy us causing them problems and possibly even scoring a goal or two. Spose needs must tho given our annual injury concerns.
Really?! Any success particularly? Guess it shows his faith in Elmo given that hes played right full back on a regular basis on an international stage.
Why cant we stick young Laing in at CB. Brown & O'shea will guide him along. We cannot realistically expect to beat Man C so lets blood some players, McLean from the start etc.
