Fitting Derry Back in

From other threads, a lot of people seem to be advocating slipping Derry straight back into the side replacing Buz, probably pushing Barton forward into the creative 3 midfield rolls, now I think there is a case not to do this.

Some have said they would like a tighter team while playing away, hmm tighter than our first clean sheet in err how may games 23? Ok I'm playing Devil’s advocate here as maybe Derry should come back in there is also a strong case to play the same team.

Barton was fantastic in a central midfield holding positions both him Diakite struck up a great understanding, covering each over when forward forays where made, held and passed the ball well, why change it.

Is Barton really the man to move into the central midfield creative role, I think he was great where he was so moving him into a role where he has not played well this season deson't seem like a good idea to me. I] Don't think you can move Diakite so then where would you put Shaun? Play 3 defensive mid fielders? I think we need to win this game, Diakite and Barton handled defensive duties admirably enabling us to play the extra creative midfielder, looking at the team sheet that man is Buz /shrug.

Your thoughts?

 

I wasn't overly impressed by Buz the last night but I take your point. Maybe Buz at home for a more offensive threat as we know he is capable of great strikes just like the goal versus Swansea.

 

I'm looking forward to a central midfield of Diakite, Barton and Faurlin.
For tomorrow, happy to trust Sparky's judgement. Don't be surprised if we are set up for a point. I.e. Derry purely to break up play.

 

There is certainly a strong argument for continuity and provided the players aren't too leggy after Wednesday I would be more than happy to have the same starting 11.
What I expect to see though is possibly 1 or 2 of the starters from Wednesday miss out. Derry in for Buz and Young for Onouha to provide a bit more stability in a tough away fixture.

 

derry will come in for buz, on a bigger pitch against a more direct team then buz will be a bystander. i know he scored a good goal but didnt do much else

 

Spot on.

 

It's a tough call to strike the right balance in the side, on the one hand we can't afford to lose, on the other hand I believe this is a game we can win if we go for them. I'm sure Sparky will look at their recent home games and have a plan, I think Derry will really be up for this one and may start for Buz...

 

Derry for buz absolutely. WBA got hammered on wednesday so they come on really hard and there's gonna be many 50/50 fighting about ball and Derry is man for that. There's also difference with first passes. Derry usually laid firm first pass unlike buz whose passes variates from perfect through passes to perfect mispass. Much more secure with Shaun. Buz is great to have on sub bench thou.

 

I have a sneaky but bad feeling you are right SB. Hughes has made such a big thing out of the need to win home games that you can't help but think he will only be looking for draws on the road. While that made some kind of sense at Old Trafford and could well be suitable for the Scum it would be madness against West Brom IMO. This one is winnable and we have the system and players in place to win it.

 

I hope we keep Buz in the team, Derry is not better and Buz can always get a goal out of nothing from a long shot or set piece.

 

Play Derry. The early red card and suspension means he is fresh and raring to go. He'll be all over WBA like a rash. Buz hasn't put in two good performances in a row this season. He was **** after the everton and wigan games. A big risk away from home.

 

The system is holding firm ATM (at home and Old Trafford). Derry back in is definitely a defensive move but, apart from that, I can't see the team or formation changing too much.

Same set up with a hint more caution is not too backward and we will still have attacking potential.

If we don't lose, we can't go into the bottom 3 and we will still have a decent shot at nicking this one.

 

Do we know if Traore and Helgy are fit to play yet?

I would consider droppping Buz and moving Adel into his position, then playing Traore out on the left if fit...but saying that, I think I would feel far safer away from home with Derry in the side so probably a straight swap of Derry for Buz. As with the previous few games, Zamora, Mackie and Adel will be the key at WBA me thinks. Zamora holding the ball up and playing in both Adel and Mackie so we can hit them on the break.

 

I agree with you Vale, as I said on the other thread. Think we may need 3 points from West Brom, and like AAAAGH think it will be a bad move to go for just a point there. We played pretty well against Swansea (on seeing the full game in replay perhaps not quite as well as the immediate post match euphoria) so why change a winning team and formation if all are fit to play 3 games in 6 days!?

 

Yes he can. However i still think that WBA, at their home match, is likely take the possesion of the match. Because of that we need strenght on the lower midfield and somebody who can win those balls back to our team.

 

Agreed. Must go for the win. I would argue it is the most winnable game of all of the remaining fixtures.

 

We have them in Barton and Diakite. If we play a 451, we must not have 3 defensive midfielders and Buzs tackling is very underrated.

I might agree if we were playing a 442 but then Derry wouldnt get in ahead of Diakite or Barton anyway.

 

I believe we are going for three points of course ,but just can't afford to lose the match. Three points would massive but one point would also so much better that nothing. Because of that i believe our tactics could be a little bit cautious.