Zaha v SuperKev?

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Oldsparkey

Oldsparkey

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Jan 27, 2011
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Porthcawl Riviera
Will Malky have the confidence to give Nuggs another shot and pick him against Palace, or will he start Gunnar at RB?

Lappin is left footed and has always played his football on the left side, so playing him on the right might be an accident waiting to happen.

Love watching Gunnar on the pitch wherever he plays, but I reckon we'll see Nuggs trot out on Boxing Day.

Any other options?
 
Kev's had Zaha in his pocket for the last 2 seasons (not counting this season's game at their place) - to the extent that Zaha switched wings and then Taylor and Darcy also pocketed him.

Hope kev has his confident head on Mind you the guy on the right wing for them looks a bit tasty too.
 
I would pick Kev for the job but we also defend as a team. That includes cutting out the supply to Zaha.
If we worry too much about him we could be in trouble with Bolasie.
We are the home team and should let them worry about us. How good are Zaha and Bolasie at defending?
 
hampshire Blue said:
We are the home team and should let them worry about us. How good are Zaha and Bolasie at defending?
Click to expand...

I hope our team selection reflects this approach. We have the ability to hurt teams home or away.

From what I've seen, Bolasie and Zaha are only good at going forward. To be fair, they are very quick at getting back, but their defensive roles are nowhere near on a par with the damage they can cause up front.

Push them back and we could win it comfortably - worry about them and they'll catch us out at some point.
 
Best form of defence ATTACK pick 3 up front and make Zaha track back or risk getting punished for not defending.

---------Marsh-----------
Nugget-------------Taylor
-------Huds--Turner------
---Gunner----------Mutch
------------Whitts-------
Bells--------------Conway
----------HH-------------

Have gunner and Mutch support the defence but the rest force them back!!
 
I would play Bellars on the same side as Zaha see how he copes with an annoying jumped up little windup merchant. He could be put right off his game and for one so young may even react to some of the off the ball comments jibs nudges and pokes LOL. I can see him getting wound up to the point that he may actually take a cheeky swipe at Bellars.
 
I wpuldn't normally disagree but I think it was Conway who wasn't covering Taylor when he broke forward against Peterboro leaving the huge gap down the right which they unfortunately exploited.

On the other side of the coin Noone's pace and trickery has been a big plus for us this season. If they have a full back who is struggling then Noone is the man to take him apart.

Fair do's to Conway and Bellers yesterday. That looked like a training ground move for the goal with Bellers deliberately hanging back. They tried it earlier but it didn't work but if at first you don't succeed............
 
Please not McNaughton. He can't defend and hasn't for the last couple of seasons. I would play Gunnar or even Ralls in preference.
 
Gunnar a possibility but a left footed teenager at right back against one of the best wingers in the league? I don't think so.

And to say McNaughton hasn't defended in the last couple of seasons? Come on!!!

His main fault has been his poor distribution when getting forward but defensively he has rarely let us down. He hasn't done well this season but that is a first. I missed this season's away game at Palace but saw the previous 6 games home and away against them and whenever McNaughton has marked Zaha, the youngster has got no change whatsoever.

Kev will be well up for it.
 
My point was more about not playing McNaughton than selecting Ralls.

But what's wrong with playing a left footer at right back in certain circumstances. Matthews played left back for Celtic so as to mark Messi and don't forget that if Zaha plays in a freeish role he will not always stick to the right. As for McNaughton we clearly differ but for some time I believe his boundless energy and his past excellent performances have masked the fact that he is not a capable defender. I agree Ralls is a rookie and it's a risk but so is playing McNaughton in my view.

You accept that McNaughton hasn't done well this season so why play him? Selection should be about the here and now and not the been and gone. Even if you don't accept my point why would you play an out of form defender against the best winger in the League even if Zaha does stick to the right which he may not?

As I said I would prefer Gunnar to play with Ralls as my second choice.
 
If McNaughton doesnt get the nod then Malky should make him available for transfer.

He was terrible against Pboro. But hes much better than that.
 
I did say in a fit of pique after the Peterborough game, that if Macnaughton played again this season, it would be too soon. If Connolly was available and hadn't got his 5th yellow, I'd stick to that - but him being out has put a different complexion on it.

It's the one scenario I hadn't figuered on. If Connolly had seen another week out to get to the yellow card amnesty date of 31st December, we'd have been fine. As far as I was concerned, a back four of Connolly, Huds, Turner and Tayls would be more than enough to see off most Championship sides.

I'ts clear we've got very few realistic options on the right side of defence. Turner, Nugent, Taylor, Lappin, Ralls and Declan John are all left footers. They play their natural game on the left side of the pitch, and swapping any of them over to the right would be a huge gamble.

Gunnar in the RB spot with Conway helping out defensively would certainly be a good option - whether it's the best one is another matter. Maybe it's best for Malky (and McNuggs for that matter) to pitch him back in at the deep end, sink or swim.

I've got a funny feeling he may well swim and give Zaha a hard time.
 
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