I have just reviewed our fixture programme for the rest of the season. We have four games in Oct ( including Rotherham ), Nov and Jan, plus at least one cup game, and five games in Dec. Then the fun starts with six games in Feb and Apr, and five in March. With the superiority I feel we have in the extended depth of our squad in comparison to our rivals, so long as we are in contention by the end of January I would fully expect us to finish in the top two. The only possible fly in the ointment would be an extended cup run, but we don't do those. At the back end of the season is when injuries, suspensions and fatigue start to bite and we have the quality replacements to overcome this. In fact, if the squad is rotated properly fatigue should not be a factor for us. Cardiff are possibly the only club with a squad anywhere near as deep as ours but they have major problems at the moment.
You appear to be suffering from the 'I'm not one of the in crowd' syndrome, and have therefore been snubbed in terms of responses! No doubt had one of the aforementioned in crowd posted exactly the same thread, there would have been numerous replies.
Funnily enough, one of my concerns at this stage is that we aren't making enough use of our large squad. Yes, changing a winning team is a brave move, but it does seem as though we are overlooking some extremely good players in favour of sticking with the same team in the main.
Well. I'm a bit mystified by this in-crowd stuff, do list them at some point so we know the details. We are lucky to have a strong squad, a few are carrying injuries, but will play their part no doubt as the season unfolds.
Yeah, not sure about this in crowd either! I read this - it's a good post, with sensible points, so I didn't feel I could contribute anything. Maybe say something controversial/stupid or make some spelling/grammatical mistakes if you want responses...
There is only 1 in crowd me and Supers was discussing it just a few days ago. Unless you are talking about the Lewis Grabbam apreciation society in which anyone is free to join.http://www.not606.com/group.php?groupid=190
I don't think it's about in-crowds; it's just that things go quiet during international weeks. Good OP and I agree that our large squad with quality in-depth could prove crucial in a 46 game season.
Good OP. Still more disappointed about the Shrewsbury game than any others to be honest. But throwing a team of new faces together and asking them to perform was always going to be difficult. I'm sure we'll see much more from Vadis, Hooper, Lafferty et al in the coming weeks. This two week break will give the players who need it the chance to work on their fitness. They'll just need matches now.
Yes, had we won our fringe/not match fit players would have a game to get up to speed. I hope games are/have been arranged to give Hooper and Ofoe a chance to increase match fitness. It is a strange situation that we signed VOO more than two months ago and he is yet to be given a chance to show his ability.
I tend to agree with this and I think this may be Adams achillies heal. As I've said before starting with Hoolahan unless he's injured is going to cost us points this season as is trying to turn Martin into a centre back.
Although funnily Hoolahan had an absolute stormer yesterday (admittedly against a very weak team), and I think we have a better defensive record with Martin at CB than Hooiveld this season. But I tend to agree with a bit of adjustment - I think Hoolahan should only start against the weaker teams (because he is essentially a flat track bully) and if he's going to start we have to accept that the line-up should be built round him. I.e. we have to play a diamond with him at the tip or variation of that.
