Sterling, your Ideas from the outset are First Class. Stoke are a different animal & we have to adapt to the threat on the day. Jelavic will have a field day with Sunderland & Leicester. Provided he may b available
The way Stoke are playing at the moment (pretty well, by all accounts), I think playing a 3-5-2 might see us exposed, especially with Moses bombing around. Crossing against them all the time isn't going to work too well (despite what I said before), they're a big side and I don't think they'll have too much trouble getting them clear.
I can see the logic in wrapping your "main man" up in cotton wool, but I would be tempted to do it in the games where we were less likely to pick up points. Stoke have been more vulnerable at home this season and I can see us getting something there with a bit of luck. Jelavic must play. A more interesting discussion point might be at what point Curtis Davis is re-introduced into the starting line-up.
Like I said, I can see your logic but I really can't be convinced by it. Leaving him out will not seriously improve our defence, it will more probably draw them onto us creating more pressure; leaving him out will almost definitely lose his new found goals and put Dame under unnecessary pressure of not having a foil or someone to draw their defence. All in all, I think I would definitely go for three on the bounce with the same staring eleven.
I just came on here to post the exact same thing - I haven't even voted myself on here yet so I'll change the OP to include another two!
I'd swap Meyler for Ramirez, and maybe Bruce for Davies, Moses and Diouf are fecking fast and our current back 3 is fecking slow.
Steve Bruce and his team will have scouted the opposition and will be working on a 'cunning plan' to get a result. They will have found any weaknesses and also their strengths and make the appropriate decision on a tactical line-up and strategy as well as who plays and who doesn't. If we are successful we will all laud him as a brilliant Manager who is leading us out of relegation but if he is unsuccessful we will get the usual posters calling him an @rsehole because he didn't us their tactics and players which would have won us the game. Easy to say AFTER the event. Rest assured the team will be putting in a shift regardless of who is in the starting line-up as we desperately need some points.
Agreed more or less John ^^^^^ this re. N'Doye. Did what mattered when it mattered most. 1) Jelavic 2) Huddlestone 3) McShane* * other than one stray pass he was superb AGAIN. Like he has never been away but with a point to prove. No way back for Curtis Davies atm.
You are spot on with ^^^ this. Sunderland is a much bigger game than Stoke and we need to look after our key players on saturday. I would leave out Jelavic - Huddlestone - N'Doye and play Quinn - Hernandez and Aluko. Fresh legs for a start and dont do what Stoke expect us to do. Of the next 2 games beating Sunderland is far more important imo.
I would go for the same team, and hope Diame is fit for the Sunderland game, and maybe give Robertson a go instead of Brady who apart from the cross for the goal I thought was average Saturday.
Full result: Jelavic Dawson N'Doye Full table and Player of the Month after the Stoke game gets counted next week.
