No press conference today with the press interest (sic!) all elsewhere. From various reports, Grimmer and Bodurov are out so the back four isn’t really open to choice. Dependent that is on the fitness of Jazz Richards. I fear he’s still out and Kit will do the obvious - but disastrous thing - of playing Hoogland at right back. With there being no obvious U21 left to bring in (and they also play tomorrow night in any event) he could be adventurous and play 3 at the back or switch Husband (who looks a decent 2-footed player) - but he won’t. Scotty Parker is the other main doubt. And my guess is he’s also still out. For once this is a game that cries out for a negative tactic and playing for a draw. Kit could stack the midfield - but he won’t. Something about McCormack’s apparent apathy and his ‘Berbatovesque’ arm waving in the Brentford game suggest all is not quite right. Kit should give him a rest with so many games coming up in quick succession - but he won’t. Smith should start - but he won’t. No, what we’ll see is Kit’s idea of a defensive, hold-em-deep ’diamond’: ……………….Bettinelli……………… ..Hoogland…..Turner…Burn…..Husband…. ………Tunnicliffe..Guthrie..Stafylidis… ……Ruiz………………….McCormack.. ………………..Hugo…. He might fiddle with the left wing-back position and play Kavanagh. Some of us would probably prefer Hyndman but I don’t think he’s quite ready to come back yet. He might even surprise us and play Adil Chihi - somewhere!!
Got the gravitas FI. Said a few times before that I thought it was him that made Cameron Burgess look good. However he's not even getting the nod for the U21s at the moment, well not consistently since his injury. What about young Noe Baba who is a right back and has been taking over Liam's U21 centre back position recently?
Kit must think Donnelly has something about him considering he named him on the bench for the Huddersfield game. You'd know a lot more than me about Baba's ability. I've only seen him play twice, both for Ireland U19s. He played well on both occasions but I doubt he's ready to make the step up to the first team.
Well neither Donnelly nor Baba are in the U21 squad today which could suggest both will be in the senior squad tonight. I'm sure if they were both fit and available and not in first team plans they would be playing ahead of Sheckleford and Davies. If Richards, Grimmer, Bodurov and Hutchinson are all unavailable then the two youngsters are our only cover for both RB and CB so it wouldn't surprise me to see them both in the squad tonight. Edit: Actually forgot about Casasola, he's another option but has been struggling to get game time at U21 level so doubt he'll make the squad.
It's not an ideal situation but our hands are tied. The general consensus is if you have 2 players for every position then you should be ok. We have both our RBs and 2 of our CBs out which is quite unfortunate. If those players are 50/50 then I'd leave them out tonight and have them back for Friday which is a much more important game. The most likely scenario anyway is as C58 suggested, Hoogland at RB. The youngsters will be back up and will only play if somebody is forced off with an injury. As an aside, I watched the U21s away to Liverpool today (they won 2-1) and Liverpool dominated the game so the make shift backline of Sheckleford - Davies - Buatu - Evans had to defend for pretty much the whole game. I was massively impressed by Jonathan Buatu who bullied Liverpool's strikers who were by no means lightweights. Granted I've not seen nearly enough of any of our youngsters to formulate a reliable opinion, but of what I have seen Buatu looks the most developed and ready for senior level. C58 and Rosc will of course have a better idea than me.
It's difficult to assess with the U21s seldom having had a settled side this season - and so many of the U18s stepping in, like Davies today. Jon Buatu is certainly an athletic, quite rounded footballer. When I've seen him I had thought he could impose himself more on the game so it's good to hear that he was a bit of a 'bully boy' today. Young (17yr old) Raheem Sheckleford will be one to watch - mentioned before how much he impressed the two scouts in the Norwich game at the Cottage. Notice Emerson Hyndman wasn't in the U21squad against Liverpool. Good chance he'll be in the main squad tonight then, although like the others you mention FI probably on the bench.
Hoogland at RB, Donnelly on the bench. Bettinelli, Hoogland, Turner, Burn, Husband, Guthrie, Parker, Tunnicliffe, Kavanagh, Smith, McCormack. Subs: Kiraly, Donnelly, Stafylidis, Ruiz, Kacaniklic, Woodrow, Rodallega. No place for Hyndman then?
FI I feel that Buatu is definitely one for the future big strong lad well over 6ft, but for me somewhat of an enigma, awful, mediocre to brilliant, there is a case for him going on a season long loan to a championship side where he would be playing week in and out, a great feature is his speed and recovery rate. I also have great hopes for Freddie Plumain. Roberts & Hyndman ? probably to good for Kits side
We seem to be playing pretty well tonight, but the lack of a second goal makes me feel we'll get sucker punched.
I only caught the last few minutes. Sounds like a decent effort - although against a team with absolutely nothing to play for. For the record the starting XI today contained just three players who began the game against Ipswich on the first day of the season. What a roller coaster we've been on. I think we all deserve a medal for still being here!
Precious point and from what I can gather a game we could have won (albeit not playing brilliantly). The stats are certainly in our favour: Possession 52% to 48% in our favour; and Shots 13 (6 on target) to 7 (1 on target) in our favour And I do believe that's a three game run undefeated away from home.
Wow, I forgot the game was on !! - It's been years since I made a mistake like that. Still, sounds like they did ok without me and I didn't have the stress.
Kit said in his post match comments that Matt Smith was out on his feet at the end of the game when he missed a chance. If he knows he was struggling then why not bring on Woodrow or Hugo? We had another substitution to make. He doesn't do himself many favours with his interviews.
That's exactly what I thought, fresh legs. Will someone please tell me What Tunicliffe brings to the team ? He doesn't tackle often, strolls around, and passes very few balls forward. Get Richards in at RB and move Hoogland into midfield. At last Burn got his chance.
It's disappointing not to get a win, but I think this is more of a point gained than it is 2pts dropped. The next three matches will either see us ease to relatively safety or drop ourselves right back in it. If I had to guess, I'd say it will be the former, but then I've always been something of an optimist. By the sound of it, yesterday was a better performance and something that we can build on, whatever the ongoing complaints about Kit's team selections.
