Good Morning Everyone, Two wins in a week under Garry Monk' Are things on the up? Has Monk turned the corner or have we had two easy fixtures against teams at the bottom of the division. Personally, I think the team is playing better. Green has more confidence, Bridcutt has settled in, Sacko looks a great signing and both our strikers are doing okay (ish). Who have I left out...... Pontius!!! What a find,m the lad looks epic.... Agree? Berardi is back training again, I don't think it is going to be long until he gets his regular right back slot back. The good thing about Ayling is that he can also play centre back. Look at our back four Berardi, Bartley, Pontius and Taylor. Seriously, on paper who have a better back four in the Championship, not many. Then we have Cooper and Ayling as back ups at centre back, Ayling and Coyle are more than adequate replacements at right back and Berardi can switch to left back if needed. Thoughts? Do we keep the same side tomorrow night against Blackburn in the Cup? If not, who would you change. We do have 18 midfielders to pick from. I'd play Silvestri, Coyle, Denton, Cooper, Bartley. Phillips, Dave, Dallas, Grimes, Doukara and Roofe
Morning Ell, Guess you liked your post so much, you posted it twice! Not sure about the line-up for the LC match. I'm pretty sure we'll keep the 4-2-3-1 format, but don't think there will be wholesale changes. We're still building confidence, plus a cup run would be good for morale, as well as the gate perhaps paying another wage in January. I'll have a stab at: .................... Silvestri Coyle ... Jansson ... Cooper ... Denton ............ O'Kane ... Phillips ...... Sacko ... Mowatt ... Roofe ................... Doukara Reasons? - Silvestri speaks for itself - The youngster FBs need a run out. Would like both, but perhaps only one will feature. Jansson needs some game time with Cooper. Long shot - Dave might play CB with Cooper if Monk considers that Bartley & Jansson need a wee rest. - O'Kane needs to continue getting up to speed, and I think Philips will get the nod over Viera as I've always believed they'll be alternated this year. - Roofe needs game time, as does Mowatt in the middle. I think Sacko & Dallas will share the other wing, one half each (my least likely predication after Dave). - I think Doukara will get the nod over Antonsson, but it's a close call. We have to establish who our best backup is for Wood as a lone striker. But then, as always, what the hell do I know?
Morning ... Pontius Pilate has definitely helped influence the mentality in the team, he clearly hates conceding goals, and his calmness allows the others around him to focus on their roles ... George Graham swore blind that you build your team from the back, and his Arsenal defence was mean ... Red Nose (think it's purple now) built his teams based on a strong spine through the middle, starting with his 'keeper and CBs ... we now look as if our defence is becoming settled and confident, and if we keep improving in this area, then clean sheets will become the norm, and that means positive results ... the Championship has very few quality defences, hence so many unpredictable results ... our unpredictable defending woes are starting to look like a bad dream, long may The Lighthouse rule Berardi will be like a new signing now, and he will add passion and desire to the dressing room, as well as raising the stakes for the others to fight to keep their places ... think we should keep the defence intact for Rovers, maybe make three or four changes in front of them and go for the win ... another good result will really help to settle the squad, build confidence (specially at home) and hopefully land us a cracking home tie as a bonus things are looking up, that second half at Cardiff was a real pleasure to watch, and Leeds were very comfortable ... only thing we needed to do was get one or two further up the pitch and in and around their box, the opportunity was there to thrash them ... Viera has the ability to add weight to the attack, but he sat very deep for most of the game, even when the threat from Cardiff had gone ... we just need that extra player joining the attacks, getting another man to drive at defenders and frighten them, and more goals will come ... Monk seems to have the team playing with a real togetherness, now he will be able to focus on the tactical and decision making details more intensely, and we will see even more improvement in our players ... MOT Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Definitely need to rest most of the team imo. I think WJ's team is almost what I would go for. Although I would probably give Sacko a rest, not sure who for as I probably wouldn't want to play Dallas either. Don't really care about the result that much to be honest. League cup is annoying rather than anything else, especially the fixtures where you play someone from your own division
Oh dear. One of the happy clappies seems to think we have gone from being utterly ****e to world beaters cos we beat Cardiff.
Great result ok result first half, solid better result second half. Agree on everything about our defence as I think its the best we've had since premier league. Monk is getting back what he has put in from the lads and long may that continue. The only problem I can see is the lack of an early goal. It seems we've gotten through to half time in the matches we've won and then had a kicking from Monk and turned it on in the 2nd half. We need to start scoring early, relaxing and stroking it about and killing teams off. If we don't we will lose games we should have won and start to put pressure on again. Imagine Wood getting on the score sheet after 5 minutes, I reckon he would get a hat trick and the team would be playing with confidence and really put on a performance for Monk Monk wants to win every match so not sure he will send out his second string? he may make a couple of changes and may play some for 45 minutes. Coyle right back with Ayling in place of a rested Pontus. Lets see how Ayling can cope at CB with either Bartley or Coops
I don't think anyone thinks we are world beaters yet, but Saturdays game suggested that Jansson and Bartley could be our strongest central defensive pairing for a long time. Surely that is a cause for some optimism?.
My team for tommorow: GK - Green RB - Coyle CB - Janson CB - Cooper LB - Taylor CM - O Kane CM - Phillips RW - Roofe CAM - Mowatt LW - Sacko ST - Wood A bit of rotation but still enough stability to win the game.
Morning all, I have a feeling Wood, Jannson, Taylor, Green will be the ones rested at the back, with Berardi on the comeback resting Ayling now isn't as important? Roofe and Antonnson I would say are certainties to start, Doukara too, maybe Doukara, Roofe and Mowatt forming the three behind Antonnson with the option of swapping Antonnson and Doukara around. Personally, I think we should play our strongest team and go all out for a win, in reality I expect at least 7/8 changes. Silvestre Coyle Bartley Cooper Denton That would be my back four then as we were at the weekend, strongest possible lineup midfield onwards but I don't expect it to happen.
Morning all. Good performance Saturday, won £160 on the boys so happy days. Jannsson is a revelation. Defence looks so much better for him, he is obviously building the confidence of those around him. I would play Cooper alongside him in the cup tomorrow night. We know him and Bartley are building a good partnership, tomorrow is a good chance to see if he can do the same with Cooper. As the season goes injuries and suspensions means Cooper will probably play at some point. Happy for Wood, he gets some stick but as long as he keeps scoring then happy days. 2 in 2 and I believe that made his tally 10 in his last 17 games. Nothing wrong with that at all. If the likes of Hernandez and others can chip in with a few more then we will up there if our defence keeps doing what it did Saturday. 4 wins in 6 games is a cause for positivity but we need to carry it forward and keep the results coming in. Another win against a poor Blackburn tommorow and I would take a draw against Ipswich Saturday to keep the non losing run going.
Possibly. But it's way to early to tell. This partnership needs to be seen over half a season. Half a game is no reason to get the bunting out. For me Hernandez looks like something we haven't had for five yearsish. A midfielder comfortable with the ball that can pick a pass, run at defences and has a shot in him. He could chip in with 10-12 goals this season. But again it's too early to change opinions into statements.
Morning all. My view on Saturday. First half I thought Vieira and O'Kane really struggled. Poor touches, sloppy passing and seemed off the pace. 2nd half they were like two different players and that allowed Hernandez to shine more also. Ayling had an iffy first half as well but did much better after the break. Special mention for Green who had a solid game and now deserves his place. The back five now look more assured than for a long time and the understanding between them is starting to grow. It's pretty clear that the catalyst for all of this is Jansson. Put Bamba back in there and we'd be all at sea again. Anyone notice how Jansson is not given anyone to mark at defending set pieces. He's a free man and just told to go and win the ball when it's in the central area. Tactically much better so well done Monk. Let's be realistic though, if Cardiff had scored first then we probably would have lost the game. Same as maybe we would have won against Huddersfield had we scored first. We are not good enough to blow teams away but at least we have more solidity at the back so won't get hammered either. Expect wholesale changes for tomorrow, Monk citing the lads looking a bit heavy legged and all the usual nonsense. This then results in a poor performance and lost momentum with the rested players coming back in for Saturday playing awful losing the game and Monk saying we need to bounce back. Sound familiar ?
Mornin all.Great to be talking about the right stuff. Think Monk will have to put out a strong team tomorrow. He was conscious of the bullshit being written last week about him being under fire, so will know every win he puts on the board, regardless of the competition, makes his job that little bit safer. Someone bring glory up to speed on the last week as Im busy today. Hes clearly using posts he wrote before his holidays and hasnt cottoned on to our promotion push since he fecked off
Morning Elland. Everything is moving in the right direction. Think Monk should ring the changes to keep one or two fit for Saturday and give the squad the opportunity to push for starting spots. Also think Beradi won't necessarily get back in the starting XI
I think this game is going to be more difficult than when we beat'em 2-1 Elland, which wasn't a convincing win. Blackburn may well have their confidence and tails up after their 4-2 win over Rotherham (another team at bottom) and they came from behind to do it with 4 separate goal scorers, on other hand, our tails may be up too and we kick their proverbials big time. Some think the League Cup isn't really worth it, well, it was when Revie's Leeds United did it in 68, and were runners up in 96; goes to show how the importance and benefits of the League Cup has dwindled for some. The further we progress in this cup, the more money we make and gain recognition; the winners qualify for Europe. The major benefit is putting Silverware in cupboard, and gaining recognition for a while, then there's the money to be made. Nowadays some managers/coaches use it to give other players playing time while resting others, not a bad idea but depends on the importance the manager/coach puts on the LC. Going out early doesn't give the other players much playing time, going for the wins helps to build confidence and ability in oneself, and as a team the further we progress. Beating Blackburn this time around depends on the players Monks picks, and the importance he puts on the competition; if any manager doesn't put importance on cup, why bother entering it.
Monk has stated he wants to win every match and the cup is no different. The club need more exposure especially if it increases the valuation ....
If we play our normal starting XI in their current vein, we'd walk it, especially at home. However, I think Monk will rest a couple to make sure everyone is fit for the bigger game at the weekend. Still think we'll win. But it won't be a walkover
Afternoon WJ, Monk is still an inexperienced Manager. It will be interesting to see what Monk does...
