I think we will have to be careful, of the young’uns, with regards to overplaying them. Not saying that Lavia’s injury was due to that, but playing at the highest levels, week in, week out, must put a strain on young bodies that are still becoming accustomed to the additional work rate, at a faster pace. Wasn’t there a line of thought that Tino’s injury might have been due to overworking him, with a knee issue before the cruciate? Hopefully with a better squad of players, we can afford to rotate them a little bit, to protect them, without weakening the team too much.
There was that line of thought - it seemed to be most vocally championed by the people who wanted to use that logic to criticise the manager. Which is why I have also seen people suggest already that Lavia's injury is due to being "overplayed" (I know you haven't). The overplaying thing is a fear. But I'd like to think it wouldn't be an issue after as little as 5 games. Tino played circa 20 pretty much fully. Not sure who does / did more running / sprints on average out of the two.
Chris Sutton is following in Lawro's footsteps by predicting that whoever plays Saints will win. In this case, 2-1 to Wolves. His logic is that Wolves are overdue a win. He did not notice that Saints beat Chelsea, as this must clearly have been a blip in the fabric of space and time. It occurs to me that Saints are going about things in a not dissimilar way to Leicester, the year they stormed the Premier League. I'm not saying it's nailed on, but when Saints are five points clear in May, don't forget you heard it here first. If anyone needs tomorrow's Lottery numbers, I am happy to guess wildly...
People will still demand that we're at least 10 points clear, and Ralph needs to be replaced, by Moyes, or Big Sam, or Eddie Howe, or someone who hasn't lost the dressing room
So I expect we will see: Bazunu KWP ABK Salisu Perraud / Djenepo JWP Diallo Aribo / AMN Elyounoussi Adams A. Armstrong Subs: McCarthy Lyanco Larios Djenepo / Perraud AMN / Aribo Edozie S. Armstrong Mara Walcott (somehow, still ?) Unless we opt for any of the young players like Edwards or Ballard for that final spot. Hopefully during the season this happens for those two and maybe the returning Dibling once he is reintegrated Although DCC would probably take that final slot when his registration is sorted As above I’d suggest only two spots are really available at the moment. Left back due to fitness and Lavia’s replacement. It seems like that we are again short in that position. I think the decision depends on AMN’s fitness and prep
It's a well-known fact that professional footballers are delicate beings, who need to be cossetted at all times, and they couldn't possibly run around for 90 plus minutes more than once a fortnight, if only to allow them to pursue their other money-making interests. Cynical? Moi?
Tino was over stretched, Lavia was just unfortunate (or lino’s fault if you want a scapegoat). IMO (standard default).
But if he was that should be on the physios. Aren’t there people now who assess “red zones” and things? And it won’t be Ralph doing that. Also him being overstretched is not really the reason for his major injury. The meniscus in the opposite knee - yes Lavia was unlucky and play should have been stopped but they don’t seem like they are going to change that rule
Didn’t say it was Ralph. Deft think he was over stretched though; he looked tired & jaded as many said prior to & then he popped. Good knee? Bad knee? I think it’s well known about over compensating? Just my observation as an oldie on the terraces.
I think it would be very healthy for there to be a stickied “I was wrong about…” thread to encourage people to take the opportunity to walk back some of their smooth-brained contemplations that they may have deemed acceptable for public consumption.
Again slating of those of us with differing views of Ralph and the same turgid comments about a dire replacement. Given the excellent transfer window and the recent win over Chelsea, one would have thought there would be more positive expression from the faithful.
This is one of those statements that, if taken out of context, would almost certainly have the forces of law and order checking on the contents of LTL's laptop and phone, with a view to prosecution
