Real football begins again Sunday after a long and tedious "international" break. We have a few new players, plus an important one who should be back from injury and ready to play. Any guesses on the lineup? I'm going with: Schwartzer Grygera Hughes Hangeland Briggs Duff Sidwell Murphy Dempsey Zamora and Muamer "Der Panzer" Tankovic (unless Bryan Ruiz is fit) subs: Sendros, Baird, Sa, Etuhu, Johnson, Dembele and Somogyi (GK)
I think you're right with the defence, DR. Up front will be Zamora (or Sa, if Bobby isn't deemed fit enough) and Ruiz or Dempsey. If the latter, Dembele to play left midfield. I would be surprised to see Tankovic starting just yet, given his age and inexperience. Sub appearances will be the most he gets for the team being. Then again, I've called every starting line up this season wrong so far, so Tankovic it is! Has anyone heard how long Riise the Elder is expected to be out?
Adding Tankovic was a joke ... irresistible name. No, I'd expect to see Ruiz playing just off Bobby - at least that's my hope. But you never know. We aren't privileged to see how things work out in training. I'm sure at this point, Jol's taking a fresh look at nearly every position on the field, looking for the right combination of players to create the strongest team. Maybe Ruiz and Sa is the magical combination. Or maybe its Ruiz on the right with Dempsey and Zamora up front. It's a little like Christmas, waiting to see how the new players will be used. It's exciting. Ruiz can't play in the Euro Cup, so I'd expect to see him all of the Premiership matches for which he's fit.
I'll answer my own question about Riise the Elder: http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro2012/matches/season=2012/round=15171/match=2002302/index.html He played for Norway on Tuesday. I guess he must be fit. Good news!
With 3 home games in a row, Jol might gradually put the new players into the team. For Blackburn I'd have Baird in instead of Grygera, JA Riise in for Briggs (who may have a slight injury). Depends if Zamora is fully fit, then up front with Ruiz. If not maybe Dempsey with Ruiz, and Dembele. Change it around for Twente Look at Sa up front with Johnson. Briggs for Riise, Grygera for Baird, Senderos for Hughes, Gecov for Murphy, Kasami for Sidwell, Dembele in for Duff. Then for Man City revert back to the Blackburn team with the hope Zamora is fully fit to partner Ruiz.
In a press conference Jol strongly hints that he will play Ruiz on Sunday. The whole tenor of his statement suggests a much more relaxed man now that the transfer frenzy is behind him. Which can only be good news for everyone and especially the squad. Interesting that he also alludes to still having a big interest in Gigan. January is not that far away! Personally I think a major concern will be how little time he has had, because of International comitments/ Ruiz late arrival, with the full squad on the training field. It can't have been more than a couple of days. I suspect he will play safe and start with the 'old boys', with the exception being Ruiz for Duff. Here's an extract of his statement - "But I have to say [the transfer window] was a bit long. "If you have a transfer window it takes four, five, six weeks talking about people coming or leaving. It is a bit unsettling. "I am happy now with the squad. We now have almost two players in every position. "Maybe not like Manchester City or Chelsea but I think we did well. "We had 10 or 11 players left and we got six or seven players in so we are fine." Jol ruled out the possibility of playing all three deadline-day signings in Sunday's Premier League clash against Blackburn, although Ruiz could start. "We will wait and see whether he will play this weekend because there are always different things [to consider]," he said. "Sometimes you have to throw a player in at the deep end but sometimes it might be good to look at the first XI, look at the style and what we do and get to know the players. "But I think Bryan is one of them that could start." Despite declaring himself pleased with his squad, Jol was frustrated to miss out on Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac. The 25-year-old was at the club's Motspur Park training ground on deadline day and ready to join the Cottagers on loan until Marseille pulled out at the last minute. Jol refused to rule out another move for Gignac when the transfer window reopens in January but was relieved to be able to bring in Portuguese attacker Sa. "It is always good to have a good look at the players again," he said of Gignac. "As you know, the transfer window is a madhouse in England and we had a very good relationship with the player, Gignac. "He wanted to stay and didn't want to go back, but he had to so that was the only thing that was a bit annoying, you know? "First they said you can get him on loan and then they said, 'No, we don't have another player for him,' so they called him back. That was pretty annoying." Because Bobby [Zamora] was injured I thought we needed somebody for him and Orlando was there and it proved to be a good plan B."
Real football indeed Demps. Never understood the timing of the season start. For me the transfer window should shut before the season starts and these international fixtures should happen a bit later. New players need time to get to know the new squad of players they are joining. Instead they join a team and they, if international players, go straight off only to join their new squads just before the league starts up again. Schwarzer Grygera Hughes Hangeland Riise Murphy Sidders Duff Dembele Dempsey Ruiz If Bobby is coming back from an injury, we should give him a bit longer to make sure he is fully fit. He could be key for the Twente game. Be interesting to see how Dembele gets on playing off Ruiz, if he does not have the impact needed then it would be great to Kasami pushing up after his 2 goals during the week. Cannot wait, just hope we give a good account of ourselves. COYW
