They were torn apart by Tottenham. I'd still go with something like this. It is clear you want us to go all out to win the FA Cup. I would like us to do well, but not at the expense of players that may (and I use may, strongly as none of us know) benefit from not playing a game this weekend after playing several in the last fortnight.
I would start with Rickie, he has expressed a desire to play in the FA Cup, wouldn't do any harm to have a decent Cup run, may help build confidence for the Premier, using a mix of youth and experience.
Why not? The number of games played in the last fortnight takes its toll on players, even professionals. If Lovren, for example, picked up a muscle strain and was out for 6 weeks, we'd then be looking at playing Jos or Maya in every game. I believe there is a good justification for carefully selecting the team, based on the knowledge and judgment of the fitness experts the club employees. They know more than you or I.
I expect 6 or 7 changes. Reed, Gallagher, Yoshida etc can all get a go. I can think of several players who need a 10 day break. Haters gonna hate.
For me Ford, it is not simply about the Cup v the League, but about the timing of the cup game. It is a game against a championship team that would be great to win, not essential. It is essential that we keep progressing in terms of league performances (that by the way, have gone a little of the boil since we've started picking up injuries) and because we have played a large numbers of games in a short space of time. I think some should be rested. If this was the 5th round sometime in February, I'd be saying go for it, because it would not be at the end of a run of games in a short period.
What about Lovren, Chambers, Davis, etc? Big gamble. The fitness experts in the professional game will tell you that this period is the most dangerous for picking up niggling or serious muscle injuries. Anyone picks one up, then we either play with them while not at full fitness and risk further injury, or we replace them with someone weaker for a run of league games where we should be looking to progress from the good start we have made. Tom, a question: do you think that playing 5 games in 14 days puts no strain on an athlete?
Understand about the timing and is a fair point. 4 games in 13 days or something ridiculous isn't it? A few changes I feel will definitely happen, just if we make 8 then go out it will be an oppurtunuty missed n also i think quite a boring end to the season.
It would be if we were fighting to avoid relegation, or fighting for a European place. But we're 9th and going to stay there for at least another 2 weeks. We've got a golden chance to go a long way in one of football's most prestigious competitions, we should grab it with both hands. I'm not denying that playing 5 games in 14 days puts strain on an athlete but I think it's a risk worth taking. I referee out in the States every summer, and I do 4 or 5 games a day for 10 days in a row. The worst injury I have got so far is cramp. I also suffered from mild heatstroke at one point but that isn't going to happen to the Saints players.
Another thing that may go in our favour is when we were in Burnleys position 2 years ago I think a cup run was the last thing on our minds.
Oh and another reason why we can field a strong team on Saturday is that the transfer window is open. If we did get an injury to Lovren, or Morgan, or Lallana we can dip into the loan market and get someone to cover easily. The replacements may not be as good, but they will be better than our reserves and would be PL standard.
Think this is my view, for a long time I've felt this season we're not gonna hit top 6 and we're not gonna get relegated so we should def have a go. I'd rather finish 13th and win the Cup than go out on Saturday n stay 9th all season.
Yeah, I don't want to risk Shaw, but we really need to win this match to keep this amazing season burning bright. This is a fantastic opportunity.
I'm sure you perfectly well know that isn't true. I know you want an unchanged squad out but these players need rests, and this is the best chance for the rest of the season.
What's the weather supposed to be like on Sat? My day has unexpectedly been freed up, I may wander down and watch this...
Rest Lovren and Shaw. Get Schneiderlin and Lallana off once we've put the game to bed. Everyone else can man up and do their jobs.
