WE can't afford to risk an injury , might put his MULTI MILLION pound move to the hammers in jeopardy ........
Don't think he was suggesting Rickie was out...he said that SRL and Gaston had knocks that were being assessed.
RL had the knock to his hip, Gaston has palyed 2 games in 10 days so needs another 8 months of sitting on the bench to recover. JRod upfront which is probably his preferred position Davis and Lallana either side. Would love Chambers to play right mid with Cork and Morgan in the middle. A strong 433 with Clyne reclaiming his spot along with hopefully Boruc
I don't think J-Rod is great in the top striker role - if he's playing off the left and Adam right (or swapping) then I think Gallagher deserves a shot in the more "hold up" central position. Rickie hasn't been at his most effective, we all agree, recently, so I don't know that we'd be losing *that* much - of course I may be utterly incorrect, but worth a punt at some stage.
i'd like there to be a moment where shaw, ward prowse, chambers, reed and gallagher are all on the pitch at the same time, that'd really be rubbing it in.
Didn't say he was great, but Gallagher, who is entirely unproven at senior level, is unlikely to be better than him. If the people who know how good he really is think he's good enough, he'll be playing, don't worry.
Btw, Rickie is fit to play on Saturday. In full training today, and has overcome his knock against Burnley.
At least Artur can be involved in first team action again now. Watched this earlier, as I stumbled upon it. [video=youtube;4cLwCbAxP0Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cLwCbAxP0Q[/video]
Another impression I got from watching Mauricio's press conference, was that Artur has a great chance at playing. He had to correct the translator when asked about injuries, because the impression was that Artur 'may make the bench', but MP said he 'may or may not play'. It's a subtle difference, but one that MP was quite particular about. Hope he is ready, would be great to have him back.