Lloris; Smith/Naughton Dawson (capt) Caulker JV; Sandro Hudd Lennon Bale JD Ade Subs Cudicini Smith/Naughton BAE/Gallas Siggy Livermore Mason Pritchard/Falque/Carroll I'd save Dempsey and Dembele for Soton, hoping Dembele is fit by then.
Fair team. For me JV and Sandro need a break too. Tommy needs to keep playing, on form and match fit he is still one of my favourite players and it's sad to see him off the pace. Siggy needs game time too, he looks neat and tidy in central midfield and him and Tommy will keep possession well, so not sure we need a DM as such. Jake to come on if we need to shore up later. My team then Lloris Smith Dawson Caulker Naughton Lennon Hudd Siggy Townsend Ade JD
Lloris, Smith, Dawson (C), Caulker, Naughton Livermore, Hudd Lennon, Sig, Townsend Ade Subs: Carlo, Verts, Pritchard (really wanna see this kid given a chance, impressed me big time in the Barca next-gen game), Carroll, Falque, Mason, Defoe. I'd give Sandro a complete rest, now Parker's out 'til Christmas, I want the risk of Sandro picking up any form of injury very minimul, thus meaning he doesn't feature at all in the Europa or domestic cups. Dempsey's done a lot of travelling so keeping him at home will be for the best I think. IF we had another CB in our ranks, I'd leave Jan out too, like Sandro he's ran his heart out and needs a break.
Meant being left out altogether, should have expalined that bit better sorry though I left an edit just before you posted mate saying about Gallas being the sub, though I doubt AVB will do that. He seems to rate Gallas above all at the moment. Which really frustrates me.
Playing 442 away with Huddlestone in midfield? Not for me. Benny should be fit to start so I'd put him straight back in and give Caulker and Vertonghen a game in the middle together. Taking Bale away from his wife and new born baby for 1/2 nights seems a bit cruel to me. Some men might be grateful of a quiet night's sleep( ) but Bale comes across as very much a family man. If Townsend's going to benefit from being in the squad he needs to get some starts too. It's a shame we messed up against Panathaniakos because it'd be good if we were able to give Falque or Pritchard a chance playing behind the striker as Sigurdsson's struggled and Dempsey isn't quite there either. Not looking forward to the game, we need to win it but it's an unecessary distraction before another important league game.
Fair enough YV, but I think Sandro and Hudd can do the job there, but we'll see there. Maybe Siggy in the team, and I just realised I missed out on Townsend. I completely disagree with you about the game being a distraction though, and I'm looking forward to it as I'm backing AVB's desire to win this tournament. To me this game is as important as Southampton. Both are pretty much 'must wins'. In light of other people's comments I now go Lloris; Smith/Naughton Dawson (capt) Caulker JV; Sandro Hudd Lennon Bale JD Ade Subs Cudicini Smith/Naughton BAE/Gallas Siggy Livermore Townsend Mason/ Pritchard/Falque/Carroll Maybe Siggy in for JD, Townsend in for Bale.
But you haven't picked a team. If you're going to try and think like a manager and pick his team, then at least pick 11 players and 7 substitutes.
Lloris Smith Dawson Caulker Naughton Sandro Huddlestone Townsend Sigurdsson Bale Ade Subs: Gomes, Vertonghen, Sandro, Bale, Defoe, Livermore, Carroll
No I added in Townsend on the bench, and can also see him playing instead of Bale, which I didn't think of before. Also, in view of other comments including your good self's am more inclined to play Siggy instead of JD now.
I'd like to see Livermore and Hudd start in he middle. As previous posters have said we shouldn't risk Sandro as I think he's played nearly every game so far and Parker is out until Christmas. Carroll to come off the bench at some point as well, I am a fan of his and if our position in the group was a bit more secure I'd be game for him starting. Be nice to see Townsend starting as well, I think he's got some talent and it would be nice to see him get a proper game. The likes of Falque would be good to see as well maybe, haven't seen him play for ages so can someone perhaps tell us how he's getting on these days or something? Dawson and Caulker would be my preferred CB pairing, if BAE is back then bring him back into the team ready for the weekend with Naughton on the right, if not then Smith on the right with Naughton at LB. Lloris in goal for me. Oh, and Ade up front. So...... Lloris Naughton - Dawson - Caulker - BAE Livermore - Huddlestone Townsend - Sigurdsson - Bale Adebayor Seeing the likes of Carroll on the bench and getting some game time is important IMO, as is having Sandro and Defoe on the bench in case we need that extra spark or defensive measure. If Falque is doing well then I wouldn't be adverse to seeing him even start ahead of Bale. That depends on the state of Maribor as well, as I'll readily confess that I know next to nothing about their current form and player roster.
Sandro had quite a rest in the international break, I think he hardly played at all for Brazil, certainly only a few minutes during their last game. So I don't think he needs a rest. I'm a big fan of Jake but he doesn't seem quite there ATM. This is pretty much a 'must win' game and defeat will almost certainly see us out of the tournament, so I don't want to see any fringe players like Falque starting. Maybe Livermore Hudd Siggy wil be good enough with Ade up front, that wouldn't be terrible, but I don't know.
"Maybe Livermore Hudd Siggy will be good enough" By my reckoning, this is the 3rd different midfield you have chosen since you started this thread. I guess the last 4 words of your latest post pretty much sum you up.
I like Huddlefro's lineup. This may be one of those games where the starters are liable to be stale, other players are desperate to get some playing time, and you're better off with the latter. I'm not sure I wouldn't rather play Lennon, have Townsend play on the left, and give Bale another day off, though. Sub Carroll for Huddlestone in the second half. It's time to find out how good Carroll is, because I think we'll use him if he can continue to do well.
I'd like to see an strong side with a mix of experience and a couple of youngsters included. Lloris Walker, dawson, caulker, naughton Lennon,Livermore,thud,Townsend Gylfi Ade Subs Carlo, verts,carrol,JD,smith,dempsey,Falque Walker needs a low key game to try and regain his confidence. Sandro has played every game and although he might not have played much for brazil, the travelling is knackering and we need him fresh & fit for the weekend. Townsend deserves a chance, hopefully AVB will play him on the left! Daws again deserves a run out and I'd use this game to get him match fit for the weekend-dropping gallas. Again, Ade deserves his chance. I'd leave bale at home with his new born. But that's only my opinions and the side I'd give a run out. COYS
I'd agree with that except I would play Sandro, as you say he hasn't really played over the international break but the jet lag is only a short term problem and they were only in Poland midweek so he has no more reason to be jet lagged than Lennon or Walker.
Hi J8, the travelling is knackering I agree, but Sandro didn't travel anywhere near as much as Dempsey, yet AVB saw fit to play him on Saturday lunchtime. To me, Sandro should play, but if he doesn't so be it. However, I don't think this is a low key game at all, and neither does AVB. If the players do, we could be heading out of the tournament by the group stage, once again.
