Took the words out of my mouth, even if it wasn't your first option. We need goals to win anything, and should reward the players who score them.
True! Forgot we play Sunday. Although I'd still wonder if Dembele is 100% ready to start tomorrow's match, he's not played since the start of May asides from one or two appearances for Belgium at the Euro's so it could be risky sticking him in from the off if he isn't fully match ready. Plus I think Son deserves to keep his spot for this, be very harsh to drop after a MOTM display.
Yes, Son has put up a case to play, definitely. However who do you drop? Eriksen looked good on Saturday, Lamela was rested for this game and is vital to the way we play I think or do you risk pulling Alli back into deeper midfield? If Dembele isn't ready, I would like to see Sissoko (one Mousa or the other) and Wanyama is also pushing for a place. It is actually getting tough to pick a team! Lloris Walker - Toby - Vert - Davies Dier - Dembele/Sissoko Lamela - Alli/Son - Eriksen Kane Bench would be Janssen, Alli/Son, Dembele/Sissoko, Wanyama, Wimmer, Trippier, Vorm.
Alli scored the moment he went back to CM against Stoke so it could be an omen! Lol. Besides he's played there countless times so it's an easy move for him. I initially did put Dembele in my starting XI but I do feel he's not likely going to be 100% match fit and because Son played so well the other day it'd just be incredibly harsh to drop him. In a weird way, I'd happily drop Wanyama and keep the new guys on the bench, call it a sentimental call which isn't something I usually do but I think it's only fair that the starting XI for tomorrow night features guys that got us here from last season, so it's a case of Son coming off the back of a MOTM display or Dembele coming back from suspension who was world class last year. For at least the first 45 mins, I'd go with a midfield of: Dier, Alli Lamela, Eriksen, Son Then bring Dembele and anyone else on in due course. EDIT: Agree about toughness of selection, our options are unreal. Strongest squad we've ever had in the Prem by a mile.
If Pochettino deems Dembele is match fit, then IMHO he starts. There are 6 CL group games, and Son will get his share soon enough. Meanwhile I would like Son to be a starter for the PL game to keep his confidence on a roll. This week is now the acid test of the squad, and how Pochettino manages it.
For me Son should start. Monaco's CB's are good in the air so like players who cross the ball so a pacy player like Son will give them problems.
Poch has trained the team on Wembley sized pitches. Like all top managers everything is about details and he never misses.
Good man. Even Mrs Brian, who has attended a lot of football in a professional capacity and used to come to WHL in the early days of our relationship but has lost the buzz, has refused to miss this one.
I've been on a self-imposed 5 week drinking ban but guess who's getting on one tonight . Best bit is my boss is off at the moment, so I may just happen to be "running late" tomorrow morning. For anyone wondering, The Torch is going to be where everyone is drinking. It'll get absolutely rammed though, was crazy at the cup final a couple years back. Many just ended up buying cans from the local offy's.
Think it's a good idea in general, there are a lot of pitches that size in the PL too so it'd be good for us to train on those kinds of pitches. So far we've played 2 games on our own pitch, which we know is small, The Britannia which is really narrow and Goodison which again is small. The standard pitch is 105 x 68 and ours is 100 x 67 so that makes our pitch about 500m^2 smaller, which makes most pitches about 8% bigger than ours. That's a pretty big difference.
Monaco's must be as small as you can get though considering the size of the place. Wonder how it will impact on them?
Oh yeah agree it's a complete dive but I just go for where the atmosphere will be and if it's even half as good there as it was for the Chelsea game I'll be in for a great laugh. Met Mabbutt outside it as well last time so that was always a bonus.
As all seasoned FA Cup watchers know, the first 30 mins makes you believe the pitch is 10x10 in the middle. And the last 15-20 it seems like 150x150 in size. Pochettino will no doubt want to measure the effort of the pressing game on that pitch vs maintaining that effort for 90 mins.
