You're the boss - who do you put in?

So, you have decided to drop Spearing or Pratley and you are currently considering who to bring into the side to fill their place. Who do you give a regular spot to?

The team obviously chops and changes a lot and you would probably make several changes, but for the purpose of this let's assume it's the same line up as last weekend...

Bogdan
Baptiste
Mills
Wheater
Ream
Medo
Eagles
M Davies
Pratley or Spearing
Your pick
Jutkiewicz

I've gone with Odelusi. Since Mason isn't even our player as yet I think it's prudent to stick with one I know will be available.

If Beckford is fit I'd like to see if a partnership with Juke would work as we'd have a bit of mobility to complement Juke's ability to lay if off and hold it up.
But that would require a very solid midfield and if we wanted to have a playmaker e.g. Mavies or Moritz in there, the rest would have to be capable of defending which would be the compromise.
If we're sticking with the regular senior players I'd drop Spearing in favour of Medo.
Work rate wise I'd go for Pratley - leaving one midfield spot which I think in this set up would be best served by Ream - the compromise being a reshuffle of the back four.


So although we'd have 2 strikers in a 442 diamond, the midfield would be more destructive than creative and would lack natural width but I think it's worth a shot just to see what the strike partnership could do.....


..............Bogdan...............


White Wheater Mills Baptiste
.................Medo............
Pratley.......................Ream
................Moritz..............
.........Juke..........Becks......

It will never happen in a month of Sundays, but Spearing, Eagles and to a lesser extent Lee have been fairly ineffectual recently so I reckon that this system could play to our strengths and we could power our way out of trouble.

Danns deserves a starting place for me, he's not the most gifted but he never shirks and gives it his all

I do like the idea of the diamond in midfield not necessarily as Wnderlust has it but it can work. I'm sure we played a diamond in a home game a while ago with Spearing at the base. I would rather see
                   Medo
Danns                        Chungy
                  Mavies

i suspect though if Mason comes in i think it will more likely be a 4411 with Mason behind Jutkiewicz.

Norpig wrote:Danns deserves a starting place for me, he's not the most gifted but he never shirks and gives it his all

I do like the idea of the diamond in midfield not necessarily as Wnderlust has it but it can work. I'm sure we played a diamond in a home game a while ago with Spearing at the base. I would rather see
                   Medo
Danns                        Chungy
                  Mavies

i suspect though if Mason comes in i think it will more likely be a 4411 with Mason behind Jutkiewicz.

Danns is a fair shout, but although Chungy has been better recently, he can't defend for toffee and this diamond has a soft centre IMO. Happily swap Danns for Pratley, but I'd like to see both Ream and Medo in the middle if - and that's a huge if - two strikers were played. Slight concern about whether Danns would offer White enough protection on the right.

This may be met with howls of protest but I'd drop Spearing and play Pratley in the middle if I really HAD to keep one of them. I wouldn't go with a diamond either, mainly because I feel our "wingers" don't do enough dropping back to help the defence, especially when it's Eagles AND Lee. 

Right, here's my line up as per the poll conditions (howls of protest are on their way I'm sure)

Lonergan

Mills - Wheater - Ream - Baptiste

Eagles - Pratley - Medo - Lee

Jutkiewicz - Mason

Subs: Bogdan, Knight, Hall, Danns, Odelusi, Velam Moritz, Beckford (Hall if JB out)

Nothing fancy, just a plain 4 - 4 - 2. 

Medo is our holding guy in this line up, the man to assist the defenders and the man they should aim to pass to when possible. Now here's the lineup I'd LIKE to play

Lonergan

Mills - Wheater - Ream - Baptiste

Eagles - Moritz - Medo - Lee

Jutkiewicz - Beckford (if fit, Mason if not)

Still a plain 4-4-2, with both Medo and Moritz there to win ball and bring it either forward to the front men or get it out to the wingers. As the late great Brian Clough once said about hoofball, "If God wanted us to play the match up there He's have put grass on the clouds".

As Terry Venables said, "Football is a simple game, you stop the opposition at the back, create from midfield and finish at the front." 

Dougie could do worse than to listen to either of those men.