| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow 06:30 - Sep 14 with 2269 views | Blue_Heath |
Reserves or 1st team, I know we beat Arsenal at home last time in the cup but this current Arsenal squad is one of the best squads the prem has ever seen.
Their second 11 would probably finish easily in the top 10.
Think I'd keep most of the defence/midfield but change attacking players and keeper. |  |
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| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 10:51 - Sep 14 with 407 views | rickw |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 07:38 - Sep 14 by _CliveBaker_ |
Heavy rotation I would think. There are 6 or 7 players we need to protect for the league, namely Davis, Palacios, Enciso, Emersonn, Fatawu, Diop. I wouldn’t play any of them tomorrow. Something like:
Walton
Furlong O’Shea Kipre Ouattara
Nunez Florentino
Maeda Egeli Philogene
Akpom
Get some minutes in Matusiwa, Mehmeti & Flemming off the bench. Arsenal will make loads of changes too. |
I'd go with this team, but Flemming starting for Akpom, Matusiwa to come on after 60 for Florentino too |  |
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| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 11:47 - Sep 14 with 350 views | Mookamoo |
Philogene and Florentino have to start to get the minutes in. Would rather not see Enciso or Palacios in the squad at all.
If we want Akpom to be able to operate as a No9, then he has to try and build on what he has done so far. I would start him and bring Flemming on after 65 minutes.
Nunez and Kipre need to start. Would prefer to see Egeli at 10.
Throw in a Furlong and Ouattara as well. |  | | |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 12:55 - Sep 14 with 297 views | norfsufblue |
Just hoping whoever we pick that we dont expose Cedric Kipre to this Arsenal team....they would be very unlikely to play to his strengths so it would not do his confidence any good either just giving him minutes tomorrow |  | | |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 13:13 - Sep 14 with 280 views | iaijn |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 07:50 - Sep 14 by BloomBlue |
Reserves, match fitness is different to training ground fitness. Staying in the PL is the one and only aim this season, we will probably require the entire squad at some point in a league game, it's unfair on them to come into a PL game having not had any match time. Give the reserves a match, if we lose, we lose, but better we do that in a cup game. |
This. Playing the reserves is prioritising the league in two senses. Protects the current first team, *and* maximises the fitness of the others for when we inevitably need them to come in. That's even without the morale side of giving them something to do while they wait. It's not like our second string is even that weak these days. |  | | |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 13:55 - Sep 14 with 244 views | jonny1964 |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 06:34 - Sep 14 by WolfieAtTheBack |
Had a think about this and no reason the first team cannot play Tuesday and Saturday barring injuries. I guess GON has to keep the squad happy though and do some rotating.
In some ways both games this week are a free hit.
Personally I would like to see us have a cup run, if we were to beat Arsenal then we would have a good chance to run deep. Why not. |
Do you think Everton is a 'free hit'? I would like to think we go there and get something, although i may be in cloud cuckoo land.... | | | |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 14:13 - Sep 14 with 237 views | hunty21 |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 07:09 - Sep 14 by WolfieAtTheBack |
Everton will be a very difficult away game, if we come away with a point then that would be above expectation. A much greater task than Palace IMO. |
Disagree everton are kind of games we should be competing with , yes they are tough and well drilled but its not a free hit a draw would be fair or win | | | |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 14:31 - Sep 14 with 224 views | Wright1 |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 06:56 - Sep 14 by PioneerBlue |
I imagine big rotation. Is that enough to get a foothold before more familiar starters become finishers? not sure but that is likely to be the case for Arsenal too.
Arsenal will of course be stronger player for player but there is plenty for our players to play for. GON might also decide one or two could go again like Palacios, or bring Jaden or Matusiwa in for a start but most likely use them as finishers and bring back slowly.
Walton
Ouatarra
Kipre
DOS
Furlong
Florentino
Nunez
McAteer
SWE
Maeda
Flemming |
I want Palacios no where effing near this - protect that man at all costs. His injury record isn't the best and we need him in as many PL games as possible if we are to survive. | | | |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 14:34 - Sep 14 with 224 views | Wallingford_Boy |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 07:09 - Sep 14 by WolfieAtTheBack |
Everton will be a very difficult away game, if we come away with a point then that would be above expectation. A much greater task than Palace IMO. |
Very difficult - yes, free hit - certainly not.
I would hope for a point. |  |
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| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 14:37 - Sep 14 with 221 views | Wright1 |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 10:10 - Sep 14 by HighgateBlue |
I would accept very heavy rotation (i.e. not taking this competition seriously) if it meant taking the FA Cup more seriously.
We can afford to do the latter, as we have fewer league games than last year, more recovery time between them (the other side of the same coin), and to be honest a bigger realistic squad. And at this stage of the season, there are still players about whom GON needs to learn, and who need to learn about us.
I think in reality it may well be the same team who faced Leicester, save that Philogene probably replaces Clarke, and AN Other replaces Humphreys (Florentino maybe, or in an ideal world, Matusiwa if he's fit enough to start, which may be wishful thinking).
Flemming is fit from his time at Burnley, so I wouldn't be overly itching to start him. He's clearly sharp enough, and he's certainly got his head screwed on.
Ouattara remains an interesting one. On the one hand, this sort of game at the start of the season might be used to see where he fits in. Realistically I doubt he nails down a CM spot this season following Palacios' arrival, he's clearly not going to oust Davis, and given what he cost, there is the suspicion that he might be GON's intended RB. But if we play him at RB in this game, then when does Furlong ever get minutes, and also who plays LB? Maybe GON just sees him as an all round utility option with a good attitude, high ceiling/resale value, and real potential if it all goes wrong and we end up back in the Champ. If that's the case, then maybe Dara is at RB for the duration, Luke Chambers stylee.
I know this is a Cup discussion, but if we're going to play Dara at RB this season, and we stay up, you'd have to think that the defence will be in for a major rebuild in the summer. If Dara struggles at RB, and GON doesn't see Ouattara there, then you can see it being something that's addressed in January. My guess is that that is the position where the transfer business just didn't come off. Which is fair enough. You can't have it all. |
Without going too off topic, I still believe we would have seen a couple more incomings if we could have got more out the door - right back and centre half probably. I'm sure the plan was for Mehmeti, Palmer and maybe Taylor to go out the door but that didn't happen which limited us. | | | |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 14:46 - Sep 14 with 214 views | HighgateBlue |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 14:37 - Sep 14 by Wright1 |
Without going too off topic, I still believe we would have seen a couple more incomings if we could have got more out the door - right back and centre half probably. I'm sure the plan was for Mehmeti, Palmer and maybe Taylor to go out the door but that didn't happen which limited us. |
Yes I'm sure you're right there.
If that /is/ the case, then hopefully in terms of budget we'll have a few quid up our sleeves for January if GON so requires. In terms of squad spaces, it may be that a couple of those would go out on loan to get minutes in the second half of the season. |  | | |
| Can't decide what's best for tomorrow on 15:10 - Sep 14 with 196 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
Nope, you need wholesale changes. Arsenal in the League Cup third round is not a big game for us, maybe 4 years ago it was.
Giving someone like Palacios a 3-game week after his injury record last season would be stupid. |  |
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