| On the bench 08:45 - Sep 20 with 814 views | Len_Brennan |
With pretty much a fully fit squad now, competition for a place on the bench is going to be nearly as keen as for getting into the starting XI. Some very serious players are going to find themselves out of the matchday squad over the coming weeks.
Walton will be there, but McKenna doesn't prioritise defenders in his subs & uses the versatility of his players to plug gaps when needed, so a max of 2 is likely, Johnson & Woolfie or Townsend depending on the game perhaps.
Cajuste or Luongo as the midfield replacement, but probably not both too often, as that reduces the number of forward options down from 5 to 4, and McKenna likes to change the entire front 4 between the 60th (earlier against Brighton) and 75th minute, & will want cover/options within that.
If we look at the likely '2 options for each position' in the front 4, we have Burns/Ogbene on the right, Clarke/Broadhead on the left, Hutchinson/Szmodics in the middle, with Delap/Hirst as centre forward.
In a situation where both Cajuste & Luongo are on the bench, we are seeing Chaplin, Al Hamadi, Taylor, Burgess, H Clarke & either Woolfenden or Townsend out of the matchday squad.
- Arguably Broadhead could lose out instead of Chaplin, with Szmodics a left side option, but either way, one of Chappers & Broadhead are likely to dropped from the matchday squad, while fully fit, on a few occasions this season, which seemed unthinkabe not too long ago.
Of course, unfortunate injuries & suspensions will likely free up spaces as the season goes on, but it's a measure of where we have gotten to, so quickly, that we can even consider such possibilites. |  | | |  |
| On the bench on 09:03 - Sep 20 with 730 views | hype313 |
Yes, I think were going to see a few fans favourites not making matchday squads this season, however, most will be utilised in some capacity this season, so there will be minutes to be had. |  |
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