01 Apr 2018 19:25:42
Looking forward to Tuesday, i'd go for:
Johnstone
Elmo Chester Terry Hutton
Jedinak Lansbury
Snodgrass Grealish Kodjia
Hogan
Might seem like quite a few changes but hear me out:
- at the back we looked fine against Hull, one nervous moment from a lack of communication but other than that I think we are solid and organised, however I would swap Tuanzebe for Elmo as individually I think Tuanzebe was quite nervous and wasteful going forward, Elmo sometimes is a little limited defending however going forward offers us a lot.
- in the middle I'd keep Lansbury in, he wasn't in the game as much as we would have liked second half but his distribution with the ball is second to non, he can really pick a pass and showed he can defend and get forward against Hull. I'd keep Jedinak to sure things up until around the 55/ 60 minute mark when things are opening up and then I'd sub him, but not for a bleeding striker it just makes us unbalanced and jack has to drop deeper, I'd swap him for Hourihane, who is more of a threat going forward however has also showed he can do the dirty work. I really want to see Hourihane and Lansbury in a 2/ 3 really with jack, I think that would bring us a good balance, forfeiting some of the defensive soundness that Jedinak/ Bjarnson bring however it more than repays that with the extra bite going forward.
- I'd keep jack and Snodgrass, jack is the only one playing positively looking forward at the minute, and while Snodgrass has gone missing recently he has still been getting good deliveries in. I would however swap Adomah for Kodjia from the start, Adomah has lost confidence, he missed 2 sitters against Hull and kept making poor decisions, Kodjia is very effective from the left and gives us more threat, this also gives Adomah time out to find form coming on from the bench and injecting pace.
- finally I'd swap Grabban for Hogan, Grabban hasn't gone missing recently but he has been lacking in quality, jumping under the ball when challenging for headers, waiting for it to get to him only for someone to nip in and take it, little things that when he first came he was getting right and getting us up the pitch. Hogan up top with Jack behind him is a threat, his constant running is infectious to the rest of the team and gets us up the pitch. I could also see an argument for starting Davis, although he has been lacking a goal and far from being a finisher for us, he has scored twice on international duty, he always has exceptional hold up play and he has a trick or two with quick feet, just think back to that Norwich game very early in the season, with jack behind him and Kodjia and Snodgrass either side of him I think he would thrive.
Just my opinion, some hard decisions in there the most being taking Adomah out however I think it's time for it. Hopefully green is also back to fitness soon to give more options. Hope we seen Lansbury and Hourihane together soon, that could be the key for us in the play offs, with a Jedinak or Bjarnson coming on later stages of a game to sure things up.
We lost two on the bounce and then got a draw, so stopped the rot now let's get on a winning run and go into the play offs flying. If you've got through all of this your a trooper😂 let's have your opinions?
01 Apr 2018 21:00:57
No good at conundrums chris, lol.
01 Apr 2018 22:07:12
Haha what you reckon tho Dave, could Hourihane and Lansbury be defensively sound enough and balanced enough to work? It would definitely help us going forward. And dropping Adomah, he’s been our saviour this season but off form heavily the last 3, I think if we want to build up form we can’t afford to be playing players because they’ve been good to us at some points in the season.
01 Apr 2018 22:30:07
No they would be to open. Maybe play that way at home but away I'd put bb back in the team. Gives us the steel that Jed does but a much better player on the ball and passing. I'd also push jack to the left keep grabben up top and kodjia in num 10 role as free as possible.
01 Apr 2018 22:37:26
Yeh I think its a good point chris.
I would love Lansbury and Hourihane to work, play to their potential and we would be far more potent.
01 Apr 2018 23:41:43
Good points Kingy, if Hourihane and Lansbury show the discipline they have done when playing next to a Jedinak then I think they can work together, as long as they understand each other, when one pushes on the other needs to sit that sort of thing. The only problem with jack on the left is his pace, when he’s 10 he often drifts out there but because there’s another man he lack of pace doesn’t really show.
02 Apr 2018 09:07:54
In my opinion I would play Davis up top.
He holds up the ball and brings others into the game,
Kodjia needs to be used but give him 30 mins at this time,
He has been out a long time and we don't want him Crocked before play offs,
But the most important thing is we win Tuesday and get back on track.
Will be gutted if we drop more points that's for sure,
