An intense seven days coming up - three matches - so we are very likely going to have to give time on the pitch to pretty well every fit player we have. The one player, though, that I would not consider starting is Evans simply because his effectiveness seems to be confined to his arriving after an hour or so when the opposition may be tiring. Having said that RL may well start him tomorrow though with Keane available to partner Osmajic there would be no need to do that. In any case if there is a surprise upfront tomorrow it might well be a start for Stewart.
Looking at who we have available you would guess that Woodman, Storey, Lindsay, Potts, Browne, Whiteman and Osmajic more or less pick themselves. With Cunningham unavailable then our dearth of genuinely left-sided players becomes evident - there are really only Hughes and Best. So yes we need a signing or two for that side of the team in January - ideally both a mobile left-sided defender and a left wing-back. If we could only get one of those players then my vote would be for a wing-back which would allow Best to play as first choice left-sided defender with Hughes as experienced back-up. I know lot of people would give Hughes primacy but Best is the future and that future should start now.
But we have to get through the rest of this month and next month before that possibility can maybe become a reality. As far as possible in that period I would use Hughes at the left of the defence and Best at left wing-back. The great benefit of the latter might then be that Best could put in the sort of crosses on which Keane could thrive. It is probably the case that Keane has not looked particularly effective since his return from injury but there is nothing unusual about a player taking a few matches to get back up to speed after a lay-off so I am not unduly concerned about that.
I do wonder, though, whether Keane and Osmajic make for an effective partnership. I suspect Osmajic really needs someone with his pace and mobility alongside him which is why provided he retains his pace the return of Riis could be crucial. The two of those together could terrorise this division. Just possibly in the meantime Stewart might make a more effective foil for Osmajic than Keane. Longer term then as I said the other day we might have two contrasting strike partnerships - Keane and Stewart for strength and aerial threat, a sort of new Dawson and Ashworth I presume a few of you know what that means, and Osmajic and Riis for pace and agility, a sort of new Elwiss and Bruce I presume a few more of you know what that means.
What I do know, though, is that playing Frokjaer and Holmes behind a lone striker is a false policy. I just don't think it works. Again as I've said before somehow Frokjaer and Holmes don't seem to complement each other and I don't think it is a coincidence that both seem to play at their best when the other is not on the pitch. Maybe Holmes running wide with Frokjaer in the centre might be feasible but when we have three even four strikers available then we should have a proper strike partnership upfront. Hopefully RL now thinks that way.
The player who is a bit problematical at the moment is Millar. Don't get me wrong I can see he has pace and energy and frankly he was one of the few players to come out of the debacle at Ipswich with any credit. But playing him wide on the left sometimes looks like a way of playing him for its own sake and not for the benefit of the team. Even if gets past the fullback on the outside he almost invariably has to stop and cut back to get the ball on his right foot which negates the effectiveness of his pace in the first place. Against Blackburn he constantly lost the ball. Probably his best position might be in the central midfield three alongside Browne and Whiteman but that, of course, is where Frokjaer, Holmes and once he is fit again McCann are already vying with each other. As it is if Millar is going to be used wide left he needs to cut in and drive right at the heart of the opposition defence in the way that Barkhuizen used to do when he played there because once he gets in and around the opposition penalty area he can then become a real threat.
So for what it's worth my starting formation for tomorrow would be:
Woodman
Storey, Lindsay, Hughes
Potts, Browne, Whiteman, Frokjaer, Best
Keane, Osmajic
That isn't a slight on Holmes - there may well be times when he would be a better option than Frokjaer - but Holmes' pace and Evans awkwardness do seem particularly effective when used a bit later on.
As for tomorrow there are no easy matches and each one presents its own challenge. Quite apart from the opposition one for tomorrow might be readjusting after the excitement of the last match. If we don't get ahead or even go behind then the frustration and a sense of anti-climax may be particularly intense. So we need to go out with a real determination. I was there all those years ago when we put nine past tomorrow's opponents but I think I could settle for something a little less spectacular tomorrow.
Looking at who we have available you would guess that Woodman, Storey, Lindsay, Potts, Browne, Whiteman and Osmajic more or less pick themselves. With Cunningham unavailable then our dearth of genuinely left-sided players becomes evident - there are really only Hughes and Best. So yes we need a signing or two for that side of the team in January - ideally both a mobile left-sided defender and a left wing-back. If we could only get one of those players then my vote would be for a wing-back which would allow Best to play as first choice left-sided defender with Hughes as experienced back-up. I know lot of people would give Hughes primacy but Best is the future and that future should start now.
But we have to get through the rest of this month and next month before that possibility can maybe become a reality. As far as possible in that period I would use Hughes at the left of the defence and Best at left wing-back. The great benefit of the latter might then be that Best could put in the sort of crosses on which Keane could thrive. It is probably the case that Keane has not looked particularly effective since his return from injury but there is nothing unusual about a player taking a few matches to get back up to speed after a lay-off so I am not unduly concerned about that.
I do wonder, though, whether Keane and Osmajic make for an effective partnership. I suspect Osmajic really needs someone with his pace and mobility alongside him which is why provided he retains his pace the return of Riis could be crucial. The two of those together could terrorise this division. Just possibly in the meantime Stewart might make a more effective foil for Osmajic than Keane. Longer term then as I said the other day we might have two contrasting strike partnerships - Keane and Stewart for strength and aerial threat, a sort of new Dawson and Ashworth I presume a few of you know what that means, and Osmajic and Riis for pace and agility, a sort of new Elwiss and Bruce I presume a few more of you know what that means.
What I do know, though, is that playing Frokjaer and Holmes behind a lone striker is a false policy. I just don't think it works. Again as I've said before somehow Frokjaer and Holmes don't seem to complement each other and I don't think it is a coincidence that both seem to play at their best when the other is not on the pitch. Maybe Holmes running wide with Frokjaer in the centre might be feasible but when we have three even four strikers available then we should have a proper strike partnership upfront. Hopefully RL now thinks that way.
The player who is a bit problematical at the moment is Millar. Don't get me wrong I can see he has pace and energy and frankly he was one of the few players to come out of the debacle at Ipswich with any credit. But playing him wide on the left sometimes looks like a way of playing him for its own sake and not for the benefit of the team. Even if gets past the fullback on the outside he almost invariably has to stop and cut back to get the ball on his right foot which negates the effectiveness of his pace in the first place. Against Blackburn he constantly lost the ball. Probably his best position might be in the central midfield three alongside Browne and Whiteman but that, of course, is where Frokjaer, Holmes and once he is fit again McCann are already vying with each other. As it is if Millar is going to be used wide left he needs to cut in and drive right at the heart of the opposition defence in the way that Barkhuizen used to do when he played there because once he gets in and around the opposition penalty area he can then become a real threat.
So for what it's worth my starting formation for tomorrow would be:
Woodman
Storey, Lindsay, Hughes
Potts, Browne, Whiteman, Frokjaer, Best
Keane, Osmajic
That isn't a slight on Holmes - there may well be times when he would be a better option than Frokjaer - but Holmes' pace and Evans awkwardness do seem particularly effective when used a bit later on.
As for tomorrow there are no easy matches and each one presents its own challenge. Quite apart from the opposition one for tomorrow might be readjusting after the excitement of the last match. If we don't get ahead or even go behind then the frustration and a sense of anti-climax may be particularly intense. So we need to go out with a real determination. I was there all those years ago when we put nine past tomorrow's opponents but I think I could settle for something a little less spectacular tomorrow.
