by bigmick » Thu Nov 13, 2008 11:10 am
Well one of the reasons I personally wasn't so fussed about the Tottenham result was that now we're out of the competition, it takes away the necessity to make wholesale changes from game to game. I think it works if you do it "Wenger style" and just play the complete reserve team, but when you make wholesale changes but include first teamers it can have a detrimental effect on the next "proper" match if you're not careful.
It's my feeling that we have gone off the boil a bit, although when I suggested as much in the rotation thread an unholy row broke out. True we had a fairly run of the mill win against WBA, but the Pompey performance, Spurs results (twice) and an extremely fortuitous draw against Athletico leads me to believe that we are probably in the middle of one of our bliiiips. Fortunately because of the wins against Pompey and WBA, it hasn't massively damaged our chances of launching a title challenge yet, but we really don't want to be dropping too many points at grounds like the Reebok.
I never saw the game at Spurs last night, but by all accounts there will be few of the blokes who came in who will be kicking the door in if they don't stay in the team at the weekend. If Dossena was half as bad as everyone says he was, then I guess Aurelio should be brought back in provided he isn't injured and probably left there for the forseeable, or at least until he does get injured again. I'm almost certain that Sami will be the only "newbie" to keep his place, and that Carragher will play right back.
Kuyt will obviously come back in (rightly) and I should think Riera will as well. Just about the only selection dilemma from there is whether we go with the 4-5-1 and then mull over the choice between Keane and Torres, or we go with the 4-4-2 and chop either Alonso or Masherano. For no other reason than I think neither deserves to be dropped, I'd keep Alonso and Masherano in the team and go 4-5-1. Assuming that scoring two goals and being left out was a fate which befell Keane simply and only because it was the Carling Cup in the next match, he must play. Given all that, I'd start with Torres on the bench.
We really are into that period of the season now where the big four are going to be looking to win every week. If you blink first, you'll regret it later and this really is one of those games that if it's 1-1 with twenty minutes left, you've got to absolutely go all out for the win. Doing so does mean that sometimes you risk losing, but I don't think that'll happen. I take us to get up in a tight and ugly match by the odd goal.
"se e in una bottigla ed e bianco, e latte".
out of the opposition players.
