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Due to the size of our squad and the options that are now available, I can see us having natural squad rotatation dependant on the opposition we are facing and not just down to who is in form, playing well etc.

Judging by our team selection on Saturday, I think Richards was rightfuly employed instread of Zabba because we knew that we were in for an aerial onslought at the back and Richards is more suited to those kind of defensive responsibilities. However, at home against Wolves where we should be defending less and looking to get or full backs forward into attacking positions, I would not be surprised to see Zabba in and Micah on the bench from the start.

Also, SWP was probably selected because we needed pace to hit them on the break and that ploy worked very well , as B'Burn seemed to shit themselves every time they lost possession, even on edge of their own penalty box. However, I could possibly see him benched in some home games, as we go with three out and out strikers and expect the width to come from the full backs, Bridge and Zabba.

Also, both SWP and Bellers might miss out when we playing the better teams, or teams with tough batling midfields as De Jong will be a necessity in those circumstances.

All in all, we have plenty of options available now and I reckon in a few months if you asked MH what he honestly believes is his BEST starting 11, the answer would probably be ..... "thats dependent on who we are playing against"!

No doubt a few mistakes are bound to be made whilst we try a few thing out, but let's hope we can identify this as neccessary and use our bench to change the pattern of games like we unable to do last season.

In any event ...... it's all interesing stuff and I can't wait for the ramifications etc.

Agree totally Lytham. The 1st team mentality should be a thing of the past. We have the depth we require to think squad, allowing some of our front line players the necessary rest to stay in top shape.

I disagree regarding Richards, I do not believe rotation works well with defenders.

Totally agree with the squad emphasis

Thing is, most players (or probably all players) want to play week in, week out and don't like to miss any games. So the management team's job is not only selecting the correct players for each team we face but also protecting the players' from their own enthusiasm.

We've all seen how someone who has been having a strong season can hit a wall when fatigue and niggly injuries kick in (SWP last season being a prime example....Vincent Kompany also). We don't need to run our star players into the ground this season and we should be making sure that they are given time to rest and take preventative measures to avoid injuries to them rather than having them on the treatment table trying to resolve problems.

The possible permutations of team & formation are almost endless. It's absolutely fantastic planning imo but as you say, it may not all work & unfortunately we don't have the time to experiment with everything in the short term .

We could put out a pure skill side or a real mean physical side. As Hughes showed v Blackburn, it's possible to play without De Jong or Kompany now we have someone who can hold the ball up the front. It would also be possible to play without Ireland & still have fantastic attacking options, or without Robinho. We could play a solid midfield with wingers & two big strikers, an all dwarf tricky forward line, a hard to beat Everton style shitkickers 11 with VK, De Jong, Toure in midfield, we could use wingbacks, a sweeper any formation known to man. It's a fantastic squad which is going to be fearsome once everyone gets to know each other.

It's going to get better & better over time, even Baconface is starting to realise it.

lythamblue wrote:Also, both SWP and Bellers might miss out when we playing the better teams, or teams with tough batling midfields as De Jong will be a necessity in those circumstances.

A good read, liked the post...

On the one point above I'm not sure the theory works though. We were playing Blackburn, one of the toughest midfields in the league, and David Dunn had already threatened to kick us off the park..... and yet even then Hughes did not play De Jong and went with SWP....

Also, if he was adopting the approach of changing the team according to the opposition, I'm not sure Robinho away to Blackburn would have been chosen, yet he still played.

Personally, I don't think there will be as much rotation as some people think. I think Hughes is very much a "show me you deserve a place in the team" manager. I don't think he is a "tinkerman"....

The structure / personnel issues have been touched on in the "Henry Winter" and "De Jong" threads over the weekend.

The settling in argument also has some credence even for players who were already in the prem.

We are looking at different formations and responsibilities for players in different games. Even with the same players we could have a different shape so the players will have to get used to doing different jobs and that will not happen over night but it is clear that now we are establishing a squad that will be adaptable and capable of meeting different challenges.

I think what is most exciting is that if we can build on our home form from last season, some of the matches against weaker opposition should be awesome. It was so disappointing last season that after really comprehensive home matches we were unable to adapt away from home. I really hope that with the stronger squad we will actually be able to build on the home form with an "away team" that is solid in defence, can either keep hold of the ball in midfield or break quickly as required and is ruthless up front.

Mr Miyagi wrote:

lythamblue wrote:Also, both SWP and Bellers might miss out when we playing the better teams, or teams with tough batling midfields as De Jong will be a necessity in those circumstances.

Personally, I don't think there will be as much rotation as some people think. I think Hughes is very much a "show me you deserve a place in the team" manager. I don't think he is a "tinkerman"....

I agree, I think Hughes will only change due to injuries, suspensions, loss of form. Out and out rotation is unnecessary.

Mr Miyagi wrote:

lythamblue wrote:Also, both SWP and Bellers might miss out when we playing the better teams, or teams with tough batling midfields as De Jong will be a necessity in those circumstances.

Personally, I don't think there will be as much rotation as some people think. I think Hughes is very much a "show me you deserve a place in the team" manager. I don't think he is a "tinkerman"....

I agree, I think Hughes will only change due to injuries, suspensions, loss of form. Out and out rotation is unnecessary.

Oh lionel boy, Slim is coming..

Good post there, Lytham.

I think everyone was a little surprised to see DeJong left out on Saturday as he's been so heavily involved in pre-season but it made perfect sense as all the balls would have just been hoofed over him. Tactics were spot on on Saturday and I hope we see many more such surprising team sheets.

One thing's for sure, with the options that are now available we'll truly see what a tacticial Lesley really is. There are no excuses when we have a bench as strong and diverse as ours.

Abu Dhabi wrote:Oh lionel boy, Slim is coming..

What?

Slim wrote:

Abu Dhabi wrote:Oh lionel boy, Slim is coming..

What?

Nothing mate, I just thought you were the double posts officer..