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lincsy88

Our Strongest XI?

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Now the transfer window is done I just wondered what people thought our strongest XI is. For me I would go with:

Gunn

Pinto-Hanley-Klose-Stiepermann

Reed-Trybull

Pritchard-Hoolahan-Murphy

Oliviera

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That''s both correct and disputable because of the nature of the question.

Two things stand out. There is a lot of talent on the bench and I include Tettey, Madisson, Widshutt and Watkins (and of course Jerome) in this along with most of the new boys.

Secondly, it is noticeable that of the five German league imports two are included in your line-up which is not a bad success rate considering the overall cost of the package and the fact that at least a couple of the others are nearly there.

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I was torn between Tettey and Trybull but I just feel over a 46 game season Trybull will be more mobile then Tettey but also you have to factor in rotation. Hanley is a questionable one as well for me as I don''t think Zimmermann has particular done anything wrong and I haven''t seen Hanley pull the yellow shirt on yet I just feel he will be the better fit over the season.

As you say as well in reference to the bench, we do have a lot of good options which makes me wonder if we are better off than people think with the squad and as formation/team selection settles down (injuries pending) we will see a more consistent run of results?

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I''m not convinced by Steipermann at left back, he was out of position numerous times on Saturday and doesn''t look a natural there.

I have seen Husband play and am also unconvinced about him, however research on Middlesborough and loan team message boards suggests that he requires a ''bedding in period'' before becoming more effective.

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It is impossible to call given our poor start to the season and the fact we aren''t privy to seeing a lot of these new players in training. I don''t know a huge amount about Trybull, Stiepermann etc. as we''ve only seen them play once or twice. But basing it on what we''ve seen so far, I''d suggest at the moment;

Gunn

Pinto-Zim-Klose-Lewis (Stiepermann)

2 of Tettey/Trybull/Reed

Murphy-Hoolahan-Pritchard (Naisy/Maddison/Watkins)

Olivieria

GK: Undisputed has to be Gunn, assumingly as part of the loan agreement as well.

RB: Pinto is our best option, no doubt, and played as captain on Sat.

CB''s: Klose has a lot to prove, but did very well at the weekend. I really like Zimm, he''s not perfect but he battles hard and has probably settled better than Franke. I expect long-term it''ll be Hanley and Klose though.

LB: I know it was pre-season, but to me Lewis looked by far our strongest bet for LB. Assured on the ball, good going forward and good at the back, he looked impressive but for that unfortunate injury. Husband has been poor both going forward and at the back, Stiepermann has done an OK job at LB so far and I''m sure it will be his position to lose now unless Husband starts to perform in training.

CM: Contentious this one I know, we didn''t play great for the whole 90 but I felt Tettey and Trybull especially bossed the first half against Brum. Tettey, I just cannot see why we haven''t been playing him. Looked immense in the cup game and great against Brum. Simply needs to play, but I understand he won''t play every game. As for Trybull, don''t know a huge amount about him but he looked impressive in both the games he''s played in too. Reed has been solid and will no doubt play a big part this season, but I would like to see one of Tettey/Trybull start alongside him if he does play. So, a selection of 2 from those 3 players for most games IMO.

AM: Murphy will play every game he''s fit for. There''s no doubt about that, he holds our biggest threat. Hoolahan will not play every game due to age/fitness, but should play most with Maddison playing when he doesn''t. With Pritchard out for a good 4 months still yet, the other position is a fight between the remaining attackers in Maddison, Watkins and Naismith, and possible Wildschut. Maddison would be my pick of those at the moment, but the others will play their part, especially when resting Wes.

Strikers: Oliveira is our no1, he''s earned that. But Cam will still play a huge part, he can easily bring us 10-15 goals this season and I''ve no doubt he will. Watkins good enough as third choice should we need it.

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Does strongest XI matter anymore? Is it not more about the 18-strong matchday squad?

These days you need to be diverse and adapt to other teams, as well as trying to influence the game with your own style. Therefore different players suit different styles & home/away games etc - Hoolahan is probably the perfect example of this, you could argue Jerome is to

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Gunn

Franke Zimmerman Klose

Pinto Reed Trybull Lewis

Pritchard Murphy

Oliveira

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I have to say AJ I agree with pretty much everything you have said there. I didn''t get to the game on Saturday but Husband has been so poor I didn''t have much option than to go for Stiepermann, I must admit though I forgot about young Lewis who did look good in pre season from the games I saw.

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I think we need to see a bit more of Trybull. A great performance from the lad but he wouldn''t have been in anyone''s starting 11''s until 5pm Saturday.

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Something I think really matters where Husband is concerned is that after breaking through into the Doncaster team at 18 and doing well enough to earn a move to Boro, he''s then only played 31 league games since 2014. Not even a full season''s worth of games. Read into that what you will, but IMO a lot of it is to do with the form of George Friend.I don''t think we''ve bought a crap player. Admittedly, he became my go-to early on to watch during highlights for goals conceded and it hasn''t made good viewing; think we will see a different player as the season progresses.

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[quote user="Mason 47"]Something I think really matters where Husband is concerned is that after breaking through into the Doncaster team at 18 and doing well enough to earn a move to Boro, he''s then only played 31 league games since 2014. Not even a full season''s worth of games. Read into that what you will, but IMO a lot of it is to do with the form of George Friend.I don''t think we''ve bought a crap player. Admittedly, he became my go-to early on to watch during highlights for goals conceded and it hasn''t made good viewing; think we will see a different player as the season progresses.[/quote]

I hope your right Mason and he did say at the players forum he is still adjusting to playing week in week out having not done this for a couple of season. I think after two poor away trips I am probably a lot more annoyed with him than I would of been if I hadn''t of had a 3 hour journey home after each performance.

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I too question "strongest XI", not (pace Rogue Baboon) because of the "XI", but because of what people usually mean by "strongest". More often than not people equate the strongest XI with a side made up of "our 11 best players". But, as has often been stressed by Parma amongst others, a side made up of the eleven best players may not be the most effective team to field. "Best team" and "strongest XI" are two quite different things. For example, probably everyone would include all three of Wes, Pritchard and Maddison among our 11 best players but a side containing all three would almost certainly not constitute our best/most effective team. 

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[quote user="westcoastcanary"]I too question "strongest XI", not (pace Rogue Baboon) because of the "XI", but because of what people usually mean by "strongest". More often than not people equate the strongest XI with a side made up of "our 11 best players". But, as has often been stressed by Parma amongst others, a side made up of the eleven best players may not be the most effective team to field. "Best team" and "strongest XI" are two quite different things. For example, probably everyone would include all three of Wes, Pritchard and Maddison among our 11 best players but a side containing all three would almost certainly not constitute our best/most effective team. [/quote]

What I was hoping to have westcost was and they way I picked mine was the strongest players I feel fit my favored formation of 4-2-3-1. I just thought it to be a bit of lighthearted fun and to get everyone''s views on this.

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@lincsy88
By the way, what browser are you using? The malfunctioning of the quote function in your posts suggests you need to tweak a setting. For example, if you are using Safari, you need to select Firefox -- Mac as your User Agent when posting (via Develop on the menu bar). 

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Further to @westie''s point, the strongest xi vs best 11 players thesis should also be a focal point for recruitment.

That we now have such limited resources and until very recently were trying to shoehorn the following into (arguably only) the number 10 role:

Naismith

Hoolahan

Jacob Murphy

Josh Murphy

Maddison

Pritchard

Means £40m odd of players for one or two positions maximum, which is I''m afraid somewhat ludicrous both contemporarily and with hindsight.

This kind of ex-Pro-Manager-buys-lots-of-match-winners-to-stretch-his-job-out-another-six-months was always strategic madness. Particularly when ''managers were left to manage'' and money and players sloshed around in somewhat ad hoc fashion.

We have a better oversight structure and a longer term vision now, though of course with very limited funds with which to take advantage.

Parma

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I don''t have a clue what our strongest Xl would be having not seen enough of so many of the current squad. I doubt even Farke knows. It would be great to find out what our strongest spine is and build around that. 
Parma is right about the squad and Webber recognised how unbalanced it was and still is. I''m sure he said it would take a number of transfer windows to put right. This long term philosophy should make for interesting transfer windows although a bad injury, to a striker for instance, could scupper the best plans temporarily. The plans will always depend on events.

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Without going too deep into it who would people say is the best footballer at the club?

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[quote user="GJP"]Without going too deep into it who would people say is the best footballer at the club?[/quote]
Best footballer I would probably say is Nelson, or Wes. Both have technical ability that''s a notch above the rest of the squad and great footballing brains. 

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[quote user="lincsy88"]Now the transfer window is done I just wondered what people thought our strongest XI is. For me I would go with:

Gunn

Pinto-Hanley-Klose-Stiepermann

Reed-Trybull

Pritchard-Hoolahan-Murphy

Oliviera[/quote]Our strongest 11 rather depends on any given formation.You''ve selected a 4-2-3-1 and players that might prove correct for said formation, but you need to expand in formation & player selection in order to make your notion of best 11 plausible.

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In terms of the balance of the squad for me by far the two biggest thorns in our side are Naismith and Jarvis. I bet that Webber is desperate to get rid of both of them but unfortunately I can''t see anyone taking them off our hands. I wonder if the club will seriously consider paying one or both of them off if another couple of windows pass with no interest.

In terms of our best X1 with everyone fit for me its:

Gunn

Pinto, Klose, Hanley/Zim, Lewis

Tettey, Madison

Murphy Pritchard Hoolahan

Oliveira

I''ve not even seen Hanley or Lewis play for us live yet but their selection reflects the paucity of other options available or in Lewis''s case the promising pre-season displays I have seen highlights and reports of.

probably could not get away with playing that midfield in most away games (and some home) so Trybull or Reed come in to shore up the midfield when required in place of Wes or Madders.

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Best footballer: Pritchard, closely followed by Nelson.

I think they are without a doubt the 2 players a class above anything else we have, and the 2 most likely to drive us towards the playoffs. If we can stay in contention (mid table, floating outside playoffs) until Pritchard is back then I think we will have a real chance. A lot depends on Nelson staying fit as well

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and on Nelson not being flogged in January if he''s had a decent first half of the season. Ditto Klose.

That''s going to be our problem from now on. As soon as any player starts excelling, bids will come in and the club will be very tempted to sell unless we are right in contention.

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Jim Smith wrote: "Probably could not get away with playing that midfield in most away games (and some home) so Trybull or Reed come in to shore up the midfield when required in place of Wes or Madders. "
Jim, I mystified as to how an XI which "probably couldn''t be played" in most away and some home games, can possibly be considered our strongest XI. What in effect your suggested XI amounts to is "our strongest eleven for some (most) home games". I''d query even that because I don''t believe we should ever go into a Championship game with all three of Pritchard, Hoolahan and Maddison starting along with Murphy and Oliveira.

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Jim: "and on Nelson not being flogged in January if he''s had a decent first half of the season. Ditto Klose."

I don''t think its a coincidence that Raggett''s loan-back to Lincoln finishes in January. I can see Klose leaving then if we''re not in with a shout of the playoffs. Likewise Oliveira.

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