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I didn't expect to be saying this after his lacklustre showings earlier in the season, but I think we could've done with Grant Hanley today.

Amadou suffered with the physical Burnley's strikers and I think a 6'3" battering ram of a centre back like Hanley, despite his shortcomings, would've been better suited today and would've allowed Amadou to move into his natural position where he could've helped shore things up and provide more physicality in the defensive midfield area.

I must emphasise that personally, I wouldn't have done this before the game as the eleven who played last week earned the right, and I'm not trying to pretend otherwise. But isn't it wonderful to look at things with the benefit of hindsight?

Looking ahead to Palace next week, they will have seen how Burnley overpowered us today and may well use Benteke in a similar manner. Selecting Hanley would negate that threat, especially if Amadou is then used as a defensive shield to try to combat the threat of Zaha.

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I did wonder if we should have pushed Ibrahim into MF  & benched Kenny (harsh though).As it happened Kenny would have been on for most of the match anyway.

 

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My thoughts too Wacky. Would have been harsh to have dropped Tettey and McClean but I would have preferred to see - maybe next week we will

Byram Hanley Godfrey Lewis 

      Leitner     Amadou 

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Agreed.

Would have been harsh to drop anyone after last week, but if there was going to be any game this season that Hanley was likely to be suited to, it was probably this one. Burnley are probably the closest to “hoofball” we’ll see this season, and you’d imagine Hanley is more suited to playing against that than quick tricky sides. 

 

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If you look at Burnley’s second goal it was very similar to the goal Hanley scored for Liverpool except at least today an attacker had to be there to score it.  Overall I felt Amadou and Godfrey handled their strikers well and both played the ball out well which is Hanley’s main weakness. 

 

Really we've conceded a near post header at a corner which is a perennial weakness.  Then Amadou has given the ball away playing out from the back and they’ve quickly scored.  I thought last week we were all saying we’d accept the fact that happens with our style of play ?

 

Overall it was disappointing wevould put it together better when we had possession. We had plenty of openings but didn’t gel going forward as we normally do.

 

So I’m totally unconvinced we’d have been any better with Hanley in the lineup. 

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I think not. I think Hanley has not been up to things marking men on this level and as Godfrey is clearly having lots to learn on marking still (I think second goal today was example of such, losing his man too easily. I think third goal due to that this season already) the defensive line really needed Amadou. So, for me it would would mean that Hanley should have replaced Godfrey if anyone, and Godfrey is way ahead of Hanley in all other aspects.

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Had to laugh - Hanley is plainly a marked man at Burnley having played for nearby Blackburn and when he came on for the at half time subs warm up, he was greeted by choruses of "you'll always be a b*st*rd" from the home fans. 

Would he have done better than Amadou?  I don't think so, Amadou looks the part to me and apart from one mistake had a good game.

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