Worthy's got to make his mind up

[silver fox 0]

Worthy has quoted on several occasions that it is great to have a full squad to choose from, but I don''t think it has helped him, as he doesn''t seem to be able to make his mind up what is his best starting line up. Barring injuries the defence seems to pick itself, Holt, Francis and Huckerby seem assured of their place, but as for the rest he doesn''t seem to know what he wants. Roberts or Svensson - McVeigh on left or right - Henderson in then out - McKenzie in then out - Shackell on the bench, then in, then left out again - Mulryne out, then bench, occasionally on as sub - Briggs not even near the bench.

[Old Boy 0]

The problem is that we have a small squad and too many flaky players - too inconsistent to be natural first choice. I think this is Worthy trying to keep them on their toes. I''m thinking of Francis (who does seem to be a first choice, but only because of a lack of alternatives), Mulryne, Robbo, Rivers. Every player goes through bad patches (maybe McVeigh is there at the moment), but some are more patchy than others. I feel sorry for NW, because the midfield cupboard is fairly bare. On the other hand, I see Edworthy as really settling in and giving us a solid back 4, with viable options in Shackell and Brennan in case of injuries.

[ZLF 271]

I think Worthy has made his mind up that his best starting 11 is the one that started against Cardiff but injuries have meant some small changes were necessary. As far as the subs bench is concerned I would like to see some defensive cover every game (hence Shackell) but other than that have not objection to the players who have appeared - there arent many alternatives.

As Old Boy points out there are too few options in midfield which must be addressed. As well as playing Francis (who DOES need a ''rest'') it has lead to McVeigh playing out of his best position and becoming half the player as a result - this is not McVeighs fault (would we expect Hux to be as good a central defender as he is a striker?) but Worthys for failing to address an issue that has been apparent since October (Rivers injury)

In the main I agree with Worthys selection (I would have Hendo on the right wing, McVeigh left and drop Brennan (who has done nothing wrong) to the bench) and given we are still top of the league am not too concerned.

OTBC