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Tetteys Jig

Our Strongest XI

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So after that shambles (read into it as much as you want) last night, that has left me thoroughly confused as to what our best team is.

Goalkeeper:

It''s clear that Ruddy is undisputed no.1, i just hope Rudd can recover from last night and forge out a decent career for us.

Defence:

Well after Russell Martin and Daniel Ayalas poor performances, you can rule them out, perhaps the prem is a step too far for the norfolk cafu now we have Naughton?

Drury was never first choice, but it has confirmed to us now that he is not good enough back up really if we are serious about having 4 decent full backs.

Whitbread can at times look brilliant, but again comes with his own limitations.

Leaves me thinking that our first choice is now:

Naughton, Barnett, De Laet, Tierney

Midfield:

Trickiest area, and depends on if we have 4 or 5 of them. Personally i think we''ll be going with a 4 man midfield, but i''d love to accommodate Wes somehow whilst also leaving room for Bennett and Pilkington. This leaves us looking a bit lightweight though.

I think 2 from Crofts, Fox and Johnson is essential.

Surman is a funny one, and i''d have to leave him out at the moment, technically sound, but not up to the pace of it maybe, good game vs Wigan when it really mattered though.

Leaves me with this:

Crofts, Hoolahan, Johnson, Bennett

Maybe try with 5:

2 from Johnson, Crofts and Fox Sitting

Bennet, Wes and Pilkington Bombing

Forwards:

Depends if there''s 1 or 2

Chris Martin did well, Jackson deserves no more than the bench atm while he adjusts to a higher league again. Seems like Morison and Holt battle out for the spot if we play only 1 forward.

Holt still just edges it for me if only one plays and vs Chelsea, i''d try that, with Johnson and Crofts the 2 sitting in midfield.

Bench options would be Rudd, Whitbread, R Martin, Fox, C Martin, Morison and Jackson.

As for the rest, Surman still has a future, Lappin can hang around as a utility player, Ayala will hopefully adapt and have better days, just not straight away, Ward and Vaughan can be assessed after injury but the rest might as well find new clubs/ be loaned out this year.

Have I forgotten anyone?

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RuddyR.Martin ( although Naughton looked solid vs Stoke)WhitbreadDe LaetTierneyJohnsonCroftsPilkingtonBennetC.MartinHolt4-4-2RuddyR.MartinWhibreadDe LaetTierneyCroftsJohnsonFoxC.Martin ( in the hole not wes)MorrisonHolt

Yes I''ve left Wes out. Dont think he will feature for us as strongly as before. There is a reason he hasnt joined a Prem club in the last two years.C.Martin I think will surprise a lot of people as he seems to have been told to play more of a support roll.His link up play , passing and finishing make him a perfect candidate for the "Wes role"If he can chase like he did vs Stoke then we could be looking at a really good player.

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Wes was brilliant vs Wigan for us though. I''d struggle to leave him out, maybe him and Martin can play behind Holt like in the good old days? You''d then have to pick 3 from Bennett, Pilkington, Johnson, Crofts and Fox and leave Morison on the bench.

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It really depends on who we play, in the Premiership teams would soon find us out if we were to play on formation week in week out. That is why it is so important for the squad to be adaptable with the tactics and formation. I think Lambert has two formations in his mind at the minute were he feels comfortable that the side can change throughout the course of the season.                       RuddyNaughton   DeLaet    Barnett    Tirney                  Croft      JohnsonBennett                                    Pilkington                Holt         Morisonor

                          RuddyNaughton   DeLaet     Barnett      Tierney                              Fox                Crofts              Johnson                           Hoolihan                 Holt               Morison

Obviously we have Vaughan and Ward to come back who will no doubt be considered when fully fit.

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Mentioned him in injury list with Ward. Not sure if he''d be first team, unknown quantity, i suppose he''ll have to make do with the bench at first, behind Morison and Holt but ahead of Jackson and Martin if he''s playing as a striker.

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we are not here to make friends, if you are not the best player for that position tough. Naughton murders R.Martin in quality, i like Martin he did a great job for us last season and a real valid member of the squad this year too would have no problem with him slotting in if Naughton was injured but unless of this or suspension its Naughton every day of the week.The kid is class!

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It''s "horses for courses", diamond or something else. PL has shown that he will have different formations, according to the opposition - hence the difference between Wigan and Stoke matches.

At the very least you would have to distinguish between "more attacking" and "less attacking."

The fullbacks now seem to be Tierney and Naughton, the centre backs de Laet and one other (does Ward come into the reckoning when fit, or is he too slow?) I am not sure about Barnett at the moment - he seems to switch off and lose concentration at times.

The midfield depends on the emphasis PL wants to give, and on the pace of opponent defenders and wingers.

Strikers - Holt probably, although a little disappointing at the moment in taking chances, plus Morison or Vaughan or even Martin. Wilbraham will play only if the injury list is long, and I have my doubts about Johnson.

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It''s interesting that Lambert had the tactical nouse to make 6 changes for the Stoke game because he felt the team which played against Wigan had a lesser chance of sucess. This suggests many changes of personell and formation throughout the season to me, yet the op wants to talk about the strongest 11. I think the answer is "it depends on who were playing".

 

Here''s a question though. Had we lost on Sunday after making 6 changes, would the Premier League have fined us for fielding a weakend team?.....

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Ruddy

Naughton barnett de laet tierny

Bennett johnson crofts pilkington

Morison vaughan

Toss up between Morison and holt, but we need pace upfront. I don''t think he would pay that much money and they don''t get a look in!

Chris Martin shouldnt be near the starting lineup, he didn''t score last year and it''s doubtful he will this!

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Ruddy

Naughton De Laet Ward Tierney

Fox Crofts

Pilkington Hoolahan Bennett

Holt

OR

Ruddy

Naughton De Laet Ward Tierney

Fox

Crofts Bennett

Hoolahan

Vaughan Holt

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Oli Oli Oli Oli, did you watch the Stoke game?

If you did, then why on earth should Martin be know where near the line up?

Holt hasn''t scored, or looked like scoring really in the last two games, Morrison didn''t get much of a look in really at wigan either. To rate a strikers performance solely in goals is just wrong.

And just because we spent money on Morrison and Vaughan doesn''t mean they get to automatically play, Holt is anyone up front gets his name on the team sheet first. Two years, 50 odd goals, captain, real nuisance for defences to deal with, will win free kicks all day long and knows how to hit the back of the net.

I''m still fairly certain Hoolahan is our best player, but he doesn''t fit into 4-4-2 unless you play him off Holt/Morrison, but imo that option doesn''t seem fair on the other strikers.

I don''t think we will play the same formation all season, it will vary from flat 4-4-2 to diamond 4-4-2 to 4-5-1. We have good players who will all do there best, its still to early to judge who is good enough and who isn''t (and anyone doing that based on last night is really silly, it was a no effort game no one players well you can''t write anyone off because of it, the comment i saw about Russell Martin was way off, he has''t regressed in pre-season, he had a really hard game against Wigan, can anyone reliably deal with Moses pace? and last night was a one off bad game for everyone).

All we can hope is Lambert gets the right tactics at the right time, and who ever plays is on form and does there job properly.

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''''Can anyone dal with Victor Moses pace ?''''Hes no where near the quickest in the premier league and its only Victor Moses ! ! Probably around the 10th / 15ths best wide player in the league...... jesusRussel Martin is a good Championship Full back

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[quote user="ChelmsfordCanary"]Ruddy

Naughton, Barnett, De Laet, Tierney

Bennett, Hoolahan, Crofts, Pilkington

Holt, C Martin[/quote]

I like the idea, but i don''t think Crofts can hold that Midfield on his own.

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Ok so Naughton has played one game and already he is beng labelled as binng fantastic and the next big thing? He hoofed the ball away a lot of the time against stoke. Not saying he had a bad game, he did look solid, but its far too early to say he should be straight in ahead of Martin!

Martin has had a year and a half of being fantastic for us. Against Wigan, he had some problems. But it was his first ever Premier league game and he was up against Moses who is a tricky winger. It was clear and sensible that his priorities would be defending and not bombing on. He has been great for us and for me should get the nod as our own player ahead of a loanee

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To be fair, it''s not just 1 game that Naughton has won that place on, it''s his great season at Leicester as well. I still don''t think there is a clear winner between them 2, nor is there between Naughton and Tierney if he went to left back. At the moment though, i''d see what Naughton has to offer as he seems to have more going for him.

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I think we don''t have a -strongest- lineup as such - it very much depends on who we''re up against.

Big fan of both Pilkington and Bennett, but it clearly doesn''t always pay to play two wingers. Hoolahan, Johnson and Crofts offer different things in different matches.

Up front, it has to be out of Morison, Vaughan (who Lambert liked enough to spend 2.5m on) and Holt.

I can''t see Chris Martin, Wilbraham, cody, oli johnson getting much of a look in. Jackson definitely has a role this season as our paciest striker, but I think he''ll mostly be a sub.

Basically, I don''t know. I think there''s a lot of strength in depth (ignore the MK Dons result). Not many teams have the ability to evolve to play a completely different style of football every match.

We can play everything from a long ball game to pacy counter-attacking game to a physical game, to a game with serious width. Not having a strongest lineup is a strength in itself!

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