Wigan (A) 27/09/16 : build up thread

[Jinky]

The games keep coming thick & fast - next up is bottom of the table Wigan, tomorrow night.

I fully expect some changes tomorrow night - a few players could do with a rest and I suspect Walter will use this as an opportunity to make a couple of changes, whilst still putting out a team that is capable of winning.

With Newcastle & Norwich playing each other on Wednesday, this represents a great opportunity for us to get in the mix at the very top of the table, along with putting a good run together.

My guess -

--------------Ikeme----------------
Iorfa-----Batth--Stears----Doherty
---------------Saiss-----------------
-----------Prince---Coady----------
------Mason----Bod---Cavaleiro----

 

[Kenny]

Ikeme

Silvio...Iorfa...Batth....Doherty

..................Saiss

......Edwards.......Prince

Costa......GODvarsson...Tex

Think we are beginning to see the end of the mass rotation. Saiss may miss out if his legs are still suffering after Saturday, if he does Coady in.

Think CBJ will get the night off as well.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Silvio for CBJ is the only change I would make, with Doherty swapping flanks to accommodate it.

 

[Lord Knows]

I can see Walter Zenga making a few changes to protect those players he feels may do better in the long term if given a midweek break.

 

[Tony Towner]

Silvio and Coady in for CBJ and Saiss with Doherty swapping sides.

Saiss went down with cramp towards the end of the Brentford game and we have another tough one on Saturday which we need him for.

 

[Lycan]

Ikeme

Silvio Iorfa Batth Doherty

Teixeira Coady Oniangue

Costa Bodvarsson Cavaleiro​

Wigan are shite. We should be looking to stick 3 or 4 past any back four consisting of Nathan Byrne (yes, they really are playing him at right back), Dann Burn, Jake Buxton and Stephen Warnock. Lets extend their winless run to 8 games and help send these miserable fuckers back where they belong.

 

[The Bear]

Same team as Kenny for me.

 

[AlexG]

Rotate, rotate, rotate - for better or worse... the logic will be that we're playing the side bottom of the table, so the Head Coach thinking will be he can do an almost full rotation.

Ikeme

Silvio ... Stearman ... Hause ... Doherty

... Coady ...

... Price ... Saville ...

John ... Gladon ... Cavaleiro

Subs: Lonergan, Iorfa, Batth, Costa, Oniangue, Teixeria, Bodvarsson​

 

[Kenny]

893 tickets sold so far

 

[The Bear]

I suspect they want him to get a couple of 90 mins under his belt first then come back fresh after the next international break.

The dilemma is what do we do with the system/team when he's ready to play for the first team? Two up top with Saiss/Prince in the middle? I can't see Bod being dropped anytime soon. He might get the odd game rest but then again I don't remember Dicko being particularly effective on his own up front.

 

[Kenny]

Walter said before Saturday he isn't ready yet. Still on his recovery programme and he needs a few more 90 minutes before he returns to the 1st team

 

[Carrotdude]

I suspect they want him to get a couple of 90 mins under his belt first then come back fresh after the next international break.

The dilemma is what do we do with the system/team when he's ready to play for the first team? Two up top with Saiss/Prince in the middle? I can't see Bod being dropped anytime soon. He might get the odd game rest but then again I don't remember Dicko being particularly effective on his own up front.

Wasn't Dicko brilliant up front on his own most of the time? Great at holding the ball up and as soon as he got injured our team under Jackett fell apart completely as no one could replicate the job he does for us. I can only remember Dicko playing in a 2 when we had Afobe as well

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Dicko was outstanding up top on his own, we played 4-2-3-1 for the entire first year after we signed him permanently and he did it brilliantly.

 

[Carrotdude]

I guess when he's fit Dicko will play as one of the front 3, great options with Bod, Tex, Costa, Cavaleiro and him

 

[pr0sl0]

I think he'd play well on the right side of the narrow front three we've been playing, as much as through the middle - it's arguably what he was doing when we were playing 4-4-2 with him alongside Afobe, which in practice was more of a lopsided 4-3-3 with Dicko right and Sako left and Henry playing slightly behind them and closer to the midfield two.

Gladon and Bodvarsson both seem to be only able to play as the main striker, but everyone else - Dicko, Cavaleiro, Mason, Costa, Teixeira, Wallace, John - seem able to play comfortably in at least two, if not all, of the other three positions (right and left of the narrow front three, plus the most advanced midfielder). And that's not even including Graham coming back to compete on the left. (Zyro can also play across the front three but he's not going to be back this season, of course.)

It's a problem for now, but we're going to get injuries - as we always do - and the difference now as opposed to the last few seasons is that we can safely have three or four of these guys out at the same time and still have a lot of flexibility in selection.

 

[Stan Hullis]

Was hoping to go to this but going to be in London for work now.

Think we're in with a shout of 3 points, would go with some of the changes above.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

If everyone is fit, then the same team as Saturday please. Enough of the mass rotation.

 

[YoungWolf]

When Dicko is fully fit it means that he can share the role with Bod, it is easy to forget that he is one of the best forwards in the league too.

Can see CBJ, Saiss, Teiexeira, Costa and Bod all being rested. Especially as Saturday will be a tough game on telly against Norwich

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I don't want us taking this game lightly, I remember in 2014/15 we rested a few for Blackpool away and only drew 0-0. Then you look back at the end of the season when you've missed out on goal difference and wonder what if.

If there are no fitness concerns then I'd be putting the same team out and you can change it around after half time if we go a couple of goals up.

Saiss and Bod have to play because no-one else currently available to us can do what they do. I don't want us picking Gladon (for example) just for the sake of it when everyone knows it's a massive drop off in quality.

 

[The Bear]

I think I may have been misremembering Dicko instead of Afobe up top on his own then.