It might not be a full blown injury crisis but you could definitely call it an “injury pickle” that we face currently with Hogg, Schindler, Koroma and Stearman all recently succumbing to injuries. I’ve spoken many times before about how thin our squad is this season, so losing key players hits us harder than many other teams as the amount of experience and quality in our backup players is often not great.
Carlos is going to be forced to put his faith in some of his fringe players today. How well these players perform is likely to be key to whether we can sustain our recent good form or if we struggle against a strong Bournemouth team.
Here’s who I think Carlos should pick today:
Goalkeeper: Ben Hamer
Town had developed a nasty habit of messing around too much with the ball at the back a few games ago. In recent matches this problem has been resolved, mostly through better decision making and execution when Hamer has the ball. He’s still going short most of the time but has now started kicking long if the pressure is too great or dinking chipped passes to the wings if the option is there.
So despite being quiet in the last two games in terms of facing shots, Hamer has been standing out because his distribution has helped the team and got us out of a nasty predicament when faced with teams that pressed us high up the pitch. I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t carry on in goal against Bournemouth today.
Defence: Pipa, Edmonds-Green, Sarr, Toffolo
Pipa’s recent return from injury coincided with Town’s uptick in both performance levels and results. This game will represent the Spaniards third game in a week, so ordinarily I’d suggest resting him to avoid injury risk. However we really miss him when he’s out so I’d keep him on the team and hope he’s fit enough to keep going.
Edmonds-Green looks very assured in central defence and seems well suited to the possession-based football we now like to play. Whether he’s capable of defending against top quality opponents remains to be seen but today will provide an interesting test for the youngster. I have faith he’ll get better and better the more games he plays.
I think Naby Sarr might have benefitted from becoming the senior member of the central defensive unit on Tuesday as he seemed to play with more responsibility and care than in earlier games. When things are going well for Sarr he looks like a very very good player, with his comfort on the ball and commanding presence in the air. The reason we got him on a free is that things quickly fall to pieces when he’s having a bad game, as we saw in Cardiff away. Even so, Sarr looks like a bargain and I’ve really enjoyed watching him at Town so far. The absence of Schindler and/or Stearman in the backline leaves us lacking in older, experienced heads at the back, so Sarr needs to step up in terms of leadership – so far it looks like he’s rising to the challenge.
Toffolo will surely carry on his ridiculous run of consecutive games today against Bournemouth. He’s far too good and far too fit to even consider rotating (which means I’ve now cursed him!). We saw both sides of Toffolo’s game on Tuesday night, with swashbuckling runs forward in the first half and a more safety-first approach when we were protecting the lead in the second half. I suspect we’ll see more of his defensive attributes today and those over/underlapping runs will be a bit less frequent so he can concentrate on his defensive responsibilities.
Midfield: Vallejo, O’Brien, Eiting
There was a notable drop off in our control of the game against Sheffield Wednesday when Hogg left the field with a flare up of his recurring hip issue. He’s out of contention today and it leaves a big pair of shoes to fill at the base of our midfield.
Bacuna was chosen as his replacement from the bench on Tuesday night but turned in a typically selfish and sloppy performance (despite winning the penalty that he subsequently squandered). Carlos was regularly livid with Bacuna from the sidelines and I suspect he won’t trust him with a starring slot today.
I don’t know a lot about Alex Vallejo but he was signed as Hogg’s understudy so I expect him to start against Bournemouth. Eiting or O’Brien could be deployed in the deeper midfield role but I suspect they’ll be given roles further up the field and Vallejo will be tasked with providing a shield for the defence.
Alex Pritchard has been an unused sub recently and could make a wildcard appearance but I think we’d have seen him come off the bench by now if he was fully fit and playing well in training. Instead he’s more likely to be used as an impact sub if he’s fit enough, though how much of an impact he is likely to make is up for debate.
Forwards: Brown, Campbell, Mbenza
The void left in the squad by Koroma’s injury is enormous. Schindler and Hogg are key players for us but we have alternatives we can deploy but we were already seriously understaffed in wide positions prior to Koroma’s injury and now we’re forced into trying to find the least worst option.
Diakhaby has let himself down in his last few outings (having previously shown glimmers of improvement) and Carlos has chosen to throw on youngsters and players that aren’t natural wingers into the team rather than play Adama in his natural position. For that reason I suspect Diakhaby may not start today despite being one of only two fit wingers in the squad.
Instead I think we’ll see Jaden Brown given a go on the left wing. It’s even possible we’ll see him switching roles with Toffolo and he can drop in while his teammate bombs forward. Pipa and Mbenza have a similar dynamic on the right wing and it works surprisingly well. Brown isn’t the most exciting player going forward but he can be relied upon to follow the coaches instructions, a seemingly low bar that Diakhaby has failed to clear the last few times he’s played.
Danny Ward has been floated as a potential solution on the wing but he’s needed to relieve the workload on Fraizer Campbell in the central attacking position, so playing him out wide will only shunt the problem to another area of the pitch.
While we’re on the subject of our strikers, Fraizer Campbell is currently dividing opinion among Town fans. While most will say he needs to score more (myself included) whether he’s contributing enough without upping his goal tally isn’t universally agreed upon. I prefer him to Ward because he movement off the ball creates gaps for others and pulls defenders into awkward positions. It’s not sexy stuff but it’s helping us to play nice football and Ward doesn’t do that job as well as Campbell.
With Koroma out for months with no obvious replacement in the squad until the January transfer window opens, there is even more need for Mbenza to continue his recent good form. It’s truly stunning how he’s transformed from an outcast to being one of our most dangerous and hard-working players. He deserves a lot of credit for taking the opportunity he’s been given by the new coaching regime and changing the minds of a lot of Town fans (me included).
If Vallejo doesn’t start today to replace Hogg, then quite simply he was a bad signing. He’s been with Town long enough to have settled into the squad and he was signed to deputise for Hogg. Any other player starting there says “we made a mistake”.
I think you’re right that Carlos will pick Jaden Brown. Not very exciting but better than ‘the D word’. Good thoughts about Pritchard; there must be something not right. After playing dreadfully at the start of the season, he was starting to perform and then another injury. If he was fully fit and performing in training, then surely he’d start today?
Thanks for your comment Simon.
I was a bit puzzled by Vallejo signing for us. He’s had a fairly long spell without a club and his record suggests he’s a bit of a journeyman of the Spanish second tier. On the other hand, he’s most likely not a big earner and only on a short contract so he won’t be an expensive mistake if he’s not up to playing at this level.
Having seen how many players have improved under Corberán, it’s not crazy to think Diakhaby might turn things around but he’s got some work to do if he wants to follow Mbenza’s path.
Pritchard is another player that hasn’t kicked on under Corberán, though mostly because of his injuries. He’s not played much out on the wings recently but he might be given a chance given the lack of other options.
even at full strength today would have been a touch ask but the injury situation as been a blow and for us today is a free hit so to speak.
whatever team carlos chooses will be born as much about how bourenmouth play as much as ourselves.Vallejo may or not start but a bad signing? cannot comment till and if he gets a game or two but im sure we will give it a go today but i will be delighted if we get a point but we are certainly growing as a team in what is again a demanding championship
Good point David, it’s a hard game. Possibly harder because Carlos won’t set up defensively to try grind out a point. I admire the ambition to try and win every game but I worry it leaves us more open against teams with better players.
I think you are right. Who replaces Hogg and Koroma. I cant argue with Brown although I dont see him as an attacking threat. Logically you’d go for a forward but Diakhaby deserves the shirt as much as Ward – that is to say neither of them deserve it. Could young Phillips fill the gap, or is Bournemouth not the right for game for him
I’d like to have a look at Phillips and see how he handles Championship football but it’s most likely going to come from brief cameos in the late stages of games.
Given Ward and Campbell have both lacked cutting edge it seems logical to try an untested but prolific young forward. Maybe he’ll get a chance off the bench today.
Towns main problem lies in who will replace Karoma, he had just got into the habit of scoring on a regular basis,
there is no one in the squad who can replace him, Pritchard has been the biggest disappointment, going down the Cadermateri road, ie:- play a game and miss three, goalscorers are like gold and Josh was shining for us, whether Carlos can find someone else with the same mindset is debatable, we need to stick to Corberans principles or get stuffed by a very good Bournmouth side, for me its back to the old goal scoring problem. UTT.
Cheers David. You’re right about Koroma becoming a key player for us since the start of the season. I don’t know who it is, but I’ve a feeling that someone will step up and fill the gap left by Koroma just like he replaced the goals Grant had scored for us.
You can bet your life that Carlos & Co will be working flat out on it, goals win games, you dont score, you dont win. UTT
It’s a day for O’Brien and Eiting to really step up and see if they can cause Bournemouth any anxious moments. Otherwise I fear it will be one-way traffic.
I’d give Phillips a go at some point today. We’ll never know until he’s tried.
Anything less than a defeat by less than a 3 goal margin will be about as good as we can hope for today.
Good shout Simon, and having seen the team selection then only losing by 3 would be an achievement.
I really like the way you plan to address the Koroma issue down the left side. Brown and Toffolo should alternate very well down that flank. Particularly with Toffs ability to come inside and attack the box. Against a team of Bournmouth’s quality, it would be good to have two potential defenders down that side.
I don’t think Jaden Brown is an exciting prospect but would free up Toffolo a bit more. I have a worrying feeling it might be Diakhaby who comes in though.
Excellent summary and analysis. Thanks. Hope Carlos agrees with you about Ward and Diakhaby but no doubt he knows better than both of us.
Cheers Gavin.
Looks like CC has conceded defeat by 2pm and decided to rest players in readiness for giving it a real go at Coventry next week.
I don’t know why I bother trying to predict the team when he pulls out a selection like this one. Lots of players with something to prove but it would take a miracle for all of these players to come in and perform. It might be smart to rest our better players for midweek but it will make this afternoon’s game very… interesting.
My first thought too. 3 points conceded.
I am praying that Carlos has more luck picking the right trousers to wear!!!!!
He’ll have bought some brown ones for today.
Thankfully there are no travelling supporters. Imagine having travelled all the way to Bournemouth to be greeted with a team selection like that! I’d be asking for my money back before a ball is kicked.
I feel cheated having paid £10 to iFollow it.
Well I’ve just switched off at 3-0. It’s too embarrassing. I’m incredibly angry!!
a lot of changes but you have to see the bigger situation. im surprised some still dont get it
so david tinker, what is the bigger picture?
Don’t tell me about resting players. The logic to that is that player most worthy of a rest is Toffolo. And he’s on the pitch. Explain.
This reply undertaken during half time break – david tinker please, please explain what I am missing. I said at the very outset that it looks like CC is thinking ahead to Wednesday but that is embarrasing. Rowe out of his depth, Sarr fully deserving of criticism today. I will go on record as saying I dont like Pritchard but he has done ok. Bacuna has shown some good touches and Diakhaby (anothet player who deserves all the stick he gets) doing ok too. In fairness the way we have created chances makes me think with hindsight that a proper tem selection many have got us something out of this game. The really scary thing is that it is only when you see Diakhaby and Ward on the same pitch together that you realise how bad Danny Ward is. Corberan needs to take a lot of the blame for today but he could redeem himself by dropping Danny Ward – preferably off the top of the Fantasic Media stand.
Garbage. Rowe out of his depth, Edmonds-Green needs help at the back and Sarr was no help at all, in fact he was a liability. Toffolo was very poor so good decision to take him off and give him a bit of a rest. Pritchard ok first half, awful second. O’Brien has totally lost whatever it was that made look class last season. And Danny Ward ends up iniured – oh well, every cloud has a silver lining. I have already emailed the club requesting a refund for the iFollow — I do not expect I will get a refund but the point needs to be made that they have taken the ¶¡§§ out of the fans today.