Town have played four games in a short space of time and have another five to go before the end of the season. With all this talk about injuries accumulating because of the short turn around time between games, I thought I would take a look at which members of Town’s squad have played the most minutes so far and are therefore at risk of burning out.
Danny Cowley has been careful to rotate his squad wherever possible but there are a few key positions where he has tended to stick with the same personnel. The difficulty will come if any of these key players play too much football and either pick up an injury or are too tired to perform because of their heavy workload.
Which players have played every minute so far?
Three players have played every minute so far:
- Lössl
- Schindler
- Toffolo
Jonas Lössl should not have to worry too much about his physical fitness for the upcoming matches as goalkeepers exert themselves far less than outfield players but there is a mental aspect to consider. Goalkeepers need sharp focus throughout the full 90 minutes and it’s possible that many games, close together, could lead to an increased chance of silly mistakes as mental fatigue sets in.
Christopher Schindler had one of his worst games in a Town shirt against Nottingham Forest but has followed that low point with two of his best performances. He’s found whatever it was that he was missing and now looks like the heartbeat of the team. For that reason it is very hard for Danny Cowley to drop his captain. While central defenders run less than players higher up the field, they put their body on the line every match and the gash to the head Schindler received against Preston is proof of this point.
Harry Toffolo is obviously a Cowley favourite, because he brought him to Town from his old club and has played in him almost every match since he arrived. He’s not just being picked because he’s the teacher’s pet though, he’s quickly become an essential player for Town since his arrival in January. With Jaden Brown currently injured and Terence Kongolo ineligible we don’t have many other options at left back right now so I suspect we’ll continue to see Toffolo starting at least until Town are safe.
Which players have featured in over 300 minutes since the restart?
Lewis O’Brien (330 minutes) was subbed after 60 minutes in the Wigan game but has otherwise played the full 90 minutes for the rest of the games. Not only has he been on the pitch a lot but he’s also one of the busiest players when he’s playing so he’s likely to be starting to feel the accumulated minutes in his legs by now. He may be needed as a stand-in left-back if anything happens to Toffolo, so I wouldn’t be stunned if he was rested for some of Town’s upcoming games.
Karlan Grant (320 minutes) is Town’s most potent goal threat and the only player in the squad to get into double figures for goals so it stands to reason he’s played a lot of minutes. There are often periods in games where he can go quiet but if he gets possession in a certain area of the pitch he can almost always score. Danny Cowley may start subbing him earlier in games (particularly if Town are ahead) but I’d say he can’t afford to not start him until safety is assured.
Jonathan Hogg (311 minutes) is like a machine on the pitch, covering every blade of grass and making a nuisance of himself. Putting in that kind of shift twice a week for five weeks isn’t going to be healthy for his aging body and his chances of injury must be fairly high right now. Given that Andy King is available and most likely fresher, I would consider giving Hoggy some time to recharge his batteries over the next couple of games.
Richard Stearman (309) has been subbed for Stankovic a couple of times since the restart but keeps getting selected to start games. His distribution can vary between ponderous and erratic but he is solid when defending and stands up well to physical opponents. He’s not an exciting player but provides experience and a vocal presence on the pitch which benefits his younger teammates. It could be that Stankovic steps in to replace him in the starting lineup soon but Cowley has consistently preferred the experience of Stearman in his back line since he came to Town in January.
Should Danny Cowley rest these players before they burn out?
Cowley mentioned in his press conference ahead of tonight’s game with Reading that he had to balance picking the best players with having the freshest team, so it’s clear he’s concerned about the risk of injury to some of his players, particularly given that the players that have played most are also our most influential players too.
Beyond the risk of injury, it’s also likely that performance levels will dip among the players that are feeling fatigued from the harder than usual workload. The team battled against Preston last weekend but their inability to break Preston down must have partly been due to tiredness.
The difficulty with making changes is that their replacements are likely to be less good and also rusty though lack of first team football so making wholesale changes at this stage would be suicide. It’s more likely we’ll see some limited rotation with the starting lineup and tactical use of the five allowed substitutes to try to rest key players when they are least needed.
How many minutes have the rest of the squad played?
Nobody else, outside the seven players listed above, has played more than 200 minutes, so the following players should all be relatively fresh (barring injury).
- Kachunga – 187 minutes
- Smith Rowe – 186 minutes
- Pritchard – 186 minutes
- Willock – 174 minutes
- Duhaney – 173 minutes
- King – 129 minutes
- Campbell – 125 minutes
- Chalobah – 123 minutes
- Bacuna – 105 minutes (one game left of his suspension)
- Mounié – 76 minutes
- Simpson – 72 minutes (no longer at the club)
- Stankovic – 57 minutes
- Quaner – 53 minutes
Alongside the players already used, it’s quite likely we’ll see some of Town’s youth players making up the numbers at times. Matty Daly in particular deserves some time on the pitch after seeing his opportunities limited this season.