Whose in And Whose out? Town’s injury worries have not gone away, but at least we have some new reinforcements to choose from. Tomorrow at Portman Raod we face an in-form posh side who will be expected to take all three points.
Whatever happens tomorrow afternoon, the Blues will have another chance to redeem themselves against Sunderland on Tuesday night. It is another home fixture, and if we could get something from the game against Peterborough, it would be a huge confidence boost!
We have two new players to call upon and just as well, as more players have gone down with injuries. The latest to fall victim of this dreaded injury curse is striker Oli Hawkins. He will need knee surgery and could be out for two months. To compound, our striking woes, both Kayden Jackson and James Norwood are doubtful for tomorrow too.
It is probably too late to acquire another striker, so we will just have to hope that Aaron Drinan and ideally one or two of the aforementioned forwards passing a late fitness test. So what of the rest? How will manage Paul Lambert juggle his squad?
Well, it seems unlikely that winger Luke Thomas and Josh Harrop will start. One might start, however, and I hope it is at the expense of Alan Judge. Yes, he runs his little heart out but spends most of his time falling over the ball or playing inaccurate passes. Some bench time might do him some good. Gwion Edwards is bound to be involved.
I often think our very own Andre Dozzell is surplus to requirements too but perhaps that’s a little unfair. He sees passes that nobody else sees but does very little else – apart of course, from his obligatory yellow cards. I consider both Flynn Downes and Teddy Bishop to be midfielders worthy of their places but ideally, Lambert has to fit round pegs in round holes.
The defence looked pretty solid against Burton Albion. Toto Nsiala was arguably our best defender. I always fear there is a mistake waiting to happen though, but the same could be said for captain fantastic Luke Chambers!
I feel more confident when Tomas Holy is in goal because he seems to have a habit of keeping clean sheets. No changes at the back then, with Stephen Ward and Mark McGuinness occupying the remaining defensive positions.
On the bench, we can expect to see the usual suspects which include; Freddie Sears, David Cornell, Luke Woolfenden, Armando Dobra, Alan Judge, and perhaps too, Emyr Huws.
Yes agree with you Frank Downes and Bishop are the only midfield players in our squad who would get in the better teams in this league. Dozzell doesn’t do enough for me and is too lightweight, i keep hearing about his magical passes but does he actually create anything. Nolan tends to divide opinion but does actually offer something goals and they are pretty important. Edwards is probably the player with the best all round game in the team he offers goals has a good work ethic tracks back and creates. This is where i believe we are very weak we haven’t got enough players who are prepared to work when we haven’t got the ball and the better teams exploit this. I hope im completely wrong but i think we have signed two players who although skilful will not improve this weakness in our squad.
Thanks for the airing of your views again Keith and I neglected to mention Jon Nolan. He is one of Paul Hurst’s best acquisitions and I rate him highly. He is a bit slow at times but he is well worth his place in the team -if it is only for the fact that he is a midfielder who scores goals! I am afraid Alan Judge is not one of my favourites. He is full of commitment but is profligate on the ball, and often runs around like a headless chicken on rollerskates.