joey_big_nose

What kind of formation is this going to be? Guess Armstrong goes wide.

We've got 4 strikers on!

He deserves at least a crack centrally when our current system is offering no quality at all.

To be honest JRC has done nothing.

We've spent 5m on a striker that the manager literally refuses to play up front.

We've got to go 442. JRC totally ineffective. Why not just shift JRC right and Gallagher up front.

Have to say I'm not devastated about losing Holtby. On recent form less important a player than Armstrong, Downing, Travis, Lenihan, Nyambe or Tosin. I can see Buckley starting at 10.

With Fulham's quality on the ball Tony will be loathe to go 442. I'm pretty sure Bennett will come in at number 10 and Gallagher will persist on the right in a 4231. Other option would be Buckley at 10. Gallagher got some decent flick ons and a couple of decent runs from the right against Boro. But did they produce any chances? Nope...

If that's the case Mowbray will play him right wing in no time!

Still would only make the bench I think. -----------------------Walton Nyambe----Lenihan----Tosin-----Bell ----JRC-----Travis----Johnson----Downing ------------Gallagher----Armstrong Subs : Leut, Williams, Bennett, Davenport, Chapman, Brereton, Graham. Though I do suspect we will still end up with Gallagher on the wing for some bizarre reason.

As others have said we can go 442 and have a full complement out there. In a way we are lucky we are having a spate of injuries in that area as we have so many players. If that was defence we be totally screwed.

I think Bells done alright personally since we dropped Williams and brought in Tosin. I think that says something about Williams more than Bell. Also Nyambe on the right has been a big impact. As a back 4 they look the best we've had since Hanley and Duff were sold.

Nope, but I doubt Mowbray will get much credit. We basically play all the young players the fans want, Smallwood, Williams, Mulgrew, Bennett have all been sidelined. It's odd people keep harping on about this.

Well we didn't bring anyone in. Next step is do a risk analysis. First XI has shown itself to be decent despite losing Dack and Cunningham (and Evans, but given our plethora of centre mids not too much of a loss). We can probably handle one further injury/loss of form in centre mids (mad right?!), but every single other position is very fragile. Injuries to Walton (not because he is very good, but because Leut is so bad), Lenihan, Tosin, Nyambe, Bell (again more about lack of backup than his quality), Armstrong would all be huge blows. We've got to be really really lucky with injuries. Particularly if Armstrong, Lenihan or Tosin is taken out we are buggered.

I'm not convinced by this - we've looked worse when we've gone 442.

I think there's a decent chance it will be more like Walton Nyambe Lenihan Adarabioyo Bell Travis Johnson Gallagher Holtby Downing Armstrong Mowbrays wedded to the ideal of Gallagher on the wing. Can't see him changing it. And as bad as it is, it is still better than Bennett back in the team. We absolutely fell apart when Benno came on against QPR.

The championship is utterly mental. WBA are second and havent won in 5....

On the plus side the spine of our team - Tosin, Lenihan, Travis, Downing, Armstrong - looks as good as anything in the league.

Anyone else think Bells looked pretty good since Tosin and Nyambe have come into the team? I can see him being extended.

Good post that. I would say you only really look 2 seasons ahead in football so I would say the other CM berth is covered by Evans and Johnson. Agree everywhere else though.

All a bit of a stretch though. I for one am not really convinced at all by Rothwell. Very talented but he's a number 10, not a winger or centre mid. We're in a bit of a daft place where we have 3 good options for number 10 (Dack, Holtby, Rothwell) but no wide players. Davenport had really struggled with injuries, JRC essentially untested.

Tonys clearly dropped Bennett both from the team and the captaincy. So I think we can give him some credit. He's also hardly played Smallwood or Williams. Yet people keep on harping on about it...

Will be same team absolutely certainly unless we have injuries. QPRs staff will have gone back and forth over the video of the Wednesday game, in detail. They will stick someone to man mark Downing, will double up on Nyambe and target our left side. Will be totally different game I think.

It's certainly interesting that English players are in demand on the continent. Only other time that has ever really happened was when English clubs were kicked out of Europe in the eighties and the players were queuing up to leave. Coaches must be doing something right. Just need more of our players to be brave and make the plunge like Sancho. Only way we will catch-up with France and Spain in terms of number of players in the Champions League.

I agree that if you took Travis out of the team we would be a much worse outfit. The ground he covers is phenomenal. He knits everything together. Also when he first came in he looked like a pure physical water carrier. But over the last couple of months he's started to add a real bit of technical quality. His strike today and some of his passing was excellent. Also love the way when he's closed down he can just shift the ball, skip away and drive past the opposition player with ease. Does it half a dozen times a game. Really promising.