Birmingham away

afcdibby said:
Since when were Stoke a favourite to go up?
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Highly fancied by many pundits this season. Manager will get a well organised side that will fight for results / that goes a long way in this league. Get Tyrone Campbell fit and firing and I am sure they will be in with a decent shout
 
AFCBade said:
Highly fancied by many pundits this season. Manager will get a well organised side that will fight for results / that goes a long way in this league. Get Tyrone Campbell fit and firing and I am sure they will be in with a decent shout
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They didn't standout to me last season. Awful team, awful place.

QPR are a good outside bet for me
 
Think sticking with back 4 is key

Is one option to switch Anthony to the right, play Davis in front of Zemura (or other way around) and stick with Meps at RB if Stacey and Smith not ready, so natural lefties on left.

Much like Smith's absence was a surprise, conceivable Billing's fitness will be kept secret too if there is doubt. Option might be to give Pearson first half, he's only been unfit through illness not injury and then react at halftime if he's done. Possible to navigate this with better use of subs.
 
ChampagneCherry said:
Think sticking with back 4 is key

Is one option to switch Anthony to the right, play Davis in front of Zemura (or other way around) and stick with Meps at RB if Stacey and Smith not ready, so natural lefties on left.

Much like Smith's absence was a surprise, conceivable Billing's fitness will be kept secret too if there is doubt. Option might be to give Pearson first half, he's only been unfit through illness not injury and then react at halftime if he's done. Possible to navigate this with better use of subs.
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Anthony/Zemura have a connection. If we're going to tinker, do it on the right.
 
afcdibby said:
Anthony/Zemura have a connection. If we're going to tinker, do it on the right.
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Completely. They are certainly getting the best out of one another. Something I assume has been built up in the development squad.
 
It sounds like Stan is going to be fit potentially, so just bring him in for Brooks. The decision is then to be made at rb. Do you play Davis there on his unnatural side? Or persist with Mepham again? There is an argument to be made either way tbh. Birmingham are a more direct team so having essentially a third centre back for long throw ins and set pieces might be invaluable defensively. They play with wing backs too so the threat down that side will be more manageable for him in this game. However, you obviously severely limit your attacking ability down the right if you start with Mepham again. A tough call.
 
Waz afcb said:
It sounds like Stan is going to be fit potentially, so just bring him in for Brooks. The decision is then to be made at rb. Do you play Davis there on his unnatural side? Or persist with Mepham again? There is an argument to be made either way tbh. Birmingham are a more direct team so having essentially a third centre back for long throw ins and set pieces might be invaluable defensively. They play with wing backs too so the threat down that side will be more manageable for him in this game. However, you obviously severely limit your attacking ability down the right if you start with Mepham again. A tough call.
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You stick with a winning team unless able to. No Brooks means Stanislas if fit.
 
AFCBade said:
Highly fancied by many pundits this season. Manager will get a well organised side that will fight for results / that goes a long way in this league. Get Tyrone Campbell fit and firing and I am sure they will be in with a decent shout
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They're highly fancied by pundits every season tbf...... they'll be mid table after briefly threatening top 6 as usual.
 
afcdibby said:
Anthony/Zemura have a connection. If we're going to tinker, do it on the right.
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It is not a case of tinkering but more recognising who is fit and what the best collective positions might be. If what we lose for one game from that partnership is an overall gain elsewhere, it's not an easy call but to overlook it as an option would be wrong. Of course you wouldn't do it if what you've seen in training didn't justify it, but for me it just highlights the versatility we have rather than a recommendation.

Bear in mind Stan (and Danjuma) functions best on the left, and switching wings is quite common mid game when a full back is on top, so being so rigid on this partnership after 2 games seems a little OTT, especially since Davis is here expecting to claim the LB when he is fully fit.
 
afcdibby said:
You stick with a winning team unless able to. No Brooks means Stanislas if fit.
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Not that simple though. Mepham is not a full back and if we have one who is now fully fit then there is a very strong argument to be made that they should play. Whether that me Stacy or Davis.
 
Bring Stan on later in the game for Taylor

The alternative is to play Davis at right back, but I don't think Parker would be happy to have both Davis and Taylor on the same flank. If Stan was fit, then Davis would play RB.

------------Travers------------
Meps----Rossi----Kelly----JZ
-----------Killkenny-----------
----Marcondes---Billing-----
Taylor-----Dom-----Anthony
 
stuseddon said:
Bring Stan on later in the game for Taylor

The alternative is to play Davis at right back, but I don't think Parker would be happy to have both Davis and Taylor on the same flank. If Stan was fit, then Davis would play RB.

------------Travers------------
Meps----Rossi----Kelly----JZ
-----------Killkenny-----------
----Marcondes---Billing-----
Taylor-----Dom-----Anthony
Click to expand...

Surely better to start Stan after a good warm up and know you have a replacement if he breaks down, rather than being him on and need to waste an extra sub if he breaks down.
 
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