What’s our best team?

All About Walsall
21

I am no football manager, but as several on here have said, I would have thought DC would be advised to stop chopping and changing. Judge his best starting 11 - his best goalie, 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 strikers - from what he has available. Then stick with that selection for 5 games. If a better player currently out injured becomes available (e.g. Guthrie) then slot them in but try and keep to a settled team as best he can.

He has said in interviews he likes to look ahead to “blocks” of 5 games, but then seems to treat every game as its own “project” and make several changes in the starting 11.

Does he overthink the opposition? No harm in that but perhaps best to focus on trying to stick to a more robust and settled first choice team.

Also, what were doing differently when we had a spell of 4 wins on the trot?

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22

Was it scoring more goals than the opposing team, Tone?

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23

Three game ban for Serious Foul Play or Violent Conduct.

24

Do we actually have a best team ?

25

Okay, a “least-bad” team. We’m Pee-poor.

26

I agree with the injuries issues.
Smacks of lack of fitness and poor Phsio / Physical prep management

I was going mad when our Phsio ran on and stretched laverys hamstring a few back when he went down. I was amazed, as it clearly wasn’t cramp so early in a game and it was an obvious pull. Stretching it will have made the injury worse, by about 2 weeks

27

I think our best team is still floating around somewhere and will come together in january :grin:

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28

Do you mean we will “gel” ?

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29

How many squad players do we have? How many combinations of 11 players does that give?

Could be a long wait until the optimal combination is happened upon :laughing:

30

I think our best team is as follows:

(4-2-3-1)
Rose, I guess?
Clarke, Clarke, Jules, Jules
Sinclair, Sicknote 1
McDonald, Hardy, McDonald
Sicknote 2

I can see why we are struggling.

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31

I think we need to try something different. With the squad we have and its obvious limitations I’d try 3-1-4-2

Roberts or Rose

Clarke Scarr Jules

Kinsella (holding midfield in the Adam Chambers role)

Norman or Facey, Sinclair, Hardy, Pring

Gaffney Gordon

Subs McDonald, Bates, Sadler, Kiersey, Willis, Lavery (when fit), Guthrie (when fit)

32

DC has named the side he thinks will get a result on Saturday - Mansfield!! :rofl:

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33

A team with, potentially, Preston, Benning and Cook.

34

I’d go:

Rose

Facey Clarke Scarr Jules

Bates Sinclair

McDonald Hardy Gordon

Adebayo

To be honest, I think we need a right back, left back, wide players, and a striker to be competitive.

Guthrie of course would play next to Sinclair if fit.

35

Are we allowed to appeal it and try and get the ban increased?

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36

I think a best 11 is now emerging although we don’t have 11. The formation is 4-4-2 but we are still missing 3 quality players.

Roberts or Rose

XXX Clarke Jules Pring

XXX Bates Sinclair McDonald

XXX Lavery

We are missing a right back, right wing and another forward, and the fans have recognised this since pre-season.

On January 1st we need to send Holden and Gaffney back to Bristol City and Salford. Off-load Adebayo and Norman.

Leaves us with Sadler, Scarr, Guthrie, Kinsella, C-Mollet, Hardy and Gordon on the bench.

Go and sign quality.

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37

Two thoughts;

  1. who is going to want adebayo and Norman? One proved himself to not really be good enough for tier 6 yesterday and the other couldn’t even get in the squad

  2. I think bates is a star in the making but he’s a young lad in his first season at this level so, if we’re not to ruin him, there’s no way we can continue to depend on him to hold the team together, as he did yesterday. He’ll need some games on the bench, he’ll need some games where he’s rested, if his long term development isn’t going to be affected.

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38

Those 3 would be the best players in this team

39

Most of us as supporters could pick a team from this squad of rejects that would actually be Ok, so why can’t Clarke?
He picks teams that would not make a good Sunday morning pub side, whilst leaving better quality, attack minded players ‘left back in the dressing room’.
Is he just stubborn as a gas head stated in the Darlington debacle thread? Or are most of our players constantly injured, whilst the players with flair, quality, enthusiasm and goal scoring ability just on his list of your faces don’t fit into my thoughts?

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40

The balance of the squad just isn’t right for me. I think Clarke banked on us adapting to three at the back far better than we have. Given that McDonald is the only winger on the books, 4-4-2 probably wasn’t even Plan B. The trouble is that we are becoming more and more reliant on that formation, yet haven’t got the personnel to play it. Whoever plays on the opposite wing to McDonald is just there to fill a position and quite often, especially when Holden plays, we get targets down that side.

I’d really like to see us play 4-3-3 with Adebayo out wide with McDonald on the other flank and Lavery through the middle. Hardy could come in to create something in the centre and you can still pick two of Sinclair, Kinsella and Bates to do the dirty work

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