Dissapointed with that team selection.

[Chali 2na]

Firstly, Basham shouldn't just be cast aside like that. RCB is his place, as LCB is O'Connell's, LWB is Stevens and so on. He has more than earned it and a petty yellow card suspension shouldn't cost him his place.
I know Cranie has done very well at RCB but I would've moved him to LCB if O'Connell was out, with Stevens LWB.

Playing a right footer at LCB completely fucks with the balance of the side.

Wilder made the right decision.

Additionally, we needed all the physicality we could get considering WBA's physical power, so that made Basham's omission more baffling. We were gambling on them not getting a lot of set pieces.

Starting Johnson was very risky and we were lucky to get away with it.
ke the piss, we even keep a clean sheet!

We weren't lucky to get away with anything: Johnson came in and was fine, again.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Playing a right footer at LCB completely fucks with the balance of the side.

Wilder made the right decision.



We weren't lucky to get away with anything: Johnson came in and was fine, again.

Completely agree about Johnson. Although not spectacular I thought his contribution was, at times, essential. To paraphrase, he was our "water carrier", his willingness to work over and beyond made other areas of our game function seamlessly. Same goes for Crainie, although I think his contribution was even more worthy. The pair of them showed that whatever anyone says, signing someone on a 'free' can be a sign of a trained eye. Surely some of us should know better, especially after we signed Jake Wright, another 'free'. Cutting these players a little slack, allowing them the chance to show they're worth a place, is surely the right thing to do?

As a whole, the team Wilder put out was superb. We matched WBA in every department, and the result was that they became stifled, not having enough creativity within their costly ranks to counter our well oiled machine.

 

[Kevincarterversion2.0]

No Madine??

Won 4-0 last game, why not keep the same team?

No chance we can win this game. At all.

Thanks Frank Skinner.

 

[wavy-blade]

Seriously how can anyone post such a negative post at the start of the match , nowt so queer as folk !

 

[Blade58]

I smell pork

PG Metcalf?

 

[Rodley]

 

[Living In a Fantasy World]

Sharp and McGoldrick have been excellent for us this season, no question they are our main strikers.
Madine and Hogan are good depth for us, even if I hate him he did finish them two goals well, but it was against a shockingly poor defensive team in Reading.
But comments like this before a game is just ridiculous, everyone should have known, what the team was going to be, he made the changes for the Reading game, so our main strikers and Dowell were fully fit and ready to go for this game.

 

[stringer]

I've just got back and not read the thread but I didn't like that line up at all.

Firstly, Basham shouldn't just be cast aside like that. RCB is his place, as LCB is O'Connell's, LWB is Stevens and so on. He has more than earned it and a petty yellow card suspension shouldn't cost him his place.
I know Cranie has done very well at RCB but I would've moved him to LCB if O'Connell was out, with Stevens LWB.

Additionally, we needed all the physicality we could get considering WBA's physical power, so that made Basham's omission more baffling. We were gambling on them not getting a lot of set pieces.

Starting Johnson was very risky and we were lucky to get away with it.

Then if Basham isn't playing and Egan's our only powerful aerial player, surely Madine starts. But he didn't!

So I really didn't get it at all.

In hindsight, it was a decent game for McGoldrick to start. Stevens is ace at LCB but it meant starting Johnson - not sure if worth it. Cranie was excellent once again, more than justifying his own place if not explaining Basham's absence. Madine came off the bench at the perfect time and helped us enormously - again. I'm just not sure why Cranie came off, I thought it should have been Basham on for Norwood if anything.

Bottom line though, we won at West Brom with this patched up team. Then to take the piss, we even keep a clean sheet!

Wilder teams are built on the premise of balance. So right and left footed CBs (hence signings of Jake Wright and JOC), left and right footed midfielders (Fleck). Playing right-footed Cranie there would disrupt that and simply, it wouldn’t happen.
Yes, Stevens played out of position but LWB to LCB, in this system, is arguably less of an upheavel than RCB to LCB. Plus Cranie would be on his weaker foot all game.
Johnson also gave the outlet option with his pace and deserved to keep the shirt after the Reading game.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Playing a right footer at LCB completely fucks with the balance of the side.

Think this is a really important thing to remember. In the past systems we’ve played you can probably get away with a right-footer on the left side of defence. With our system, and in particular the overlapping role of the centre-backs, having a left-footer at LCB isn’t a nice-to-have – the amount we demand of them on the ball makes it absolutely essential.

 

[Minty]

Seriously how can anyone post such a negative post at the start of the match , nowt so queer as folk !

Because, in short, he is an attention seeking pig troll.

 

[Chali 2na]

Think this is a really important thing to remember. In the past systems we’ve played you can probably get away with a right-footer on the left side of defence. With our system, and in particular the overlapping role of the centre-backs, having a left-footer at LCB isn’t a nice-to-have – the amount we demand of them on the ball makes it absolutely essential.

Going forward, the whole point of our CBs is to get a cross in, which is unlikely to happen from their weaker foot.

 

[TJB.]

Why not save it till full time

This aged well.

No Madine??

Won 4-0 last game, why not keep the same team?

No chance we can win this game. At all.

This didn't.

 

[Ricky]

I know how important the right and left sided balance is, but look at yesterday's game in isolation, without hindsight.

Johnson v Matt Phillips (or Gayle, Montero or Murphy)? Not a good thought.

Look at WBA's physicality. We could do with as many players with aerial ability as reasonably possible.

If O'Connell was out, given the opposition, having a right footer at LCB who doesn't get forward would be a very acceptable compromise.

Cranie's a flexible defender, always has been.

It would have also only meant one change to our usual back 3, instead of two - Basham Egan Cranie.

As for Johnson, we did get away with it a bit because quite unsurprisingly he gave the ball away numerous times in dangerous areas. He and Norwood accounted for the majority of our sloppy play. I'm not knocking him, he did alright in an awkward position, but he wasn't any more of an outlet than Stevens would've been. Most of the time he got forward in the second half they didn't give him the ball.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I know how important the right and left sided balance is, but look at yesterday's game in isolation, without hindsight.

Johnson v Matt Phillips (or Gayle, Montero or Murphy)? Not a good thought.

Look at WBA's physicality. We could do with as many players with aerial ability as reasonably possible.

If O'Connell was out, given the opposition, having a right footer at LCB who doesn't get forward would be a very acceptable compromise.

Cranie's a flexible defender, always has been.

It would have also only meant one change to our usual back 3, instead of two - Basham Egan Cranie.

As for Johnson, we did get away with it a bit because quite unsurprisingly he gave the ball away numerous times in dangerous areas. He and Norwood accounted for the majority of our sloppy play. I'm not knocking him, he did alright in an awkward position, but he wasn't any more of an outlet than Stevens would've been. Most of the time he got forward in the second half they didn't give him the ball.

Wilder stuck with his preference for balance. It worked. Trying to turn a silk purse into a sows ear AFTER the event based purely on what ifs is a bit odd imo. To suggest Wilder somehow "got it wrong" in his selection after a win at the Hawthorns, well......

 

[Ricky]

Wilder stuck with his preference for balance. It worked. Trying to turn a silk purse into a sows ear AFTER the event based purely on what ifs is a bit odd imo. To suggest Wilder somehow "got it wrong" in his selection after a win at the Hawthorns, well......

I'm simply posting without hindsight. I thought it was a dodgy selection. As I'm sure did many others, whether they'd admit it or not. I'm obviously not suggesting Wilder got it wrong after the win, after what was a solid performance. He was vindicated. But there's also no way of knowing how we'd have fared with the line up I suggested.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Wilder stuck with his preference for balance. It worked. Trying to turn a silk purse into a sows ear AFTER the event based purely on what ifs is a bit odd imo. To suggest Wilder somehow "got it wrong" in his selection after a win at the Hawthorns, well......

It's a bit like being caught with your fingers in the till and still arguing that you've done nothing wrong.

All we can do is imagine the conversations that go on between Wilder and his team. They must know something the rest of us aren't party to. It seems that they were right, and we deservedly returned home with three vital points.

Re. Johnson, never going to be an established first team player, but there are times when horses for courses is apt, and in this context he worked his bollocks off and did vital covering work. He almost scored a class goal, had it not been for their keeper making a wonder save. Personally, after a result that might, with hindsight, be as crucial to our promotion push as any this season, we'll know that the squad that's been assembled has been worthy of whatever it achieves.

It's odd, at best, to complain about team selection, especially after such a quality performance, because that's exactly what it was, and it takes eleven men to make that possible.........or did Wilder get something wrong that us lesser beings missed?

 

[Fanny magnet]

I know how important the right and left sided balance is, but look at yesterday's game in isolation, without hindsight.

Johnson v Matt Phillips (or Gayle, Montero or Murphy)? Not a good thought.

Look at WBA's physicality. We could do with as many players with aerial ability as reasonably possible.

If O'Connell was out, given the opposition, having a right footer at LCB who doesn't get forward would be a very acceptable compromise.

Cranie's a flexible defender, always has been.

It would have also only meant one change to our usual back 3, instead of two - Basham Egan Cranie.

As for Johnson, we did get away with it a bit because quite unsurprisingly he gave the ball away numerous times in dangerous areas. He and Norwood accounted for the majority of our sloppy play. I'm not knocking him, he did alright in an awkward position, but he wasn't any more of an outlet than Stevens would've been. Most of the time he got forward in the second half they didn't give him the ball.

I like how you crowbarred in a dig at Norwood, nicely done !

 

[mattbianco1]

No Madine??

Won 4-0 last game, why not keep the same team?

No chance we can win this game. At all.

That aged well