Same as last time. Cleverley's only starting due to the armband - I cannot see him starting every game.
So Bayo and Ngakia out, Gaspar and Quina in. Might be a few comments about Bayo's absence floating around this evening, given what we spent on him.
Here we go. The first game of the season we deserve to lose just for the starting line up. Cleverley was appalling last game and Sema is crap and forcing Kamara - probably the best wing back in the league - to play out of position with his presence in the line up. Bayo is clearly a complete joke and a disgrace of a signing.
Unchanged XI is annoying. Kamara wasted on the right; Cleverley not up to it. Gaspar for Ngakia on the bench, which of course means we need a new HG. Bayo loses out (£5m well spent) and Quina a sub. Wonder where the hell TDB’s gone.
Yes, very weird that the striker we spent £5m on can't even make the bench. Possibly because he's not very good, only worth a third of that amount at best and was signed as a favour to the Bayats. Cheers Mogi!
Willing to give Edwards the benefit of the doubt on Kamara at RWB as I have no idea how match-fit Gaspar is, but I am hoping to see him at some point tonight. Don't really understand Cleverley's inclusion given he struggled last week, even if the rest of our midfield options are not exactly banging the door down
Cleverley will now take up the Deeney role. Captain so can't be dropped, no matter how old and **** he is or how badly he plays.
I mean, I don't really care about Bayo not making squads if Dennis and Sarr are here and committed past September 1st, but it's £5m down the drain, and very much goes against the 'rule of 11' philosophy!
We were the better team last week - yes there were iffy performances from a couple of players - but I can’t see why Edwards would change a winning team. If fans think he’s going to make Cleverley captain and then drop him after a game, then think again - simply won’t happen. And - I think he is woeful - but Sema was decent enough last week and had one of his better games. Again, can’t see why he’d be dropped. Yes we would all make a couple of changes to the team - but I think we need to also be realistic and not so reactionary this early in the season. For me, the complete omission of a new £5m striker and £6m GK is the bigger issue here. Pretty clear that if Sarr and Dennis remain, due to quotas that the club didn’t even consider (despite their claims to the contrary when selling Cucho), we have spunked £11m up the wall.
Pretty expected as a line-up. I don't think Gaspar was going to start, he will come on you'd imagine. Cleverley was awful last week, however, must be a squad player going forwards. Pleased to see Quina back in the squad, I think at this level he will be a big asset for us. Bayo omission is strange. Three central midfielders on the bench!? WBA a strong side, a draw would be a decent result tonight, although I do fancy us on the break tonight! WBA won't sit in you wouldn't imagine and may open up some space for the front three......just a shame we have no creativity through the middle.
I don't think a grinded, singular 1-0 home win warrants a mindset of "can't change a winning team". We have players starting who are playing out of position and players who are awful, regardless of last week's win. You pick your best team and play your best players in their best position, and we aren't doing that. It'll come back to bite us tonight.
Happy to see how the game pans out with the presented line-up than criticize it before a ball has been kicked.
Im going to stick my neck out and say Rob Edwards is going to be better at picking the team than any of us, so Im going to leave him to his job.
Then we will agree to disagree - I think the effort and performance last week merits it being unchanged tonight. I’d love to see Gaspar play and Kamara moved across - but the noises from Edwards all summer has been about it taking time to get the players ready for what he wants. We simply don’t know if Gaspar is up to that level that Edwards wants yet. If he’s not starting over the next few games, then yes…grounds for concern. And as I say, Cleverley was poor last week and we do seem to have painted ourselves into a corner by giving him the armband - but I don’t see the point in losing it every time he starts because that’s going to happen a lot if we are being realistic.
Players out of position ,No TBD in squad , on paper a weak midfield, maybe we will get a look at super Mario tonight. Just think if we could come away with a point it would be a good result. Play that side against Burnley and I think we will lose. But Heyho in Mr Edward's we trust.
It's a good job the club haven't spent the summer bringing in non-homegrown players to replace the non-homegrown players that have left. Imagine the lunacy if they'd spent millions on players that couldn't even be included in the matchday squads. #ruleofeleven #doingbusinessproperly #approvedbyEdwards
We could realistically be in a position come the final days of the window where we are shipping Bayo and Okoye out somewhere on loan as we need to replace them with HG options. Genuinely baffled how Giaretta remains in position. Well, I would be baffled but not with Gino and Mogi around.
Just think of an unlikely set of circumstances that are pretty much already disproved, at least anecdotally and choose to believe that. Or you're a weirdo.
What! Rob Edwards is better at picking the team then some of these forum posters? I have never heard such lunacy in my entire life!
We have no money. We aren't Man City! Some fans expect us to sign Mbappe! Oh yeah, but we will funnel 8 figures out on players who can't get in our crappy team or on our bench to please a shady agent.