just wondered what me fellow goons thought about the starting lineup come saturday.. with all the injuries going round and suspensions (so bogus on campbell), should be another makeshift unit out there... perhaps a kid to start instead of lauren? who's gunna be in the midfield? who partner's henry? here is my lineup~ Lauren--Keown--Luzhny (yikes)--Cole Ljundberg-Parlour-Pires-Toure Henry---Wiltord (of course) serious makeshift lineup.. should be a real cracker.. luzhny is SOOOOO PANTS... but whoelse do we bring in? gilberto in the mid perhaps.. okay, there is my smart assumption... cheers phishy
I was thinking we might shift Pires to wing and play Silva in the middle in place of Toure. Another alternative is to play DB10 up behind Henry and Wiltord, as has been discussed here before. Either way, I don't think Toure should be on the pitch ahead of Silva or Dennis. Even Edu would be a better option, if for nothing more than free kicks.
I thought I read Vieira was a possibility for matchday. I guess I read wrong. Agree with you about Luzhny. It's quite scary. I also agree about Pires playing wing and shifting Toure to center. Well, I hope the boys are ready to play cuz I'm sure Southampton will be.
After reading reports in this morning's paper, I think the team will be: Seaman Lauren-Keown-Luzhny-Cole Ljungberg-Gilberto-Parlour-Pires Bergkamp-Henry The main doubts are over Lauren and Luzhny with Toure and Stepanovs ready to replace them if neccessary. God help us if that happens!
It would make more sense to have Stepanovs paired with Keown in the middle. Whoever you have in there needs to be a permanent marker on Beattie and I dont trust anyone being mentioned.
Don't look now but Keown might be the latest addition to the injury list. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=267321&cc=5901
Im starting to get a little concerned. How about a 4-5-1 with Silva anchoring the defense. Lauren Steps Oleg Cole Silva Ljungberg Pires Parlour Wiltord Henry Just thinking....Im not that concerned in the offensive set as I believe Henry will be on fire and Bobbie P can score from half field but we gave up 3 goals at St Marys with a stronger unit.
We have to go out with the attitude that we're going to outscore them for 90+ minutes. Our team isn't designed to defend, so the less time we spend doing that the better. No resting on laurels if we jump to an early lead. Lauren--Steps--Oleg--Cole Freddie--Parlour--Gilberto/Edu--Pires Dennis--Henry Dennis comes off for Wiltord late in 70', regardless of the score.
I'll go with: Lauren -- Steps -- Oleg -- Cole Freddie -- Gilberto -- Pires DB10 Henry -- Wiltord Subs: Edu for DB10 once we are up 2-0 Parlour for Wiltord and a 4-5-1 formation.
I thought Stepanovs looked so awkward in the Soton game just a few days ago that there's no way I expose him to facing Beattie for 90 minutes. So... Seaman Lauren - Luzhny - Gilberto - Cole Parlour Ljungberg - Pires - Wiltord Henry - Bergkamp
I have faith in that whoever plays defense for the Arsenal will know how important this game is and will step up to the challenge for our FA Cup win.
That was the theory for the Leeds and Bolton games too! I go with 442's selection, except I would start with Parlour instead of Freddie or Bob. I don't think this will be an 11 player game. I see either Wiltord or more probaly DB10 making way after 60/70 minutes. At which point we could switch back to 442 without losing shape.