Aleksz

He’s very good. We’re just spoilt by Mads’ level of distribution, which would be up there with the best in the Premier League let alone the championship.

Starting eleven is pretty much full strength but their bench is full of kids.

Has inverted into midfield from both sides of full back quite regularly for Sunderland this season whenever I’ve watched them - So another option with Ricardo.

If Cannon and Daka provide what they’ve shown in glimpses between them over the last month for the rest of the season, then it’s going to be super hard for Vards to get anywhere near the XI. End of an Era. As for Kel… 4th choice as it stands.

Team is Hermansen, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin, Ricardo, Winks, Casadei, Yunus, Fatawu, Mavididi, Cannon

Alan Nixon also saying this, this morning (I think, I can only see the headline on his patreon, not paying for that)

I agree with this but I think Enzo likes it that way. I get the impression he’d much rather a perfect 2-0/3-0 with total control, clean sheet and possession rather than a frantic 4-2/5-1. You always get the impression he pulls the handbrake at 2-0 - not out of being defensive, but just out of keeping control of the game.

That wide open pass to the winger as one of the 8’s pins and occupies the full back was on all night. Amazed Cardiff let it happen over and over again.

Couldn’t disagree more. I think tonight was his best game in possession for us for a long long time, if not ever - albeit against an absolutely redundant press from Cardiff. I think it’s important with Hamza to appreciate his limitations, but also what he’s very good at. When he’s in there alongside Winks it’s not his job to dictate the game - That’s Winks’. I said it before a couple of weeks back on the previous page (Which probably says a lot about how much appreciation he doesn’t get sometimes) but Hamza’s role in this team is to break things up when we get caught in transition playing our pretty stuff. Players like Fernandinho and Rodri have been integral to Pep’s glory years by breaking things up, getting away with a silly amount of yellow cards - You see how much Man City fall apart without Rodri in there doing that. Like someone said in the post match thread we could have really done with Hamza in the last 20 minutes against Ipswich. Hamza knows his role now, he knows his purpose thanks to Enzo’s fantastic coaching - and sure he will need to be replaced and upgraded eventually, but I think this profile is something that’s pretty integral.

I think this happened a couple of years back with Benik Afobe. Wolves had him on loan from Bournemouth with an obligation/option to buy, he bagged a load of goals and wolves snapped up the deal - two weeks later he joined Stoke and Wolves bagged a little bit of profit. We could do similar in this eventuality - the agreed fee is €17m I believe, how much would he be worth to another club at this rate I wonder.

Choudhury in for Ricardo, that is all apparently.

Most likely invert from the right. Means Faes will play left back out of possesion and Ricardo RB. Don’t see Maresca wanting Coady defending wide areas too often.

It raised my eyebrows too. Seems an unnecessary change.

Coady is coming in for JJ supposedly as the only change.

Wow. The patience and passing is incredible. As is the sheer amount of players we’re playing in the last line no amount of players behind the ball is stopping that at this level.

Considering we most likely did that against Rotherham to lock up their tidy and pacey left wing back and Ipswich’s best player is their left wing back - I would hedge my bets we’ll do the same again.

It’s a shame he’s a loan really as time isn’t on his side - if he was here permanently I’d back him to grow into a pretty important player for us.

There’s so many more goals on offer for him if he can go looking for those crosses and cutbacks to the back stick more often. It’s his best attribute.

Fair few players missing for them - 6 players on the bench including a half fit Clucas.

If he is indeed unchanged, playing and risking Vestergaard is a bit silly imo

XI is unchanged, apparently.

Bit different when you’re a senior pro and have earned the right.

I think his point was more we actively don’t set up to sit deep and counter attack. But when teams open themselves up like Birmingham did the other night then it plays into your own hands really.

Agreed. Been saying it for ages but sooner or later someone is getting a hiding from the off if we can score early - even more so than one might say Plymouth was.

That front 5 last night before changes were made were absolutely electric. As much as I think Birmingham played into our hands last night, the pace combination of Fatawu, Mavididi KDH (Who can really shift by the way) and Daka was absolutely brutal for them to deal with. Not quite sure if I would go as far as saying Enzo has took the handbrake off - but if he has it’s come at a cost of a bit of control and goals conceded. I suppose there’s a time and place for it. Millwall made our lives difficult for the first half and we had to control, where as Birmingham made it easy to kill them in transition last night. Either way over the last 3 games you’ve seen a bit of variation in selection, tactical tweaks (Millwall) and style (Birmingham) from Enzo which is reassuring.