Team for Fulham

[Isleworth_Bee]

Same please!

 

[Bixer]

Yep, goes without saying I think. Barring injury, there's no reason to change a soul.

 

[w7 bee]

Rest Jota & Colin.

 

[alikat]

Rest Jota & Colin.

Why?

 

[Mudbone]

Why?

I think the words cheek and tongue springs to mind

I think W7 forgot the fishing thing as well...

 

[alikat]

I think the words cheek and tongue springs to mind

Rib-tickling stuff...

 

[Bungy Bee]

Bonham for Bentley.....lol...You Reds...

 

[Bungy Bee]

Bonham for Bentley.....lol...You Reds

 

[No_sting_Bee]

Fill the team with strikers and attacking midfielders. Just score more.

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

Fill the team with strikers and attacking midfielders. Just score more.

We will do that anyway.

 

[South Acton Bee]

Hoff must start

 

[Aussie Bee]

As long as those selected play like men possessed i will be happy!!!

What i don't want to see is a tired end of season display with the boys going through the motions with their minds on the summer holidays.

Since it's Fulham i am pretty confident we will give them a game and a half!!

 

[AB]

As long as those selected play like men possessed i will be happy!!!

What i don't want to see is a tired end of season display with the boys going through the motions with their minds on the summer holidays.

Since it's Fulham i am pretty confident we will give them a game and a half!!

Agree. I think we're not that sort of team and don't have that sort of player as we saw at the end of last season and in the games since January this season. If we do put in a subdued performance it'll be because the players are knackered (I hope not) or because Fulham have played very well to negate our threat.

 

[redsbee]

They certainly won't be doing that. It's the scum and we're going for 8th!

As long as those selected play like men possessed i will be happy!!!

What i don't want to see is a tired end of season display with the boys going through the motions with their minds on the summer holidays.

Since it's Fulham i am pretty confident we will give them a game and a half!!

 

[Bizzy Bee]

What i don't want to see is a tired end of season display with the boys going through the motions with their minds on the summer holidays.

They won't. They have bonuses to win to pay for those summer holidays!

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

Bentley

Colin, Dean, Egan, Henry

Woods, Yennaris

Jota, Sawyers, Canos

Vibe

 

[wanderer paul]

Why would you drop Barbet? That's just nuts.

Egan was off the pace at Barnsley and Barbet, as last year, has been an integral part in our end of season run.

 

[Ambrose_1889]

Jota
Jota Jota Jota Jota
Jota Jota
Jota Jota Jota
Jota

Subs: Jota, Jota, Jota, Jota, Jota, Jota, Hofmann.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

Why would you drop Barbet? That's just nuts.

Egan was off the pace at Barnsley and Barbet, as last year, has been an integral part in our end of season run.

Because Egan and Dean are our best central defensive pair. I'm not quite as impressed with Barbet as you seem to be. Yes, he can play out of defence, but he's prone to lapses in concentration. Not saying he's a bad player by any means but Egan is better. Certainly don't agree that he was "off the pace at Barnsley" though he and Dean were badly exposed by our defensively threadbare midfield which gave Barnsley acres of space to open us up.

 

[sonofabee]

Bentley

Colin, Dean, Egan, Henry

Woods, Yennaris

Jota, Sawyers, Canos

Vibe

Barbet has been superb, don't get why you'd bring back John Egan who has been out of sorts with two games to play after recent performances?

 

[jlove]

I'd be inclined to use Egan if we're likely to be under arial bombardment but I don't think we'll get that. Barbet gives us more creativity, particularly playing forward quickly. The game will be won and lost in the midfield and - sadly - I think Cairney and Johansen will be the winners.

 

[The Pipe]

Because Egan and Dean are our best central defensive pair. I'm not quite as impressed with Barbet as you seem to be. Yes, he can play out of defence, but he's prone to lapses in concentration. Not saying he's a bad player by any means but Egan is better. Certainly don't agree that he was "off the pace at Barnsley" though he and Dean were badly exposed by our defensively threadbare midfield which gave Barnsley acres of space to open us up.

Think Egan is a very good CB but still has a lot to learn regarding playing football from the back. In games where it is obvious we are going to under pressure with high balls played into the box then a case can be made for him to play.

However our game now is to have defenders that are comfortable on the ball, can attack as well as defend and can create opportunities for others. Barbet currently fits into the role much better and would be my preferred option.

Without wishing to be at all disparaging Egan reminds me of much improved Leon Legge,

 

[North London Bee]

Clarke for Colin if his calf injury is still troubling him.

 

[Bixer]

Because Egan and Dean are our best central defensive pair.

Our recent results and our good run at the end of last season where it's been Dean and Barbet prove otherwise.

 

[AB]

Because Egan and Dean are our best central defensive pair. I'm not quite as impressed with Barbet as you seem to be. Yes, he can play out of defence, but he's prone to lapses in concentration. Not saying he's a bad player by any means but Egan is better. Certainly don't agree that he was "off the pace at Barnsley" though he and Dean were badly exposed by our defensively threadbare midfield which gave Barnsley acres of space to open us up.

Our midfield doesn't look defensively threadbare when Barbet is playing because we play differently when both centre backs are good ball players. As posted before, when it is Dean and Barbet, as soon as we have possession in defence they push wide and the full backs go forward with Jota and Canos released into dangerously pushing onto the opposition full backs. This clears midfield up as the opposition has to push back to deal with Henry/Colin being up near half way or if not quick enough, to support their full backs in trying to cut out Jota/Canos (which becomes even more of a nightmare if either of them runs across the edge of the penalty area while the other switches wings). Barbet and Dean then, once the ball is forward, tighten up in the middle and with the space that's left, Woods usually only has one player to worry about and an outlet in either Sawyers or Nico, plus one of Dean/Barbet are now comfortable with running forward to support.

Egan is an excellent traditional CB but at the moment that means that he and Dean don't play like that and are more likely to stay closer together, which means that we are slightly less able to stretch play like that and so are under more pressure in central midfield. If you'd asked most Bees fans a season or two ago whether they thought Dean could play the way he does now, you'd have got a laugh. So I don't think it is too fanciful to expect that Egan will be developed into that mould over the next season or two, but it will take time and not all of that will be game time.

 

[Rob-BEE]

As long as those selected play like men possessed i will be happy!!!

What i don't want to see is a tired end of season display with the boys going through the motions with their minds on the summer holidays.

Since it's Fulham i am pretty confident we will give them a game and a half!!

I can see that happening against Blackburn next week (maybe) but surely not tomorrow! Pretty sure the players understand the meaning of the game and will be bang up for it. Also, the pressure is all on them, which should play into our favour.

As for the team, why change a winning formula?!

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

Our midfield doesn't look defensively threadbare when Barbet is playing because we play differently when both centre backs are good ball players. As posted before, when it is Dean and Barbet, as soon as we have possession in defence they push wide and the full backs go forward with Jota and Canos released into dangerously pushing onto the opposition full backs. This clears midfield up as the opposition has to push back to deal with Henry/Colin being up near half way or if not quick enough, to support their full backs in trying to cut out Jota/Canos (which becomes even more of a nightmare if either of them runs across the edge of the penalty area while the other switches wings). Barbet and Dean then, once the ball is forward, tighten up in the middle and with the space that's left, Woods usually only has one player to worry about and an outlet in either Sawyers or Nico, plus one of Dean/Barbet are now comfortable with running forward to support.

Egan is an excellent traditional CB but at the moment that means that he and Dean don't play like that and are more likely to stay closer together, which means that we are slightly less able to stretch play like that and so are under more pressure in central midfield. If you'd asked most Bees fans a season or two ago whether they thought Dean could play the way he does now, you'd have got a laugh. So I don't think it is too fanciful to expect that Egan will be developed into that mould over the next season or two, but it will take time and not all of that will be game time.

Yes, fair point, but I still think Egan is the better defender and today we're going to have to do a fair bit of defending. Egan marks more tightly, concentrates better and makes fewer errors. He's also pretty useful as an attacker at set pieces. Again, I'm not disparaging Barbet - he has all the attributes you describe so eloquently - but I rate Egan vey highly and I think he works well with Dean.