Wigan (a) pre-match thread

[g2aham]

I’d love to see Foden take De Bruynes place in that side tonight
Plenty of experience around him With Silva and Dinho helping him with protection and dictating the tempo
Big player to replace but should make him feel 10 feet tall and we should still have enough to win it
De Bruyne really could do with a rest too though I’m not sure he would want it

 

[Fuzzy80]

Whilst I wish we could just play Ederson, i agree it's too late to drop Bravo now in the league cup final. The point about morale is interesting though. We have a team that has worked incredibly hard all season and that wants to win an unprecedented quadruple. I do wonder if there's also any damage to morale when those efforts are slightly undermined by not including one of the most integral players to how we play in a final?

I know many have said Bravo must be the best reserve keeper in the league and it's important to keep him happy, but to be honest if we're judging him on his time here, he hasn't looked anything special.

I get the argument that it's advantageous to keep a second choice keeper sharp and ready to step in in the event of injury. But if the point of all this is to maximise chances of winning as much as possible, is it really worth putting yourself at a disadvantage in games where trophies are actually at stake on that day? Do the benefits of adhering rigidly to this cup keeper system genuinely outweigh the the costs?

I do see your point but I'm all for Bravo playing as I think it is the set positions we have a domestic cup keeper and a league/CL keeper as opposed to a first / second keeper (although we all know which is which). Our media will no doubt fail to grasp this but unless Bravo is injured it is not a position up for debate.

You never know how things pan out playing Bravo in a cup final might help for latter rounds of CL if Ederson gets injured, whereas being dropped now could kill his confidence and bring him back to last years level.

I also see motivation for a cup keeper is less in future seasons, if he knows he will get dropped for the final or a big semi final.

Ultimately Pep strikes me as a man of his word and that can only be good for morale in the long run.

 

[geoff clipp]

I do see your point but I'm all for Bravo playing as I think it is the set positions we have a domestic cup keeper and a league/CL keeper as opposed to a first / second keeper (although we all know which is which). Our media will no doubt fail to grasp this but unless Bravo is injured it is not a position up for debate.

You never know how things pan out playing Bravo in a cup final might help for latter rounds of CL if Ederson gets injured, whereas being dropped now could kill his confidence and bring him back to last years level.

I also see motivation for a cup keeper is less in future seasons, if he knows he will get dropped for the final or a big semi final.

Ultimately Pep strikes me as a man of his word and that can only be good for morale in the long run.

With regards to motivation for a cup keeper in coming seasons though, i would say they should be motivated by the idea that by playing well they can earn the number one spot on merit? I mean, Caballero's performances eventually saw him displace Bravo toward the end of last season. Ironically, Caballero's "promotion" saw him lose the opportunity to play in the FA cup semi final (the only trophy left available by that point) and instead playing in a few less important league games (i'm sure he enjoyed playing and there was still a top four spot to secure, but i still think it would have been disappointing). That for me represented yet another flaw in this system.There isn't an easy answer on how best to manage this kind of situation, but i definitely have reservations about the domestic cup keeper thing. Would rather let a second choice keeper get extra minutes in the odd league game rather than sticking religiously to this. If Bravo isn't happy with that, I think we could find someone else who is. Ultimately, if we ever lost Ederson for an extended period of time, it would be a huge loss to us regardless of whether we have Bravo or somebody else to step in. It's all pretty moot anyway as i don't see him moving away from this system any time soon.

 

[bluemc1]

I’d love to see Foden take De Bruynes place in that side tonight
Plenty of experience around him With Silva and Dinho helping him with protection and dictating the tempo
Big player to replace but should make him feel 10 feet tall and we should still have enough to win it
De Bruyne really could do with a rest too though I’m not sure he would want it

Feel exactly the same, let the lad play with a first choice team in his proper position

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Feel exactly the same, let the lad play with a first choice team in his proper position

I think we will probably see this. For the cup games where Pep is playing a "shadow" type team he has correctly realised that you have to play at least of De Bruyne or Silva. My guess is that Silva will play the whole game and Kev sit on the bench. He, Walker and Fernandinho are all getting a lot of minutes and would all be big misses if they got an injury. And Foden will start.

 

[typicalcity...]

Mates sold his Wembley ticket cause bravo is playing in the final. Don’t worry I told him he’s a knob.

Anyway 3-0 city tonight!

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Kompany and Stones for central defenders Wigan will try to apply pressure at set pieces etc., and it will be a good English cup tie which both have good experience of , would also be tempted to stick with Walker and Delph at full backs , because they won't stand any messing.

 

[Damanino]

Probably the last game this season when we can see one or two youngsters starting. Hope it happens. Both Foden and Brahim.

 

[mosssideblue]

Mates sold his Wembley ticket cause bravo is playing in the final. Don’t worry I told him he’s a knob.

He's obviously not a Blue either

 

[typicalcity...]

Don’t worry I gave him all the arguments. He’s not having it though.