Two Games in 48 Hours

[Corky]

It is an endurance sport, it doesn't matter how much you get paid. They could play every day but they will get worse due to it and have to hold back more and more.

It's not an endurance sport. It's a combination of sprinting and endurance.

If it was more endurance it would be easier and safer to recover from. But footballers will be putting high force through fatigued muscles = injury

The point was you don't give 100% every week, as it is an endurance sport and you can't do that every week, never mind twice in 3 days, players are giving 80% or else they soon break down.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

We shouldn't be too bothered by the schedule. It's basically a massive advantage to teams with a big squad like us.

 

[kunaguero10]

Try and keep changes to a minimum, the team that started yesterday can play one game and the substitutes Lampard, Sagna, Fernando and Clichy can get a start in the other. Boyata may have to play if Mangala gets a yellow I think, but saying start Sinclair and Cabellero is just pointless.

 

[Blue Punter]

No need for wholesale changes.

I'd play Zabba and Clichy at West Brom, with a view to bringing Sagna and Kolarov in for Burnley. Think we need at least one full back who is going to get to the bye line to put a cross in. Hart, MDM & Mangala for both games.
Midfield/attack is pretty much perm anyone from who's available although I'd like to see Lampard start at WBA.

Having a big squad should benefit us rather than West Brom & Burnley, but not having a fit forward balances things up a bit.

 

[citytill1die84]

They are professional athletes, but they are still human and you can't recover in 48 hours and if you work inside the recovery period it will be sub-maximal and there's an increased chance of injury.

Sorry mate but that's bollocks plus they do it every year.

It's fact as sports science is currently understood. They do it every year, and every year we get complaints from managers, rotation and daft results at Christmas as a result.

We didn't do major rotation last year and we won plenty we'll do same again this year.

 

[Blu KB]

Minimal changes unless they're enforced.

We're in a good place at the moment, momentum is key.

 

[Questy]

Get young players in for Cup Game but League keep as tight a unit as possible.

 

[Chris in London]

They are professional athletes, but they are still human and you can't recover in 48 hours and if you work inside the recovery period it will be sub-maximal and there's an increased chance of injury.

Our lads will have played Wed**Sat***Wed**Sat******Sat*****Fri*Sun***Thu**Sun
(* are days not playing), by Jan 4th including all of December, that's 9 games in 33 days, they'll cope, they've coped with worse already this season.

We should rotate no more than a couple of the positions, fullbacks primarily, and use the subs cleverly elsewhere, as we did yesterday.

Sinclair shouldn't be anywhere near the pitch except in an absolute emergency, this notion that he's in the shop window is a joke, just email the other clubs, then they'll know, we could include a video of him in training to show he's "fit". His situation is not his fault, and I have sympathy with it, but wasting a place on the bench, or in the first team, just so he can be in the shop window is utterly pointless, he has an agent for that.

This. If only we'd signed him...

 

[Hamann Pineapple]

Will Burnley field a depleted team maybe ?

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Burnley play Liverpool 2 days before us. They will target that one and be fucked by the time they play us. I expect us to pass them to death and win that one easily.

However Pellegrini does like to rotate so I expect to see Fernando and Lampard back for one of the games along with Sagna and Clichy if fit.

I would play same team at West Brom and then

Hart
Sagna
Clichy if fit-Kolorov if not
Demichellis
Mangala
Fernando
Yaya
Lampard
Silva
Nasri
Jovetic if fit - Ambrose if not

 

[Bill]

you dont rotate your goalie in the prem ffs.
the back 4 too should always be your strongest available.

 

[cleavers]

you dont rotate your goalie in the prem ffs.
the back 4 too should always be your strongest available.

I think the full backs are the key in rotation, Kolorov has had a break, so as long as there is no reaction he can stay in for a couple of games, giving Clichy a break, and we can give Zab a break if required by using the improved Sagna.

The CB's pick themselves at the minute, and we should concentrate on getting Vinny 100% fit right now.

The rest, no more than one change per match unless required, and Yaya to play all games till he goes away.

Certainly don't change keepers in the PL, unless there is a serious change of form from Hart.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

No need to plan the rotation. Subs are key, in an ideal world we would be up by 65 mins and make two changes to keep players fresh. Zabaleta off for sagna would be my first then he can play both games. Yaya off for a lampard does the same. Ambrose on for 15 mins in both for silva or milner. Everyone else just plays two and then a load of changes for the fa cup.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

We made six changes for Saturday and it didn't affect us at all.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

WBA (a)

--------------------------------------Hart--------------------------------

Zabaleta----------Demichelis------Mangala-----------Clichy

----------------------------------Fernando---------------------------

Silva-----------Fernandinho-----Yaya Toure--------Milner

----------------------------------Nasri---------------------------------

Burnley (h)

---------------------------------------Hart--------------------------------

Sagna----------------Boyata---------Mangala----------Kolarov

-----------------------Fernandinho------Lampard-----------------

Navas---------------------------Silva-------------------------Milner

------------------------------------Nasri---------------------------------

 

[cleavers]

We made six changes for Saturday and it didn't affect us at all.

Effectively enforced to be fair.

Clichy and Kompany injured, Pozo would never have started had Dzeko not fallen out in the warm up, I suspect nor would Lampard.

So it was only three changes from the finishing 11 at Leicester, Sagna, Fernando, and Clichy, of which one was enforced, so 2 rotated really.

 

[moon]

Sorry if asked before but does anyone know when the suspension for 5 bookings is lifted

Think Ya Ya on 4 not sure about Mangala whether he is on 3 or 4

think its due soon

 

[Mr Ed (The Stables)]

Given our current injury list, and run of games, what teams would you put out in the next 2
Away at West Brom on Boxing day
Home to Burnley on 28th.

V West Brom I would play the same line up as we played V Palace

V Burnley it would be
-----------------------------Cabellero----------------------------

Sagna Boyata Mangala Clichy

Fernandinho Fernando

Milner Lampard Sinclair

Pozo (or Jovetic if he is fit enough)

Play the strongest team in each game, rest folk when we play Sheffield Wednesday in the Cup.

Burnley play Liverpool at home on boxing day, so with a bit of luck they will run themselves into the ground to get a result, and then have to do the same all over again on the 28th against us.

 

[dachoosen1]

Swap full backs and have lampard start one of the games, I think every member of our team will be dying to play both matches cause of the way we are playing at the minute. The players will be up for the challenge, two very winnable games the fixture list has been kind for a change. Manny will pick the best available team for both fixtures back to back titles is a real possibility this season and he will know we can't afford too many slip ups.

 

[CAPTAINKIPPAX]

After some far from impressive performances at the back this season we are starting to see much more solid and assured defensive displays of late and the last thing I want to see is chopping and changing personnel at the back. The more playing time they have together the more of an understanding of each others play they are establishing which is all the better for us.