1. Morris has to start Saturday. I presume Val knew that he wanted him to start the second leg and that's the only reason he didn't start today. I reckon it'll be Morris, Dike and Chaplin start on Saturday. 2. Our wingbacks look knackered, and understandably so. It's been a long, hard season for them with no real rest. 3. Dike got nowt from the ref, I hope we get a stronger ref on Saturday. 4. Woodman was outstanding for them. Proper keeper that lad. 5. This squad has shown more fight and character than any squad I can remember. It's only half time and if any group can turn it round it's these lads. 6. Who was that impostor and what has he done with the real Conor Hourihane?
I said Morris, Woodrow, Chaplin on another thread. Agree with everything else. Only half time. Still reckon we can do it based on tonight's performance.
I thought Dike was quite poor tonight but he’s put in so many good performances it had to happen. He got sucked into a fight with the centre halves.
Conor tried his best to get us through ,booted it out for last minute corner,over hit every set piece ,nearly scored from one of them though,let’s hope he starts in 2nd leg so he can stick that own goal in
They marked him out of the game brilliantly. Hitting it long to him really played into their hands. Personally I'd start with him on the bench as he'll be much more effective against them when they're tired. Plus there's the possibility of extra time which has to be taken into consideration.
I'd play Woodrow, Dike and Morris. Every game. They're our best 3 forwards, by a considerable distance. I can't think of a single reason why I wouldn't if they were fit.
On tonight's showing he probably wouldn't get in our side at this level, never mind in the Premier League. Maybe Swansea just aren't using him properly, because he looked a shadow of the player that left us in 2017.
In general I agree, but on the other hand imagine going behind in extra time on Saturday and having Chaplin Victor and Frieser as our options on the bench to rescue the game.
I think that defenders of the quality Swansea possess would not give Chaplin a sniff. Better saved for late in the game / extra time when pace can make such a huge difference.
That's because he needs time to play. Without time Conor is ineffective - he can't touch to buy space of his own or beat a man so he always plays it back. We pressed the life out of him. I admit that this is no explanation for his (thankfully) off night with a dead ball. He might get us back on Saturday.
I genuinely don't understand the argument, that you have good players on the bench in order to the change the game. Play them from the start and cruise into a 4-0 lead then that never becomes a problem. I honestly cannot think of a single reason not to always play your best 11 (unless they're not fit).