Oakwell south derby..

Imagine Big Val’s valiants get to the play-off final only to face Hecky’s 2016 play-off heroes...

Which is the better side?

Who wins?

 

Big Val's Red & White Army

I aint arguing against him, he's 6 foot 5 and built like a Tank

 

Current team would make mincemeat of them.

 

I think that the current side would comfortably beat the side that started the Championship season in 2016-17. But a match between the team right now and the team that beat Leeds 3-2 in January 2017 would be a very close run thing. It would also be a proper clash of styles, no pun intended!

 

I think 2016 Wembley side would have struggled early on with the intensity of the press and probably gone behind only to put up a good show and come back into it.
There were some very good players in that team and don’t forget we had Ivan Toney on the bench!

 

It would be a very interesting tactical game, but I think the 2016 side was technically superior and that quality would have told, especially in the midfield. The 2016 side wouldn't have the time they were sometimes afforded, but it had ability to beat a man in Hammill and outpace a man in Isgrove. Our weakest areas defensively are where Styles and Brittain push high up.

2016 3, 2021 0. Hammill man of the match.

 

2021 team would win. No doubt at all in my mind.

 

Would the 2016 side beat the current Swansea side then?
The div 1 playoff side didn't come up against anything like todays side, all that season or the next.

 

Hourihane can't play against himself ;-)

 

Fair point, Is hourihane the key then?

 

I think 2 things would be the difference. The respective midfields. And the quality of set pieces.

 

I think that Dike would give Mawson a massively hard time. I also think that if we're looking at the 2016 playoff side, the full backs would get absolutely roasted by the current lot.

 

And Marc Roberts, would say... "Oi, you. You call that a long throw? THIS.... is a long throw."

 

From what I've been reading on the Swansea forum, the 2016 version and the current one are two completely different players, so it shouldn't be an issue!

 

Struggling to remember who they were.

Poor old George and Scowen?

 

Yes, the full backs were the weakest part of that team, but they were more defensive. The midfield turned out to be just a few years away from gracing the Premier League.

 

Like he did for Birmingham a few weeks back and we coped comfortably with every one of them.

 

That's because it wasn't the 2016 version, silly. Do keep up ;-)

 

Ah, that's right. The Division 1 team against the Championship Play Off team.

 

Plus Aidy White. Without checking I can't remember whether he played in the playoff final, though he definitely did against Oxford. Good player, who was ridiculously unfortunate with injuries. I liked both him and George Williams, but I reckon they'd have been destroyed by decent Championship level wingers with pace.