No rothwell so who plays?

[AucklandRover]

I've never read all that much about this lad Thompson, who has consistently played at left-back for the U-23s over the last two or three seasons.
Anyone heard anything about him?

[champs95]

If Cunningham hadn't have got injured he probably would have played at LB all season. But it was only a loan. A think they wanted £2m as a fee. Yes Bell had a spell where his form dipped terribly. And I felt he was brought in from the cold alot, and his confidence wasn't high. All young players will suffer dips in form. I feel though, Bell overall is no worse than Cunnigham.
You get me wrong Aucks. I'm not attacking Cunnigham I'm simply saying I didnt see a huge upgrade from the young player with potential we had in our own ranks. We had William's, we had Downing & Hart. We don't need to spend money where it's not required. Yes, as a kid learning the game he had a spell where his form was poor. I did feel he was being exposed and taking him out of the team at times was necessary. Like any young player. Injury conspired that Bell ended up playing and like the other young players he's taken his chance and things seem to be clicking.
We'll lose games along the way but I just feel we need to stick with this young neuculas we have and give them game time now. Try and win as many as we can this season and aim to improve on last years points and position.
Which probably means finishing roughly where we are sat right now. And that will be fine, ready for next season. It's a gradual process but we are better off moving away from relying on one player (in Dack) and having this side playing.
For me, next season all kind of relies on Tosin. As I just don't think we'll find anyone nearly as good. Him & Lenihan would give us a massive chance of going for it. Maybe try and get him on loan again. Or simply go for it budget wise and get him! If they did go up they out-lay would be more than worth it.

[AucklandRover]

But you need a blend of youth and experience.
Most of our experienced players may have had up-and-down seasons, but it would be mad to simply remove Evans, Cunningham, Bennett, Mulgrew, Johnson, Graham and Downing from the team on the grounds of age alone, and replace them all with youngsters.
I know you're not suggesting that, but if Mowbray had regularly fielded a team that included several from Wharton, Hart, Buckley, Davenport, Rankin-Costello, Chapman, Brereton, etc, and we'd found ourselves in the bottom six, he'd have been slaughtered by the fans.
NOW, I think we are in a position to experiment a bit (and the injuries make it even more likely), but there will still be a lot of moans if several youngsters are blooded and we don't get the results.
I'm quite cautious, anyway. Take the Fulham game. They look to be one of the best teams in the Division and they keep the ball very well. In that situation, who should play alongside Travis in central midfield? I thought Downing looked a bit leg-weary yesterday, and - if anything - I'd rather see him play in his more natural position on Saturday.
So it then probably comes down to Buckley or Johnson (although Bennett may also be considered). Do we really take the risk with the rather slight-looking Buckley? He may well be the future, but a game like this? No, I'd be much more inclined to go with the experience of Johnson, even though he has been underwhelming in most games since August. It's a trade-off.
Incidentally, with Rothwell and Holtby out, I don't think I'd go with three forwards at all.
My pragmatic XI against a footballing team like Fulham would be:
Walton
Nyambe Tosin Lenihan Bell
Bennett Travis Johnson Downing
Gallagher Armstrong.

The tactics? Try to block them in midfield and rely on breakaways. Of course, I'd be more confident about that if our full-backs and EB could be relied upon to deliver accurate crosses!

[robinrover]

I forgot about Thompson aucks.
He could well come into consideration for back up left back next season.
Against Fulham,I would be inclined to go 4-4-2.
Back 4 the same.
Downing on the left and give Chapman a chance on the right,travis and Johnson centrally.
Up front Gallagher and Armstrong.
It was tricky between Johnson and Davenport but I opted for the older head.

[robinrover]

Maybe Rankin Costello on the right instead of Chapman.

[AucklandRover]

Either option looks fine. Nyambe would probably have to be a bit more cautious in terms of how often he overlapped with Chapman on the right wing.