Who would make your playoff starting 11?

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Originally Posted by freemuzzy

Interesting thread - we surely have by far the strongest pool of players of the teams involved in the playoffs to choose from, and we’ve already released a load!

I’d expect much would depend on how training goes in the next month (and if they can get any friendlies in) but I’d expect Ardley to go largely with experience on what’ll be a ridiculously high-pressured one-off game after 4 months off. The one hopeful exception to this should be Roberts, who I felt was a key reason behind our form and sudden free-scoring approach before the lockdown.

This is also harsh on Tom Crawford, who was in great form but is still probably fifth choice CM so is unlikely to be involved. Hopefully he’ll get a new deal to continue his improvement.

Other noteworthy thing is that everyone above has Rawlinson and Lacey as their defensive pairing. This is what I’d go with but I wouldn’t be so sure in Ardley’s case - I’d expect Turner to start based on his big-game experience and leadership. Not sure who he’ll drop to make way though.

Good point about the increased amount of subs also - this should work in our favour as there’s strong cover everywhere on the pitch.

Early days but what I’d expect:

Slocombe; Brindley, Rawlinson, Turner, McCrory; Roberts, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn; Wootton, Thomas.

What I’d go for:

Slocombe; DKE, Rawlinson, Lacey, McCrory; Roberts, O’Brien, Doyle, Boldewijn; Wootton, Dennis.

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Turner is the most experienced defender at the club and i watched him last year in the Mansfield playoffs. He was head and shoulders better than anyone in either side and that will not be lost on Ardley. Im afraid Ardley is likely to select Rose for at least the first game and if we win it then he will almost certainly select him for the final

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freemuzzy

Interesting thread - we surely have by far the strongest pool of players of the teams involved in the playoffs to choose from, and we’ve already released a load!

I’d expect much would depend on how training goes in the next month (and if they can get any friendlies in) but I’d expect Ardley to go largely with experience on what’ll be a ridiculously high-pressured one-off game after 4 months off. The one hopeful exception to this should be Roberts, who I felt was a key reason behind our form and sudden free-scoring approach before the lockdown.

This is also harsh on Tom Crawford, who was in great form but is still probably fifth choice CM so is unlikely to be involved. Hopefully he’ll get a new deal to continue his improvement.

Other noteworthy thing is that everyone above has Rawlinson and Lacey as their defensive pairing. This is what I’d go with but I wouldn’t be so sure in Ardley’s case - I’d expect Turner to start based on his big-game experience and leadership. Not sure who he’ll drop to make way though.

Good point about the increased amount of subs also - this should work in our favour as there’s strong cover everywhere on the pitch.

Early days but what I’d expect:

Slocombe; Brindley, Rawlinson, Turner, McCrory; Roberts, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn; Wootton, Thomas.

What I’d go for:

Slocombe; DKE, Rawlinson, Lacey, McCrory; Roberts, O’Brien, Doyle, Boldewijn; Wootton, Dennis.

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Turner came with a big reputation, but he never overly impressed me. Obviously not all down to him, but results improved once he got injured.

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Originally Posted by BigFatPie

Turner came with a big reputation, but he never overly impressed me. Obviously not all down to him, but results improved once he got injured.

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I thought Turner was excellent in most games before his injury, the kind of dominant centre-half we've lacked for so many years. But it's also true that the likes of Lacey and Rawlinson have done so well that we didn't really miss him and our results continued to improve. It's a great thing to have a selection of good central defenders to choose from after some of the rubbish we've signed in past seasons.

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Originally Posted by jackal2

I thought Turner was excellent in most games before his injury, the kind of dominant centre-half we've lacked for so many years. But it's also true that the likes of Lacey and Rawlinson have done so well that we didn't really miss him and our results continued to improve. It's a great thing to have a selection of good central defenders to choose from after some of the rubbish we've signed in past seasons.

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I agree with you. I still think Turners experience is *****

I'm expecting Rawlinson and Lacey to play.

Turner was doing well for us, but picking someone who hasn't played a game for, what, 8 months?
It'd definitely be a bigger risk in terms of form and fitness. Without building up the sharpness, it's very easy to imagine him being beaten to the ball or on the turn

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Originally Posted by BigFatPie

Turner came with a big reputation, but he never overly impressed me. Obviously not all down to him, but results improved once he got injured.

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I think in the early season, we had a lot of chopping and changing. Turner would be paired with Graham (I think that's the chap from Sheffield United?) McCrory, Rawlinson and I can't seem to remember the other one but I'm sure there was another partnership. It wasn't until we had a settled back line with Lacey and Rawlinson that we kicked on. I do think Lacey is the key man of our defence, things drastically improve when he's at the back it seems, I'm sure any stattos on here will correct me if I'm wrong

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Originally Posted by Chicken Balti Pie

I think in the early season, we had a lot of chopping and changing. Turner would be paired with Graham (I think that's the chap from Sheffield United?) McCrory, Rawlinson and I can't seem to remember the other one but I'm sure there was another partnership. It wasn't until we had a settled back line with Lacey and Rawlinson that we kicked on. I do think Lacey is the key man of our defence, things drastically improve when he's at the back it seems, I'm sure any stattos on here will correct me if I'm wrong

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Yeah, Rawlinson and Turner were a pretty settled partnership for all of the shyte November and first half of December. Results in general and the defence in particular picked up instantly once Lacey came in.

Turner’s a good player to have on the bench at this level though, and the squad is where I hope we’re going to have too much for other teams in the playoffs.

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Originally Posted by Chicken Balti Pie

I think in the early season, we had a lot of chopping and changing. Turner would be paired with Graham (I think that's the chap from Sheffield United?) McCrory, Rawlinson and I can't seem to remember the other one but I'm sure there was another partnership. It wasn't until we had a settled back line with Lacey and Rawlinson that we kicked on. I do think Lacey is the key man of our defence, things drastically improve when he's at the back it seems, I'm sure any stattos on here will correct me if I'm wrong

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I remember seeing Lacey in his first game for us, away to Chessie in the FA Trophy. He didn't impress me ( to be fair, it was a cr@p game and no one did ) at all that day. Every game since he's not failed to impress me.