Until we've seen the new signings in action it's difficult to judge the pecking order, but given the type of player we've signed, you've got to think we will be moving more in the direction of 4-2-3-1 than 4-4-2.

I've got nothing against 4-4-2 in principle if you've got two absolute workhorses like Neal Bishop and Ricky Ravenhill in the middle, but I would fear for us if we paired Doyle with Rodrigues or Sloth, who don't sound like the types who want to be running and tackling all over the park. You could (just about) get enough industry out of any combination of Doyle, Reeves and O'Brien, but you're still relying on two sets of ageing legs, and where would the new creative midfield guys fit in?

It looks to me like we could play with two defensive midfielders from the three mentioned above, and then have Sloth and Rodrigues competing for the number 10 role, with Wootton and Sam competing for the target man role, but with the option of including Sam out wide too if he shows he can do it.