Originally Posted by
jackal2
.........................Slocombe................. .....
Kelly-Evans...Rawlinson...Lacey....Chicksen
.................Doyle..........Reeves............ ....
Roberts.............Rodrigues..........Boldewijn
........................ Wootton.........................
I must say, a couple of tough choices there, because Sam Graham is a serious challenger for a central defensive role and likewise Jim O'Brien for a defensive midfield role, but I think Rawlinson and Lacey have earned their start based on last season's form, and I want to see how well Reeves does in a proper match.
From the signings Ardley made, I thought 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 was almost certainly the plan, so I'm baffled that he has been trying to shoehorn players into a variation of 4-4-2, but if pre-season has served no other purpose it has hopefully made him realise that's a mistake. If he wanted to stick with a flat 4-4-2 or play a diamond, he should have signed different players.
One thing I will say is that Ardley seems very much in favour of playing two up front, and to be fair a lot of supporters like to see that too. If so, then don't be surprised if he tries to resolve all of the conundrums above by playing a 3-5-2 like he did successfully at Barrow. That would put significant defensive responsibilities on the wide midfield players though. Are Roberts and Enzio up to that? Kelly-Evans is probably the player most capable of fulfilling both the attacking and defensive duties required of wide players in that formation.