Gareth's team

[sinkov]

We all have our own ideas about who should be playing on Sunday, but how do you think Gareth is going to play it ? I reckon he has 7 players inked in already and barring injuries it won't change. Pickford, Maguire, Stones, Shaw, Rice, Bellingham and Kane all play, until we either win it or go home.

Four places up for grabs. Now that Walker has proved his fitness Gareth will prefer him to Trippier, in fact if Reece James was fit Tripps would be 3rd choice at right back. I don't think Gareth is a big fan of Kieran, he makes no attempt to utilise his main asset, his crossing from the right when he plays him, and I'm sure he sees him more as emergency left-back cover, rather than a starting right-back, so Walker plays.

He's between Henderson and Mount in midfield, and he'll take the safe option and play Henderson.

Two places up front either side of Kane, and plenty of options. I cannot believe he'll leave Sterling out, he idolises him, he starts. The other side is more tricky, Foden, Rashford, Grealish or Saka ? He certainly won't start Grealish, so he's down to three and I can think of good reasons why Gareth might go for any one of them. It wouldn't surprise me if Gareth himself hadn't made his mind up yet, and while I'm confident I have the other three right I'm guessing here, and my guess is he'll revert back to Saka.

Gareth's Team

Pickford
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Henderson Rice Bellingham
Saka Kane Sterling

What do you think he'll do ?

[The Bedlington Terrier]

We all have our own ideas about who should be playing on Sunday, but how do you think Gareth is going to play it ? I reckon he has 7 players inked in already and barring injuries it won't change. Pickford, Maguire, Stones, Shaw, Rice, Bellingham and Kane all play, until we either win it or go home.

Four places up for grabs. Now that Walker has proved his fitness Gareth will prefer him to Trippier, in fact if Reece James was fit Tripps would be 3rd choice at right back. I don't think Gareth is a big fan of Kieran, he makes no attempt to utilise his main asset, his crossing from the right when he plays him, and I'm sure he sees him more as emergency left-back cover, rather than a starting right-back, so Walker plays.

He's between Henderson and Mount in midfield, and he'll take the safe option and play Henderson.

Two places up front either side of Kane, and plenty of options. I cannot believe he'll leave Sterling out, he idolises him, he starts. The other side is more tricky, Foden, Rashford, Grealish or Saka ? He certainly won't start Grealish, so he's down to three and I can think of good reasons why Gareth might go for any one of them. It wouldn't surprise me if Gareth himself hadn't made his mind up yet, and while I'm confident I have the other three right I'm guessing here, and my guess is he'll revert back to Saka.

Gareth's Team

Pickford
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Henderson Rice Bellingham
Saka Kane Sterling

What do you think he'll do ?

It amazes me how on the odd occasion your rationality is spot on.

Why can you not analyze political situations in the same way. A bit of left(ish) field thinking, and you would be as right as rain mon ami.

Dare he leave Rashford out? I think he will, and your vision of Gareth's team will be bang on the money.

[outwoodclaret]

Yes I agree two defensive midfielders for Safetygate but I believe Rashford will start ahead of Saka.

[army88]

We all have our own ideas about who should be playing on Sunday, but how do you think Gareth is going to play it ? I reckon he has 7 players inked in already and barring injuries it won't change. Pickford, Maguire, Stones, Shaw, Rice, Bellingham and Kane all play, until we either win it or go home.

Four places up for grabs. Now that Walker has proved his fitness Gareth will prefer him to Trippier, in fact if Reece James was fit Tripps would be 3rd choice at right back. I don't think Gareth is a big fan of Kieran, he makes no attempt to utilise his main asset, his crossing from the right when he plays him, and I'm sure he sees him more as emergency left-back cover, rather than a starting right-back, so Walker plays.

He's between Henderson and Mount in midfield, and he'll take the safe option and play Henderson.

Two places up front either side of Kane, and plenty of options. I cannot believe he'll leave Sterling out, he idolises him, he starts. The other side is more tricky, Foden, Rashford, Grealish or Saka ? He certainly won't start Grealish, so he's down to three and I can think of good reasons why Gareth might go for any one of them. It wouldn't surprise me if Gareth himself hadn't made his mind up yet, and while I'm confident I have the other three right I'm guessing here, and my guess is he'll revert back to Saka.

Gareth's Team

Pickford
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Henderson Rice Bellingham
Saka Kane Sterling

What do you think he'll do ?

Pretty good Sinkov I think , though if he doesn’t start Rashford when he’s top scorer there is a s- it storm coming , I think maybe Saka one side Rashford the other

Pickford
Walker Stones McGuire Shaw
Rice , Bellingham
Saka . Rashford
Foden
Kane

For me I’d try this with Foden in the hole

Width is the key in this game I think for us.

[kritichris]

Southgate has said the team is prepared for extra time and penalties, he's obviously not being optimistic.

[sinkov]

It's alright practicing penalties, but are they practicing scoring penalties like Graham Alexander, Alan Shearer and Harry Kane for example, or are they practising missing them by trying all sorts of nonsense to send the keeper the wrong way. Good penalty takers, those that rarely miss, don't try to send the keeper the wrong way, they take him out of the equation altogether, by hitting the ball hard into areas the keeper can't cover, I'm amazed at how many professional footballers still haven't grasped this simple little trick.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

It's alright practicing penalties, but are they practicing scoring penalties like Graham Alexander, Alan Shearer and Harry Kane for example, or are they practising missing them by trying all sorts of nonsense to send the keeper the wrong way. Good penalty takers, those that rarely miss, don't try to send the keeper the wrong way, they take him out of the equation altogether, by hitting the ball hard into areas the keeper can't cover, I'm amazed at how many professional footballers still haven't grasped this simple little trick.

Interesting point is that sinkov. For a number of years, we had a table for 4 in the James Hargreaves hospitality lounge and Jimmy McIlroy being the Lifetime President was also more or less always seated in the same area.

Graham Alexander had nearly hit the corner flag with a penalty against Portsmouth and it was his first penalty kick miss for us. Jimmy post-match said in his opinion David James had intimidated him so much he bottled it. I have no idea whether that was true or not, but Jimmy went on to tell us how Harry Potts coached his players into taking penalties.

Left footed players were told to hit across the keeper into the top left-hand side of the goal and right sided players the opposite. The players were also trained to hit the ball as hard as possible with the instep to keep the ball from sailing over the bar.

Neither me nor Jimmy could remember us missing a penalty in those halcyon days of Adamson, Connelly and Pointer et al. I'm certain someone will correct me.

[sinkov]

Interesting point is that sinkov. For a number of years, we had a table for 4 in the James Hargreaves hospitality lounge and Jimmy McIlroy being the Lifetime President was also more or less always seated in the same area.

Graham Alexander had nearly hit the corner flag with a penalty against Portsmouth and it was his first penalty kick miss for us. Jimmy post-match said in his opinion David James had intimidated him so much he bottled it. I have no idea whether that was true or not, but Jimmy went on to tell us how Harry Potts coached his players into taking penalties.

Left footed players were told to hit across the keeper into the top left-hand side of the goal and right sided players the opposite. The players were also trained to hit the ball as hard as possible with the instep to keep the ball from sailing over the bar.

Neither me nor Jimmy could remember us missing a penalty in those halcyon days of Adamson, Connelly and Pointer et al. I'm certain someone will correct me.

I used to stand behind the goal at the Cricket Field end and I saw, with virtually the keeper's view, Jimmy Mac take numerous penalties. For certain he took no notice of what Harry Potts was telling him, he used to place the ball with a little glance to the keepers right, from the way he ran up to the ball, his body shape, the way he struck the ball, it could only go to the keeper's right, and the keepers used to think so as well, somehow, right at the point of contact he used to swivel his foot virtually 90 degrees to the right and as the keeper dived to his right, the ball would roll quite gently inside his left hand post.It was a thing of beauty, magic almost, and of course it was easier to pull off because there were no TV replays for the keepers to study, they didn't know what was coming. Me and my mates used to practice it on Highams but we couldn't do it like Jimmy Mac could. Obviously.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I used to stand behind the goal at the Cricket Field end and I saw, with virtually the keeper's view, Jimmy Mac take numerous penalties. For certain he took no notice of what Harry Potts was telling him, he used to place the ball with a little glance to the keepers right, from the way he ran up to the ball, his body shape, the way he struck the ball, it could only go to the keeper's right, and the keepers used to think so as well, somehow, right at the point of contact he used to swivel his foot virtually 90 degrees to the right and as the keeper dived to his right, the ball would roll quite gently inside his left hand post.It was a thing of beauty, magic almost, and of course it was easier to pull off because there were no TV replays for the keepers to study, they didn't know what was coming. Me and my mates used to practice it on Highams but we couldn't do it like Jimmy Mac could. Obviously.

He was a genius mon ami, I can never be able to describe fully to my new Clarets tribe just how good he was. How did he glide across the grass.

Etched deep in my memory is a FA Cup game against Fulham and two of the best players I have ever seen got locked in a titanic midfield battle.

One was of course Jimmy and the other was Johnny Haynes. Could you imagine those two playing on the same team now?

[sinkov]

He was a genius mon ami, I can never be able to describe fully to my new Clarets tribe just how good he was. How did he glide across the grass.

You can't describe what he was like can you, it's not possible, there's no one remotely like him nowadays that you could say Jimmy Mac was like that. Such a shame that's there's no footage of him at all that shows clearly just what he could do. And such a shame he was nowhere near 100& fit for the Cup Final, we'd have won that if he had been.