Who do we think will be in the starting 11 Saturday?
Just out of curiosity, we have a wide range of players now and I can’t seem to figure out who I believe will be in the starting 11 on Saturday?
Who do you all think will play and what the formation will be?
Who do we also think will be on the bench?
Assuming JJ will 100% be in the starting 11 ?
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I assume it will depend on the research Dobbo and Gareth have done on the Gills and any new injuries we might have. I haven't done any so all I can do is predict Gareth's best 11(minus Fred and Smyth) will play.
Rocky, JJ, Grimmer, Stewart, Charles, Freeman, Ofoborh (in place of Bloomfield?), Gape, Wheeler, Samuel, Kashket.
I'd go 4-3-3:
Kashket
Kashket Kashket Kashket Kashket
Kashket Kashket Kashket
Kashket Kashket Kashket
I'm not sure about Kashket between the sticks, he tends to stay on his line. We need someone to offer some competition...
I am expecting the same starting 11 as against Lincoln City apart from perhaps Bloomfield, who may be in need of a little recovery time after being forced off with head injuries two games in a row. I'm unsure whether it would be Ofoborh or Thompson, if now fit, who would replace him. If Jombati is now fit I am fully expecting to see him brought in to give Charles a rest against either Gillingham at the weekend or Accrington Stanley on Tuesday.
As Sido did not even make the bench on Saturday I suspect if Darius is knackered it might be Phillips in his place. I love Thompson...but I reckon Ofoborh's cameo might persuade Gareth to give him a start.
Gillingham like to attack down the wings and get crosses in, so I'm inclined to think we'll approach them similarly to Lincoln in that sense. Kashket and Wheeler did a great job in helping to restrict what the Lincoln full-backs were able to do, and Gillingham tend to go with a similarly narrow midfield - a 3 or a diamond 4 - so the width ought to come from the full-backs again. From the looks of things, they're not dissimilar to us in their long ball approach - and they rank almost as low as us in terms of possession. WhoScored.com, which is probably your best source for these things, suggests they're very poor at dealing with through balls, so hello Nick Freeman! They've scored in every game bar one (v Coventry) and conceded in every game bar one ( v Bolton - their only win). We could see some end-to-end stuff...
I've no idea who will or should play but I'd love to see both Ofoborh and Aarons get a start. I thought both were out of this world on Saturday.
The players get told how to play
I think 2 changes, Ofoborh in for Bloomfield and Aarons for Kashket
Gillingham Formations against teams this season
vs Doncaster Rovers 4-2-3-1
vs Burton Albion 4-4-2
vs Newport County (Cup) 4-3-3
vs Blackpool 4-3-3
vs Coventry City 4-3-3
vs Bolton Wanderers 4-1-2-1-2 (Narrow)
vs Colchester United (Cup) 4-1-2-1-2 (Narrow)
vs Tranmere Rovers 4-1-2-1-2 (Narrow)
*source: Google
Looks like @th100 is right with a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 being most likely for Gillingham. Either 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 can overrun them. Different Scenarios.
4-4-2
Allsop, Grimmer, Stewart, Charles, Jacobson, Wheeler, Gape, Freeman, Aarons, Akinfenwa, Kashket
4-3-3
Allsop, Grimmer, Stewart, Charles, Jacobson, Gape, Pattison, Freeman, Wheeler, Samuel, Aarons
The beauty of a packed squad these days!
Not sure on whether Bloomfield was technically concussed, or just took a monumental blow. If it's technically concussion he might not be allowed to play anyway? Either way Ofoborh ( pronounced Offo-borr is it, anyone know?) has to start.
I'd probably save Arrans for the double header of home games, let Kashket start another, he deserves a little run after his goals the other game.
For anyone interested in 'scouting' Gillingham: https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/191/Show/England-Gillingham. WhoScored have just started offering detailed stats (from the doyens Opta) on League One and League Two - for free - which is bloody brilliant. The level of detail you can go into on their match reports is quite ridiculous.
Wycombe here: https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/196/Show/England-Wycombe
Given that Bloomfield also took a boot in the face against AFC Wimbledon, it might indeed be that we see him miss the match against Gillingham.
It had somewhat slipped my mind that he has in the past had a nasty facial injury requiring him to play in a face mask for a period.
Put your feet up Matty and let someone else take the strain this weekend. It's not as if we don't have other options ...
With three games in quick succession, we will see some rotation for sure.