@chairboyscentral said:
Oxford didn't look their usual sharp selves in either of the semis and you could say they were a touch fortunate to go through - the Pompey OG which ultimately took the tie to extra time was pretty comical. Fleetwood moved the ball around a lot better in the second leg than Oxford did in either - and a fatigued Wycombe still ground out a draw and had more shots on target. The final is not the time to be making any great changes to our approach imo.
I think the choice of strikers will be really interesting tonight.
In the game at the Kassam, the PNL were playing around and through us even before we were reduced to 10 men. The choice of Bayo over Samuel that day looked like a mistake, because it allowed them to step out from the back with impunity and make the extra man.
My money would be on Samuel to start in a Fleetwood strategy, with Bayo introduced in the second half.
The other thing that looms large in my memory from that game is that whilst all the focus was on Bayo's dismissal, Gorrin might well have walked for the wild challenge on Kashket that sparked the melee. He was very lucky and was apparently fortunate not to be dismissed in the semi-final. They have that petulant streak. We need to keep our heads, just as we did against Fleetwood.
It wasn't just the Bayo v Samuel thing.
It was changing from our usual 4-3-3 to some odd diamond and getting utterly annihilated on the wings.
Spot on, and we solidified after the red card forced us to switch to 4-4-1 with Bloomfield as a destructive left winger.
I love the way GA takes a player from a team like Yeovil, relegated to the Conference, and turns him into a player who can put in a shift on a stage like that.
Talking of Yeovil, what might have been in RC had pursued that opportunity.
And Stewart having a second chance with us with a degree of concern it created. Kudos to Gareth for all the talent and individuals he has bonded into a team
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Spot on, and we solidified after the red card forced us to switch to 4-4-1 with Bloomfield as a destructive left winger.
The smart money definitely seems to be Samuel starting and putting his absolute whole into 60-65mins to soften them up for Bayo time.
The only decision in the 11 for me is whether you bring Thompson back in or not.
I think Ofoborh did enough over the two legs to earn another start...
The question may be if Bloomfield is fit enough to risk a start after coming off last game.
Perfect pics by Gareth. This team go down in history. Special mention for Anthony Stewart... Welcome to legend status sir!
I love the way GA takes a player from a team like Yeovil, relegated to the Conference, and turns him into a player who can put in a shift on a stage like that.
Talking of Yeovil, what might have been in RC had pursued that opportunity.
And Stewart having a second chance with us with a degree of concern it created. Kudos to Gareth for all the talent and individuals he has bonded into a team