Team for play offs

[wba13]

I was totally gutted last night because to a man we did not perform, but got up this morning thinking we do know if we play like we can play. BIG. IF we can win these play offs against anybody. My side will be the one Slaven plays because we don’t and never will have a say in it. Some of those players must be world beaters in training because there playing crap when there in the matches. Zohore must be really bad if he cannot get past Austin or Kanu. Townsend will never be good enough Sawyers has got worse as the season progresses. We have to trust in Slaven and to be honest I bet that performance woke him up about the bottle of some of his players.

[Dumbo]

Johnstone

O’Shea
Gibbs
Ajayi
Hegazi

Livermore
Sawyers

Diangana
Pereira
Krovinovic

Austin

Rinse and repeat.

Someone else has suggested Ajayi in midfield. I would be tempted to add some bite.

It’s what’s needed. Seeing teams constantly stroll through our middle is all to familiar. We are often outworked and outfought in the middle.

Someone rightly pointed out that when Ajai had a game in the middle of the park earlier on in the season, it didn’t exactly work. Whilst I’d agree with that, I’d argue that it was only one game and the current set up has failed many more times.

[Big Daddy Cool]

Rotherham fans say Ajayi was better as a defensive midfielder for them. It could be worth a go. I don't rate Bartley but at least he never shuts up. I never saw our defenders communicating with each other yesterday.

[Super_Slav]

Rotherham fans say Ajayi was better as a defensive midfielder for them. It could be worth a go. I don't rate Bartley but at least he never shuts up. I never saw our defenders communicating with each other yesterday.

For all Bartley perceived faults, he’s a “leader” IMO.

[Malcolm Tucker]

Johnstone

O’Shea
Gibbs
Ajayi
Hegazi

Livermore
Sawyers

Diangana
Pereira
Krovinovic

Austin

Rinse and repeat.

Someone else has suggested Ajayi in midfield. I would be tempted to add some bite.

He’s nowhere near good enough on the ball to play in midfield.

[Cheshire East Baggie]

So for the rest of the season (one game or four) I'm making changes:

I'm dropping Johnstone. Not a matter of Bond being better (he isn't). I don't trust Johnstone's temperament at the moment. He will cost us (again).

I'm playing O'Shea at centre back. He is our best defender. 50 career games and the lad makes the senior players look like amateurs. And I'm leaving Hegazi out. Bartley may be a cart-horse, but at least he can head the ball beyond the penalty area.

I'm playing Ajayi in midfield. His defensive skills are what we've been missing there, and his occasional errors will be less costly. Sawyers and Livermore can fight for the other place. I'd probably leave Sawyers out so he knows it can happen.

Phillips needn't even travel on the bus. Completely shot.

I'm trying something different up front. We know what we're going to get from Austin and HRK - precisely nothing. Zohore has obviously pissed on his chips somehow. So maybe Robinson or Tulloch?

What's needed is a reset, a fresh approach to enliven the players. This is the one thing Slav hasn't managed to do this season - address problems with radical solutions. He won't do it now.

[Johnnykayeengland]

...............Bond.................
O’Shea Bartley Hegazi Gibbs
...........Ajai Livermore........
Diangana Krovinovic Periera 
..............Robinson.............

Changing the keeper would be suicide.

Won't happen.

Fucking needs to. But agree, it won’t.

Neither will Ajai in midfield or Robinson up top. But they’re options I feel we need to consider after recent showings from the current players for those positions.

Can't do it.

Would you? As a manager? Rip the guts out of a side and gamble or try to get the players back on their feet?

Me? I'd try to get them back and playing to the level that I think they're capable of. They're capable of beating QPR at home I fucking know that!

Agree.
These are real people we're talking about. And very good players. So you don't mess unnecessarily with them in the hope that something will happen. 
My main observation is that we're too dependent lately on Pereira. I'd bring krov in with brunt on the bench.
And I like the idea of Robinson as striker.

[B36baggie]

Johnstone

O'Shea
Bartley
Hegazi
Gibbs

Ajayi
Livermore

Pereira
Krovinovic
Diangana

Big Ken

Subs - Bond. Furlong. Townsend. Brunt. Barry. Grosicki. Robinson. Tulloch. Austin

No team would simply walk through us like Blackburn & Huddersfield have with that side.

Five 6ft lumps in the spine. Would make us far better at set pieces too, both attacking & wincing every time we concede a corner.

No Sawyers, Phillips, HRK, Edwards or anyone else that hasn't the heart for the fight.

[Dumbo]

Johnstone

O'Shea
Bartley
Hegazi
Gibbs

Ajayi
Livermore

Pereira
Krovinovic
Diangana

Big Ken

Subs - Bond. Furlong. Townsend. Brunt. Barry. Grosicki. Robinson. Tulloch. Austin

No team would simply walk through us like Blackburn & Huddersfield have with that side.

Five 6ft lumps in the spine. Would make us far better at set pieces too, both attacking & wincing every time we concede a corner.

No Sawyers, Phillips, HRK, Edwards or anyone else that hasn't the heart for the fight.

Pretty much the team I stated in the OP. I personally would t go with Zohore though. He is a different option granted, he just doesn’t look like he has the fight for the play offs. Then again, most of them don’t.

[Hopalong]

...............Bond.................
O’Shea Bartley Hegazi Gibbs
...........Ajai Livermore........
Diangana Krovinovic Periera 
..............Robinson.............

If Gibbs fully fit no brainer, Townsend was woeful last night, I reckon mainly tiredness.  Gibbs has another week or so. 

Do we need two holding midfielders?  Livermore is not going to be able to play 3 extremely intensive games in 7 days, he can't get through 45 minutes at the moment! 

I would experiment with Ajayi in front of Bartley and Hegazi for the QPR game and see how it goes. But we all know Slav won't drop his love-child Sawyers. 

Zohore has to start for me.  Robinson couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.  

Krovinovic has to start playing in a slightly deeper position and I would throw in Tulloch to see what he can do.  

Kanu and the busted flush have had enough chances and must be removed from this club when this season is over.  Both are too slow,  overweight and useless.