Leno
Castagne Andersen Bassey Robinson
Charles Berge
Bobb Smith Rowe Kevin
Garcia
Subs:
Lecomte
Tete
Affengruber
Larsson
King
Iwobi
Sessegnon
Palacios
Muniz
This is what I'd go with. If Larsson and Affengruber are ready to play I'd be tempted to throw them in, but I think it's probably too soon given they'll have only been in the country since yesterday. But I would at least have them on the bench.
Smith Rowe, Kevin and Charles in, Iwobi, Palacios and King out. But all three to potentially come off the bench.
Definitely can't bench King as he's our biggest threat.
Leno
Castagne - Affengruber - Bassey - Sessegnon
Berge - Charles
Iwobi - King - Kevin
Garcia
Sess and Kevin is the only combo down the left that has proven any kind of chemistry. Charles next to Berge so that Iwobi can go back to an attacking position where he can focus on creating. Affengruber straight in, there's no point in carry on with Andersen in this system. Zepa first attacking sub if change is needed.
Quote from: twang on September 02, 2026, 10:48:35 AMDefinitely can't bench King as he's our biggest threat.
Leno
Castagne - Affengruber - Bassey - Sessegnon
Berge - Charles
Iwobi - King - Kevin
Garcia
Sess and Kevin is the only combo down the left that has proven any kind of chemistry. Charles next to Berge so that Iwobi can go back to an attacking position where he can focus on creating. Affengruber straight in, there's no point in carry on with Andersen in this system. Zepa first attacking sub if change is needed.
I was torn on King but he looked outmuscled against Sunderland and Palace tend to be quite a physical team as well. Smith Rowe has a good record against them and was in good form against Wimbledon so I think he should at least play 60 minutes.
Quote from: Neutral Zone Ultra on September 02, 2026, 10:39:19 AMLeno
Castagne Andersen Bassey Robinson
Charles Berge
Bobb Smith Rowe Kevin
Garcia
Subs:
Lecomte
Tete
Affengruber
Larsson
King
Iwobi
Sessegnon
Palacios
Muniz
This is what I'd go with. If Larsson and Affengruber are ready to play I'd be tempted to throw them in, but I think it's probably too soon given they'll have only been in the country since yesterday. But I would at least have them on the bench.
Smith Rowe, Kevin and Charles in, Iwobi, Palacios and King out. But all three to potentially come off the bench.
That for me is our strongest (though perhaps not perfect) team at the moment in terms of getting the balance right. I'd perhaps just switch Bobb for Iwobi as Iwobi carries more of a goal threat, and put Kevin on the right wing instead, with Iwobi playing on the left with Robinson as they seem to have a good understanding with one another. I know people will complain that ESR can be off the pace at times, but he carries a much more real goal threat.
Long term I'd consider switching out Berge for Larsson, and consider giving Sess a run in the side on Left Wing, just because he's one of the few players on our books who seems to have that natural instinct in front of goal, but that can be dependent on whether or not we find a better balance and goal threat without that needing to happen.
Going through this squad though, it's now apparent that we really need to figure out where the goals come from, and our priority in the next windows has to be on the wings at the least with some quality and peace of mind in the final third to find the right ball and balance showmanship with final product (relevant to Bobb and Kevin). Perhaps that also includes a RB.
But give we've got our two new CMs in on six year contracts, the aim must be to give Garcia the best platform possible to put the ball in the back of the net, because he clearly knows how to.
I'd also be curious to see how Garcia and Muniz play together and see if that could work.
Quote from: twang on September 02, 2026, 10:48:35 AMDefinitely can't bench King as he's our biggest threat.
Leno
Castagne - Affengruber - Bassey - Sessegnon
Berge - Charles
Iwobi - King - Kevin
Garcia
Sess and Kevin is the only combo down the left that has proven any kind of chemistry. Charles next to Berge so that Iwobi can go back to an attacking position where he can focus on creating. Affengruber straight in, there's no point in carry on with Andersen in this system. Zepa first attacking sub if change is needed.
Think that's more just a result of how we play. He should be our biggest threat, but whilst he gets in to better positions, his decision making and final ball in those positions still lacks that quality. He could be brilliant once he gets that bit figured out, but with two losses and a new manager, we need to just make sure that quality is there at the moment. Give Arbeloa time to work on it in training, develop his ability and confidence perhaps with cameos in the game and in cup matches. He's 19 still, so young and with bags of potential, which is exciting, but he's not quite there yet and we need him to be. His goal against Chelsea, whilst great to see, was a bit of a weak shot and poor gking from Sanchez, so there was a bit of luck to it.
Leno
Castagne affengruber Bassey Robinson
Charles Larsson
Bobb King Iwobi
Gonzalo
Subs: lecomte, tete, Cuenca, sess, palacios, ESR, angel, Kevin, Muniz
New signings straight in please!
No point having Andersen or Berge on the bench. They are both surplus to requirements in this squad and should be discarded for whatever we can get for them IMO. ESR is pretty close to that too for me. Would rather give Zepa a chance than waste any more time with him. He offers something different.
Leno
Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson
Berge, Charles
Bobb, King, Iwobi
Gonzalo
Lecomte, Tete, Andersen, Sessegnon, Larsson, Palacios, ESR, Kevin, Muniz
Quote from: Coast94 on September 02, 2026, 11:39:06 AMLeno
Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson
Berge, Charles
Bobb, King, Iwobi
Gonzalo
Lecomte, Tete, Andersen, Sessegnon, Larsson, Palacios, ESR, Kevin, Muniz
Agree with this but I'd like to see Zepa on the bench aswell
I'd be very surprised if AA starts Affengruber just 3 days after he joins. Similarly, I'd be surprised if he benches Palacios, whom he very obviously rates highly. So, I imagine Andersen will start
Leno
Castagne
Andersen
Bassey
Robinson/Sess (I can't decided who he'll plump for)
Berge
Charles
Bobb
King
Palacios
Garcia
Time to drop AR again, Sess in, he works better with Kevin, and there is much more of a goal threat that having AR on
Quote from: Neutral Zone Ultra on September 02, 2026, 10:39:19 AMLeno
Castagne Andersen Bassey Robinson
Charles Berge
Bobb Smith Rowe Kevin
Garcia
Iwobi for Kevin but otherwise that's probably what I'd go with.
Leno
Tim Affengruber Bassey Sess
Charles
Bobb King Larsson kevin
Garcia
Quote from: Thailand Mick on September 02, 2026, 02:21:27 PMLeno
Tim Affengruber Bassey Sess
Charles
Bobb King Larsson kevin
Garcia
Looks good to me, Adds much more goal threats
Quote from: ffcthereligion on September 02, 2026, 11:33:45 AMLeno
Castagne affengruber Bassey Robinson
Charles Larsson
Bobb King Iwobi
Gonzalo
Subs: lecomte, tete, Cuenca, sess, palacios, ESR, angel, Kevin, Muniz
New signings straight in please!
No point having Andersen or Berge on the bench. They are both surplus to requirements in this squad and should be discarded for whatever we can get for them IMO. ESR is pretty close to that too for me. Would rather give Zepa a chance than waste any more time with him. He offers something different.
I could agree with your starting XI but certainly not the take on Anderson, ESR or Berge.
If Silva can recycle Tim 'Zimmerframe' Ream into a solid PL defender, then AA can make a decent backup CB out of Anderson, who remains a quality CB on most metrics.
ESR is also quality and interchangeable with King based on form/fitness IMO.
Berge, again don't give a to&& about him not having some hypercomplex esoteric combination of attributes that "suit Arbeloa's style", he's a top quality CM and should either be starting or rotated with Charles and Larsson based on form and fitness week by week over the season.
I'd ditch Leno for starters... has gone totally off the boil and is a liability.
So you'd start Lecomte against Palace?
Leno
Castagne Andersen Bassey Robinson
Charles Reed
Zepa King Iwobi
Garcia
Marginal preference for Reed over Berge. At least Reed puts it about a bit. Once Larsson gets his feet under the table then he plays instead. Toss up between Iwobi and Palacios. Just gave Iwobi the nod as the player with most assists last season.
If any of the new signings start it will demonstrate how naive our manager is. Particularly Affengruber has to bed in and understand the way that we play.
Would be harsh on Cuenca if he is dropped from the bench. Could only see Larsson making the bench of the 3. That could be harsh on Berge or Charles, or possibly Iwobi.
I always understood Silva's reluctance to introduce players quickly. He always said that he wanted the new players to at least know the names of the people in the team.
Quote from: twang on September 02, 2026, 10:48:35 AMDefinitely can't bench King as he's our biggest threat.
Agreed. Sure, he's gonna get muscled off the ball on occasion, but he has been our best (and seemingly only) scoring threat so far in first two games. Should be starter until he shows he can't perform at level, it's his spot to lose, at present.
Leno
Castagne Andersen Bassey Robinson
Charles Berge
Zepa King Sessegnon
Garcia
Quote from: Moltobueno on September 02, 2026, 12:23:40 PMQuote from: Coast94 on September 02, 2026, 11:39:06 AMLeno
Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson
Berge, Charles
Bobb, King, Iwobi
Gonzalo
Lecomte, Tete, Andersen, Sessegnon, Larsson, Palacios, ESR, Kevin, Muniz
Agree with this but I'd like to see Zepa on the bench aswell
Also agree with this line up. Zepa would be good for options and I wouldn't mind seeing Àngel either but maybe he will get a run out in the cup match.
I'd definitely drop Andersen against Palace.
From memory last season he absolutely had his pants pulled down.
Put the speedy Austrian in.
Quote from: Coast94 on September 02, 2026, 11:39:06 AMLeno
Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson
Berge, Charles
Bobb, King, Iwobi
Gonzalo
Lecomte, Tete, Andersen, Sessegnon, Larsson, Palacios, ESR, Kevin, Muniz
This would be my team vs Palace too but I'm afraid, just like Marco has his favrourites, so too does AA. Palacios is 100% going to start on the left, even though he's not a good winger.
Expect minimal shuffling. That will happen during the international break.
Leno
Cast, And, Bass, Rob
Charles Berge
Iwobi, King, Palacios
Garcia.
It's been reported Larsson has been out with a Muscle Strain and hasn't played any games yet, so expect he's not in the squad for Palace unless it was a phantom transfer injury.
I Keep hearing that Kenny Tete can play Right Centre-back, may be now is the time to test that theory.
This game is huge. Lose it and it is highly likely we go without a point first 5 games with Liv and Man U to follow. We must set up to attack in key moments but not leave ourselves exposed by their counter attacks. I suspect however he will start the same team as last week aside from Charles for Iwobi with our new signings on the bench.
Quote from: EN1 FFC on September 02, 2026, 05:37:36 PMIt's been reported Larsson has been out with a Muscle Strain and hasn't played any games yet, so expect he's not in the squad for Palace unless it was a phantom transfer injury.
I Keep hearing that Kenny Tete can play Right Centre-back, may be now is the time to test that theory.
Larsson looked fit enough in training video
Some rogue shouts on this thread so far: starting Reed and Zepa? benching King? (clearly been our best player this season so far)
Would be tempted to go with the below...
Leno, Castagne Affengruber Bassey Robinson, Berge Larsson King, Bobb Garcia Palacios
If Arbeloa doesn't feel like throwing the new boys in swap Charles for Larsson and Andersen for Affengruber
Can anyone explain how AR keeps his spot?
Quote from: FFC007 on September 02, 2026, 03:04:02 PMI'd ditch Leno for starters... has gone totally off the boil and is a liability.
I often forget about the pedigree of Lecomte, he's been around and played at a good level throughtout his career.
I wouldn't be against giving him a chance too, Leno has been POOR at the start of this year,
Last year he had moments but this year he seems all over the place, his decision making has been sooo bad!
Can I just ask, why is no one picking tete? When last season he was everyone's first choice? Is it the Everton thing?
Lecompte
Castagne. Andersen. Bassey. Sess
Charles. Berge
King
Bobb. Garcia. Kevin
Quote from: steed on September 02, 2026, 11:06:35 PMCan I just ask, why is no one picking tete? When last season he was everyone's first choice? Is it the Everton thing?
I think it's just Castagne being in great form at the moment
Leno
Castagne Affengruber Bassey Robinson
Charles Berge
King Smith Rowe Kevin
Garcia
Kevin also needs to start producing the goods..
With all the new talent bought into the club now, anyone who starts to produce dross can be easily hooked...
Quote from: Angus Telford on September 02, 2026, 02:42:10 PMQuote from: ffcthereligion on September 02, 2026, 11:33:45 AMLeno
Castagne affengruber Bassey Robinson
Charles Larsson
Bobb King Iwobi
Gonzalo
Subs: lecomte, tete, Cuenca, sess, palacios, ESR, angel, Kevin, Muniz
New signings straight in please!
No point having Andersen or Berge on the bench. They are both surplus to requirements in this squad and should be discarded for whatever we can get for them IMO. ESR is pretty close to that too for me. Would rather give Zepa a chance than waste any more time with him. He offers something different.
I could agree with your starting XI but certainly not the take on Anderson, ESR or Berge.
If Silva can recycle Tim 'Zimmerframe' Ream into a solid PL defender, then AA can make a decent backup CB out of Anderson, who remains a quality CB on most metrics.
ESR is also quality and interchangeable with King based on form/fitness IMO.
Berge, again don't give a to&& about him not having some hypercomplex esoteric combination of attributes that "suit Arbeloa's style", he's a top quality CM and should either be starting or rotated with Charles and Larsson based on form and fitness week by week over the season.
I saw you make this point about the need for Arbeloa to adapt to where our players are at and the success hodgson had in doing so and I absolutely agree with it. However, unfortunately, it's not the modern way and wont happen. The game has moved on and 'systems' are king. Managers now get more credit for relegating sides with dogmatism than they do keeping them up with pragmatism. Everything we've heard and seen from AA suggests he's not going to change his approach
As for ESR and Berge being quality, that is where we will have to disagree! I don't feel I've seen anything from them to make me believe that
Quote from: ffcthereligion on September 03, 2026, 08:43:23 AMQuote from: Angus Telford on September 02, 2026, 02:42:10 PMQuote from: ffcthereligion on September 02, 2026, 11:33:45 AMLeno
Castagne affengruber Bassey Robinson
Charles Larsson
Bobb King Iwobi
Gonzalo
Subs: lecomte, tete, Cuenca, sess, palacios, ESR, angel, Kevin, Muniz
New signings straight in please!
No point having Andersen or Berge on the bench. They are both surplus to requirements in this squad and should be discarded for whatever we can get for them IMO. ESR is pretty close to that too for me. Would rather give Zepa a chance than waste any more time with him. He offers something different.
I could agree with your starting XI but certainly not the take on Anderson, ESR or Berge.
If Silva can recycle Tim 'Zimmerframe' Ream into a solid PL defender, then AA can make a decent backup CB out of Anderson, who remains a quality CB on most metrics.
ESR is also quality and interchangeable with King based on form/fitness IMO.
Berge, again don't give a to&& about him not having some hypercomplex esoteric combination of attributes that "suit Arbeloa's style", he's a top quality CM and should either be starting or rotated with Charles and Larsson based on form and fitness week by week over the season.
I saw you make this point about the need for Arbeloa to adapt to where our players are at and the success hodgson had in doing so and I absolutely agree with it. However, unfortunately, it's not the modern way and wont happen. The game has moved on and 'systems' are king. Managers now get more credit for relegating sides with dogmatism than they do keeping them up with pragmatism. Everything we've heard and seen from AA suggests he's not going to change his approach
As for ESR and Berge being quality, that is where we will have to disagree! I don't feel I've seen anything from them to make me believe that
Yeah fair enough ::thumb::
Leno
Castagne Affengruber Bassey Robinson
Charles Berge
Bobb King Iwobi
Garcia
If Bobb is shite again get Zepa on
Same with Iwobi. Get Kevin on.
Smith Rowe on for King
Quote from: EN1 FFC on September 02, 2026, 05:37:36 PMIt's been reported Larsson has been out with a Muscle Strain and hasn't played any games yet, so expect he's not in the squad for Palace unless it was a phantom transfer injury.
I Keep hearing that Kenny Tete can play Right Centre-back, may be now is the time to test that theory.
Oi Oi Mark 2 ! ::scarf:: ::scarf::
From what we hear, the Austrian is quicker than Andersen and braver when blocking shots.
But Andersen is taller and better in the air.
I hope not, but wouldn't be surprised if AA included Palacios again.😒
Arbeloa has just said in his press conference "I'm very happy with these new players. It's a little early for these three players (for tomorrow). These players need a little bit of time". So safe to say they won't be involved.
Shea Charles to start and Alex Iwobi to be moved.
A bit of a break for FFC with Mateta apparently not available for this match
Think it'll be a small change with putting Charles in next to Berge, and from there it's mainly Palacios vs Iwobi. I think Iwobi will keep his spot, but Palacios sees the field early.
Think the deadline day signings will all see the field at some point. Affengruber for Andersen for when we start to press with the high line, Larsson in for Berge with Charles switching to the 6 (Berge) and Angel at some point although I'm not sure where.
Leno
Tete Andersen Bassey Jedi
Charles Berge
Bobb King Iwobi
Garcia
Quote from: WindyCity on September 04, 2026, 03:34:34 PMA bit of a break for FFC with Mateta apparently not available for this match
No Sarr either..
If Oscar Bobb has another stinker tomorrow he needs hooking for the next match.
Quote from: C Block on September 04, 2026, 11:54:15 AMShea Charles to start and Alex Iwobi to be moved.
This would be my guess too. I'll be a bit peed off if he doesn't make that change actually, Charles definitely needs to start.
We have pretty poor record against Palace recently. Sitting deep to shut down the passing lanes and attack at speed. Big test for Arbeloa's system.
Guessing AA will want to play our way rather than try to out Palace Palace?
LECOMTE
TIMMY JOA BASSEY JEDI
CHARLES BERGE
IWOBI KING KEVIN-ELEVEN
GONZALO
I love Leno but his distribution isn't good enough at present.
I wouldn't let both full backs get high simultaneously. It's hurting us.
We also have to get chestnuts to hold his width. Too often he tucks in and kills the option JOA needs to beat their press.
Quote from: Southcoastffc on September 02, 2026, 12:25:04 PMI'd be very surprised if AA starts Affengruber just 3 days after he joins. Similarly, I'd be surprised if he benches Palacios, whom he very obviously rates highly. So, I imagine Andersen will start
Leno
Castagne
Andersen
Bassey
Robinson/Sess (I can't decided who he'll plump for)
Berge
Charles
Bobb
King
Palacios
Garcia
I think this is correct. The only thing I could think of is Iwobi instead of Palacios on the wing, but I do think AA wants to keep Palacios and not bench him just yet.