Team for Peterborough

[Jim©]

On another issue - I believe the ref is the Ausie guy.  I believe he's been hailed as one of the few good refs in the championship.  Am I right?

Yep, he's reffed us a few times this season, think he's about the best we'll get in the championship.

[JimOG]

Not sure why we should be looking at wholesale changes after a fairly freak result. We've lost two in 21 games. Hardly  a need to go back to the drawing board!

I thought Chalobah was very tidy the other day. Two misplaced passes but apart from that won a lot against a pretty gritty MF. Definitely keep him and TC for the moment, Reed's been (compared to his usual standards) poor of late and not suited to the advanced role.

My thoughts too. The result didn't reflect the play coupled with the fact that the game was played in difficult weather conditions. I would bring Kebano back though. Not because I thought Reid had a bad game but more because he isn't suited to the left wing role and we were restricted down that side as a result.

I think Cairney deployed as a second 6 is a mistake since it requires him to do some defensive work in and around our area - for which he's not equipped. I'd have Harrison next to Chalobah who has played as an 8 before so I'd go
     
                                                                 Rodak
                                     Williams        Tosin        Ream        Robinson
                                                          Reed        Chalobah
                                                                Carvalho
                                                  Wilson     Mitro         Kebano

[S.F.Sorrow]

Not sure why we should be looking at wholesale changes after a fairly freak result. We've lost two in 21 games. Hardly  a need to go back to the drawing board!

I thought Chalobah was very tidy the other day. Two misplaced passes but apart from that won a lot against a pretty gritty MF. Definitely keep him and TC for the moment, Reed's been (compared to his usual standards) poor of late and not suited to the advanced role.

My thoughts too. The result didn't reflect the play coupled with the fact that the game was played in difficult weather conditions. I would bring Kebano back though. Not because I thought Reid had a bad game but more because he isn't suited to the left wing role and we were restricted down that side as a result.

I think Cairney deployed as a second 6 is a mistake since it requires him to do some defensive work in and around our area - for which he's not equipped. I'd have Harrison next to Chalobah who has played as an 8 before so I'd go
     
                                                                 Rodak
                                     Williams        Tosin        Ream        Robinson
                                                          Reed        Chalobah
                                                                Carvalho
                                                  Wilson     Mitro         Kebano

If extra defensive cover is a priority then yes, that would be my choice too but this is a must win game against a team in the relegation zone. In my opinion we need more creativity in midfield and that means Cairney or Seri (but not both).

[Sting of the North]

It will be a different game. Peterborough will probably sit back so we'll need creativity rather than extra defensive cover. Cairney needs to start IMO.

I would love to see Mawson at LCB but he is clearly not in Silva's plans and I don't think we will ever see him in a Fulham shirt again. Hector is not an option at LCB in my opinion so I'm gonna have to go with Ream although I think his lack of pace may be a problem against fast transitions/counter attacks.

Robinson has been awful and needs to be dropped.

Chalobah had a great game against Hull but apart from that I've not been impressed. Reed was one of our best players under Parker but he has made a lot of critical mistakes this season. We'll need one of them though, Seri+Cairney would be a disaster. Tough choice.

Wilson has been very poor lately so I think BDR deserves a chance.

Williams/Tete... Tete, but it's a close call.

Rodak
Tete/Williams -  Tosin  - Ream  - Bryan
Reed/Chalobah -  Cairney
BDR - Carvalho  - Kebano
Mitro

Seri & Cairney played together at Forest and we won 4-1, not sure why the two of them in the same midfield is a "disaster"

Fair point (and it was even 4-0!) but one game won't convince me. Cairney+Seri will leave us too exposed IMO. In this scenarion Seri would have to be the holding midfielder and he has been a liability in that position in the past. He is too slow on the ball and has a tendency to lose possession in dangerous areas. He doesn't have Reed's ability to read the game and spot danger before it happens.

I really don't understand this take on our midfielders. Sure, Seri looks a bit complacent and slow on the ball sometimes, but Reed will normally lose possession all over the pitch much more than Seri (or Cairney) will. I also don't think Reed reads the game very well at all. In my opinion he is more of a headless chicken that tries to be everywhere and therefore sometimes will seemingly be in the right spot at the right time. Much prefer Seri defensively.

I don't know if people like Reed because he is a trier, and would run through a brick wall for the team (not a bad thing as such of course), but to me he is not half the player of either Seri or Cairney. But that is my take, and many seem to disagree.

[Whitestone]

It will be a different game. Peterborough will probably sit back so we'll need creativity rather than extra defensive cover. Cairney needs to start IMO.

I would love to see Mawson at LCB but he is clearly not in Silva's plans and I don't think we will ever see him in a Fulham shirt again. Hector is not an option at LCB in my opinion so I'm gonna have to go with Ream although I think his lack of pace may be a problem against fast transitions/counter attacks.

Robinson has been awful and needs to be dropped.

Chalobah had a great game against Hull but apart from that I've not been impressed. Reed was one of our best players under Parker but he has made a lot of critical mistakes this season. We'll need one of them though, Seri+Cairney would be a disaster. Tough choice.

Wilson has been very poor lately so I think BDR deserves a chance.

Williams/Tete... Tete, but it's a close call.

Rodak
Tete/Williams -  Tosin  - Ream  - Bryan
Reed/Chalobah -  Cairney
BDR - Carvalho  - Kebano
Mitro

Seri & Cairney played together at Forest and we won 4-1, not sure why the two of them in the same midfield is a "disaster"

Fair point (and it was even 4-0!) but one game won't convince me. Cairney+Seri will leave us too exposed IMO. In this scenarion Seri would have to be the holding midfielder and he has been a liability in that position in the past. He is too slow on the ball and has a tendency to lose possession in dangerous areas. He doesn't have Reed's ability to read the game and spot danger before it happens.

I really don't understand this take on our midfielders. Sure, Seri looks a bit complacent and slow on the ball sometimes, but Reed will normally lose possession all over the pitch much more than Seri (or Cairney) will. I also don't think Reed reads the game very well at all. In my opinion he is more of a headless chicken that tries to be everywhere and therefore sometimes will seemingly be in the right spot at the right time. Much prefer Seri defensively.

I don't know if people like Reed because he is a trier, and would run through a brick wall for the team (not a bad thing as such of course), but to me he is not half the player of either Seri or Cairney. But that is my take, and many seem to disagree.

I think you've summed the Reed situation perfectly. It seems that some prefer Reed because, as you say he 'would run through a brick wall for the team' which is strange because  players like Cairney, Seri and Chalobah, ability wise, are better footballers than Reed.

[Maidstone Lee]

                Rodak

Williams Tosin Ream Robinson

          Reed Chalobah

   Wilson Carvalho Kebano

              Mitrovic

If Robinson drops another poor performance, then he should be dropped. Think this is a game for him to get his confidence back and get at Peterborough. Cairney needs a rest after the poor showing against Huddersfield, time to bring Reed back in. I'm tempted the bring Seri in too but would got for Chalobah to start with. Bring him on second half. Harsh on BDR but need Kebano on the wing. BDR isn't as effective on the left wing, did a good job at CM.

[FFC1987]

It will be a different game. Peterborough will probably sit back so we'll need creativity rather than extra defensive cover. Cairney needs to start IMO.

I would love to see Mawson at LCB but he is clearly not in Silva's plans and I don't think we will ever see him in a Fulham shirt again. Hector is not an option at LCB in my opinion so I'm gonna have to go with Ream although I think his lack of pace may be a problem against fast transitions/counter attacks.

Robinson has been awful and needs to be dropped.

Chalobah had a great game against Hull but apart from that I've not been impressed. Reed was one of our best players under Parker but he has made a lot of critical mistakes this season. We'll need one of them though, Seri+Cairney would be a disaster. Tough choice.

Wilson has been very poor lately so I think BDR deserves a chance.

Williams/Tete... Tete, but it's a close call.

Rodak
Tete/Williams -  Tosin  - Ream  - Bryan
Reed/Chalobah -  Cairney
BDR - Carvalho  - Kebano
Mitro

Seri & Cairney played together at Forest and we won 4-1, not sure why the two of them in the same midfield is a "disaster"

Fair point (and it was even 4-0!) but one game won't convince me. Cairney+Seri will leave us too exposed IMO. In this scenarion Seri would have to be the holding midfielder and he has been a liability in that position in the past. He is too slow on the ball and has a tendency to lose possession in dangerous areas. He doesn't have Reed's ability to read the game and spot danger before it happens.

I really don't understand this take on our midfielders. Sure, Seri looks a bit complacent and slow on the ball sometimes, but Reed will normally lose possession all over the pitch much more than Seri (or Cairney) will. I also don't think Reed reads the game very well at all. In my opinion he is more of a headless chicken that tries to be everywhere and therefore sometimes will seemingly be in the right spot at the right time. Much prefer Seri defensively.

I don't know if people like Reed because he is a trier, and would run through a brick wall for the team (not a bad thing as such of course), but to me he is not half the player of either Seri or Cairney. But that is my take, and many seem to disagree.

We're very much aligned on this. Spoken a few times and agreed that Reed is limited. Only thing I'd ask is, do we have any stats to back up he loses ball more than Seri?

[Whitestone]

Surely it must be Reed or Chalobah with one of Seri or Cairney ? Otherwise where does the creativity come from ? I can't see Reed and Chalobah in the same starting line up, particularly against a poor Peterborough side.

[Sting of the North]

We're very much aligned on this. Spoken a few times and agreed that Reed is limited. Only thing I'd ask is, do we have any stats to back up he loses ball more than Seri?

I have not checked any stats. Would also be interested to see if it checks out, as my comment wasn't so much meant as a fact but more about how I am not fond of Reed's ball retention. My feeling is that he will lose the ball more often, but that may be wrong. He however also makes us lose momentum a lot with heavy touches, slow decision making and low quality passing so in any case for me the bad far outweighs the good with Reed, particularly at this level when we should expect to dominate many games.

But I am aware that I am likely quite biased against Reed because he has become one of my least favourite players for us of the last few years. This is not so much that I dislike him, but more so that I find him so massively overrated by a seemingly fairly large part of the fan base. If fans in general saw him like I do (a mediocre Championship player with some PL level upside in certain areas) I would probably like him a lot more because he is a fighter and team player that will leave everything out there.

[FFC1987]

We're very much aligned on this. Spoken a few times and agreed that Reed is limited. Only thing I'd ask is, do we have any stats to back up he loses ball more than Seri?

I have not checked any stats. Would also be interested to see if it checks out, as my comment wasn't so much meant as a fact but more about how I am not fond of Reed's ball retention. My feeling is that he will lose the ball more often, but that may be wrong. He however also makes us lose momentum a lot with heavy touches, slow decision making and low quality passing so in any case for me the bad far outweighs the good with Reed, particularly at this level when we should expect to dominate many games.

But I am aware that I am likely quite biased against Reed because he has become one of my least favourite players for us of the last few years. This is not so much that I dislike him, but more so that I find him so massively overrated by a seemingly fairly large part of the fan base. If fans in general saw him like I do (a mediocre Championship player with some PL level upside in certain areas) I would probably like him a lot more because he is a fighter and team player that will leave everything out there.

Main reason I ask is, I'd hazard a guess that Reed might actually retain ball slightly more, but that's almost solely down to his sideways backward pass rate compared to Seri who can be a bit more adventurous at times. Which as you mention, can stunt our flow and proactivity to get the ball forward, quicker. I think reed will be a noticeable figure more next season even with his hangups, mainly due to that never say die attitude where we're up against it and he's putting himself about and winning the ball more, particularly against the better teams, but we need to make sure we have a plan B against the lesser baller sides. Something I think Parker was hugely unsuccessful with.

[S.F.Sorrow]

Surely it must be Reed or Chalobah with one of Seri or Cairney ? Otherwise where does the creativity come from ? I can't see Reed and Chalobah in the same starting line up, particularly against a poor Peterborough side.

Agreed. My choice would be Reed - Cairney but it would be interesting to see Chalobah - Seri.

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand what some of you are saying about Reed. In my opinion he was one of our most important players under Parker but for some reason he has been very underwhelming under Silva. Different tactics/role/coaching? I still think he has something to offer and will provide the best cover for our defence.

I expect Silva will go with Chalobah - Cairney or maybe Chalobah - Seri and I'm fine with that.

[Sting of the North]

We're very much aligned on this. Spoken a few times and agreed that Reed is limited. Only thing I'd ask is, do we have any stats to back up he loses ball more than Seri?

I have not checked any stats. Would also be interested to see if it checks out, as my comment wasn't so much meant as a fact but more about how I am not fond of Reed's ball retention. My feeling is that he will lose the ball more often, but that may be wrong. He however also makes us lose momentum a lot with heavy touches, slow decision making and low quality passing so in any case for me the bad far outweighs the good with Reed, particularly at this level when we should expect to dominate many games.

But I am aware that I am likely quite biased against Reed because he has become one of my least favourite players for us of the last few years. This is not so much that I dislike him, but more so that I find him so massively overrated by a seemingly fairly large part of the fan base. If fans in general saw him like I do (a mediocre Championship player with some PL level upside in certain areas) I would probably like him a lot more because he is a fighter and team player that will leave everything out there.

Main reason I ask is, I'd hazard a guess that Reed might actually retain ball slightly more, but that's almost solely down to his sideways backward pass rate compared to Seri who can be a bit more adventurous at times. Which as you mention, can stunt our flow and proactivity to get the ball forward, quicker. I think reed will be a noticeable figure more next season even with his hangups, mainly due to that never say die attitude where we're up against it and he's putting himself about and winning the ball more, particularly against the better teams, but we need to make sure we have a plan B against the lesser baller sides. Something I think Parker was hugely unsuccessful with.

I agree that Reed's particular skills will be comparatively more to our advantage in games where we maybe don't expect to dominate to such a degree that we are now. So against to top 6 or so in the PL maybe we can use his destructive abilities more.

[twang]

Rodak
Tete - Tosin - Ream - Robinson
Reed - Cairney
Wilson - Carvalho - Kebano
Mitrovic

[rebel]

              Rodak

Williams Tosin Ream Bryan

          Reed Seri

   Wilson Carvalho Kebano

              Mitrovic


Chalobah hasn't impressed me,
Cairney really not grasping his opportunities,
Robinson flatters to deceive, has the ability, but which Robinson will turn up?