It will be interesting to see what system he goes with. Whilst I only managed to watch the extended highlights in the end, it does seem that we were far from great with the 3 CBs in the first half. But improved with the change to a back four.
As I was recently accused of only offering disparaging comments about our players, I would like to take this opportunity to say that I thought my mate Redmond looked much improved on Saturday. He got the ball down and drove at their defence a good few times, like a good winger should do. It was good to see and credit where it is due.
McCarthy had a good game as well and justified his position as number 1. I’ve seen a number of fans claiming that Gunn should be starting… clearly forgetting McCarthy’s form last season when he earned the right to wear the number 1 shirt. I note both are being talked about for the next England squad as Butland is playing Championship football and Southgate has previously refused to pick players that aren’t plying their trade in the top division.
Vestergaard also looked good and made some important clearances. He should probably avoid backheeled volleys though.
No idea how this one will pan out but I think I would quite happily settle for a score draw.
If we play 3 at the back and two up-front (which I don’t believe he will) then we’ll be overrun in midfield. 3 at the back and 1 up front sees us probably not scoring and probably losing. 4 at the back and 4-2 or 3-3 ahead then I think we stand a chance of scoring and a win.
Again, my downer on 3 at the back comes from Bertrand and Cedric’s reluctance to operate box to box. Fix that and I reckon it could be good for us.