Substitutes

[Tackler49]

The substitutes for today’s match (Liverpool) where are Ekdal,Al Dakhil,Benson,Zaroury etc. If they have injuries fair enough if not surely Ekdal or Al Dakhil should be playing instead of Delcroix who seems a bit lightweight especially against the top sides

[cockneyclaret]

Saving them for next season

[spt_claret]

Kompany has never favoured Ekdal, I love the big Swede but people need to start accepting this disappointment. He was out of the team as soon as Bellis was fit. Ekdal will never be a starter under Kompany.
Al Dakhil has been poor this season. Delcroix has too, coin toss who you'd favour I'd go Dakhil for youth but hey I'm not VK.
Benson, people keep saying he's injured again. No idea if it's true because of the limited communication, can't understand why he'd be absent if he's not injured.
Zaroury's form has been hit and miss since February but he's been out of favour since the start of the season. He started on the bench, compounded it with a red card, cemented it with a poor performance the one chance he got. I think he deserves more of a chance, others have played terribly and had more chances, but he's out of favour and Kompany's not likely to change his mind there, there's a clear pecking order in the winger/sub winger hierarchy, which makes his contract extension odd to say the least.

[fidelcastro]

We saw arguably his most baffling substitutions to date, thus far... Take off two strikers and replace them with two wingers, whilst Rodriguez remains on the bench!

[CoolClaret]

We saw arguably his most baffling substitutions to date, thus far... Take off two strikers and replace them with two wingers, whilst Rodriguez remains on the bench!

That was poor - though Larsen had a chance to equalise, that aside it really killed our momentum.

Thought it was poor to start Trésor on the left as well - Trent hates playing against players that are direct.

[fidelcastro]

Out of interest, does anyone know the longest time Redmond has spent on the pitch for us?

Surely he can't be happy

[DAVETHEVICAR]

Redmond was stripped and ready to come on .
Then VK changed his mind and the close up TV pictures showed how very unhappy Redmond was

[ElectroClaret]

We saw arguably his most baffling substitutions to date, thus far... Take off two strikers and replace them with two wingers, whilst Rodriguez remains on the bench!

Understand the sentiment, but I'd say the changes against West Ham when we were closing
out the game at 1-0 were the most unfathomable.

But tonight's weren't brilliant, no.

[Burnley Ace]

Redmond was stripped and ready to come on .
Then VK changed his mind and the close up TV pictures showed how very unhappy Redmond was

Foster indicated that he could do a few more minutes, that’s why Redmond sat down.

[Woodleyclaret]

I was unhappy when Redmond and Ramsey came on both offer nothing .

[Burnleyareback2]

Ekdal has been injured all week, but for me, him and Bayer are our best 2 centre backs

[Vegas Claret]

I was unhappy when Redmond and Ramsey came on both offer nothing .

funny thing with Ramsey, one of the best players in the Championship last season yet hardly gets a look in in our current side...........and some think this side is worse than last seasons

[Steve-Harpers-perm]

Unlike last season ours subs have zero impact on the game.

[CoolClaret]

funny thing with Ramsey, one of the best players in the Championship last season yet hardly gets a look in in our current side...........and some think this side is worse than last seasons

The actual argument was our best side last season would have faired better to start the season.

- Ramsey no better than Zaroury last season, different type of player as well!

[Goliath]

I thought his subs were fine today. We were causing them huge problems with out movememnt and pressing from the front so VK wanted to keep that up by putting players with pace uptop.
It nearly worked a treat with JBL's freshness and agility meaning he could intercept a pass and had a decent chance to score because of it.

[jojomk1]

The actual argument was our best side last season would have faired better to start the season.

- Ramsey no better than Zaroury last season, different type of player as well!

Ramsey is not a wide player- one of the few who isn't

Couldn't get to the game today - did Tresor start wide left and Odobert wide right

[CoolClaret]

Ramsey is not a wide player- one of the few who isn't

Couldn't get to the game today - did Tresor start wide left and Odobert wide right

He played off the left for Boro though didn’t he - Akpom and Archer were through the middle.

Similar sort of role in which Trésor plays - not a proper winger but more of a ‘wide playmaker’, though probably does prefer to play through the middle

[jojomk1]

My point being we have enough natural wide players to stop trying to shoehorn minutes for certain players into a position that doesn't appear to be their natural strength
Same with Odobert, as it was sometimes with Koleosho
VK has some sort of fixation with playing natural lhs wide men on the right to accommodate others who are no better and the overall scenario is weakening the side as a whole

[alwaysaclaret]

funny thing with Ramsey, one of the best players in the Championship last season yet hardly gets a look in in our current side...........and some think this side is worse than last seasons

Last seasons side would beat this one, easily imo.

[CoolClaret]

My point being we have enough natural wide players to stop trying to shoehorn minutes for certain players into a position that doesn't appear to be their natural strength
Same with Odobert, as it was sometimes with Koleosho
VK has some sort of fixation with playing natural lhs wide men on the right to accommodate others who are no better and the overall scenario is weakening the side as a whole

Agreed with that! I don’t particularly get a lot of the tactics/personnel substitutions

[Tackler49]

I agree ElectroClaret VK’s substitutions against West Ham were bizarre to say the least 1-0 up only minutes to go surely most managers would brought on a defender (Ekdal) and close the game out. Had Ekdal been on as a natural defender he would have taken up a defenders positions and one if both goals would(could) have been avoided. How many points have we lost this season from winning positions?

[Quickenthetempo]

funny thing with Ramsey, one of the best players in the Championship last season yet hardly gets a look in in our current side...........and some think this side is worse than last seasons

Ramsay has been injured most of the season.

He only managed 10 minutes or so in his last appearance, the other week as sub, before going off.

[alwaysaclaret]

Ramsay has been injured most of the season.

He only managed 10 minutes or so in his last appearance, the other week as sub, before going off.

Exactly, so why on earth does vk keep playing him, quite a few saying he's a talented player, well I haven't seen it yet, but I'm not likely to if vk keeps flogging him whilst not fit, he seems to play a game miss a game, but saying that he made a sub appearance recently and was subbed off after something like 19 minute's, vk needs to get him 100% fit ffs.

[alwaysaclaret]

I agree ElectroClaret VK’s substitutions against West Ham were bizarre to say the least 1-0 up only minutes to go surely most managers would brought on a defender (Ekdal) and close the game out. Had Ekdal been on as a natural defender he would have taken up a defenders positions and one if both goals would(could) have been avoided. How many points have we lost this season from winning positions?

16

[what_no_pies]

Exactly, so why on earth does vk keep playing him, quite a few saying he's a talented player, well I haven't seen it yet, but I'm not likely to if vk keeps flogging him whilst not fit, he seems to play a game miss a game, but saying that he made a sub appearance recently and was subbed off after something like 19 minute's, vk needs to get him 100% fit ffs.

He did well today and has shown his ability before.

[bobinho]

We saw arguably his most baffling substitutions to date, thus far... Take off two strikers and replace them with two wingers, whilst Rodriguez remains on the bench!

Only thing baffling about Rodriguez on the bench is that he was on the bench to start with. What we have seen from him this season isn’t even league one standard…. He was humiliated at Salford, let alone a PL opposition.

[CoolClaret]

Only thing baffling about Rodriguez on the bench is that he was on the bench to start with. What we have seen from him this season isn’t even league one standard…. He was humiliated at Salford, let alone a PL opposition.

Were you saying this after he glanced a superb header past Wes Foderingham after just 15 seconds against Sheffield United?

[fidelcastro]

Only thing baffling about Rodriguez on the bench is that he was on the bench to start with. What we have seen from him this season isn’t even league one standard…. He was humiliated at Salford, let alone a PL opposition.

Agreed, he's been poor, but to bring on two wingers and play them both up front instead of him was still a bit of a head scratcher.

As for Obafemi, has he got injured again? If not, I don't see why he wasn't on the bench as an extra striking option either.

[bobinho]

Were you saying this after he glanced a superb header past Wes Foderingham after just 15 seconds against Sheffield United?

I certainly wasn’t saying “jays quality”

That’s like saying Chris wood is a world beater because of what he did today….He won’t get three again all season let alone in one game

Check the goal v sheff Utd again, it took a deflection.

Massive Jay fan in his day…. Not only is this not jays day, It’s not even his DECADE.

[CoolClaret]

I certainly wasn’t saying “jays quality”

That’s like saying Chris wood is a world beater because of what he did today….He won’t get three again all season let alone in one game

Check the goal v sheff Utd again, it took a deflection.

Massive Jay fan in his day…. Not only is this not jays day, It’s not even his DECADE.

Strange comment to make when Wood has scored 7 on the season…

Very childish attitude for a 58 year old bloke this. Strange infact.

[bobinho]

Should you not have said “strange comment to make when Wood has scored 4 this season before today” that would have some serious merit.
We will see how many he’s got come the end of the season.

Infact isn’t actually a word. It’s two words, in fact. They taught me that at school. I remembered it. Staggering, considering my age eh?

[strayclaret]

Ramsey coming on with a minute to go

[TopCat]

Were you saying this after he glanced a superb header past Wes Foderingham after just 15 seconds against Sheffield United?

And other than that?

[Raconteur]

.

Thought it was poor to start Trésor on the left as well -

Like RV said on another thread, this is how we played and set up in the 2nd half against Fulham.
If VK had changed this for the start of the Liverpool game, guaranteed we would have people saying VK shouldn't have changed a winning team.

[CoolClaret]

Like RV said on another thread, this is how we played and set up in the 2nd half against Fulham.
If VK had changed this for the start of the Liverpool game, guaranteed we would have people saying VK shouldn't have changed a winning team.

That’s a fair comment - it was just how I saw it.