[Albion] Did Chris Hughton do the right thing with his Walsall team selection?

[Thunder Bolt]

And if we lost every game for the next 3 years, we'd end up in the Conference. Top logic!

Not logice but a fact as viewed with my own eyes

The save from Baldock on the edge of the area?

Very tame and something even Graeme Smith could have saved.

 

[symyjym]

I think absolutely.

All the players that started want to prove they're good enough to start in a Championship game, therefore a team at the top end of League One is a very good test for them.

The only thing I would've done differently is getting the 3 first teamers from the bench on at 60-odd minutes, and not waiting so late. 30 mins game time is not going tire them out, and obvious less chance of injury with them not being on for too long.

Because 10 changes were made I don't see this affecting our league momentum whatsoever.

An average player playing alongside average players doesn't really lend an opportunity for any of them to shine. It's like sending them all out to fail.

I can see that Bruno, KLL & Greer may have needed a rest, but anyone who was fit enough to play should have done. Should have been Rosenior, Dunk, Hune and Bong as the back four.

Not sure what Calde has to offer these days. Either Holla or Ince should be playing alongside an experienced mf partner, either Kayal or Stephens. Hemed could do with any opportunity to get on the score sheet.

Four or five changes could have been positive, but ten seems too many. There has to be some continuity otherwise it is a pointless excercise where no one learns anything apart from how to fail. Some dare to say that playing games is better practice for pro footballers than training all week.

 

[The Wizard]

Put it this way: if Kayal had been on the end of a leg breaker last night, you can bet the hindsight 'no' voters would have said he shouldn't have been played, it's easy to say Hughton got it wrong now we lost. The team we put out wasn't too bad really, i personally am not that bothered we went out.. Never like to lose but I think it's a blessing in disguise.

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Not logice but a fact as viewed with my own eyes


Very tame and something even Graeme Smith could have saved.

Let's not go mad.

 

[symyjym]

Put it this way: if Kayal had been on the end of a leg breaker last night, you can bet the hindsight 'no' voters would have said he shouldn't have been played, it's easy to say Hughton got it wrong now we lost. The team we put out wasn't too bad really, i personally am not that bothered we went out.. Never like to lose but I think it's a blessing in disguise.

This argument fails when you consider that Walsall out-played us in a fair and gentlemanly manner. They were the smaller team and didn't have a Norman Whiteside type of player in the squad.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

This argument fails when you consider that Walsall out-played us in a fair and gentlemanly manner. They were the smaller team and didn't have a Norman Whiteside type of player in the squad.

Apart from Demetriou, who should have walked after being carded, and then wiping out JFC just a couple of minutes later. He was a handful when he played for Orient.

 

[symyjym]

Apart from Demetriou, who should have walked after being carded, and then wiping out JFC just a couple of minutes later. He was a handful when he played for Orient.

I grant you that but he got up again

I just don't think managers should wrap players up in cotton wool unless they are nursing an injury. Bong looks like he could do with a few more games under his belt, which if he played yesterday could have been better prep for Ipswich. Hemed scoring yesterday could have given him a boost for the weekend as well.

 

[Giraffe]

No, should always put out your best team, especially early season, especially when you are about to have a two week break and especially when you are on a winning run.

 

[The Wizard]

This argument fails when you consider that Walsall out-played us in a fair and gentlemanly manner. They were the smaller team and didn't have a Norman Whiteside type of player in the squad.

I'm not saying they didn't outplay us but how does the argument fail I don't see your point? You tell me, if Kayal or one of our other key players got injured last night which meant they were missing for a much more important game against Ipswich, would it have been worth it? Sorry but to me it's not and I'm very happy with the fact Hughton rested all our best players so they are fresh for Saturday, regardless of the result on the night IMO.

Nobody complained after the Southend game, unsurprisingly.. Kings of hindsight

 

[symyjym]

I'm not saying they didn't outplay us but how does the argument fail I don't see your point? You tell me, if Kayal or one of our other key players got injured last night which meant they were missing for a much more important game against Ipswich, would it have been worth it? Sorry but to me it's not and I'm very happy with the fact Hughton rested all our best players so they are fresh for Saturday, regardless of the result on the night IMO.

Nobody complained after the Southend game, unsurprisingly.. Kings of hindsight

It's Hughton's job to put out a side that can perform whether we win, lose or draw. He has been with these players for eight months now and has had a good pre-season with them. We didn't either perform or get a result. As individuals they were awful and as a team they were even worse.

Only a win at Ipswich will vindicate Hughton's decision.

 

[PWA]

No, would have preferred the momentum into Ipswich.

 

[GT49er]

It`s true though.
I used to love the League Cup but nowadays I pray we get an away draw as it saves me the decision of whether to bother buying a home ticket.
If we had gone through to play Chelsea I wouldn`t have gone , when I was younger I never missed home games.

No, it's patently not true. Some of us still want to have a good run in the League Cup, and want our club to take it seriously.

 

[sir albion]

Yes he did the right thing,but it went wrong because our 2nd string are dogshite to be frank with a similar dire performance against Southend.

 

[GT49er]

............something even Graeme Smith could have saved.

Come on, now you're getting ridiculous!

 

[BensGrandad]

Yes and No . Yes to make changes but made 1 mistake should have stuck with 4-4-2 and left either Hemed or Baldock to play with COG then take him off and revert back to the first choice 2.

 

[Acker79]

CH fielded a strong enough side - a side that should have been able to beat Walsall.

Absolute nonsense.

None of Maenpaa, Rosenior, Murphy or Rea had EVER tasted defeat in an Albion shirt until last night.

Dunk is one of our biggest stars, and Calderon our longest serving player.

Forster-Caskey played most weeks in the side that finished in the play-offs two season ago.

Ince and March are both highly promising young players.

About the only two that your statement might be considered fair, are Holla and O'Grady.


Again - plenty there to win this comfortably. The players let us (and Hughton) down.

That doesn't really tell the whole story, does it? Maenpaa, Murphy and Rea have played how many competitive games in an albion shirt? Rosenior has started how many matches? Dunk's a big star who is out of match practice for most of this month, Calderon has been here a long time and is now getting older, JFC was also a part of the side that was fighting relegation for a large part of the most recently completed season. Ince and March may have promise, but March hasn't exactly lived up to it since returning from injury, and Ince has slipped out of the side.

Compare last night's team to the last season's, which as a unit struggled all season:

Maenpaa/Stockdale - Surely that's a step down on last season? If Maenpaa was better wouldn't he be in the first team?
Rosenior/Bruno - On paper this should be an upgrade, but Rosenior hasn't shown enough yet to displace Bruno downgrade
Greer/ Rea - An experienced international has been down graded to a kid making his second full start downgrade
Dunk/Dunk - Last season Dunk had form, played regularly. Last night's dunk hadn't played since the first day of the season and had just settle a distracting career question downgrade
Calderon/Bennett - We had so little faith in Calderon's ability to play the left back role last season we brought in Bennett. A downgrade. Yes, Caldy is a legend and been with us for years, but he is getting old and isn't the player he was.
JFC/JFC - Seems to be doing well in his brief appearances, but isn't playing frequently in the league, so I'd say par
Ince/Ince - Not playing frequently, a slight downgrade
March/March - Still coming back from injury, but missed a lot of last season, par.
Murphy/KLL - Jury still out on general comparison, but Murphy is making a step up and is still getting to know teammates, another slight downgrade
Holla/Holla - Out of match practice, hasn't even been on the bench for recent league games, a downgrade.
O'Grady/O'Grady - Again, lack of regular football this term, a downgrade.

It doesn't take hindsight to look at that line up and think "That's weaker than the team we struggled with last year" (without comparing any of them to Teixeira who would replace at least one of them in the team). Especially when coupled with the fact we made 8 changes for Southend - a worse team than Walsall - and struggled to play like a team in the last round.

A struggling championship side has no right to think they should be beating top League one sides, and less so a weaker version of said championship side.

Was his selection wrong? No, it was fine. Ultimately, we avoided suspensions and/or injuries to first team players.

Would progression to the next round have been worth it had Bruno been sent off? Or Hemed injured for several months?

With premier league experienced Rosenior on the books, would we have missed Bruno that much for a game or two or three? Hemed has one goal - a penalty - would we miss him? Maybe we'd get more from O'Grady as a front two with Baldock. Zamora is supposed to be in contention for saturday. We're supposedly interested in Vydra and are still looking at bringing in another striker. What if Baldock drops a Shaving bottle on his foot severing his tendons? What if Stockdale leaves his leg up while playing video games and does his knee tendons? Or Kayal's kid runs a tricycle over his foot? etc. Injuries happen. It's part of life. Sometimes they happen on the pitch, sometimes off it. You can't avoid using players in case they get hurt when there is no reason to suspect they will.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

I voted yes.

It was essentially our B team, wasn't it. Competitive game time for fringe/young players, which is a positive thing - also gives the manager a good idea of which of them will make the squad on Saturday.

On another day, we would have come away with the win... but Chris would have known that a line up like this would have likely resulted in a defeat, and a defeat is what we got. No great loss, on a season like this where we have a real chance of making the playoffs, being without the distraction of the League Cup is more than welcome.

....I guess you are right...Chelsea at home would have been a distraction.

 

[Saladpack Seagull]

Don't blame CH or even COG - it's all MY fault because (as my missus pointed out) I forgot to wear my lucky pants..... So look out, Ipswich, I won't be making the same mistake on Saturday!!

 

[Surf's Up]

This question can only really be answered after the Ipswich result. If we win there then his changes were justified, if we don't then they weren't. Either way the team he put out clearly didn't perform and didn't seem to "want it" on the night and that is an issue that needs to be addressed.

 

[Acker79]

Why are so many people suggesting the smartness of this decision rests on the Ipswich game? If we win that but lose the next twenty games is it still a smart decision just because we beat Ipswich?

Is getting knocked out of a cup competition and missing out on the income a money spinning big tie could bring us really worth victory in one match - a match that a loss in could be made up over the following 41 games?