Bromsgrove Sporting (A)

Quoted from Darran

I’d like to know how many you’ve sold too.

They will all go, no doubt.

I'd like us to just change a handful at most, those who usually come on as a sub and are close to the starting XI.. Most people are saying the same here. Coke, ljl to name 2 I'd be shocked if that don't start... Not in a bad way, I'd be happy for him to keep the usual XI.  

Quoted from Mariner Timsky

Anyone know how many we’ve sold out of the 1,000 we have been given??

Sales have been 'steady' I'm told. Suspect it won't be an away sell out

PS apparently we get £2000 from the BBC for showing it ,plus 45% of the take , which I'm guessing will be between £15-£18,000 - plus £3k if you lose (£9K for the winners), so at worst we get in another £20,000

Agreed, we should pick a fairly strong team.  

Some selections will depend on loanee eligibility, I believe PH has only publicly confirmed that Revan can play so far.  With that in mind - and considering Towler and Hunt may have been rested anyway - Pearson and Coke are good bets for a start.  Or is Longe-King match fit yet?  Crocombe could play, although I seem to remember Hurst being very reluctant to change keepers for any other reason than an injury in his last stint, so that will be interesting.  Efete will be favourite to return but I'd actually like Sears to keep his place to prove to the players that they need to fight to get back in.

We actually don't have a load of backup options in midfield - we tend to start 3 out of the 4 senior options anyway - so I'd expect Clifton and Fox to play.  Perhaps with Fox being more advanced if we rest McAtee?

Taylor's fitness needs to be managed so LJL will almost certainly start.  If Revan isn't trusted this weekend then I can't see him featuring much for a while, so hopefully he plays and does well.  Other side: either Sousa or Bapaga.  Doesn't really matter which, both are cracking options and in good form.

Final score -

Bromsgrove 1 Banbury 3.

Final score -

Bromsgrove 1 Banbury 3.

Quick thought - could Khouri make the 7 subs bench if fit?

After reading all the comments and a little thought it seems its a  very difficult one for Hurst to get right

Quoted from ginnywings

They will all go, no doubt.

No chance. After plenty of away games and some long trips in there recently I’d imagine plenty are taking a week off, especially given it’s not the easiest to get to on the train.

Be surprised if we take over 500.

Quoted from Poojah

It's certainly the most capable looking squad we've had for some time, with no obvious weak spots, however they're only a couple of divisions below us, it will be both their biggest game and biggest crowd in many years and ultimately I expect Hurst to show them more respect than to put a completely new side out.

I would expect those players who have been consistently on the bench in recent weeks, plus the returning Efete to come in. That would mean starts for Efete, Pearson, Coke, LJL and Wright, with Sears, Waterfall, any of the three midfielders, Taylor and Sousa sitting out.

The biggest headscratcher of this squad for me is what you do if McAtee doesn't start; we've tried it once and it didn't really work. The likes of Taylor and LJL, and then Sousa, Bapaga and Wright are relatively interchangeable, but there's no like-for-like replacement for McAtee as he's such a wildcard. That's more a strength of the squad than a weakness as we're lucky to have him in the first place, but it's something we need to find an answer to nonetheless.

Yeah absolutely the point about mcatee. I wouldn't like to be without him for league games. He binds the attacks together and your right nobody could quite play that role, except maybe Grant or scannel who we won't be seeing anytime soon presumably. It would be ideal to not risk him, but as you mentioned the 4 3 2 1 we tried earlier in the season with the 2 being sousa and bapaga wide didn't really work.

We could try essel replacing him against bromsgrove and become a more orthodox 4 4 2, instead of 4 4 1 1. Hurst mentioned thinking of bringing him on against Barnet so he is within thoughts and bromsgrove are a couple of leagues below.

Definitely not an easy decision about how much to change it, can see both sides.

Quoted from denni266

After reading all the comments and a little thought it seems its a  very difficult one for Hurst to get right

Exactly. Glad it’s his decision not mine.