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Decisions, decisions, decisions… does Glenn stick or twist tomorrow?

29th February 2008 By theexpert Leave a Comment

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After witnessing his under-strength Canaries side secure all three points against Barnsley last Saturday, and just before the squad jetted off for a short training break in sunny Spain, Glenn Roeder suggested that he might have a problem in selecting his team for the visit of Blackpool tomorrow.

The performances of the likes of stand-in players Matty Pattison, Kieran Gibbs and particularly Alex Pearce in helping return City to winning ways means he has now to decide whether to break up a winning team and return first choice regulars like Dion Dublin and captain Mark Fotheringham to the starting line-up, or stick with those who brought home the bacon last Saturday?

It's a toughie, but he has to select what he thinks is his strongest team and the one best equipped to the job on the day.

If he considers that would mean sending out the same XI as last week then fair enough, but skipper Fotheringham and Dublin will understandably feel that they have a case for an immediate recall.

Again it's a bit of a dilemma, because Jamie Cureton would probably be the one to have to make way for Dublin in attack, yet he scored that tremendous winner last week, while Fotheringham's recall would probably relegate one of three players to the bench.

Although his passing wasn't up to scratch, Pattison certainly provided some much needed midfield muscle, and together with Gibbs the pair enabled the Canaries to maintain a grip in the middle of the park and keep things on an even keel for the duration of the game.

We'll assume that Croft can more or less take it that his place is assured, so the other alternative would be to leave Darren Huckerby out again.

Much has been made this week on the great Huckerby debate, but he too will feel that he did his bit last week and will only get better with more football.

The performance from Alex Pearce might not be good news for Jason Shackell though, as the 19-year-old youngster produced a sparkling display at the heart of the City defence and rightly earned the sponsors' Man of the Match award.

He more than anyone else did enough to keep his place tomorrow.

It's all about opinions, and only one person's counts of course, and that's the manager's.

But for my two-penneth, the back four from last week deserve the chance to try to keep another clean sheet.

A midfield quartet of Croft, Fotheringham, Pattison and Huckerby looks exciting, with Evans and either Dublin or Cureton up front – depending on the Big Man's fitness and bearing in mind that it might be in Roeder's thoughts to rest him for when he might be more immediately required against a physical Watford side on Tuesday night.

Whichever starting line-up the City boss opts for tomorrow he'll be hoping for a similar type of attitude as last week being prevalent but with more of an end product in the final third of the pitch.

City enjoyed their fair share of possession against Barnsley but without it leading to them excessively testing visiting goalkeeper, and while it was encouraging to see the wide players attempting to run at their full-backs and deliver the ball into the box, as well as both full-backs getting forward when the opportunity arose, City still need to target creating more decent goalscoring opportunities and having more shots on target in general.

After taking just six points from their previous seven league games, visitors Blackpool enjoyed an excellent 5-3 win over promotion-chasing Charlton at Bloomfield Road last Saturday to rekindle their faint hopes of a top-six finish this season.

The Seasiders are a team that like to get the ball down on the floor and play, and as City discovered when the sides met earlier in the season, their side does possess players with the potential to unlock defences.

With Stephen McGhee's pace and energy combined with the vast experience and predatory instincts of Paul Dickov in attack, plus the mercurial dribbling skills of the diminutive wide man Wes Hoolahan, Blackpool will certainly have the capability to cause a problem or two if given the chance.


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