31-12-2023, 02:56 PM
(31-12-2023, 01:50 PM)Pompey_in_Derby Wrote: IMHO Mousinho has managed the overall player workload very well to try and keep key players fresh for 4 matches in 9 days. Our midfielders and wingers are the ones who have to cover the most ground. Robertson has played around 60 minutes in each of the last 3 games, Lane was rested at Bristol and looked great when he came on for the final 20 minutes, Morrell and Kamara were both rested at Exeter, playing less than 30 minutes each.
Think Mous trusts Pack's experience to manage his workload by reading the game and using his energy efficiently - hence he's played the full 90 in all the recent matches. As for the Bishop/Yengi issue, I'm sure our video analyst has briefed Mous on the style of attacking that has caused Stevenage the most grief in recent weeks and we have to trust him to make the right call.
Think the back 4 and Norris pick themselves (just need Norris to return to his usual decent delivery of passes) and Rafferty needs to keep his cool as his red card at Stevenage means they will target him. Similarly, Morrell needs to control his temper as the game at Stevenage showed them to be a nasty, physical side (a bit like Wycombe under Ainsworth).
Based on all the above, I'd start with:
Norris
Rafferty, Raggett, Shaughnessy, Sparkes
Pack, Morrell
Kamara, Robertson, Lane
Bishop
However, if this lineup is ineffective, I hope Mous makes a couple of sub changes at half-time.
Dropping Yengi against Fleetwood was a monumental error and then compounding it by not bringing him back for the next game made it even worse.