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I'd go with the same as Scott, except Macklin for Danny.

was in our local paper a few quotes from Knill, that the assistant (don't know his name) will have a strong input in the team as he's only seen the players 3 times.

If he copies the formation at Bury expect a formation that changes.

When out of possession 4231, the two sitting midfield players, and everyone expected to work hard to get behind the ball, but when you get the ball it ends up to like a 424 formation as everyone is expected to go forward! Which is why he likes his pace.

We use to play with a big man up top, with someone with a bit more skill behind him which was our Ryan Lowe. Everyone thinks he played up front with us when really he played just behind the striker.

One thing to expect the winger getting to the byline and then cutting it back a long the floor, for someone to hit it home. Most of Loweys goals came from that move.

Good luck today!

There was a big call from everyone for us to have Knilly back tonight!!!

TAylor having any input in team selection is not what we want to hear.

I like the sound of everything from the 2nd paragraph, down. The first sentence worries me. I hope Knill will have some sense and realise the views of a bloke who's record was 1 win and 5 losses is not to be totally trusted.

If Craig isn't in the centre, I will place the blame squarely on Taylor and may have to forcibly remove his testicles.

With all due respect to Taylor, who was out of their depth at this stage of his career.... Knill should be trusting his judgment straight away. Whatever ST has done for the last 5 games has not worked, so why persist with that?

The new broom should sweep clean. Get the non-dribbling left footer off the right wing (it would almost be funny if it wasn't so tragically stupid), and bl00dy well START BENYON!!

I tend to agree with some of whats previously been wrote regarding formations.

Firstly

I thinks its crucial that when Poke gets the ball his quick distribution to the full back/wide player is paramount. It firstly provides us with possession to counter attack. Bobby O and Potter when he played were masters of this and it was a big part of our game.

I really like Nico, however hes being exposed too much and Cruise would be the obvious replacement. Leadbitter has been the one of the only positive selections of late so he would start for me. Downes and Saah would remain at the back. Mansell would be my holding midfield player. Nathan Craig has to play in the centre next to Mansell. Stephens would play on the left and Macklin wide right.

Now this i think is the important bit. Howe would play a little deeper and linking the play (TO FEET NOT IN THE AIR). This would drag their defence all over the place. Benyon would play up front doing what he does best on the shoulder of the last defender. Playing like this would create space for Benyon to run the channels and Howe to link with our wide players.

This is not major surgery, its about playing to our current strengths and utilizing what we already have. Port Vale will not expect Howe to come deeper.

Thats how i would play, if it all goes wrong can someone bring a film to watch on the big screen!!!

SBP wrote:I tend to agree with some of whats previously been wrote regarding formations.

Firstly

I thinks its crucial that when Poke gets the ball his quick distribution to the full back/wide player is paramount. It firstly provides us with possession to counter attack. Bobby O and Potter when he played were masters of this and it was a big part of our game.

I really like Nico, however hes being exposed too much and Cruise would be the obvious replacement. Leadbitter has been the one of the only positive selections of late so he would start for me. Downes and Saah would remain at the back. Mansell would be my holding midfield player. Nathan Craig has to play in the centre next to Mansell. Stephens would play on the left and Macklin wide right.

Now this i think is the important bit. Howe would play a little deeper and linking the play (TO FEET NOT IN THE AIR). This would drag their defence all over the place. Benyon would play up front doing what he does best on the shoulder of the last defender. Playing like this would create space for Benyon to run the channels and Howe to link with our wide players.

This is not major surgery, its about playing to our current strengths and utilizing what we already have. Port Vale will not expect Howe to come deeper.

Thats how i would play, if it all goes wrong can someone bring a film to watch on the big screen!!!

Agree with 99% of that - only change I'd make it Bodin for Stevens

Hi Jeff

That was my toughest decision to be fair, my reason for playing Stephens was simply for pace running at there full backs, i dont like him cutting in all the time but i think its slightly more attacking in the wide area over Bodin. He also hasnt given the ball away as much as Bodin and i want more possession.

During the Fleetwood game, I said to my Dad that we shouldn't play Stevens when attacking the Family Stand due to the pitch being torn to pieces down on the left wing, so we spent all of the first half without him, brought him on in the second half and strangely enough, he was totally useless. Every time he got the ball, he'd go for a run and the ball would just hold up in the mud, he'd end up running past it and lose possession. Bodin at least coped with that area relatively well.

Hi Luke

It causes much debate this selection. I like Bodin and on his day he can be brilliant and yes i have been there watching Stephens being totally in affective however i would like them to hold on to the ball better, I am also not sure what Bodins best position is. Bodin has given the ball away far to easily of late and he may be a better impact player coming off the bench.

SBP wrote:Hi Luke

It causes much debate this selection. I like Bodin and on his day he can be brilliant and yes i have been there watching Stephens being totally in affective however i would like them to hold on to the ball better, I am also not sure what Bodins best position is. Bodin has given the ball away far to easily of late and he may be a better impact player coming off the bench.

Excellent points SBP and also when this does happen the ball comes straight back at us. It's also a lack of options for players like Bodin when he does get the ball. At Rochdale for the most part there was zero movement, nobody gambling running into space, nothing. Very pedestrian stuff and so it means Billy has to either hang on to the ball to look for a team mate which means he gets easily shoved off the ball and bullied into losing possession or he has no option but to play the ball backwards. I reckon if we had Howe coming deep (like you said) then Benners can run on beyond for any flick ons or balls through. Many times this season i've seen Howe come deep but there is nobody prepared to go beyond him to offer an outlet so he just lays the ball back. We need to start pressing teams high up the pitch and getting people forward and putting the opposition under pressure for a change. Leadbitter too is an asset as he has so much pace, he can bomb forward and offer us another option. He is liable to get caught out of position occasionally but i'll take that for the sake of attacking momentum. At Rochdale we were worse than bad but Leadbitter was noticed due to his bursts forward and willingness to get something going and he was maybe our best outfield player along with Downes.

I've said it before many times this season but i just think we need to say f*ck it and just get forward. Just attack, press, harry, play at a high tempo, don't give them an inch, play like a lower league side does in the cup against a Prem side. Intensity and purpose, that may open some doors for us. Play the same as we have been doing and we'll get hammered anyway.

Can't wait for this one now TBH. COYY!!

I think Bodin would cause more damage off the bench but I also think he'd cause more damage from the start too. With a big confidence boost, Bodin would be a far better player than Danny. I like Danny, but on a rubbish pitch, I've never rated him. He needs a decent playing surface, plenty of confidence like he had last season and a nice sunny day. Which is a bit too much needed to see a good performance out of him. Bodin seems to at least do the odd bit of good during a poor game, whereas Danny off-form does absolutely nothing.

P.S. If you're such a big fan of Danny, you should probably learn how to spell his surname! :na:

Sorry, yes i know my spelling is not great. I think you are missing my point. Selecting Danny can provide us better ball retention. What is the point of dancing around 2-3 players then loosing the ball!!
Just my opinion

----Poke-----
Oastler--Saah--Downes--Nico
-------Manse---Craig-------
Bodin-------------------Stevens/Macklin

Howe
Benyon

SBP wrote:Sorry, yes i know my spelling is not great. I think you are missing my point. Selecting Danny can provide us better ball retention. What is the point of dancing around 2-3 players then loosing the ball!!
Just my opinion

I'm not so sure Danny would provide better ball retention though. When playing on a boggy pitch, Danny loses the ball within seconds of getting it as he tries to cut inside and the ball gets held up and the full back is onto it. If that doesn't happen, he's usually just too weak and gets knocked off the ball. Unfortunately, I don't think either are good at keeping possession, many wingers at this level aren't, so the choice is between who could potentially cause the most damage. During the warmer points of the season, with better playing surfaces, they both have the ability to destroy a defence. That's where we can rotate and pick who goes up against which full back. During the winter months with the poorer playing surfaces, it has to be Billy. Danny just can't seem to do anything if he can't run with it.

Sam - is that Stevens or Macklin on the left wing or right wing?