Recent content by Mucca Mad Boys

Unfortunately for Haji, being on a 14 goal drought since October is hardly screaming ‘Premier League player’ to potential suitors domestically and abroad.

Esse will play on the wing, Lampard said he only brought of Rudoni on Saturday to ‘protect him’. Esse playing AM at Palace was in a 3-4-2-1 shape so not quite a conventional shape that we play. In the Championship, Esse predominantly played RW for Millwall.

There’s a few things to consider: - Haji’s form - BTA’s injury - Torp’s illness - Strength of schedule - 4 games in 9 days over Xmas We’ve had a tough December and believe that the drop was going to happen even with a full strength side.

I’m pretty sure Sakamoto’s name is listed more than you’d expect from the question ‘who’d make the step up’. He’s good but o’mon?! His numbers are consistent since he joined, 23/24 was an outlier and he over performed his xG by a lot. Every team needs a reliable performer who is willing to do...

It does slightly irritate me when non-coaches use ‘4’, ‘6’, ‘8’ or ‘10’ to describe those central positions. There are several roles that fits in those descriptions. I imagine the coaches have laid out exactly what they mean by these terms to the players on the training ground. For example...

It’s delusional. I like Sakamoto but he is overrated by our fans. It’s a bit like Bidwell. Everyone loved him, couldn’t do much wrong, even after performances were declining and then suddenly the penny drops. The amount of mock depth charts I’ve seen on social media with people having Sakamoto...

How would you describe his role? Playing as a 10 doesn’t really explain anything. After all, Rudoni plays ‘as a 10’ but the two play said role very differently. Our defensive shape is a 4-4-2 and in attack, it’s fluid. It’s also pretty normal for a 4-4-2 to have 1 striker who plays more...

What do you mean he’s not an out and out striker? He’s been playing as a striker since he joined WBA. It’s only because we have had 2 wingers since Lampard joined. Now you have 4 wingers, we’re probably going to see less and less of BTA out wide. Personally, I’d play 4-4-2 more when we’re in...

No, but I’m struggling to see how we fit in a 4th striker. If someone goes, it changes the situation drastically.

Well, Norwich aren’t really in a position to demand silly money when they’re in the relegation zone. We are 5 points top of the league and odds on favourites to go up.

Ironically, Bamford’s goals per 90 at 0.92 is only marginally better than Simms’ 0.91. BTA is back next weekend, Simms has scored 7 goals in his last 7 starts. On Haji, he’s had the chances to score so despite my criticisms of him, his barren run won’t last forever. Is Bamford worth breaking...

3 strikers are in the top 20 goal scorers. All of them are 1-3 goals of the top scorer in the league. If there’s one position we’re well stocked, it’s striker.

Esse should start v Leicester, then the usual starting 11, perhaps Eccles > Torp depending on fitness levels.

I didn’t like Esse at AM tbh, thought he looked stronger at RW where he had more space. I’d like to see us play 4-4-2 when chasing games more and BTA coming back will be handy because he’s by far our best striker when it comes to defending from the front.

Agree. I don’t think we magically battered every 4 or 5 to nil just because BTA is playing rather than Sakamoto/Rudoni/EMC. As good as he’s been, it’s like BTA has been the glue that holds it all together. The schedule has got harder and there’s an element of fatigue setting in. The FA cup...