If those are fit:

Ridgers

Rooney Mckay Donaldson Tremarco

         Welsh  Trafford

Walsh   Austin    Calder

              Oakley

 

The formation is to offer better protection to the defence and enable counter attacks. We have been very pedestrian of late and I can’t remember an opposition tiring from our efforts. County play 3 at the back and this formation can exploit that with the front 3 countering. County also have 5 in midfield so we will need that number to defend at times.

If Tremarco and Oakley not fit, swap Calder to LB and Doran to midfield, with Whyte up top for a half.

My thoughts are that Mckay and Rooney need some protection as they were badly exposed last night, that’s Welsh and Trafford’s main job in this formation. They both did ok defensively last night.

Polly looks like he needs a rest, he was absent in the second half and made some slack passes and was frustrated at half time. Austin is a better playmaker at the moment. That said Polly could be good for winding up county!

Whyte whilst he has scored, many could have with the chance he had last night. He missed three headers and at least two shots that others could have buried. There was limited creativity for others too. Oakley will definately ruffle Fontaine or Muirhesd in the County defence better.

 

0-0

I've not been at any games this season, due to having a new baby, but I see we are back to the "lets drop Polworth stuff".  No.  Liam Polworth leads our team in assists with four - it's not much but it's more than anyone else.

Saying that we should swap him for Austin is literal insanity.  To my knowledge, Austin has never played a deeper role in his entire career and you are suggesting that he play there in a local derby against the best team in teh league, one that is particularly strong in midfield?  Crazy talk.  Also, you say that Austin is "a better playmaker at the moment" - we played last night and Polworth was involved in both our goals, setting up Calder and making an important tackle to secure possession for the second.

We clearly don't have great strikers and have difficulty scoring - Polworth has good delivery from set pieces and I get the feeling that might be our only chance on Saturday.  We'll see though.

Ridgers

Rooney McKay Donaldson Tremarco

Welsh Trafford

Walsh Polworth Calder

White

 

I think Calder deserves a chance after last night and I think along with Walsh they could exploit the wide areas which should suit White if both can get good deliveries into the box. we will need to be tighter defensively on Saturday our central midfield was exposed numerous times in the first half.

 

Unusually, Polworth was substituted yesterday.  I don't know what the reason was but I thought he had a reasonable game.  Unless he has picked up an injury, there is no way the manager is going to drop him for the derby game.  I'd go  for ICT_Stew's starting line up

12 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

Unusually, Polworth was substituted yesterday.  I don't know what the reason was but I thought he had a reasonable game.  Unless he has picked up an injury, there is no way the manager is going to drop him for the derby game.  I'd go  for ICT_Stew's starting line up

We had moved to a 4-4-2 so he was, at that point, playing on the flank where he isn't as effective. Therefore it was take an out of position Polworth off or take off Welsh who was doing more of the dirty work in the middle of the pitch. A surprising sub on the face of it but it made perfect sense tactically.

In response to ICT Chris, you are confusing the "lets drop Polworth" approach with my suggestion that has been made independent of any bias with the intent of providing honest footballing opinion.  Just because he has had a rough time, doesn't give him a guaranteed place in the team and if the right thing to do is sub him, sub him.  No one is exempt from being dropped based on performance. 

I don't want to be tagged to the anti-Polworth brigade but since I have been directly called out and slandered on this issue, here is my justification purely on football grounds for dropping Polly for a short while. 

We have been on a very long and winless run, lacking goals and unfortunately Polly has to be tagged to this as a key creative midfielder - as he offers little defensively the main contribution HAS to be in attack.  He has had only TWO assists in ELEVEN games which doesn't make great reading and we need better if we are to push for promotion.  If you watch his assist against Dunfermline, he was clearly passing to the first man not Calder so one of these assists is very lucky.  He had a lot of stray passes against Dunfermline which you wont see in highlights, and since he was absent in his contribution in the second half Robbo rightly subbed him - if he was that good he would have changed the formation to suit.    

I agree with the important tackle comment and also your comment on set-pieces, although we have only scored from one in 540 mins of football that Polly supplied.  We have others who can do equally as good. 

One thing for sure is that Polworth will be dropped by Vigers on Saturday I hope he keeps his head and beats him at every opportunity.