Opening day Blues or all White on the night? Ipswich (A) Saturday 30th July. 3pm KO

[Harry Genshaw]

A new season is upon us and it's still July FFS!

I suspect there won't be many tougher games than Ipswich away but then hopefully, they see us as a tough start too.

Portman Road was the scene of probably our best away win last season, where at times we looked devastating up top, yet decidedly shaky at the back. Since then, they've had a change of manager, a huge upturn in form and they seem to have recruited well this summer.

However, we've no reason to be afraid. Our form since January is slightly better than theirs and we've a stronger squad than we had last September.

Who's going? Who's bold enough to predict a scoreline?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'm going with the Mighty Flanners.

No idea what the scoreline will be – I haven't watched their incomings and outgoings this summer. Interesting to see if Kieran McKenna maintains the momentum they built up under him last spring. They certainly play good football, similar to ours in some ways – and that sort of opponent tends to suit us better than cloggers, as our home win against them showed.

As usual with us, first goal will be crucial. It's no longer a lost hope if we go behind - we'll have weaponry to wheel off the bench - but it helps us a lot if the oppos are chasing the game.

[Worthy4England]

I know someone put a team on another thread (think TheGun). But I have to say, I'm a little less sure, how we're going to pan out tomorrow.

I did look, but couldn't find it -

1) Traf
2) Bradley
3) Geth
4) Santos
5) Iredale
6) John
7) MJ
Morley
9) Charles
10) Lee
11) Bod

I guess where you dump Iredale is whether you'd rather he replaced Johnston or John? Are we going to see Toal replace Geth? I'm not sure I could name our "first eleven" to be honest - not a major criticism as I think people coming in would generally be "about the same" as people going out, for a lot of positions...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Game's Saturday not tomorrow, Worthy. At least I hope so - I shelled out £30-odd quid on a ticket and I'm working tomorrow...

I suspect Iredale is more likely to replace Johnston for the following league game, against the aerial threat of Wycombe. This time he'll have a watching brief from the bench - see how Johnston joins in as auxiliary midfielder, linking with John and Dapo, finding those forward passes.

Talk in the paper this morning is that Charles and Dapo is the front pairing, with Evatt (quoted in the Huddersfield postmatch) enjoying how their runs drag defenders about - Dapo dropping off, Charles on the shoulder.

That would, for me and for now, also be the preferred way to start a difficult game like Ipswich away, one where we need to avoid conceding first: MJ as insurance and Sexy Kieran as a more solid 10 than Dapo, with either or both giving way later on to Bod/Baka if we need a goal (Dapo dropping to 10) or perhaps to Dempsey/Thomo/Sheehan if we wish to maintain more presence in midfield rather than overloading with forwards.

I also couldn't tell you what our first XI is, and that's no bad thing. Maybe we don't even have one. I hope and think we are now beyond "First XI plus hapless understudies" to a strong, deep squad with options per opponent - horses for courses. There may be some games - at home to inferior, deep-sitting teams - where Sads starts as RWB, with Dapo at 10 behind two strikers and no real need for MJ in midfield. There will be others where we go for more beef and height.

We also now have five subs to make off the bench, and it's possible that none of them will be makeweights.

Take your XI above, for example:
Traf
Geth-Rico-Iredale
Bradley-MJ-Morley-John
Lee
Bod-Charles

That would leave a subs bench perming seven from these 12:
Dapo, Baka, Kachunga, Sadlier, Sheehan, Dempsey, Isgrove, Thomo, Johnston, Toal, Aimson, Dixon

Like I say, notwithstanding suspensions and injuries, there's gonna be good players in the stands some weeks.

[Worthy4England]

I hear you re: Johnston. But he has to have improved his defensive side, for me, in the close season. If he hasn't then I don't care much whether it's Ipswich or Wycombe. Positioning, heading and ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time all needed some work.

Dapo and Charles can work - we've seen it work - but I think they're more complementary than alternative, so I worry about balance and ability to switch to something a little different on the fly, without making a sub.

I'm less concerned about our perms up front to be fair - we have lots of people with a goal in them.

What's happening at the back - do you think we're going a three? and is that with Bradley/John as WB's?

[Worthy4England]

Oh and yeah - it's not tomorrow....lol

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I hear you re: Johnston. But he has to have improved his defensive side, for me, in the close season. If he hasn't then I don't care much whether it's Ipswich or Wycombe. Positioning, heading and ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time all needed some work.

Dapo and Charles can work - we've seen it work - but I think they're more complementary than alternative, so I worry about balance and ability to switch to something a little different on the fly, without making a sub.

I'm less concerned about our perms up front to be fair - we have lots of people with a goal in them.

What's happening at the back - do you think we're going a three? and is that with Bradley/John as WB's?

I'd go so far as to say I'd be astonished if we *don't* play a three – we've done it in every pre-season game, even allowing for the fashionable theory that it's a hybrid formation which is part 3-5-2, part wonky back four. And yes, Bradley and John will be the default WBs until either one of them gets injured/tired or, possibly, we play someone whom Evatt thinks Sadlier will be a better bet.

On Johnston: I agree, he needs to be good at defending. He certainly seems to have bulked up, which might help, but he's still a bit tidgy. Can he play in Noddy Holder platform boots?

On the frontmen – yeah, I'm open to all permutations up there. I still think Baka is best as sub but I wouldn't be despairing if he started. Very hard to choose between the other three, and even Kachunga - fifth for me - is in no way a poor player. As I say (and as you seem to agree), our big area for improvement is at the back, not the front.

[Worthy4England]

Ta - I've not really managed to keep up with pre-season....so a 3 it is then!

We're not awful at the back, but I think that's where we're most "mid-table." We tightened up post Jan - so that helped, but even that improvement only took us to around 5th/6th from memory on goals against. The conversation that we can sort it out elsewhere on the pitch, would now mean replacing people we replaced in January to "solve the problem in MF/out wide" (Bradley excepted). But my main gripe against Johnston isn't going forwards - he's good at that - it's his positional sense, ability to win 1 on 1's (not just the ones he goes in for, but the ones where they're his man and he doesn't) and the odd brain fart where he gets panicked...He's still young, but I think it didn't help us last season.

[BWFC_Insane]

Obviously it’s a pre season game but Johnston was picked ahead of Iredale on Saturday and when Iredale came on he did look like he’d been picked out of a pub at random and never kicked a ball in his life.

Pre season and first home appearance nerves no doubt but I think Johnston will be picked Saturday,

[Worthy4England]

Oh. He's our marquee signing?

[BWFC_Insane]

Oh. He's our marquee signing?

His first touch having come on late almost ended in calamity and Hudds scoring a second. His second gave it away under no pressure. Third I think was an attempt at a cross field ball that he sliced and it went backwards.

I suspect just nerves but one assumes the starting line up was close to what we will see Saturday and Johnston was in it not Iredale.

[GhostoftheBok]

Trafford, Jones, Santos, Johnston, Bradley, Dempsey, Morley, Lee, Dapo, Charles.

I think that will be his go-to 11 - with Williams, Iredale and Dad Bod coming in for Wycombe.

Could justify a number of other starters, though. It also assumes Lee is 100%. If not I'd expect to see Williams, Morley and Dempsey in the middle.

[officer_dibble]

JDB should be one of the first names on the team sheet IMO.

[GhostoftheBok]

JDB should be one of the first names on the team sheet IMO.

I'd have had him starting, but Dapo and Charles seems to be the pairing in the immediacy.

[officer_dibble]

Aye, can see it. We’ll see - he’s not the easiest to call Evatt, but I think we’ll miss JDB’s nous up top.

[BWFC_Insane]

JDB should be one of the first names on the team sheet IMO.

I'd have had him starting, but Dapo and Charles seems to be the pairing in the immediacy.

Based on what?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

JDB should be one of the first names on the team sheet IMO.

I'd have had him starting, but Dapo and Charles seems to be the pairing in the immediacy.

Based on what?

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... ue-opener/

[BWFC_Insane]

JDB should be one of the first names on the team sheet IMO.

I'd have had him starting, but Dapo and Charles seems to be the pairing in the immediacy.

Based on what?

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/2 ... ue-opener/

Cheers hadn’t seen that. Not sure I was convinced by it on Saturday but they will be quite a good counter attacking pair o think for an away game.

[Spartan2]

For arguments sake lets just say this is our "best" 11.

Charles---DadBod
Lee
Morley---MJ
John--Johnson--Santos--Jones--Bradley
Trafford

It means these 7 players miss out:

Dapo, Dempsey, Baka, Sadlier, Iredale, Aimson, Dixon

You could argue that swapping all 7 of those players in would not reduce the quality of that 11 at all, maybe even improve it. What league 1 team could even contemplate having Dapo on the bench? or Dadbod? but it looks like one of them will be on Saturday. What I'm saying is we have an incredible 18. I'm always massively over optimistic at the start of the season and this one is no different. At 5pm I might change my mind dramatically

[knobpolisher]

Anyway I shall step up to the plate with a prediction.

1 - 2 to the mighty ones with Dion and Sexy K as the onion baggers.