This period of the season has been at the forefront of every supporter’s mind since the start of the season, especially with the arrival of so many AFCON participants. It is a tough portion of the campaign
for any team, never mind one with six first-team players unavailable.
The first yellow-card suspension line falls right in the middle and, with the increased demand on the players, injuries are common. So far we have dealt with this well.
We are unbeaten in the four games since AFCON started and since the fixtures started piling up. All four points were hard-fought and deserved, adding to our tally and keeping the ball rolling.
However, this already difficult task may get a lot more difficult with two more games in the next six days.
I love and believe in each and every player in our squad. They have all proved themselves to be brilliant, talented footballers who are prepared to leave everything out on the pitch for our club. That being said, they are only human – they don’t run on rechargeable double-A batteries. With our list of unavailable players, Le Bris’ team selection is almost forced. This was epitomised by a message someone sent into the Spurs match radio reaction on BBC. It was along the lines of “we looked very tired in that first half – why isn’t RLB rotating?”. Gary Bennett’s response was truthful and, in my opinion, correct – Do you really want anyone on the bench to be starting?
Personally I would not want O’Nien, Neil, or Hjelde to be in a starting eleven. Mundle and Rigg are capable, but I don’t think either of them have done enough to displace Mayenda or Adingra. As the season has progressed we have proven ourselves to be able to compete with anyone in this league, so deciding to drop any of the starting eleven for any of those bench players I have mentioned seems ridiculous. Every game provides an opportunity to get more points on the board, and not using the best eleven available greatly reduces the quality of the team and our chances of success.
I know that it is unsustainable to start the same eleven players every game, but the bench seems so weak now that I don’t see an alternative. We give ourselves another issue by playing both Mayenda and Brobbey. Normally one would start and the other would replace them. This issue was exacerbated by Wilson Isidor being out against Tottenham. It is described as a minor injury by Régis, who hopes that he will be available against Brentford, so that is a relief.
Looking ahead, some of our African stars could be returning soon. As I am writing this, Morocco and Talbi, as well as Senegal and Diarra, have qualified, but Mozambique, DR Congo, and Burkina Faso are yet to play. Hopefully they all lose and can return sooner rather than later. Even if they do lose though, they will still not be available for the midweek game against Brentford.
Another trip to London beckons on Wednesday. We beat Brentford in the reverse fixture, but they have proved to be a very capable team in recent weeks. They have an in-form striker and a well-established, difficult-to-play-against tactic. It will be another tough game and one in which the effects of this chock-a-block schedule could be clear.
After that the FA Cup takes us to Merseyside with a first-ever trip to the Hill Dickinson Arena on the cards, and over 7,000 Mackems will follow the Lads west. This is the chance to rotate that we have been looking for, but might be slightly disappointing for the fans taking this expensive trip to Everton (just after Christmas as well) to see a second-choice team play. Regardless, I am sure that the supporters will understand and be grateful that we have this chance to give the rest of the Lads a break. It will be nice to visit this new stadium and see some of the players that helped us get into the Premier League in action.
Overall this demanding period of the season is a difficult problem to navigate, but one in which we have traversed well so far. There are still a few games to go in this overloaded programme, but hopefully we get through it unscathed and with our players returning from Africa soon.
