Reid AND Brunt to start?

Only my thoughts but with Jervis going off injured, shorely the right time to unleash two battering rams on Northampton next week?

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Yes!!

as long as both are fully fit why not

Double trouble.

can they both play in a 4-2-3-1 system though? both arent the fastest so its not like one of them can play the jervis role. Brunt is hitting a purple patch at the moment so he warrants keeping his place up front till its over and by that time Reid will be fit with a few reserve games under his belt to build that up before hand and ready to go.

Is Reid matchfit to start though? I have a feeling he may need a development game or two more yet. If not, perhaps keep the 3-4-3 formation that we played at Carlisle with two out of the three of Jervis, Wylde and Tanner cutting in to support Brunt on the counter whilst we squeeze the midfield and keep possession.

Await the input of the X Throbber on this one or has he flounced off again.....??

Reid was fit enough for the bench and coming on, on Boxing Day. This is division 4 we're talking about as well, not the Champions League. I'm sure Reid could put in at least an hour at a decent level then if need be, sub him.

Those two up front would properly terrorise defences in this League. N'ton are bang in form. Give their defence something to think about.

I think that would be worth a punt, czarky. Two big rams up front do well outside the Premiership. SEB and Hayles were almost unstoppable in some games. Then there were Roberts and Ellington that bashed Wigan all the way to the top, although there was a tad more pace there.
But, it doesn't seem to be a favourite ploy for Adams, as he seems to favour the players coming from midfield, and also likes a wide player. And then there's player politics to consider. I would imagine Brunt will get the nod on his tod, given the form. That will suit Reid down to the ground. He's in no hurry.

What would the team line up behind them look like?

Our back 4 protected by the two holding midfielders, our rapid fire wing options, the central play maker - these roles have been as central to our success as the form of the forwards.

As much as it pains me to say it, if Reuben is looking hot in training, I'd rather drop Bruntinho than mess with the system to accommodate the form striker with the club's star player.

This said, Brunt played well with a foward partner (Ansah) v Shrewsbury away last season, and in the playoff games. Back then we had the 3-5-2 going on though.

Czarcasm wrote:

Reid was fit enough for the bench and coming on, on Boxing Day. This is division 4 we're talking about as well, not the Champions League. I'm sure Reid could put in at least an hour at a decent level then if need be, sub him.

Those two up front would properly terrorise defences in this League. N'ton are bang in form. Give their defence something to think about.  

Being fit enough to play and being fit enough to be on his best form aren't always the same thing though. Until he's on his very best form(and we saw what happened last season when we played him half-fit), I'd rather not mix with a good thing.

GreenSam wrote:

Czarcasm wrote:

Reid was fit enough for the bench and coming on, on Boxing Day. This is division 4 we're talking about as well, not the Champions League. I'm sure Reid could put in at least an hour at a decent level then if need be, sub him.

Those two up front would properly terrorise defences in this League. N'ton are bang in form. Give their defence something to think about.  

Being fit enough to play and being fit enough to be on his best form aren't always the same thing though. Until he's on his very best form(and we saw what happened last season when we played him half-fit), I'd rather not mix with a good thing.

That would be fine if we had a competitive reserve league that would truly test the pace and sharpness of Reuben's game. Playing him for 90 minutes against the Ring O'Bells 11 will not get him 'match fit'.

ejh wrote:

What would the team line up behind them look like?

Our back 4 protected by the two holding midfielders, our rapid fire wing options, the central play maker - these roles have been as central to our success as the form of the forwards.

As much as it pains me to say it, if Reuben is looking hot in training, I'd rather drop Bruntinho than mess with the system to accommodate the form striker with the club's star player.

This said, Brunt played well with a foward partner (Ansah) v Shrewsbury away last season, and in the playoff games. Back then we had the 3-5-2 going on though.

Our current system works well away from home where teams tend to come on to us and we can exploit that with quick, counter attacking football, hence our fantastic away record this season.

Our home form on the other hand has been average, we've been outplayed on many occasions and results have been patchy and inconsistent. I think we should give 442 a try at home with Reid and Brunt terrifying our opponents and the team tactics tweaked so that we play like the home team, not the visitors. Got to be worth a try imo.

ejh wrote:

What would the team line up behind them look like?

Our back 4 protected by the two holding midfielders, our rapid fire wing options, the central play maker - these roles have been as central to our success as the form of the forwards.

As much as it pains me to say it, if Reuben is looking hot in training, I'd rather drop Bruntinho than mess with the system to accommodate the form striker with the club's star player.

This said, Brunt played well with a foward partner (Ansah) v Shrewsbury away last season, and in the playoff games. Back then we had the 3-5-2 going on though.

To you it would probably appear as a cross between Barca and Chelski. (when they were good lol.)

Czarcasm wrote:

GreenSam wrote:

Czarcasm wrote:

Reid was fit enough for the bench and coming on, on Boxing Day. This is division 4 we're talking about as well, not the Champions League. I'm sure Reid could put in at least an hour at a decent level then if need be, sub him.

Those two up front would properly terrorise defences in this League. N'ton are bang in form. Give their defence something to think about.  

Being fit enough to play and being fit enough to be on his best form aren't always the same thing though. Until he's on his very best form(and we saw what happened last season when we played him half-fit), I'd rather not mix with a good thing.

That would be fine if we had a competitive reserve league that would truly test the pace and sharpness of Reuben's game. Playing him for 90 minutes against the Ring O'Bells 11 will not get him 'match fit'.

Could organise friendlies and play him in under-21 cup competitions like we did with Smalley though.

If he was really needed to play then I'd agree with you that it'd be worth chancing him whilst not at his best but right now if it's possible to say 'ain't broke don't fix it' then we should do so.

GreenSam wrote:

Czarcasm wrote:

GreenSam wrote:

Czarcasm wrote:

Reid was fit enough for the bench and coming on, on Boxing Day. This is division 4 we're talking about as well, not the Champions League. I'm sure Reid could put in at least an hour at a decent level then if need be, sub him.

Those two up front would properly terrorise defences in this League. N'ton are bang in form. Give their defence something to think about.  

Being fit enough to play and being fit enough to be on his best form aren't always the same thing though. Until he's on his very best form(and we saw what happened last season when we played him half-fit), I'd rather not mix with a good thing.

That would be fine if we had a competitive reserve league that would truly test the pace and sharpness of Reuben's game. Playing him for 90 minutes against the Ring O'Bells 11 will not get him 'match fit'.

Could organise friendlies and play him in under-21 cup competitions like we did with Smalley though.

If he was really needed to play then I'd agree with you that it'd be worth chancing him whilst not at his best but right now if it's possible to say 'ain't broke don't fix it' then we should do so.

End of the day, it's a nice problem for Adams to have - wondering how he can accommodate his proven 20 goal a season striker.

Les Miserable wrote:

ejh wrote:

What would the team line up behind them look like?

Our back 4 protected by the two holding midfielders, our rapid fire wing options, the central play maker - these roles have been as central to our success as the form of the forwards.

As much as it pains me to say it, if Reuben is looking hot in training, I'd rather drop Bruntinho than mess with the system to accommodate the form striker with the club's star player.

This said, Brunt played well with a foward partner (Ansah) v Shrewsbury away last season, and in the playoff games. Back then we had the 3-5-2 going on though.

Our current system works well away from home where teams tend to come on to us and we can exploit that with quick, counter attacking football, hence our fantastic away record this season.

Our home form on the other hand has been average, we've been outplayed on many occasions and results have been patchy and inconsistent. I think we should give 442 a try at home with Reid and Brunt terrifying our opponents and the team tactics tweaked so that we play like the home team, not the visitors. Got to be worth a try imo.

I've been saying exactly that to the group I go to the games with for months. More often than not we've been dominated and looked like the away team with the notable exception of the Morecambe game where we steamrollered them 3-0 IIRC, I'd like to see us be a bit more proactive at home.

Adams admitted early on that he was surprised how teams in the English L2 came at you so quickly at Home Park. Just maybe a couple of lumps up front from the start might make these teams think twice. Best foot forward and all that, Argyle are top. It would be a difficult one for Adams, but maybe he could learn something. No harm in having quite different options.