I’ve mixed feelings about the mutterings from Forest that a striker rotation system is the way forward for us ongoing. Obviously the picture above over-eggs the situation, since Dobie and Tyson are still some distance from making first team appearances due to their respective injuries, but even with our four current recognised first team strikers, are we getting into a ‘this team’s not big enough for the all of us!’ type situation?
In defence of the idea, it’s a good way to keep all the players at a moderate level of happiness – because they should all be playing regularly, which I would hope is what any footballer wants. Also it should prevent fatigue as we cycle around the various options to us – I say moderate level, because if one or two strikers find a particularly rich vein of form yet are still ‘rotated’ then they’re likely to get frustrated.
Now in prosecution, it links with this – if, for example, Grant and Junior were to form a lethal partnership in training, and this translates into them annihilating our next opponents, then I would think there’s a serious case for nurturing that partnership and developing it. If the next game we play Harris and Lester as part of the rotation policy then the midfield suddenly need to revert to a different game to cater for these strikers.
I’ve always been a big believer in picking your best possible team – obviously there’s a combination of natural ability, fitness, form as well as the tactics you’ve picked based on our strengths and perhaps the strengths of our opponents, but with strikers they can be so temperamental – and I’d hate to see us changing things for the sake of it. Still, I can’t complain about life at the top of League One too much so far, so will leave it in Colins’ capable hands – but wait until Nathan and Scott are back from injury, what then?
It’s a poser that’s for sure – but it will certainly give our opponents something to think about as they won’t know who will be lining against, it should keep them on their toes.
Filed under: Thoughts | 1 Comment »
Former Reds boss Paul Hart has parted with Rushden and Diamonds by mutual consent today, along with his Forest connected backroom team of Ians Bowyer and Woan, following their disappointing start to trying to reattain Football League status. It’s not really Forest news but nonetheless is likely to be an interesting discussion point among followers of the mighty Reds.
