DCFC1388

I think with Collins out and him being our only number 9, that we will syart to see more of a 3412/3421 like we finished with yesterday meaning Gayle would likely be in a front 2 with NML until Waggy & Washington are fit. We could switch to 343 with Barkhuizen, Sibley & CBT. In the next few weeks our attacking options could well be Gayle Waghorn Washington NML CBT Barkhuizen Sibley Wilson so thats still alot of good attacking options at this level

Dont see how they can when they had already approved enough for a striker on deadline day. Only way it wouldnt be accepted is if its out of our original budget. Im sure Warne mentioned about working with the EFL to agree it

He has been in & around the Stoke squad all season too so you would think he will be pretty fit, only missed a couple of weeks training but i doubt he has been lounging around for weeks, he will have kept himself in a decent shape

Warne just confirmed we submitted the paperwork to the EFL yesterday for Gayle

Looks a 343 with Nyambe & Elder wingback Front 3 of Wilson NML Barkhuizen

Rams 1 Stevange 1 Frgs NML

with the injury doubts & Stevenage playing 2 upfront I can see it being the following - Wildsmith - Nelson Bradley Cashin - Wilson Thompson Adams Sibley - Bird - NML Barkhuizen Loach Nyambe Ward Smith Fornah Fapetu Weston Chances are that 1 of Hourihane, Elder, CBT & Collins will be fit enough to at least make the bench, probably ahead of Fapetu

Exeter 1 Rams 1 Frgs Collins

Could be 4231 or 433, having Adams in there means Hourihane can be more advanced although he did end up dropping deep on Sat with Adams moving forward

Rams 1 Shrews 0 Frgs Collins

I reckon we will go with the same starting 11, if NML is a doubt then Barkhuizen will start instead. Can flip between 352 & 4141/433 in game depending on how they line up, Warne alludes to this in his Radio Derby interview - 352: Vickers - Nelson Bradley Cashin - Ward Bird Adams Hourihane Sibley - Collins NML 4141/433: Vickers - Nelson Bradley Cashin Sibley - Adams - Ward Bird Hourihane NML - Collins Subs - Wildsmith Nyambe Elder Wilson Thompson Smith Barkhuizen

352 is needed for games when the opposition line up with 2 forwards, we have looked much better in it when we switched to it vs Cheltenham & then yesterday. If a team plays with 1 striker then it will be the usual 433/4231 Alot of our play comes from having a spare centre back to help build from defence which is why we need 3 vs their 2 or 2 vs their 1

Maybe, just maybe, we have watched how Charlton play & their weaknesses and picked a team to target this. Ward coming in suggests we want plenty of decent balls in the box as well as corners which feeds into the Charlton fans not rating the GK. Charlton play with a front 2 of Ladapo & May, if we played a back 4 and had our 2 CBs against them 2 we would struggle, they struggled vs Cheltenhams front 2 and May/Ladapo are better than those 2. So a back 3 makes sense, gives us a spare man to clear up as well as having Bradleys height in both boxes for set pieces. In possession we could quite easily end up in a 3142

Charlton fans not happy with their line up, dont seem to rate their GK or the midfield especially with Dobson out

I know people will moan about a back 3 but against Cheltenham we were poor until we matched up to their 352. Charlton have recently switched to a 352 so it does make sense to match up to it, especially with CBT out

I have him on the bench purely because he missed a days training to go for his medical in Bristol & Warne said he needed to see him in training to see where his head was at etc

Charlton 1 Rams 0

Can see the line up being the following tomorrow - Vickers - Nyambe Nelson Cashin Elder - Thompson Adams Hourihane - NML Collins CBT Wildsmith Bradley Wilson Bird Smith Sibley Barkhuizen Meaning Ward & Fornah miss out. Imagine our squad in a few weeks when Forsyth, Washington & Waghorn are back, if we can keep everyone fit from then we have a very strong squad with 5 first teamers not even making the bench.

Pretty sure Warne has said a few times this month he wants a striker, is in for a few but wasnt overly confident we would get one so the signs were there. As for Smith & Gregory, just because they were the names that came our from the Sheffield end it does not mean they were our main targets or even our only targets. Adams said he knew of our interest over a mo th ago but at no point was his name in the media until hours before he signed. So im sure there were other strikers we went in for but havent made the media. If anyone thinks our whole Jan was us fixated on Smith & Gregory are clearly clueless on how transfers work. I can guarentee that DC, SP, MT, PW & staff will all be annoyed we havent managed to bring one in but there will be reasons why thats happened. However, we have managed to strengthen other key areas so its not like the whole window is a failure.

Would take him in a free!

Hard to judge if this has been a good window or not... Signed our main target in CBT Signed a much needed defensive mid in Adams Kept our main players Got abit of money for Bird As it stands, strengthened 2/3 key areas we needed to. So does us (potentially) not getting in another forward, which Warne clearly wants too bring one in, mean overall its been a bad window?

Interesting we are still in for a mid, maybe 2 going today?

Not seen the annual link to Jutkiewicz....maybe it could be him

Wasnt that a friendly though, abit different to a competitive game