Saving Ledley King

[Mornstar]

With his well documented knee problems, there's a potential conundrum coming up for Harry. Does he save the King for our big game against man city, meaning he'd have to be rested against bolten and wouldn't recover in time for burnely, or does he play him against Bolton and Burnley, putting faith in Bassong for our big game against citeh.

I'm still in two minds as I don't think the Bolton game would be as straightforward as some people here predict. Kevin Davies can be a handful for most defenders on his day (just ask Terry). Playing King next saturday would also allow us to rely on his experience against burnley, when the pressure is likely to be on...............but then again, we're up against Tevez, Adebayour, Bellamy, which is a must (not lose) game against our biggest rivals for fourth spot.

What would you do???

 

[mil1lion]

We can beat Bolton and Burnley without him. Save him for City, start Lennon against City, and go for the win.

 

[Adam456]

As in the team for Bolton thread - dave King for Man CIty. Not saying Bolton is a forgonr conclusion - it's not. But Dawson and Bassong have played well together and should be fine

 

[Adam456]

Save King not dave King

 

[Kendall]

Dave would be a good nickname for him.

 

[Allen]

Bassong and Dawson can get job done against Bolton and Burnley.

 

[RuislipSpur]

Dawson and Bassong should have enough to contain Bolton, although we all know how much Kevin Davies likes playing against us...

 

[StartingPrice]

Isn't Kevin Davies perfect for Dawson to play against? All those high balls for him to compete with, not quick and tricky, plays to all Dawson's strong points:shrug: It 'yes' then save Ledley for the Citeh game as Burnley don't have much goal threat.

 

[tRiKS]

i disagree whole heartly. Best team for each game. If king is fit for Bolton he plays, Then if he recovers for City he plays if not Bassong plays.

We have to win at home V bolton, there's no point planning ahead. Beat bolton and see what Villa can get at eastlands. If City draw/lose and we win, then we can lose at city and it still be in our hands. If city Win then we prepare to go to city for a result.

 

[stemark44]

There are a few guys here who have a pretty serious sickness called RafaBenitezitis - play Bolton first and then worry about the next game after that!

Pick a team to beat your next opponent,not the one after that.

 

[Zammo]

We should be able to beat Bolton with out him. The city game is a must not lose game, so I would save him for that personally.

 

[tRiKS]

We should be able to beat Bolton with out him. The city game is a must not lose game, so I would save him for that personally.

We have no idea what the City game is going to be. We do know that Bolton is Must win so we win it then we see what the city games means.

Also, Saving King for City also risks his inclusion in the Burnley game. I think it's infinaltey more sensible to play our Captain and Best player in as many games as possible. Bolton/burnley represents the most likely combination that king will play 2/3 games.

I understadn the temptation of city game as a proority but i'm steadfast in my view that it's better to play bolton and then see

 

[Adam]

Dawson and Bassong did a fantastic job against City in the first game this season, and those tactics were actually an early viewing of the way in which we played against Chelsea and Arsenal, with a narrow 4-4-1-1 formation allowing space on the flanks but defending tight through the middle-as with the games last week, the tactics that night worked a treat and i would expect us to employ them again at Eastlands.

Bassong has shown on numerous ocassions that he can handle the big players in the pressure game and i actually feel that he is massively underrated and under-appreciated by a lot of fans. He has only looked poor when he has come off the bench, but when he has started games, he has been superb on the whole. Obviously King would be great to have in the squad, but i dont really think it matters if/when he plays. If he cant make it, then we have another excellent player waiting in the wings, which is arguably a harsh position for him to be in having played so well this season.

 

[nailsy]

I'd go with Dawson and Bassong against Bolton. It's not our defence we need to worry about against them. It should be about how many goals we can score, and it should be their defence that's worried. Save Ledley for City, then see how he feels when we play Burnley.

 

[Pinto]

Bolton and Burnley are the two biggest games left for us so I would rather see King in both of those games instead of just once against City on the road.

We need 6 points from Bolton and Burnley so why not get our best players on the pitch for those two games instead of only one game against City?

If we win that game against Bolton we put so much pressure on City, if we somehow get tripped up against a decent Bolton team City can sit back and just play for a draw so for me King is much more important against Bolton and Burnley (a game that will have most of us fans shitting in our pants so I want our most experienced and best player out there for that game too)

 

[StartingPrice]

Bolton and Burnley are the two biggest games left for us so I would rather see King in both of those games instead of just once against City on the road.

We need 6 points from Bolton and Burnley so why not get our best players on the pitch for those two games instead of only one game against City?

If we win that game against Bolton we put so much pressure on City, if we somehow get tripped up against a decent Bolton team City can sit back and just play for a draw so for me King is much more important against Bolton and Burnley (a game that will have most of us fans shitting in our pants so I want our most experienced and best player out there for that game too)

Because six points won't be enough if Citeh win all their games. We have to presuppose that they will, therefore, if we are capable of beating Bolton and Burnley without Ledley, but would find it harder to get a result at Citeh (which we have to presume we will need) without Ledley, then we have to prioritise having Ledley fit for the Citeh game. That is the arguement and that is why there is a debate.

 

[NickHSpurs]

We can beat Bolton and Burnley without him. Save him for City, start Lennon against City, and go for the win.

This.

 

[Leachie]

It's a bloody good question and a decision I am glad I don't have to make! I am sure Harry will make the right one.

For what its worth, I would save him for City. Could be a good poll question?

 

[MattyP]

Play him on Saturday if he is fit.

This is Ledley we are talking about, if we rest him for Saturday he is more than capable of breaking himself walking down the stairs next Tuesday and still be out of the Citeh game.

 

[hepta]

Didn't we have similar threads about resting players for the semi? I say play the strongest team possible for all three games. Lets not make the mistake of underestimating any of the three games we have left.