 Friday, 3rd Feb 2012 09:52 There are two big questions on the lips of Saints supporters ahead of the game, firstly will the game go ahead with a big freeze on and secondly what part will Billy Sharp play. The first problem with Saturday's visit to St Andrews is whether the pitch will be thawed out enough to be playable, with both a big freeze on and snow on the cards, assuming it is then Nigel Adkins can address his selection choices for the game. So does Adkins start Billy Sharp from the start or hold him from the bench, personally I would start him, strikers more than any other players on the pitch can adjust to the pattern of a new teams play quicker given the impact nature of their game, in truth Billy Sharp will be no better prepared to make his debut if he watches the game for 65 minutes from the bench that he will be if he is in the starting line up, we have chased Sharp long and hard for six months or more, we have done so for a reason, so having captured him he has to go straight in the starting line up, that may be harsh on Connolly or even Guly and our other strikers, but the fact is Sharp is here for a reason, lets not waste one minute of the opportunity to get him scoring goals. Apart from Sharp though I would not want to see any other changes to the starting line up from Tuesday night, I feel our problems over the past two months have come from our team selections, on Tuesday we had the right balance, we had players in their right positions, to be blunt, Sharp excepted there is no reason to change that line up. Again the crucial area is the bench, in most games there will always be certain areas that need tweaking, even the best players have off days or get injured and its ensuring that you have the best balance of players avaiilable on the day to throw into the fray in any given situation. So from this point of view I would of course include Bialkowski, you need a sub keeper in cold conditions when injuries to keepers are more common due to hard ground and the chance of pulled muscles etc. Next up I would have Tadanari Lee, he showed enough on Tuesday to suggest he will be an asset, then I would have Dean Hammond, if Guly is fit then he would be my next choice due to his ability to play either wide right or up front, however the final subs position will be the real key. Usually I would opt for a defender on the bench, if Adkins does so then it will probabaly be Jaidi again, however I do feel we have those who could drop back if required ie Jack Cork, so Im tempted to consider other options, if Richard Chaplow is fit enough I would definately go for him, Falque might just be worth another try as a late late sub given his pace etc, otherwise i would go for Lee Holmes who offers a decent number of options due to his ability to hold the ball up, which could be ususeful in the later stages. But I think both on the bench and in the starting line up, the key is continuity, getting a core team of players in the right positions and growing their confidence again, this will be a tough game, but we are good enough to come through it, if and only if we dont meddle with the formula that after a rocky start against Cardiff played itself back into a bit of form and confidence. If the game is played I am going to go for 3-1 to Saints as long as we stick to the fioundation we started with on Tuesday night and built on as the game went on. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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