Scout Scribbles – Clarke Looks at Forward Rotation

Steve Clarke has hinted he expects to utilise various options up front this season for West Brom. Alex Kacaniklic is determined to win a starting role for Fulham, Craig Gardner may be shifted to defence for Sunderland’s trip to Arsenal, while Matt Lowton has declared himself fit for Villa’s curtain raiser at Upton Park…

New West Brom boss Steve Clarke has revealed there may well be plenty of rotation and tactical alterations with his frontline over the season ahead. Talking to the club’s official website, the Scot revealed his plans:

“In the modern game you have to be adaptable, flexible, and able to play in different positions. I think, with the forward options we have, that’s there. There are a lot of good players fighting for those places, whether we go with two strikers or three is up for debate, and will depend on certain games and the opposition.”

The Baggies boss has rolled out 4-4-2, 4-4-1-1 and 4-3-3 formations in recent games and is clearly prepared to juggle his options – a situation which could well frustrate Fantasy managers. Peter Odemwingie has featured mainly on the right in the latter system but ideally we’d want him through the middle in order to excel as a Fantasy force and come close to that 15 goal debut haul back in 2010/11. Although the Nigerian’s versatility may see him play less centrally, it may well boost his game time under the new manager, however.

While the likes of Zoltan Gera has found a role in “the hole” on occasion and new signing Yassine El Ghanassy has even been handed set-pieces when on the pitch, Clarke has since added further attacking options – Romelu Lukaku and Markus Rosenberg have both arrived a little too late to feature in pre-season, meaning we are unlikely to get a better picture of Clarke’s intentions until a few games into the season.

Craig Gardner revealed he is ready to fill in at right-back for Sunderland’s match at Arsenal this weekend after Phil Bardsley was sidelined with an ankle operation. The midfielder has mainly featured behind the striker during pre-season due to Stephane Sessegnon’s absence but, having made no impact in an attacking role, was moved to defence for the final game of pre-season. With question marks over Wes Brown’s availability, Martin O’Neill could decide to give Gardner the nod over John O’Shea and Carlos Cuellar for the full-back role, with the latter two likelier to feature at centre-half or left-back, should Kieran Richardson be fielded behind the lone striker. Gardner is set for a tough time if called upon, however, with Arsene Wenger possibly fielding Lukas Podolski on the Arsenal left; the German marked his debut in the Gunners’ final pre-season match with a double and arrives in fine form.

Alex Kacaniklic is determined to nail down a regular role on the Fulham left flank this season. The Swede has come under the radar of many Fantasy managers due to his cut-price potential across the Fantasy games and has impressed when handed game time in recent matches. It’s uncertain, however, as to quite how Martin Jol views the situation; Kacaniklic started in a 4-4-1-1 in Fulham’s last pre-season match but was subbed off when Jol opted for a 4-4-2, with Hugo Rodallega joining Mladen Petric up front. With Clint Dempsey’s future still up in the air, it may well be that Damian Duff and Bryan Ruiz are in the driving seat for the wide berths when the Cottagers field a front two; Jol even admitted Rodallega has potential there upon the Colombian’s arrival, suggesting Kacaniklic is far from certain to get his wish.

Matt Lowton has handed Paul Lambert a boost by declaring himself fit and available for Villa’s opener at West Ham on Saturday.

“I took a knock in training on Friday so the manager said just as a precaution to sit that one out. But I’m back in training now so everything’s fine. It was my ankle and it just had a bit of swelling on it, but I just sat it out so it didn’t get any worse. I’m definitely excited ahead of Saturday and it will be great, if selected.”

The summer signing from Sheffield United missed the club’s final pre-season match but impressed when handed a starting role over the summer, even finding the net against Portland Timbers in late July. Eric Lichaj stepped in as Lowton’s replacement but the latter’s recovery gives Lambert a quandary ahead of the Upton Park showdown – Lichaj, however, may vie with Enda Stevens for the left-back slot, with Stephen Warnock seemingly out of the picture in the new regime. Defensively, Villa have been rather unimpressive in recent matches; eight goals conceded in their last four suggests Lambert’s propensity for attacking football – which caused Norwich’s backline to ship 66 goals last term – could see the midlands outfit struggle to register many clean sheets. There are clear budget options in Lambert’s rearguard but Fantasy managers will be looking to see if Lambert’s attacking football will come at a cost at the back.