Gary Rowett is looking for toughness in his team for the games left of the season. To see for new solutions when you see that what you are trying to implement is not working, is of course no problem.
Hamza Choudhury is a good tackler on the ball. He is good to break attempts from the opponent. The worry is that his match fitness is far from perfect with little or no playing time recently. He is the best defensive midfield player at the club. He has been overlooked by Gary Rowett as a starter in previous games.
His preferred position is midfield, but not been considered there for a long while. At this time we do not have many options, but still to decide to set either Oliver Skipp or Harry Winks on the bench is another major decision that will see other parts of the game lacking or missing.
Loan signings Joe Aribo and Dujuane Richards have not been tested and looks far from players that have the trust needed from the manager and his staff. Gary Rowett has spoken highly of Joe Aribo, but he has not picked him to play from start, so why he suddenly should be the answer at this point looks very strange.
This is often a major problem when a team is struggling to compete. You can be lucky, but what you have seen in training and your belief as a football coach, are often very plain and easy. What you see is what you get.
Gary Rowett could draw on 'really intelligent' #LCFC man to avoid wasted transferhttps://t.co/u6MKvgbunV
— LCFC Live (@LiveLCFC) April 14, 2026
The risk of dropping a proper a player, instead of a new body you had no trust in last week, makes it difficult to trust your ideas.
Footballers are no robots, but at some point you need to change and if something should be done, Hamza Choudhury, should be looked up as a defensive anchor in this midfield. If he is fit and ready to contribute for a full game, why not.
To see players such as Oliver Skipp or Harry Winks sitting on the bench is also in itself a wrong picture. Players of the capacity should be on the field, so a heavy dilemma for Gary Rowett.
With the performance from Stephy Mavididi on Saturday, he could also be given a rest. Jeremy Monga is of course my favourite to start alongside Patson Daka and Abdul Fatawu.
A potential line-up for the game on Saturday vs. Portsmouth.
Stolarczyk, Pereira, Thomas, Vestergaard, Lascelles, Choudhury, James, Aribo, Daka, Monga, Fatawu
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