Harsh on Delph to be dropped. Personally I'd have kept him in and left BB on the bench.
Still, good team. Fonzie has had a pretty good pre-season, so deserves a go. Important season for him. He's got the ability, he just needs to show more determination and a bit more umph. Quite fancy him to score today actually. With all the onus on Benty, Fonzie might find himself some space. He's a pretty good finisher too when he gets a sniff.
Ireland out does not surprise me. He was pretty poor. Started brightly but as per normal just disappeared out of the game. There was a lot of pressure on him to make things happen, to get up and support Bent but he did none of that. I can barely remember him making a run into the box, which is supposed to be the mans forte. I also think tactically, it's quite hard to find a place for Ireland. He has a position he likes and wants to float, but I just don't think he's flexible enough himself for the team. He's spoken out about having to play wide left or right, but you play where you're told. End of.
N'Zog owes us a big performance. He was dire last week. He's been piss-poor since he joined us, but the fact remains, he's arguably the one player we have capable of just creating something out of absolutely nothing. He could ghost through 4 players and spank a screamer, 25 yards in the top corner...or he could do naff all.
