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Match Doncaster [H] 19:45 wed 24-09-2025 League Cup 3rd Round

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White Hart said:
Danso and Davies without 1 of Romero or VDV…..seriously ? Sarr and Gray both young. Where would the leadership in this team be? Get real.
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Both Danso and Davies would be the best CB that Doncaster have. Tbh you could make a case they would both be the best player Doncaster have ever had.

Thats not to disrespect Doncaster because football is a team sport and team chemistry matters. They will put up a fight for sure BUT:

1. If Danso and Davies aren’t good enough to play against Doncaster, why are they in our squad?

Answer: they are good enough.

2. If they don’t start this game, when do they start?

Answer: most likely when injuries force Franks hand and then he has to throw in a player who hasn’t played at all so isn’t match sharp and has no team chemistry playing competitively in Franks system.

Same questions apply to Gray and Sarr.

As for leadership, Davies, Danso, Simons, there’s plenty of leadership in the spine of that 11.

Gray has leadership qualities as well, and Sarr is an assertive type of player
 
Richard Arlison said:
Both Danso and Davies would be the best CB that Doncaster have. Tbh you could make a case they would both be the best player Doncaster have ever had.

Thats not to disrespect Doncaster because football is a team sport and team chemistry matters. They will put up a fight for sure BUT:

1. If Danso and Davies aren’t good enough to play against Doncaster, why are they in our squad?

Answer: they are good enough.

2. If they don’t start this game, when do they start?

Answer: most likely when injuries force Franks hand and then he has to throw in a player who hasn’t played at all so isn’t match sharp and has no team chemistry playing competitively in Franks system.

Same questions apply to Gray and Sarr.

As for leadership, Davies, Danso, Simons, there’s plenty of leadership in the spine of that 11.

Gray has leadership qualities as well, and Sarr is an assertive type of player
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Gray and Sarr have shown no signs of leadership or being assertive. Most fans cannot believe that Davies is still at the club.
 
Richard Arlison said:
Both Danso and Davies would be the best CB that Doncaster have. Tbh you could make a case they would both be the best player Doncaster have ever had.

Thats not to disrespect Doncaster because football is a team sport and team chemistry matters. They will put up a fight for sure BUT:

1. If Danso and Davies aren’t good enough to play against Doncaster, why are they in our squad?

Answer: they are good enough.

2. If they don’t start this game, when do they start?

Answer: most likely when injuries force Franks hand and then he has to throw in a player who hasn’t played at all so isn’t match sharp and has no team chemistry playing competitively in Franks system.

Same questions apply to Gray and Sarr.

As for leadership, Davies, Danso, Simons, there’s plenty of leadership in the spine of that 11.

Gray has leadership qualities as well, and Sarr is an assertive type of player
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Dickie, last season you were of the view that 2nd or 17th didn't really matter, and all that mattered was winning trophies.

If you still believe that (maybe you don't?) the question is, why would you go with anything other than the strongest possible team? While it's very unlikely a part B team will be beaten, stranger things have happened. And clearly your suggested team reduces our chances of progressing slightly. Or are you saving players for Wolves? Which I think is reasonable btw. And I'm not saving players for Wolves because I think we have a chance of winning the league. We have close to zero chance. But because 2nd vs 17th DOES matter to me.

For the avoidance of doubt, I absolutely would play Danso and Davies too. They are both very good. And I'd bring some kids on if we have a 3 goal cushion.
 
Bill-bao Bob said:
Go strong.

Have youth on the bench.

Not sure Frank has wholesale changes in him thankfully. We need to get out of this mentally that certain games are 'weaker' or 'easier'.

And I want another trophy so don't fuck this up boys!
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Totally untrue and backwards mentality.
Actually direct oppositite is true.

We need to actually get out of the mentality that all the non-regular starters are crap and should never play.
All that this approach achieves is overplaying the starting XI, resulting in form loss and injuries and also keeping their backups in cold, unprepared and without sharpness.

There needs to be smart rotation throughout the season. And squad players absolutely need to feel that they are trusted to overcome lesser sides. To feel that they are included and trusted. The real challenge for the coach is how to set up and motivate heavily rotated team to still perform well. Not to never change any players. There is nothing challenging at all in playing regular XI all the time.

So players like Kinsky, Danso, Davies, Gray, Johnson, Tel and Odobert WILL absolutely play. They will be supplemented with some regular starters to ofc. I would expect to see Sarr starting this one. Potentially Romero and Udogie too. So it does not have to be fully 2nd string XI. But many players will have to get playing time and many of regular starters will get some rest.

That is how every big team also treats the early rounds of cup competitions. It is absolutely only way it is possible to manage workload.
 
manmountainbutters said:
Dickie, last season you were of the view that 2nd or 17th didn't really matter, and all that mattered was winning trophies.

If you still believe that (maybe you don't?) the question is, why would you go with anything other than the strongest possible team. Or are you saving players for Wolves? Which I think is reasonable btw.

For the avoidance of doubt, I absolutely would play Danso and Davies too. They are both very good. And I'd bring some kids on if we have a 3 goal cushion.
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It’s a squad game.

I definitely want us to win trophies. I just fully believe that team I agreed with is good enough to win this game and keep us in the hunt for this trophy.

The big questions about rotation in the cups probably won’t come until late December. If we are still in the mix at the top of the PL and CL then id prioritize those and the FA Cup over the league cup because the home and away knockout rounds are during the craziest part of the season.

Ange gets stick for rotations in the league to win the Europa but in that recent VDV interview he made it clear he was pushing to play much earlier and Ange was still holding things back when we had Liverpool in the league cup and Villa in the FA Cup. For all we know now, the decision not to rush them back for those games was the one that kept them fit for the later rounds of the Europa.

Frank gets the rotations right now, he can get through this tie and also not have to make those impossible decisions later
 
TheSpurEst said:
Totally untrue and backwards mentality.
Actually direct oppositite is true.

We need to actually get out of the mentality that all the non-regular starters are crap and should never play.
All that this approach achieves is overplaying the starting XI, resulting in form loss and injuries and also keeping their backups in cold, unprepared and without sharpness.

There needs to be smart rotation throughout the season. And squad players absolutely need to feel that they are trusted to overcome lesser sides. To feel that they are included and trusted. The real challenge for the coach is how to set up and motivate heavily rotated team to still perform well. Not to never change any players. There is nothing challenging at all in playing regular XI all the time.

So players like Kinsky, Danso, Davies, Gray, Johnson, Tel and Odobert WILL absolutely play. They will be supplemented with some regular starters to ofc. I would expect to see Sarr starting this one. Potentially Romero and Udogie too. So it does not have to be fully 2nd string XI. But many players will have to get playing time and many of regular starters will get some rest.

That is how every big team also treats the early rounds of cup competitions. It is absolutely only way it is possible to manage workload.
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I'm not saying play our top 11 but wholesale changes never work and we are well aware of this.

3/4 changes to the starting lineup tops.

Bring people off the bench depending how the game is going.

Much rather go hard early, get the game under control then manage minutes.

Backwards thinking would be to continue to treat this competition as a lesser one, chuck in a fully new 11 and end up with the same thing that always happens...and that us struggling.
 
Randal Kolo Muani and Ben Davies ruled out against Doncaster
Dominic Solanke and Kota Takai both trained with the team today
Dejan Kulusevski could see action before the end of the year
 
2.11pm

Thomas on the approach in domestic cup competitions

"It's a balance. I would like us to compete in all four tournaments across the year. If you're going to do that, you need to pick the right team all the time. I think every time we put a team out there it is super strong. We need to hit that perfect number of players that rotate and a strong team. It will be a strong team tomorrow

2.10pm

On Mathys Tel's attacking role

"He plays his games for France Under-21s down the middle but he can also play down the left. Maybe it is his best position, but I don't like to say."

2.09pm

Thomas on opportunities for Academy players to feature

"It'll be a great opportunity to have some young players on the bench. It's always special to give a youngster the debut. It could be a good opportunity."

2.08pm

On learning from previous Carabao Cup campaigns

"It definitely taught me everything is possible. We went in very focussed and very aware of what could happen. Gillingham, we put a very strong team out there. Football, anything can happen. It is a low scoring game. Doncaster are doing well in League One. We need to be on it."

2.07pm

Thomas on set piece preparation

"We have specific principles and routines. It is good to have principles in place and then tweak that to the opponent."

2.06pm

On Deki's return date

"A good chance to see Kulusevski in action before the end of the year."

2.06pm

On the decision to allow Doncaster's Damola Ajayi to play against parent club

"We decided to loan him out because it is good for his development. We weren't that lucky to face one of our own players. It is a great opportunity for him."

2.05pm

Thomas on Antonin Kinsky

"The easy thing for Antonin would have been to stay with his former Club. Now he has a big stage in front of him and a great future ahead."

2.04pm

On Solanke and Takai

"They are progressing. They both trained with the team today."

2.04pm

Thomas has ruled both Kolo Muani and Ben Davies out

2.03pm

On Carabao Cup run

"We need to take one game at a time. It's about winning the next one. There is no reason to speak about what may happen in the future."

2.02pm

Thomas on approach for Doncaster in Carabao Cup

"We're really looking forward to it. We'll do everything we can to win it. Naturally there will be a little bit of rotation. They have Grant McCann who I know very well. I faced him in the Championship. We need to play at our highest level and get into the next round."

2.01pm

On Dejan Kulusevski's recovery

"Of course Kulusevski is a top player. Instead of putting an exact month, I just want him back as soon as possible. It's not tomorrow but hopefully it's not too far away."

2pm

Thomas starts off with a team news update

"It looks... good. Everyone available last time is available again."

1.59pm

Thomas Frank will be joining us shortly to look ahead to the tie with Donny
 
TheSpurEst said:
Totally untrue and backwards mentality.
Actually direct oppositite is true.

We need to actually get out of the mentality that all the non-regular starters are crap and should never play.
All that this approach achieves is overplaying the starting XI, resulting in form loss and injuries and also keeping their backups in cold, unprepared and without sharpness.

There needs to be smart rotation throughout the season. And squad players absolutely need to feel that they are trusted to overcome lesser sides. To feel that they are included and trusted. The real challenge for the coach is how to set up and motivate heavily rotated team to still perform well. Not to never change any players. There is nothing challenging at all in playing regular XI all the time.

So players like Kinsky, Danso, Davies, Gray, Johnson, Tel and Odobert WILL absolutely play. They will be supplemented with some regular starters to ofc. I would expect to see Sarr starting this one. Potentially Romero and Udogie too. So it does not have to be fully 2nd string XI. But many players will have to get playing time and many of regular starters will get some rest.

That is how every big team also treats the early rounds of cup competitions. It is absolutely only way it is possible to manage workload.
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100% correct
 
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