Edinburgh has managed to keep the same 11 for the last six games and almost the same squad as well. With Ling, Elokobi and Brophy expected to be back in full training by the end of September, Edinburgh will have a fully fit squad and some key players available should he decide to use them.
Ekpiteta or Elokobi?
Since Elokobi was injured at home to Ebbsfleet, Ekpiteta has come in and been solid. Every game since then he has improved, in my opinion.
He has created a solid partnership with Coulson and even scored two goals for the club. I personally rate him highly and his performance, thus far, parallels that of Gabriel Zakuani’s in his break out season for Orient in 2004/2005. In my opinion, he will be a future Leyton Orient captain and will improve as the season goes on.
So with Elokobi coming back to full fitness soon, does he slot straight back into the team? Even though he has a vast amount of experience from higher levels of football, he is likely to have his work cut out to achieve a first team spot.
He is a massive character in the squad but unfortunately slow and injury prone, unlike Ekpiteta. There is a balance in the centre back pairing of Coulson and Ekpiteta, with the experience in Coulson and speed and youthfulness in Ekpiteta. Both have also been part of the team that has kept clean sheets on four occasions this season.
Judd or Ling
After our three draws, Judd replaced Ling in the starting line-up. Since then, Judd has performed like he did in the season of 2016/2017 when we got relegated. In my opinion, he was our best player that season, winning the LFE Apprentice of the Year Award for League Two at the EFL awards.
He has shown that even after an injury plagued season in 2017/2018, he wants to keep his spot as the number one right-back. He has created a good partnership with both Dayton and Koroma and created a number of assists going forward. A fair few teams have tried to out muscle him but every time he has outperformed the opposition by being so strong and physical for such a small player.
Ling was brought in January 2018 to replace the struggling Caprice and had an excellent second half of the season for Orient. He managed to get another call up to the England C team on the back of this. He was probably hoping he could carry his form into this season. But after getting dropped and then injured, Judd has been outstanding.
I personally think Judd will remain for the foreseeable future unless he gets injured or suspended, which isn’t good news for Ling. Although Ling does have the versatility to play at left back or right back. Therefore, if Widdowson’s form was to drop or he becomes injured or suspended, there could still be a place for him.
Brophy or Dayton/McAnuff
This is the hardest headache for me. Since Brophy has been injured, Dayton has started every game and has provided both assists and the winner against Chesterfield.
Even though McAnuff has had to move over to the left to plug the hole of Brophy, his work rate remains equally unbelievable considering he is 36. You wouldn’t know that given that he runs around like a 26 year old! He leads by example and covers every inch of the pitch every game.
But Brophy, in my opinion, is one of the best players in the league. The ball sticks to his feet when he runs with it and he is an intelligent and creative player, regularly creating assists and opportunities in the box. He clearly rattles the opposition when they see him heading towards the goal.
So who, if anyone, will Edinburgh drop upon Brophy’s return? I personally think he will drop Dayton for Brophy. But I think he should find space for all three and drop either Clay or Lee, pushing McAnuff into the middle. But both Clay and Lee have been excellent in recent weeks so I don’t envy him having to make this decision.
This time last season we didn’t have the squad depth to cover the injuries for Coulson, Elokobi and Lee. This year we have a strong bench to cover every position and some quality players can’t even make the match day squad.
What a headache for Edinburgh.
Commentaires