Parallel universe /sliding door moments

[fgrsimon]

Joe Jordan stays instead of going to Hearts and Bob Taylor doesn't then get flogged to WBA. 

I think that team with the 2 flying wingers could have got to Division One with a couple of additions. 

Jimmy Lumsden is still my least favourite manager 

[22A]

Or for a real What if / if only moment.

1986 World Cup quarter final. Maradonna punches the ball into England's net. That Jamaican ref immediately sends DM off for deliberate hand ball and England go on to win 1-0.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Wolves one is the big one for me.

Even if they peg us back to 1-1, we still have 11 v 10, home crowd behind us, momentum, still a good chance we find that second wind and make it 2-1- not only would it have put us into that top 2 going into the New Years Day games, it would have put significant pressure on them- with us and the chasing pack!

You could see visibly how huge it was- well we knew, we all knew- but we were clearly 'coming for them' and frankly once they turned it round, got that win- vs a side in superb form like us that had beaten Man Utd but 10 days before, well they knew they were going up! Not mathematically of course, but in real terms they were disappearing- over the hill and far away.

Had we beat them though, they would have been under some new pressure- the lead down to 5 points going into New Year, from 10 pts a week before! 1 point from 2 away games, a fairly young squad new to English football and the same with Nuno excellent though they all were- and gap would have been cut further on Monday, Tuesday by a number of sides- this would have pushed us on potentially, while dragging them back!

About a decade before, we were top going into April 2008- the playoff final loss of course. Sure there was some big old Front Page of Evening Post talking about £50m- could a lot of players have been even if subconciously and unintentionally have been worried about being replaced going into the final straight? Not blaming anyone but maybe keeping more under wraps at that time could have seen top 2- day before a very poor display at struggling Southampton IIRC?

This last one is more opaque, more vague but Brooker and his injury- could a fully fit Brooker-Maynard pair in say the late 2000's have taken us onto greater heights? Feel- and obviously now football and tactical changing etc- but feel this partnership if fully fit, consistent and as one could've been very good in the late 2000's. Didn't Elliott get some kind of bad injury which hindered him quite badly too?

I wonder but...

Team A

        Basso

Orr Carey Fontaine McAllister

Sproule Elliott Williams McIndoe

       Brooker Maynard

Boom Boom alongside Carey could be one change.

Skuse or Johnson in CM alongside a fully fit and firing Elliott.

Adebola and Trundle can deputise, provided you set up right up front.

Or failing that, same back 4, with McCombe for one of the CBs as and when, Elliott-Williams-Skuse- Sproule-Maynard-McIndoe- 4-3-3, yet ability to interchange- Maynard can pull wider in a way that perhaps the other strikers couldn't, Sproule come inside etc.

Or maybe, I dunno more defensive- conservative- Elliott-Skuse-Johnson- Williams perhaps a more creative 3rd man, Sproule-Brooker-McIndoe- fully fit Brooker, wide men either side- he can be a focal point!

Definitely Brooker and IIRC Elliott, both had notable injuries? Did we still have Noble at this point- maybe my memory failing, did Elliott get injured badly or was he just a bit of a one season wonder?

Other tactical moment, had we stuck to and maybe improved in bits the 4-4-1-1 we had until Christmas or so, might we have gone up automatically in 2007/08? Adebola, not a bad player but think we lost something in terms of fluidity and security/stability.

[Oh Louie louie]

Yes Joe going to hearts, and bob leaving.

2 things that stopped us going up in my eyes.

Also, i would have thought twice about letting gordon owen take penaltys.