Wednesday 4 September 2013

So who do you drop for Rantie?

This is a question I have already been asked by one of our regular readers on Cherry Chimes and I am glad that it is not my decision in reality. Yesterday, Tokelo was granted his international clearance, so he is able to join AFCB now as soon as he has completed his South African team commitments.

Obviously, I have not seen anything of Tokelo apart from video clips and am not aware of all his abilities, but I would expect him to be a very good pairing for Grabban as while Lewis stretched the play, Tokelo would be a great focal point for others to play off of.

While Pitman is key to AFCB's success this season he is also becoming a good target man, holding up the ball well and can also play in behind the top strikers very well. Thomas too is strong and capable of linking play well, but Lewis would benefit most in my opinion from the presence of Tokelo.

We will have to wait and see what Eddie and Jason have in mind. You also have to consider that Josh McQuoid will come into their thinking at some point as well. It is possible that Rantie's arrival could mean the team could set up 4-3-3 or 3-4-1-2, for example. Wingers have always been central to Eddie's plan so some one could have to make way up front. The great thing is that Eddie Howe probably will have a headache over who to play. In fact Eddie has got similar dilemmas just about all over the pitch now. In midfield Eunan O'Kane is awaiting his chance along with Surman, Coulibaly and Ritchie. At the back there is not enough room for Elphick or Addisson, but this can quickly change.

It is better that Eddie has some decisions to make rather than being in a position of worrying whether one more injury will leave him short and having to play people out of position.

In the case of Tokelo Rantie, I expect there will be a period when he has to get used to the kind of play of AFCB and the Championship as a whole. How well he copes with that will depend on how many games he gets and if he is the preferred starter out of all the strikers. If he starts well and scores the goals all very well and good. If Eddie feels that his current front men are the best to stick with, for the moment, even Tokelo might have to wait for a short while. I suspect that the club's biggest ever signing will play straight away though.

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