No game for nearly two weeks. Time to reset and all that. Well needed, and for the vast majority of the team it will do the world of good hopefully. But our best centre half, arguably one of our best players, has been called up by Poland. As do most other European nations, they have three games in the next ten days. He will also have to travel around - and their last game of the period is away to England at Wembley on Wednesday 31st March. Our Good Friday game v Reading has been put back to tea time for tv, Friday 2nd April 5:30pm - but even if Helik is allowed to travel back to Barnsley from London directly rather than back to Poland first (not sure what the rules are on that Covid wise), is it likely we will be able to play him against Reading? Even if he doesn’t play for Poland against England, it’s a ridiculously quick turnaround.
And - if he didn’t play - what what the team be? Solly and Sibbick either side of Andersen in the middle, or maybe play Solly in the middle? Even Williams left of the three?
My hope is that Helik is a bench warmer and gets on for a cameo in one of the games so he gets a break from 2 games a week.
Do you think? He seems to like Halme in a midfield role, but he does have the height to be a straight swap.
Helik will be fine. Yes, it would have been nice to see him have a rest, but he's a centreback. I'm sure he covers lots of ground, but he's not one of the players that springs to mind when I think about who's looking tired. I'd have had concerns if Styles, Brittain, or any of our centre mids or forwards had been called up. But Helik? He's made of iron, that lad. He'll be reight.
VI mentioned in one of the recent pressers that he sees Halme as a CD, and an option to rotate in the back three. I think he sees the 3 centre halves as 3 very separate positions, with Sol/Sibbick on the right, Helik / Halme in the middle and Andersen / Kitching on the left.
Dont Reading also have some international players playing over the domestic break? Edit Liam Moore Jamaica George Puscas Romania Alfa Semedo Guinea Dejan Tetek Serbia
Think the break has come at a good time for us. We looked off the pace on Saturday. Couple of weeks off will do us good IMO
Helik is a warrior. He'd play with one leg. ( I shouldn't have said that...break a leg!!) If we go up he ll be a star....if we fail he ll have a stormer marking Kane, raise his profile and we ' ll get 15M + when we inevitably sell him. Then we ll find another. Ring any bells ?