Your Team's Probable/Strongest Starting XI 2015/16

[RussellAnderson]

Ward in goals, excellent keeper

Logan nailed down RB

Taylor + Reynolds/Considine at CB, Quinn for backup or flexibility if we want to go three at the back

Shinnie at LB apart from games v Celtic/Europe. Considine at other times

Jack in CM sometimes on his own (v bottom half clubs), with Flood/Robson v top half and with Shinnie v Celtic/Europe

Hayes and McGinn first choice wingers nailed down.

No 10 role is between Pawlett and McLean, great to have the option as both are excellent and both offer something different.

Up top we have to go with Rooney in the league. Goodwillie was excellent in Croatia but isn't a finisher (at the moment). Might see him in big matches similar to Croatia.

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

MacDonald

Westlake Connolly Findlay Smith

Hamill Robinson

McKenzie Higginbotham

Boyd Carrick

I'm going to disagree ever so slighty with teams mentioned before, as I expect Hamill to start the season alongside Robinson. We've really missed a player of Robinson's ilk ever since Liam Kelly () left the club, someone who can just clean up and recycle possession. So I'd be inclined to say Locke will want two guys sitting deep that are just going to protect the back-four, considering how attacking our front four are going to be.

If how we've played in pre-season is any indication, then we're likely to go 4-4-2, with Boyd dropping deep to link-up play and a striker going beyond him. Carrick will probably get the nod over Magennis for that role unless his chocolate hamstrings play-up again. I expected Obadeyi to start wide, but with him picking up an injury at Palmerston, McKenzie has to take his place - especially considering his fantastic return of goals this summer.

Our defence will be there to defend, and with Findlay looking like a great addition and Smith impressing too, I have no doubts that they will be more robust than last season.

[edinburgharab]

Zwick
McGowan Morris (Dillon if injured) Donaldson/Durnan Dixon
Souttar Rankin
Sneijder (Erskine if doesn't sign) Spittal
Muirhead Bodul

Based on signings made and current squad we could be (hopefully) playing 2 up front so potentially a 4-2-2-2 formation although Jackie does love 4-2-3-1 so this line-up is most likely complete drivel!

[PauloPerth]

Our starting line up for the first few games will probably be completely different than a few months down the line. Interesting to see how we line up the first couple of games until the injured players return. I can't see Tommy leaving out Maclean at the start of the season, much as his form hasn't earned a start. What I think the manager will pick:

Mannus

Shaughnessy B Mackay Scobbie Easton

Wotherspoon Millar Craig O'halloran

Maclean

Sutton

If Maclean does start on the bench, a straight swap with Kane beside Sutton, or there is also the option of Lappin in CM with Liam Craig wide left and O'Halloran up front instead of Macca if we decide we want more pace in attack.

[DC92]

Alexander

Paterson Ozturk Augustyn Oshaniwa

Pallardo Gomis

King/Nicholson Walker Sow

Juanma

or

Alexander

Paterson Ozturk Augustyn Oshaniwa

Walker Pallardo Gomis Nicholson/King

Juanma Sow

That's assuming Oshaniwa finally gets his Visa paperwork and signs, of course.

We still need a back-up centre-half but I think most would agree the biggest question mark in terms of our first eleven is over the lack of drive in the centre of midfield. Gomis and Pallardo are neat and tidy as well as being pretty solid (although there are question marks over Gomis when he's put under pressure). They provide a decent amount of balance to the attacking full-backs and wingers but aren't especially creative themselves. King, Nicholson and Walker offer creativity but they're all fairly similar in that they'll pop up with a goal or assist from nothing rather than consistently influencing the game and getting us on the front foot. Some argue that Buaben is a better bet than Gomis and although he's more forward thinking I'm not sure he's the answer and Anderson hasn't shown much in his handful of appearances, although it's still early for him.

El Hassnaoui looked like he offered something a bit different from King/Nicholson/Walker but it's just been announced that he's out for 4 months which leaves us a bit light in the forward positions, so I'd imagine we might look for a new player there as well.

[DESTROY88]

------------------------------MacDonald-------------------------------

Westlake------ Connolly---------- Zaliukas ---------------Smith

-----------------Slater ------------------Robinson--------------------

McKenzie----------------------------------------------------Obadeyi

----------------Higginbotham------------------------------------------

---------------------------------Boyd-------------------------------------

What's happening with Eremenko? Is he on the move?

[DESTROY88]

Probably....

Gordon

Lustig Boyata VVD Izzy

Brown Bitton

GMS Armstrong Johansen

Griffiths*

*Until biteys ban is lifted most likely

Hopefully Deila favours GMS over the utterly overrated James Forrest. Still need a decent LB. Izzy is alright on the overlap but absolutely sh*te at being a defender.

Shame we have so many options at right back and only Emilio on the left... I think you've got Ronny's squad spot on tho it seems he's toying with the idea of getting Griffiths and Ciftci on the park at the same time.

I'd like to see this:

Gordon

Lustig Boyata Mulgrew Izzy

Brown Johansen

GMS Commons Armstrong

Griffiths

With Van Dijk struggling south of the border and an extra $10M in the bank...

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

What's happening with Eremenko? Is he on the move?

Thankfully, yes. He's someone else's money draining enigma now.

[Reid]

Cerny
Miller Frans Seaborne Booth
Osman Bannigan
Lawless Stevenson Osman
Doolan

For our first game it'll be McDaid in for Lawless as he's suspended (and Elliott has missed most of pre-season). Stevenson will probably be fit but might not be risked on Hamilton's pitch so Fraser or Welsh will come in.

[DESTROY88]

Thankfully, yes. He's someone else's money draining enigma now.

Seemed to have a chip on his shoulder but he's a great footballer... wouldn't mind him draining Celtics payroll

[killiepiemuncher]

Seemed to have a chip on his shoulder but he's a great footballer... wouldn't mind him draining Celtics payroll

He's been trying for years to get on it but alas it wasn't to be. Poor wee soul.

[Mik]

it seems he's toying with the idea of getting Griffiths and Ciftci on the park at the same time.

With Van Dijk struggling south of the border and an extra $10M in the bank...

Gordon

Lustig Boyata VVD Izzy

Bitton

Brown Johansen

Armstrong

Griffiths Ciftci

Ciftci and Griffiths at the same time, we'd likely have to play some sort of midfield diamond. Lustig have some room to operate down the right flank.

VVD isn't going anywhere. None of the english clubs want him, it's just paper talk in Scotland because they have nothing decent to report imo.

[Kyle]

Seeing as I'm bored at work, I'll do a break down position by position too.

Goalkeeper - Mannus is quite rightly first choice, but it's good to have a proper back up rather than a 42 year old goalkeeping coach. Zander Clark will be ready to pounce if Mannus loses form or gets injured. Fingers crossed they push each other and they both improve as a result.

Right back - Dave Mackay will likely come back into the team when he's returned from injury. Joe Shaughnessy is the alternative and I suppose Brad McKay/David Wotherspoon can play there if we're struggling. Wouldn't be too surprised if Mackay started less and less games now as he is 34 and isn't quite as adept at getting up and down the park as he once was.

Centre back - Options central in there for us these days. Anderson and Wright are still the best we have to offer I'd argue, but Wright's role has reduced over the course of the last year and that'll likely reduce even further this season. Anderson is also currently out with a fractured eye socket. Brad McKay and Tam Scobbie will look to take their chance. It's good to have the options there as we really were short there at times over the last couple of years.

Left Back - Nailed on Brian Easton, who has been excellent for us since he signed. Tam Scobbie can fill in if/when Easton picks up niggling injures (which he does from time to time). Liam Craig played there for an entire season for us when we were in the 1st division. I'd rather not see that happen again though, nor Dave Mackay who has also filled in there.

Right sided midfielders/wingers - Wotherspoon looks nailed on there. Caddis is his direct competition, but he's a bit shit. O'Halloran has played there in the past, but I think he's better on the left, cutting inside, or up top. Wotherspoon has been good for us there, but I'd like to see him add more goals to his game.

Central midfielders - If everyone is fit, Millar, Davidson and Craig are either scrapping for two spaces or playing together in a 3. All three have performed well for us over 5 or more seasons each so no worries about them at all. Indeed, I think all 3 have played over 200 games for us, Millar can't be that far away from 300. Lappin and Brown are the players in direct competition and Wotherspoon Caddis and I suppose Tam Scobbie can fill in there if we're in an Alashkert level of injury crisis.

Left sided midfielders/wingers - This is quite interesting, because Michael O'Halloran has done a good job there when he's been deployed in that position. Towards the end of last season, he played up top to cater for Danny Swanson. Liam Craig has done a lot of his best work for Saints on the left wing, and Simon Lappin was signed as a left winger too. I think both are conisdered to be central midfielders by the manager though, and I wouldn't expect to see either get much of a run in this position. Graham Cummins apparently played on the left of a 3 for Exeter too. It's the area where our fans think we're short, but the reality is we've actually got a number of players who can play the position.

Strikers - Maclean has been a nailed on starter since he signed for us. He has been excellent in the past, but he's not looked the same player since coming back from his most recent injury. He was never rapid, but he's painfully slow now and his touch appears to have left him a bit too. I'd expect him to still start the majority of games to be honest as he seems immune from criticism from the manager. I believe he's a great influence in the changing room. Sutton wont be here to sit on the bench either. He's obviously got a great goalscoring record, but I'm not sure he'll contribute much to build up play or the work ethic that we have built our success on over the last few years. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Maclean and Sutton up top is far too one paced for me and I can't see it being a successful partnership. Kane should get a run - he gives us pace and has a decent goalscoring return for part-time Dumbarton in the Championship. He was hung out to dry a bit in our European home leg on the left wing, but even there he looked dangerous. Cummins - a complete unknown. The manager reckons he will run the lines and may well fit into the hard worker role he so desperately craves.

[PauloPerth]

Seeing as I'm bored at work, I'll do a break down position by position too.

Goalkeeper - Mannus is quite rightly first choice, but it's good to have a proper back up rather than a 42 year old goalkeeping coach. Zander Clark will be ready to pounce if Mannus loses form or gets injured. Fingers crossed they push each other and they both improve as a result.

Right back - Dave Mackay will likely come back into the team when he's returned from injury. Joe Shaughnessy is the alternative and I suppose Brad McKay/David Wotherspoon can play there if we're struggling. Wouldn't be too surprised if Mackay started less and less games now as he is 34 and isn't quite as adept at getting up and down the park as he once was.

Centre back - Options central in there for us these days. Anderson and Wright are still the best we have to offer I'd argue, but Wright's role has reduced over the course of the last year and that'll likely reduce even further this season. Anderson is also currently out with a fractured eye socket. Brad McKay and Tam Scobbie will look to take their chance. It's good to have the options there as we really were short there at times over the last couple of years.

Left Back - Nailed on Brian Easton, who has been excellent for us since he signed. Tam Scobbie can fill in if/when Easton picks up niggling injures (which he does from time to time). Liam Craig played there for an entire season for us when we were in the 1st division. I'd rather not see that happen again though, nor Dave Mackay who has also filled in there.

Right sided midfielders/wingers - Wotherspoon looks nailed on there. Caddis is his direct competition, but he's a bit shit. O'Halloran has played there in the past, but I think he's better on the left, cutting inside, or up top. Wotherspoon has been good for us there, but I'd like to see him add more goals to his game.

Central midfielders - If everyone is fit, Millar, Davidson and Craig are either scrapping for two spaces or playing together in a 3. All three have performed well for us over 5 or more seasons each so no worries about them at all. Indeed, I think all 3 have played over 200 games for us, Millar can't be that far away from 300. Lappin and Brown are the players in direct competition and Wotherspoon Caddis and I suppose Tam Scobbie can fill in there if we're in an Alashkert level of injury crisis.

Left sided midfielders/wingers - This is quite interesting, because Michael O'Halloran has done a good job there when he's been deployed in that position. Towards the end of last season, he played up top to cater for Danny Swanson. Liam Craig has done a lot of his best work for Saints on the left wing, and Simon Lappin was signed as a left winger too. I think both are conisdered to be central midfielders by the manager though, and I wouldn't expect to see either get much of a run in this position. Graham Cummins apparently played on the left of a 3 for Exeter too. It's the area where our fans think we're short, but the reality is we've actually got a number of players who can play the position.

Strikers - Maclean has been a nailed on starter since he signed for us. He has been excellent in the past, but he's not looked the same player since coming back from his most recent injury. He was never rapid, but he's painfully slow now and his touch appears to have left him a bit too. I'd expect him to still start the majority of games to be honest as he seems immune from criticism from the manager. I believe he's a great influence in the changing room. Sutton wont be here to sit on the bench either. He's obviously got a great goalscoring record, but I'm not sure he'll contribute much to build up play or the work ethic that we have built our success on over the last few years. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Maclean and Sutton up top is far too one paced for me and I can't see it being a successful partnership. Kane should get a run - he gives us pace and has a decent goalscoring return for part-time Dumbarton in the Championship. He was hung out to dry a bit in our European home leg on the left wing, but even there he looked dangerous. Cummins - a complete unknown. The manager reckons he will run the lines and may well fit into the hard worker role he so desperately craves.

Agree with most of this Kyle, fairly comprehensive!

I thought O'Halloran was excellent wide right v Alashkert. Skinning players and delivering early crosses might be the way forward for him, especially with Sutton in the box looking for plenty of crosses to get on the end of. Might take the complications and daft stuff out of MOH's game; having to turn back onto his right foot or dribbling straight across the pitch. Would like to see the energy and pace a Kane/ O'Halloran pairing would inject, even just for a game or two.

I really hope I'm wrong about the Sutton/Maclean combo as well. It's just Tommy likes experienced pros, and when he had most of the squad available in Armenia, it was his starting front line.

[THE FAT MAN]

Tough for us as, unlike last season, we actually have options all over the park. I'd also argue that we could easily line up either 4-4-2 or 4-5-1/4-3-3 without too many issues.

I'd personally like to see us go 4-3-3, in a similar fashion to the year Lomas took us to third with the following;

Mannus

Mackay Anderson Wright Easton

Davidson Millar Craig

Wotherspoon Sutton O'Halloran

Millar sitting in, with Craig and Davidson allowed a little more freedom to push forward. I'd ask Craig to help cover the left back and allow O'Halloran to attack more than defend - his pace is incredibly dangerous, particularly on the break. That solid base also allows Wotherspoon and O'Halloran to drift, which has caused teams a lot of trouble in the past. If we want to go 4-4-2, move Craig to the left, Spoony back a bit and O'Halloran through the middle beside Sutton.

We've got so many players missing out with that line up though - Clark, Shaughnessy, McKay, Scobbie, Caddis, Brown, Lappin, Cummins, Kane and Maclean will all fancy their chances of getting into the team and staying there. We still have a winger to bring in too.

Anderson won't make it( out 7 weeks) Is that Dave at RB he won't make it either, if its Brad he won't be RB i dont think, more likely Joe S.

[THE FAT MAN]

Our starting line up for the first few games will probably be completely different than a few months down the line. Interesting to see how we line up the first couple of games until the injured players return. I can't see Tommy leaving out Maclean at the start of the season, much as his form hasn't earned a start. What I think the manager will pick:

Mannus

Shaughnessy B Mackay Scobbie Easton

Wotherspoon Millar Craig O'halloran

Maclean

Sutton

If Maclean does start on the bench, a straight swap with Kane beside Sutton, or there is also the option of Lappin in CM with Liam Craig wide left and O'Halloran up front instead of Macca if we decide we want more pace in attack.

Macca suspended for Hearts game

[RandomGuy.]

Can only assume MacLean has found the naked photos of TW that were previously in the possession of David Robertson and Gary McDonald

On a sidenote, I'd like us to go back to the 4-2-3-1 that worked well in the Cup winning season. We had O'Halloran on the right, Wotherspoon central, May on the left and MacLean up front, and they all seemed to swap positions and link well going forward. Something similar would be nice, although it likely wouldnt work aswell unless we can get Swanson

[Contra]

Gordon

Lustig Boyata Van Dijk Izzaguirre(for now)

Brown Biton

GMS Johansen Armstrong

Cifcti

This will be our line up, Cifcti coming in for Griffiths after the ban.The beauty of our team just now is the competition and any of that front 4 can be replaced, Johansen's always a stick on though and so he should be however; Commons,Forrest,Stokes,Henderson and maybe Janko if he's deployed further up the field will come in and occupy the places on the wings.

A new left back is a must and I expect that to be sorted out as Izzaguirre is clearly our weak link.

[Insert Amusing Pseudonym]

Curious why Celtic fans are putting Ciftci in instead of the Thumb. Griffiths is the better player surely?

[RussellAnderson]

Are Celtic fans also not worried they've let Matthews go? Who is cover for when Lustig inevitably gets injured?