Monty91
10-25-2012, 09:02 AM
At that point the game was finely balanced. We probably looked the most dangerous (as opposed to the first half), but Shalke were clearly capable of damaging us too.
Whilst we could afford to draw the game, we couldn't afford to lose it. Making changes in a game that finely balanced is always dangerous and given that we had the marginal momentum, I have no problems with us waiting to make a change.
I also think we chose 15 minutes because at that point Schalke had a draw in sight and would have begun to batten down the hatches, meaning less space for Gervinho's pace and more suitable conditions for Giroud's height and physicality.
The fact that we ended up losing changes none of this.
Whilst we could afford to draw the game, we couldn't afford to lose it. Making changes in a game that finely balanced is always dangerous and given that we had the marginal momentum, I have no problems with us waiting to make a change.
I also think we chose 15 minutes because at that point Schalke had a draw in sight and would have begun to batten down the hatches, meaning less space for Gervinho's pace and more suitable conditions for Giroud's height and physicality.
The fact that we ended up losing changes none of this.