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Opinion: A Shinnie Shake or A Toral Tussle?

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In the past two games, the need for a central attacking midfielder (CAM) has been reduced due to the change in formation.

However, I think manager Gary Rowett will be reverting back to his old 4-2-3-1 formation this weekend which would see the return of either Andy Shinnie or Jon Toral.

With Rowett confirming that Shinnie is back in training and possibly in contention for a place in Saturday’s starting XI, I thought it would be a good idea to look at the pros and cons of each player.

To begin with, I will weigh up why Shinnie deserves his spot in the side and why he may not make it onto the pitch from the get go.

It is without doubt that the Scotsman has some unbelievable talent on his day, but he doesn’t always produce it on game day. His ability to find space is a quality that very few people have and since Rowett has come in, we have seen Shinnie grow into an even better player than he already was.

However, despite having the ability to get in between the midfield and defence of the opposition, his final ball isn’t always fantastic which is something that he really needs to work on.

Shinnie has also never really been known for his goal scoring record, which again is something that goes against him. However, he does have a track record of setting people up, but some people would argue that he does that better when he comes off the bench.

For me, Shinnie has always been a good player but he has never had the time to show it. Last season when he got a consistent run of games, he was able to produce some of his best football and I think if he is given his chance on Saturday, we will see a repeat of how he played last season.

However, Shinnie’s rival, Jon Toral, offers something completely different to Rowett’s side. The ability to pick that final pass out and even score goals is something that must always pop into the managers mind.

Scoring two goals in his first two games, Toral became an instant hit with the Blues faithful, but since that he hasn’t lived up to the high expectations that he set himself.

Apart from the wonderful assist against Bristol City, where he found Clayton Donaldson unmarked in the box, he hasn’t really done anything that is of note.

Some would argue that that just isn’t good enough, and I would be one of those people. Yes he has some fantastic moments in games, but those are only just moments, he isn’t consistent throughout a game and he always looks fatigued towards the 70 minute mark, which suggests to me that something isn’t quite right.

If I was Gary Rowett on Saturday, I would be starting Andy Shinnie through the middle and leaving Jon Toral on the bench. I think Shinnie would have more of an impact on the game and he would be able to frustrate Karl Henry more than Toral would.

Blues fans, who would you start in the no.10 role just behind Clayton Donaldson? Would it be Toral or Shinnie? Or would you leave the formation as it is? Let us know in the comment section down below!

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