Coppell to play 'safe' with Cisse?

With Marek sidelined for some time the spotlight inevitably falls on our options in midfield. Since the departure of Steve Sidwell things haven't looked right in the centre of the park, signings that were made to fill the void left by the ginger dynamo simply haven't worked. Emerse Fae who was tracked for over a year never got a run in the team and maybe there's a good reason for that that we will never find out. However it did seem strange that in the early part of last season Bryn Gunnarson, as hard working as he is, was preferred to a record signing who seem to promise so much. Kalifa Cisse also seemed to have been brought in as a Sidwell replacement, but his performances have been sporadic at best, and aside from a useful day's work deputising as a central defender against Man Yoo last season, he's fallen short of expectations. So what next? Now that Marek's 'bright inventiveness' (to quote Coppell) is not available for a few weeks at least, will he give youth a chance as he suggested he might? Jem Karacan's good showing against Villa in the recent friendly certainly caught the eye, but it seems unlikely that SC will move away from the Harper/Cisse combination. Maybe it'll prove solid enough against Championship opposition but it simply doesn't set the pulse racing to say the least, and certainly Sunday's showing did not bode well. It's a bit early to start worrying, but we need to impose ourselves quickly on the division and our lack of creative options in this area gives some cause for concern.