Bale AND William?
What would be your first eleven?
Listen, that's the manager's problem not mine
Half joking there because we don't exactly have a 'selection dilemma' now. I see it as more than a best 11. It really needs to be a best 13 or 14 realistically if we want to be competing for the PL with this City side and in the Champions League as well with a very impressive selection of well-oiled teams in it now. It doesn't seem so crazy thinking back to when Jose talked about two excellent players for every position .
So here are two of numerous possible ideas in my head that may or may not work:
------------ Sanchez ----- Lukaku
------------------------- Bale
-------------Pogba --- Matic ---- Fred
Sandro ---- Alderweireld -- Bailly ---- Sidibe
------------------------ DDG
So attackers and CMs left out: Willian, Lingard, Rashford, Mata, Martial, Herrera, McTominay
I see that and think healthy competition and mix of experienced world beaters. One of our best seasons in the last ten years saw Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov, Tevez all vying for starting spots. And for the sake of balance it just didn't make sense to play them all at the same time yet they all got plenty of minutes. You keep them as long as they can accept the role. Heck, Bale just did that and has four CLs. It's not an impossible ask of a player.
Heres another possibility that is pretty much how we lined up against CSKA and played arguably one of our best games this season:
-------------------- Lukaku
----------- Sanchez ---- Bale
Sandro -- Fred ----- Matic ---- Willian
---- Alderweireld -- Smalling ---- Lindelof
------------------------ DDG
No Pogba here..and in that match it was Herrera and Matic in the center. Worked really well.