I would give Ryan Kent a rest on Thursday

He’s just had a 2 week break for internationals and he’ll get another 2 week break coming up shortly, he’ll be fine
 
He had a rest during international break just there and there is another coming up. Don't think he is at particular risk of burning out anytime soon.
 
He’s been average at best for a few games now, however I wouldn’t be resting him at all. If anything maybe Jones in on Sunday but even at that I’d rather play Kent.

But on Thursday with no real alternative other than Roofe I feel he has to play. Also, even off form he could maybe come up with a bit of magic.

Poznan are also hopeless defensively so might be a chance for him to regain some form. He starts both games IMO, and rightly so.
 
Kent for me has to play, he is absolutely key in these games and whilst some people are dismissive of Europe this season,I think it’s important to try and keep the momentum going and bring more money into the club.

I don’t think he should need rested yet given that it’s only 2 weeks since the last international break where he had a fortnight without a game. There’s an international break in November with no midweek fixtures and also the league cup coming up which hopefully will offer a decent opportunity to rest him (depending on draw). Failing that, Hamilton at Ibrox on 8th November is the sort of game where he should be able to sit it out.
 
No he wouldn’t, Jones‘ biggest strength is pace and we aren’t going to be able to use that much on Sunday. We need players with guile. Suits a player like Hagi much more
Agreed, I think people are focusing on the turf rather than the opposition. Killie still follow the turgid Steve Clarke approach, admittedly not as good at it now. But they are still very organised and will be hard to break down.

Hagi, Aribo & Kent will all play.
 
He is a young Athlete who has 3.5 days to recover, he will be fine. Get the game won then rest him, same again on Sunday.
 
I would give him a rest too. He’s looked a bit off it recently and a rest might do him the world of good.

Good luck trying to convince people on here though or the support in general. They don’t understand the concept of squad rotation and wonder why we drop off in the second half of the season.
 
I don't get the he's been off the boil but for a fantastic block by Ajer he scores a great goal against them. He played well for 60 minutes against standard until the pitch turned into a swimming pool he was only really quiet on Sunday but the game was done and dusted after 20 minutes most of the team took there foot off the gas after Defoe scored

What hasn't been mentioned much is Kents press wins the ball back for Aribos goal. As you say he was close to a great goal against the tramps. He isn't red hot but he is contributing plenty
 
I think he will start on Thursday and be rested on the bench on Sunday. Kent started the season on fire but has really dropped off. This happens a few times a season as ge is over played far to much.
 
For me Sunday is the bigger game. We have other options now and Kent has played continually. Hes been slightly off the boil in recent games so Thursday is a good time to Give him a break.

Thoughts?
I think Gerrard will play him next 3 games before resting him against accies at Ibrox.
No way he won’t play on Thursday he will play in all our big games if fit.
Thursdays is also very important to start group with 6 points out of 6 and another half a million if we win.
 
The concept of playing your ‘best xi’ every week and being ‘dropped’ don’t exist inside any modern coaching set up in elite level football.
 
Absolutely not. His form has dipped slightly but that’s normal for wingers, they are the most unpredictable and inconsistent guys on any team. Always have been.

It’s not like he is playing badly, just not as electric as he was at the start of the year but that will come back.

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Jones start on Sunday against Killie, it’s amazing the amount of times old players come back to haunt their previous sides.
I would start with Jones on Sunday
 
This is our most expensive and highly paid player.

Like Messi and Ronaldo he should should suck it up and be on the park every game
...he's no Messi or Ronaldo though, is he?
Burn out has cost us in the last two seasons. It can't be allowed to happen again.
We have to manage our players workload better this season.
The depth of the squad is better this season and should help us in this regard.
 
I've been toying with the idea of dropping Kent but he's one of our most important players especially in Europe. Never thought I would say this but I'm glad the international break is coming up gives us a chance to give him a rest.
He has just had a rest at the last international break.
 
I tend to agree actually. I don’t think he’s been playing near his best for a number of weeks now. The goals and assists have stopped. He’s obviously still contributing but we can get more from him. Taking him out the odd game here and there might help. Trouble is Jones is unavailable for Poznan. Roofe or Aribo could come in though.
 
I'd 100% start him on Thursday, but I have a feeling we'll be able to take him off around the 60 minute mark.
 
4 more games and he will get another 2 week rest. The lad is doing just fine and will feature in most games. I'm sure he will get a rest in some cup games as the season progresses.
 
We overthink the rest piece.

He had the international break to himself. He’s fine.

Not sure why people are under playing Thursday. They’re a good team. We need our best players on the park.

We need the money from Europe.
 
His pressing is still ridiculous and played a big part in our first goal at Livingston with it.

His goals and assists will always be what he's judged on but his defending from the front is really underrated. He's always zipping back and winning the ball up high. He's superb at it.
 
I just think you get the best out of your players when you rotate them and play your form players. Arfield has had a spell on the bench twice, and both times he has been a different player on his return and given the team a real lift.
 
What hasn't been mentioned much is Kents press wins the ball back for Aribos goal. As you say he was close to a great goal against the tramps. He isn't red hot but he is contributing plenty
Hes just set very high standards from the start of the season. He can't play like that every week. Like you said the attack and defense starts with is press
 
His pressing is still ridiculous and played a big part in our first goal at Livingston with it.

His goals and assists will always be what he's judged on but his defending from the front is really underrated. He's always zipping back and winning the ball up high. He's superb at it.
On that side of the game he is peerless, no question.
 
Agree with the OP, he's not been at his best in the last few games and puts a tremendous shift in every times he plays. Let's see if JJ has enough about him.
Edit - see that Jones was omitted from the Euro squad but Barker is in there. Same applies, although, for BB, I'm pretty sure what the result of the experiment will be
 
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Kilmarnock haven't reached the heights under Alex Dyer as they did with Steve Clarke.
Add in their Covid problems and they are there to be beat.
 
Agree with the OP, he's not been at his best in the last few games and puts a tremendous shift in every times he plays. Let's see if JJ has enough about him.

Don't think I've ever seen an attacking player / winger that puts in a shift like Kent does

Unbelievable
 
Is his supposed loss of form to do with barisic being out the team recently? The 2 work well together.
 
My opinion is that we have been able to mix the team up recently to rest and prepare well for the next game. The 3 main players we haven't been able to find a solution for are Tav, Goldson and Kent. We need to find a way to provide them some rest and keep them fresh for the rest of the campaign. Kent after starting the season on fire has been average for a few games now. Let's not burn our best players out.
 
We need to leave behind this “should be enough” mentality.

We’re 6 points clear chasing a title. Strongest side possible every week.

That was not made as a negative statement in anyway in fact our squad depth and strength is better than before making me feel a whole lot better than the collapse last year albeit in Feb.
It is the squad that will win us the 55 an not just picking who the best is at training every week, different players bring different skills sets that we should at least consider who we are up against never mind a bloody plastic pitch. Also on squad need to keep them all on or very near match sharpness (fitness comes with training)
 
We have a settled team and Kent is very much a part of that. That's the main reason for our recent success and that's why he starts on Thursday. Strongest team possible starts to give us the best chance of achieving the result. Obviously the same thinking applies for league games.
 
Strongest team for me, if we win that potentially puts us 6 clear of Liège & Poznań given you would expect a Benfica home win on Thursday as well.

We'd only need 4 points from the last 4 games to pretty much guarantee last 32 Europa football that will be worth several million pounds to the club at a vital time.
 
He gets ‘rests’ during the international breaks.

Given the current climate, at €570k a win our strongest team will play.
 
I’d agree he has been quiet the past few games and I would have rested him against Livingston at home. It was the ideal game for it. But now we have two really important games which I don’t think we can rest him in.

People simply dismissing the idea of Kent getting any rest should look at our past two league seasons, players no matter the age need rested at some or they will burn out. Which has happened in the past two seasons. We want to win the league, we need to trust the whole squad.
 
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