Poupou Escobar
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It's not about how effective he is - every player would look better coming off the bench against fatigued opposition. The reason he might come off the bench is because we might need him to replace a starter and fill a similar role (being the 'go to' runner when we need a setup carry).
Obviously he can also do this while starting (playing an Alvaro role while Paulo is on the field and then playing the lead role when Paulo has a rest) but he would be fatigued in that case. The real reason Brown might be better off the bench is related to his need to work harder in defence than he has previously. I will elaborate later in the post.
The reason Brown was able to play such long minutes in previous years is due to the fact we let him bludge in defence. This requires the other two middle forwards (and hooker) to work much harder to fill the gaps that result in carrying a bloke who shuffles (or walks) in defence.
With Paulo also on the field with him, Brown can no longer play that defensive role where he drags arse while Alvaro, Mannah and/or Moeroa make his tackles for him. He will have to work harder in defence while sharing the field with Paulo, meaning his effectiveness over long minutes will be reduced.
