I really think Sullla just needs to let Speaker have his way with military. I'm remembering just before the CoW war when Speaker pushed for whipping out a bunch of spears and other military. Clearly this is a main reason why they are still in the game in the first place.
They are not going to lose the game at this point because of slightly reduced missionary micro or slightly later grocers. Their economy will be even more dominant in a few turns regardless. We have the benefit of lurking but for all Speaker can see there may be an organized dogpile shaping up to strike at almost any given turn, and that's the only real threat for them to actually lose, at this point. At absolute worst, a few extra knights allows them to have a stronger claim on Centralia or their outer island.
They are not going to lose the game at this point because of slightly reduced missionary micro or slightly later grocers. Their economy will be even more dominant in a few turns regardless. We have the benefit of lurking but for all Speaker can see there may be an organized dogpile shaping up to strike at almost any given turn, and that's the only real threat for them to actually lose, at this point. At absolute worst, a few extra knights allows them to have a stronger claim on Centralia or their outer island.