Gilliead is the most complete footballer we’ve had in years! Just love to watch him.
Desperately hoping we aren’t gonna prat around over contract renewals for our best half dozen players in January.
Some players actually merit large increases for next season.
Let’s hope we can get this squad trimmed in order to be able to afford that.
I know most out of contract would command a fee anyway but you will always get a better price if they have a contract in place.
McGahey not at his best for me. Very slow on their 2nd and I wasn’t quite sure about the first.
Spence was my MOTM with 9.
Gilliead – 8.
Eisa – only 8. His corner taking was dire.
Beestin – 8 barely put a foot wrong.
Clarke 6 – but good reasons for that.
Howard – 6. Must command more!
Loft – buzzed, gave giants no easy headers and scored. 7.
O Malley – easily a 7. This kid is gonna be good.
Indeed 7s for all not mentioned.
Ref: fine.
Manager – a long time a-coming but 9.
Yup.
A very low rating for Cox.
After testing out and failing with a multitude of formations he goes 4 – 4 – 2 and things start to work. The side has shape.
Along comes a match with, arguably, the most experienced side we’ve faced – and into experimental mode we go. Doomed from the start.
I concentrate on Spence a great deal and thought he had a decent game.
Our problem in CM was perfectly explained by Newey – there is only so much a midfielder can do when swamped.
(I suggested that we should have made a sub before half time – Newey on for Cox. That guy’s grasp of football is surely the best we’ve ever heard on local broadcasting.)
Beestin looked as though he’d played too many games in quick succession.
Bedeau was poor.
I cannot criticise Loft. He grafted non-stop. Was useful and if he ever gets a bit of support might just turn into a good player.
Gilliead is far and away our best player. Lovely to watch.
Ref: good. Was not a nitpicker like so many we’ve seen this season.
Does not look to have had a great deal of competitive football in recent years.
Has to look a lot better in training than the players who surround him to be considered worth a punt.
For once, Hippolyte for Eisa was the right decision.
H is a much better defender. Okay – it didn’t work out but the effects of three games in a week on the rest of the team were clear to see.
Rowe – the one youngster for Cox to leave in place in the team, for me.
O Malley is going to be decent, IMHO. Needs odd first team games to build up his skills.
Guessing Taylor may be available Tuesday. Anyone know?
Very fair point, BS.
I would settle for GKs commanding the six yard box and a further two yards besides.
I do not recall goal-line hugging by Howard at his previous teams – I’m pretty sure I’d have noticed.
I have been getting increasingly impressed with Beestin over recent weeks but did not foresee that he would play so well with Spence. Perhaps a lot had to do with the larger number of available options for both players with more experience around them.
Hope this is not just a flash in the pan.
A real CM partnership would be a huge boost.
Most games are going to be rather tougher than yesterday’s opposition, though.
What’s more, the bench is going to look very strong in the coming months.
Ah, Torps.
I can recall the FA cup game at Pompey.
I commented to my companion that Torpey won every header that day and sent the ball in the direction of a Scunny player but Sheringham won every header and put it to the feet of a Pompey man.
Put a Torps alongside what we have at present and the wins would flood in.
If we can stay in this division and hang onto our better players – the whole squad will be much more mature next season.
I reckon that we’ll be looking upwards.
I am starting to wish I was still keeping records on referee marks.
What a wretched bunch they have been this season.
Bottling that sending off; clearest penalty of the season – not given; a host of namby pamby decisions.
So many free kicks given for nothing or next to nothing. As they say – “It’s a man’s game!”
Clarke finding it tough. Wouldn’t even risk another 10 minutes.
Brown looking match fit.
System largely working.
Can Kev make it through til the end? He’s looking decent.
I agree Cass but would take it a step further.
I have seen something of merit in every player signed.I can understand why they were brought in.
I might go as far as to say that we have not brought in bad players at all but just ones who are desperately in need of the kind of development we are currently unable to offer.
That is not to say that every player is capable of reaching the required standard, of course.
As repeated so many times: messing with systems helps nobody; a defensive mindset is ultimately destructive; playing out of position when lacking experience tends to be detrimental; the experience alongside required to bring players on is largely absent.
We do not have a shed-load of poor players but we do have hordes who are extremely under-cooked.
I am not contradicting myself when saying most of the new signings are less than they ought to be. This may be for the reasons stated or because they lack the necessary personal toughness and grit.
Time will tell.
In a perfect world, we could have a Bishop, a Bara or – best of all – a Crozzer. All of these guys possessed an easygoing, natural authority. Spot on about Paul Hayes.
In our current position, how can we possibly attract that sort of guy to the club? That is the question.
We could spend a lot of dosh on someone who is over the hill and hope that they stay fit, I suppose.
I am pinning a lot of hope on Brown and Howard to do this at the back but the midfield cupboard is bare.
Leadership is certainly not about ‘just shouting at people’. We are talking about that, yes, but I have previously mentioned reading a game and the need for intelligence. A bit of leading by example is no bad thing.
As the sergeant-major said, “Excuse me, young chap, but would you be so kind as to try just a little harder to come to attention alongside all the others?”
(Incidentally, the best collection of teachers I worked alongside was in a comprehensive school principally serving a trio of pit villages.)
Ferrite – the services take some right bunches of no-hopers and drill them til they learn to: follow orders, act instantly, demonstrate some guts, learn to innovate and, if necessary, go to war.
I am far from convinced that we have a load of poor players – but we do have a number who are: slow-thinking; settling for second best; unable to raise their game. They need a kick in the pants.
Having taught in both the state sector and the private – I can tell you that, for me, the single largest reason why state schools get poorer results is that the independent sector is considerably less tolerant of failure.
Of course, there are other factors but that is the crux of the matter.
I think we should have reached that point where KVV should start and see how long he can last. It may be 90 minutes.
If that can happen, surely it is a question of whether we ought to be playing McAtee or Olomola alongside him.
I do not see Loft as being as poor as some make out – he may improve beyond measure working inside a settled and meaningful structure. We have seen too many lone centre forwards fail ‘playing one up top’.
Hallam has to fit somewhere into the thinking and planning even if he does not necessarily oust McAtee or Olomola.
Spence is a decent enough defensive CM and at the moment, just pips Beestin who I reckon may well eventually be the better player.
It matters not which way I view it – I just cannot get past that giant hole in the middle waiting for an intelligent midfield general.
A true leader there – doesn’t even need to be a brilliant player – will transform this current shambles.
If we lose at Oldham, whatever the individual errors themselves turn out to be – the odds are that they would not have happened with a proper organiser bawling his lungs out, reading the game and playing drill sergeant.
.
