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I thought I saw a few “green shoots” last night especially in our second half and in the nights other results. Playing two big lads up front gave us a long ball outlet. Who cares if they got their head on a few, if they can’t direct it then it’s a second ball to compete for and Rowley and Richards did that. Providing then they play a simple short ball forward or wide then we are on the front foot. Jones is a good shot stopper but he is playing in the National league for a reason and that is his distribution is crap. If so, don’t ask him to distribute. He hoofs it clear when he has to and the rest of the time rolls it to the back 4, they invite the press to stretch the opposition midfield and then play it long in the air for the 2 big lads to compete, most times the CB will get it. If we play 433 then 2 ball winning midfielders and JB is a good midfield. Who then to play with big lads up top? From a Goals scored perspective, it’s Alfie Beestin. You could play Dec Howe through the middle between them. Or a wide player. Currently, I don’t think that wide player is Pat Johes; Brennan or Hurst for me. Finally, when Whitehall is fit you could go with 3 big lads up front. In any of these scenarios we get the ball forward by initially bypassing midfield. We compete hard for the second ball and we press high( Parker Gale and Howe would definitely do this).
Regarding the other results the invincibility of some of the teams was laid bare. I don’t think Sutton are the new Rochdale ( or York) and everyone else has dropped some strange points somewhere in the first 4 games. You know a few wins ( particularly against the clubs above us) and we will be right in the mix! Let’s hope Butler has a settled Style and Formation ready for Monday, where Carlisle will be mortified to have conceded a last minute equaliser last night!1 user thanked author for this post.
Yes, I’ve often wondered if AB drew the names out of a hat! I don’t understand how he intends to play. You would think with Rowley and Richards as defensive midfielders and Gale and Parker upfront playing long from the back would be a good tactic, as the Moors centre backs are unlikely to get clean headers on the ball and the second ball into midfield would be there to be won, but having won it they have to give it…. To Butterfield,Gale, Jones or Parker to attack the Moors goal. Bet we try and play out from the back tonight!
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Rene is a realist. Two games in and we are struggling to create chances. That needs fixing first or mid table mediocraty will be a good season. Ourselves and Carlisle are the early doors fall guys, whilst Hornchurch and Sutton are the surprise packages! Eastleigh will be interesting, lose there and we will be struggling. Difficult to see us beating Harrogate or Borehamwood at home.
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Well, whatever our attitude to this competition, it can’t be worse than Hartlepool. Having brought the fixture forward to a Wednesday afternoon, and subbed the requisite number of Saturday ‘s starters after 30 seconds, the Monkey Hangers proceeded to play their under18 side against Middlesbrough u21’s and were duly pumped in the process 10-0! What good that did to anyone involved in that match I’ve no idea!
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Whitehall got some crap service yesterday. With Rowley and Richard’s both sitting deep and Beestin keeping an eye on Westbrooke. Long balls were being knocked into him and he was expected to battle with 2 centre backs, win the ball, control it and pass it out wide or turn and run himself. There was no advancing midfielder for him to knock it back to. I thought Whitehall’s play improved when Butterfield and Gale came on. Principally because one of the centre backs then had to plug the holes that Gale kept popping up into. Beestin should have been doing this. The management team got it wrong asking him to defend Westbrooke rather than let him play his more natural game!
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I disagree with Rene ( a rare thing I know). With 2 defensive midfielders, it will be difficult for them to play through us and with Horton and Ogle with two wide players tracking back, difficult to go round us. If the 2 CBs step back 3 yards, it will be difficult to go over us. It’s being creative when we go forward that would concern me. Butterfield is the answer, he needs to start, it’s who leads the line. If we play Whitehall like yesterday we will end up hoofing balls in his general direction. If Whitehall is prepared to look for space and do a bit of movement Butterfield may find him in space, facing goal. You could use Howe in this role put if we resort to hoofball then Howe will get nothing. Gale may be ok in the role, Parker too. We probably would nick a couple of goals and when Butterfield isknackered, sub him with Beestin. I think the defensive issues are fixable with a change in personnel and weak of training. It’s the creativity that concerns me. Midfield is short on this.
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Watched the game yesterday, and rewatched it this morning. Have read the critical posts.
We set up 433 they 451
Given that we were always going to have difficulty playing through them and so we resorted to knocking the ball around at the back waiting for a runner. That wasn’t Whitehall, and Dec and Pat Jones had obviously been told to get as much Whitewash on their boots as possible. The result was long balls from the back out wide of from the fullbacks into Whitehalls feet, which he then proceeded to shithouse away. Pat jones was able to bring the ball under control a few times and then run his man. With no runners into the box he had little options other than to delay the cross, giving someone from the midfield 5 time to double up. Yeovil’s main attacking ploy was to releases midfield runner to chase a ball beyond our Centre back. But for the linesman’s flag that vey nearly worked ( including one where their player was clearly onside and another saved by a Tyler Denton last ditched Tackle. Rather strangely our main midfield runner (Beestin) seemed to be holding back so not to stray to far from Westbrooke! This meant that in the final third we were poor, last year, Cal Roberts would have come inside looking for the ball and on occasions that worked. This year, neither Howe nor Jones looked to do that. Their goal was well worked but organisationally we were poor. No right back or right winger covering the back stick and looking for the runner from deep. People are blaming Whitehall as the last man in our defensive line, but he was rightly watching Gubbins. No, organisational mistake that needs the management team to rectify.
After the goal, we made changes, Butterfield and Gale and the introduction of Brennan suddenly gave our CB’s a third option, to pass their way through the Yeovil press and Butterfield receiving the ball beyond their press started to make things happen, especially with Gale looking to make runs in the final third and Brennan and jones looking for a ground ball beyond’s the inside shoulder of the full backs. For the first time in the game , Yeovil panicked and their manager dropped a man from midfield into the defence to make a back five. This just created more room for Butterfield to spray it around, and with Hurst on for the Riring Pat Jones , continued to turn the screw. It as just desserts when Brennan equalised. A little too late in the day for us to manufacture a second. On balance, a draw a fair result.
From a Scunthorpe perspective that was not a home promotion performance. Tactically, the players we looked to play 433 from the start were not able to play at the tempo and precision required. Once we had two experienced wide players on with a midfielder looking to make runs onto and beyond their back five and a centre midfielder prepared to collect the ball from tour defenders and pass forwards we looked much more of a goal threat. Having your initial three play defensively while hoping that your CBs can play a killer ball to a wide player or a static Danny Whitehall will not get the goals required to get us out of this league. This is a management tactical issue. Had AB made the 60 min changes at half time we may not have conceded, and scored a couple.
The formation Yeovil played we will see a lot of teams deploy at the Attis this season. They were well organised and everyone did their job without being spectacular. Deploying that formation, they too may have difficulty scoring the goals to be in the play offs.
Positives, we didn’t lose, after the subs we looked to create plenty against a side that nullified us up to that point. We definitely have a stronger squad ( every sub made a positive impact) but we must learn fast not to play goofball static, defensive 433. I’m afraid one of Rowley or Richards and Dec Howe will need to be sacrificed for us to do this!1 user thanked author for this post.
