| A few thoughts 08:08 - Nov 23 with 931 views | Steve_M |
I'm still very frustrated this morning but overall I think there is a lot to take from yesterday despite giving away such a poor goal so late.
I've not been convinced by loading the team up with strikers right back to Millwall away and, after last night, I think we have to change it to improve. Waghorn and McGoldrick just don't offer us enough pace or energy when they are two of the three behind Garner. Both have played well this season and offer us different attributes but the limitations are clear - and given the players not featuring I think Mick has to make a choice.
Obviously Loovens has made that for him in the short-term. I can understand how Stroud missed the severity of it but what was the assistant doing given how close he was? The Hunt non-red was equally annoying, Garner was past him and running into the box.
I actually thought Sears made a real difference to how we played in the second half, there was more balance and his pace allowed us to break really well. Yes, he should have passed to Celina (as should Waghorn just before half-time imo) and he made the first mistake for the equaliser but we were better with him on the pitch.
It's nice to be able to bring on substitutes as good as Huws and Ward too. Huws showed exactly what he can add with a lovely cross but also the vision to try slightly different moves. We shouldn't expect him to play every game and hopefully Mick will use him sparingly over the next month to avoid any new injuries.
Ward I think has been a bit unfortunate not to play as much this season. He's looked composed and used the ball well for the most part. Perhaps not playing every match helps him as he clearly lost confidence last season.
Connolly was excellent and allowed Skuse a much freer role, it was notable that we were pressing further up the pitch at times which made me think of one of the attributes from 2014-15 that we subsequently lost. If we have two of Skuse/CC/Adeyemi sitting it provides a platform for the three ahead to play.
Sky got MOTM wrong last night. I thought it was clearly Garner by such a long distance because he was outstanding. At times he looks like a petulant child jumping into defenders but the aggression was much more controlled yesterday and although his goal was a simple one, he will enjoy it no less for that.
A real shame we didn't get the win ahead of two difficult away matches but I do think there is some order emerging out of the chaos of last season and our early-season injuries. Mick has to do two things in my view: get the balance of the three behind Garner right and rotate players sensibly.
Do that and we can seriously compete for the play-offs again this season. I would still expect us to fall a bit short but there's so much more about us than last season that it should be enjoyable to watch us try. [Post edited 23 Nov 2017 12:18]
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| A few thoughts on 08:15 - Nov 23 with 893 views | christiand |
The hard part for MM now is who is going to play and where? Huws coming back, hopefully Adeyemi back imminently. Unless he changes the formation, then I can't see them all playing. Connolly is certainly making a good case to remain in the side and that is probably the best I have seen Skuse play for a long time. Good problems to have, but it will be an extremely tough decision for MM especially as the front four are scoring. He really needs the defensive due to sit in front of the back four as we aren't strong enough defensively. |  |
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| A few thoughts on 08:16 - Nov 23 with 887 views | tractorboy1978 |
I agree with the majority of this, there is certainly a lot more to be positive about than there was last season.
However, I think when all 4 of Garner, Waghorn, Didz and Celina start that leaves us with little option to change it without being weaker. There have been enough threads on Sears now but despite offering pace his end product has been next to non-existant for a long time. He lacks that composure and ability to make the right decision at the vital moment.
And Ward is similar for me, has a bit of pace, takes a decent dead ball but again not convinced he is clinical enough in the final third. He has the same tendency to run about a lot without being effectual. | | | |
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