Away v Grimsby Town

Like Cambridge, probably wouldnt have mattered if they had been reduced to 10 men!

 

We’d have just made like for like subs and then brought in a left-back to shore us up...!

The subs in that opening game were a disgrace from Bowyer

 

I'm guessing that it was early had a part to play but also that Donaldson didn't have control of the ball and it being wide of the goal will have counted against it being a red. Even if VAR was in play i think there would be enough doubt for it not to be overturned

 

The point about McCartan over Doyle is that deep lying no 10/tip of the diamond is his natural position and he has demonstrated that he can be a good player there.

Doyle at no 10 makes a fish out of water look comfortable.

If we were playing Doyle up top alongside Donaldson or Vaughan then he'd be a much better option than McCartan for that position. But we aren't. So he isn't.

 

Thankfully, Doyle Vs McCartan for a spot in a two man strike force won't happen without an injury to Donaldson or Vaughan.

Let's all pray that doesn't happen!

 

No, I get that and I fully agree.

But I’m not referring to the calls for McCartan to play the role instead of Doyle. I’m referring specifically to the claims that some call Doyle useless (not just ‘at the tip of the diamond’), but want us to give Shay a run because ‘he scored goals for Champions Lincoln’.

 

Oh, that one is easy.

The reason is, this is League Two, and if you thought officials in League One were often incompetent, recall how bad they were last time around in L2...

 

Confidence in what’s in front of him will also play a big part

 

I think it's very hard to judge just how good or bad Doyle is now. He has been effective at some clubs and less so at others. What we do know is that he is utterly ineffective both as a target man and as a no 10. He's supposedly a fox in the box but none of our managers have been prepared/able to play him in that role.

 

Regarding Doyle..... Didn't he fail a medical somewhere? It makes me wonder if whatever the issue was is affecting him, I don't know what he offers. Wouldn't suprise me if Edin ignored any warnings about a medical and blew a large portion of the budget in an effort to appease some fans with a big name signing.

 

Did he?

 

went to the game with me old man and a friend which was a fun day out as we don't do many away games. I thought the diamond didn't work at all well, if we're gonna play that then the fullbacks need to be providing the width and bombing up and down each flank yet both mellor and Henley turned back every time they got to the half way line which made us slow and predictable. It almost seemed to be like this was the instruction to them both but I felt it took the sting out of our play.I also thought Henley was poor and especially so in the 2nd half as a lot of Grimsbys attacks seemed to come from his side. Longridge to start next game for me.

I think Gibson again had a good game but in the 1st half was too deep to really hurt them.His cross for Vaughans goal in the 2nd half was a peach and I think those two seem to be getting a good understanding as it was Gibsons pass that led to the overhead kick last week. As much as I would replace him with reeves when fit, itd be a shame as I think hes slowly becoming a tidy little player, although his decision making is still infuriating at times. Definitely showing way more blood and guts than last season though. Doyle was crap again and as per last week, not being able to control, pass the ball, win headers or tackle has shite all to do with if you're at the tip of a diamond or a target man.He's just rubbish. Vaughan and Donaldson put themselves about well and Donaldson in particular was responsible for some much welcomed shithousery on our part. He's made drawing a foul into a fine art that lad. Goal was off side but you take these decisions as they inevitably even themselves out over a season.

Also felt the ref was pretty poor as both teams mugged him off all game.

Anderson was crap, completely anonymous and I'd rather we play Devine who's looked tidy enough when called upon. As someone who used to play as a holding midfielder myself, I really like the way he recycles the ball and would be worth a punt at DM if he can work on his strength and tackling. Palmer wasn't very good at all by his standards last week, quite wayward passing and relatively poor set pieces again which is becoming a worry with the big lads we have in the side. Again Reeves coming in would benefit him as I think they'd be effective hunting as a pair in midfield with a DM as cover so they could push forward a bit.

The change to 4-4-2 gave us a lot more impetus in attack with the introduction of Scannell, he needs to be starting for me as we really miss a direct ball carrier with a little bit of pace when he doesn't play.Even before he'd kicked a ball Grimsby had to change shape and sit back more to cope with what they knew he's capable of. The change did leave us a bit more open but I think we have enough in defence to cope, BRE's mentalist distribution aside. I really like him for his strength and determination but he has a pair of boats for feet and can't pass for shit. However it's also L2 so that's not a huge worry given AOC can pass reasonably well alongside him. Still think he's a nob but his rehabilitation continued with another good performance here. O'Donnell played really well for me, looks a lot more like the goalie we saw at the start of last season rather than joe hart-esque screaming mess towards the end of the season.

FInally, a massive F U to the idiots letting off a flare right above the disabled fans in our end and that just shows the thoughtlessness of it all for me. I'm all for being a bit boisterous and having a laugh at the footy, and we had some good back and forth with the Grimsby lot at times but the muppets on the right hand side of our stand want to be ashamed of themselves as the vulnerable fans there are our own. Unforgivable even if they were the other sides fans but again it just highlights the lack of thought/care for those around them imo.

 

Bowyer getting a lot of stuck on here and partly correct but a lot of scare mongering.

We have had the second most shots in the whole of the efl in our opening two games. The tide will turn with a couple of tweaks. We are not far away.

 

Agreed, I don't see anything to worry about at this stage.

I think we will be around the play offs, which is as good as can be expected after last season.

 

Iv'e seen enough in glimpses from both Vaughan and Donaldson to know that if they had the bulk of those shots in decent positions the pair of them would have scored a bucket load, and they've barely had a sniff.

At things stand I don't think Anderson, Gibson, Palmer and Doyle are going to spearhead a promotion push. Suspect quality and players out of position to boot. We are though solid enough defensively and are probably 2 decent players away from becoming a force to be reckoned with so will be patient until we bring new recruits in.

 

He didn't fail a medical but he did suffer from a blood clot near the end of his original loan spell at Oldham which cost him a move in January 2018 with Scunthorpe putting in a 300k bid for him only for it be withdrawn due to the blood clot which was going to keep him out until March 2018 but once he was back he played 90 minutes most matches so doesn't look like it affected him once he was back.
For me the problem is more how we are playing him, we've gone from playing him as a target man to a number 10 which he is neither and i suspect it has frustrated him a lot. Either he has to play as part of a front 2 alongside Vaughan or Donaldson or he's got to be on the bench (more likely) rather than shoehorning him into a position that doesn't suit him.

 

The only reason to worry is if we are still in the same situation as this 10 games from now. Its too early to be too pessimistic as we still have a decent front two. But that midfield aint gonna fix itself with the players currently being used. A couple of additions in there and i’ll start to be a bit more optimistic.