Match Thread Away to Southend Tuesday 26th January at 7.00pm

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/league-two/12199929/southend-1-3-bradford

 

Three assists for Cooke if you use Fantasy Premier League rules (saved shots counting as assists).

Take a bow, son. You can't finish for toffee, but you're a nimble, creative fella.

 

Well done for the second half great and important result, let’s do Barrow now to put relegation fears to bed.

Great to see Evans get a few and off the mark, plus Rowe’s first if hopefully many.

Not looked forward to games so much for so long.

 

Haha, it's a given at the minute that our household is paying a tenner for an away game.

Wonder how many City fans are watching us, given that we've three season ticket holders here that only count as one buy?

 

Nice to see that Rowe isn't just a 30-40 yard tonker, he can finish too - but you're right, perfect passes to him and Evans. He was also the furthest forward on pretty all those goals, which does ask a couple of questions when Novak is fit - does Novak play as an advanced forward, thus pushing Rowe back to a number 10 role, and in turn pushing Cooke further back, and does that stifle our creativity at all?

 

Saturdays commentary at Cambridge was superb as well.

 

could Cooke come out to the current Billy Clarke role, still be able to pull strings from there considering it's not an out and out winger in this formation..?

 

No idea, but if he could adapt to that position it could become the making of him, to be honest. Has the footwork, has the smart passing to lay it off, even has the ability to lead a charge. He's not a winger, but it could work.

 

Morning Chris is Danny Rowe the new Barry Conlon ?

 

i think what has become obvious is the days of Warnock,Allardyce and Pulis are over ,the game has changed we have 2 young coaches with modern ideas who are modern thinkers ,not some has beens who stand on the touchline ranting and raving at referees for 90 mins,those guys are only employed by clubs who are usually struggling to avoid relegation and are short term appointments .We can now look forward to a brighter future with Trueman and Sellars in charge.

 

Formation & tactics. Simples

 

Now that's exactly what I thought but the commentators said Southend hadn't had back to back home wins v us since something like 1980. My perception was that we usually lost there, but looking back over the last 11 years we have actually won 4 and lost 3 of 9.

 

Imagine the space he would have playing behind Jon Stead. I went to bed last night dreaming about his layoff for the little leprechaun and thinking imagine Rowe hitting those layoffs at full pelt. He'd tear the back out of the net.

 

I think we have a reasonable assessment of our form
against Southend away. Our home form against them
is pretty good.

Up to 87/88 season we had played them 20 times.

Home W9 D1 L0
Away W0 D4 L6

Away games since 1980

80 Lost
82 Lost
84 Lost
2011 Lost
2016 Lost
2018 Lost
2019 Lost

Not surprising we have a memory of being
an unhappy place to go. They are right about
back to back wins but we have missed seasons
when they got promoted. We had a big gap when
we were playing higher.

 

See Allydyce at West Brom, the thinking must have been he could do better than Slaven Bilic.

In my opinion, it was a backwards step. Would either manager keep West Brom up? I have my doubts.

So looking forward. Who would give West Brom greater chance of returning to the Premier League... Bilic Imo. Much more expansive, open football, akin to a modern day championship.

Instead, Sam will see West Brom relegated, unlikely to have the modern qualities to see em promoted back and dismissed. Payout, conveyor belt and more uncertainty.

Dinosaur football. When he was given the job I actually wished relegation for The Baggies

 

Rowe is superb from what I have seen

 

After being a little frustrated with Cooke on Saturday he was brilliant last night at playing off Rowe. I was really impressed from the goal kicks at how many Rowe would flick on Cooke would pick the flick up on because he'd gambled on Rowe winning it.

Small attention to detail in the game is really starting to give us some momentum, long may it continue.

 

Spot on. Big Sam will do about as well at WBA as Pulis did at Sheff Wed. Like you say, it's dinosaur football, and to be honest that would be my fear in Parky coming back. He's very much set in his ways of 442 with a fullback/ defensive midfielder sat on one wing. The future's bright, the future's T&S. Not that I initially appreciated that though.