Away vs Cambridge United - Sat 15 Feb 2020

McCarten scores goals. McCarten does not protect the defence and makes midfield look weak at times. HHhhmmm ... Overall effect probably varies with the team we play against. If Stevenage had equalised when they were pressing and it had finished 2-2, it would be a much more interesting debate. You can usually allow for a flair player that does not do the defending basics if the other players like him and you keep winning. Wood had a cracking game and made up for some of McCarten's deficiencies defending. Well, we won so I say we play him but his workrate is the one I'll be checking first if the team is plays badly.

 

McCarten is better when he has a bit of space to run at teams which he did at times the other night. We could do with one or two more to do that. It was good to see Reeves turn up in the box a couple of times as well.

 

Spot on this.

Said it after the match that if we would of played any other team we would of lost.

McCartan scored two goals but his overall game was extremely poor.

 

Sorry, McCartan running at players. He doesn't have the pace or the skill.

He has a shot at sight method on Tuesday but wasn't a performance he would be proud of producing overall.

 

What debate would there be? He was subbed off well before their chance to equalise, so how would it have been his fault?

 

He did play well especially second half

 

You've low standards it's clear.

Every player was rubbish in the 1st half.
2nd half we scored two but I thought they were the better score.

Having 2 shots a goal that went in doesn't mean the player had s good game overall.

 

Talk of dropping a player who scored two goals from midfield in a side that doesn’t score goals? Baffling. Worlds gone mad

 

He scored a great goal and a tap in and tested the keeper several more times. He played well especially second half

 

Best was he didn’t do anything except score 2 goals, isn’t that the whole aim of football

 

It seems crazy that people are talking of dropping McCartan. He won us a point at Swindon and won us 3 points against Stevenage. He is our most in form attacking player (I appreciate the bar is pretty low).

I like the tactic of having an out and out winger on the right and then McCartan drifting inside from the left. It allows McCartan to drop into the pockets of space in the final third and also enables our best crosser, Wood, to get forward and deliver balls into the box. Early days with this setup but the second half against Stevenage was a big improvement on previous performances and hopefully a sign of things to come.

 

There’s no way Stuart will leave out Mcartan but in an away fixture I doubt he’ll play him out wide as in the last match. I suspect he’ll play behind the single striker, Novak. I think
Akpan might retain his place for his size against a big physical side. Or will
Stuart have seen enough?

 

Heads up guys LNER have cancelled a load of trains. I was due on the 8:45 from Leeds and the 17:54 back, both cancelled after using ticket splitter for single tickets too. Could turn out an expensive one.

 

Bowyer would have dropped McCarten because he scored 2 goals. Wouldn't have been in his game plan.

 

Anyone remember our 4-0 win down at Cambridge around 84/85?

Hawley scored 2 along with Bobby Campbell if memory serves.

Remember the conga we all did at the end of the game!

 

I'm surprised a bigger club hasn't snapped you up with that level of analysis Rod.

 

Think Ron Atkinson was their manager?

 

I don’t know whether Stuart has seen enough but I have!! The thing about him is you might if you are lucky, get a couple of really good passes, but rest of time he is wandering around and bottling out of tackles.