Most liked posts in thread: No Width, No Pace, No Idea

I'm a firm believer in playing a winger who's proper position is a winger. I've seen enough of Gibson now to realise he's not the answer to a left winger problem, he has attributes but they are more suited to a more infield role. Look how effective the last proper winger we had was, Mark Marshall. Has full backs in all sorts of problem the season he was player of the year because he had the ability to go at them. I've yet to see the lad from Walsall so i can't pass judgement but the side as it stands is crying for a wide player who can genuinely beat a man because the jury is still out on Scannell.

 

Because they are expected to be up there in their respective leagues, Cardiff and Fulham had bad results against two of the favourites for relegation. The point is it’s the opening day, these results are a common occurrence. Even a journalist the other day said he’d rather pick the lotto than predict the opening day.

Still all that doesn’t excuse a poor second half performance, which I don’t think anyone is defending. It was a game which had more negative ms than positives, but positives were there mainly in the first half. Couple of more players needed no doubt about that.

 

To a certain degree I agree with you but it's an option, may be he's playing Doyle in a way to show agents/managers that he's playing and available? But I wouldn't want to see Doyle in that role for many more games.

 

It’s a shame that football is played on grass and not paper then. Having a better squad means zilch. I’m sure our squad from last season wasn’t the worst, yet it finished bottom by a distance.

 

Definitely not. He is a second striker or a no10. He isn’t good enough to play up top and certainly not the player to stick on the wing. May as well play Gibson there as McCartan.

If we are to play him, it has to be in the role that Doyle was asked to do on Saturday.

 

But 442 doesn't necessarily mean two out & out wingers. Parky played 442 with one winger and a wide midfielder tucking in on other side. SM did likewise with Law tucking in opposite Marshall. We could do likewise with Wood or Gibson on the opposite side from Scannell or Ismail.

 

If played right theres nothing wrong with direct football, especially when you have the pace of Vaughan and the hold up play of Donaldson. Where it does become a waste is like on Saturday when pumping aimless balls downfield toward a defensive set 10 men. Bowyer does have options, albeit limited, but he cannot play all three strikers together, it does not work. McCartan is an option but we do need to bring more in with Bowyer handicapped somewhat with the inneffective Patrick, the unavaible Robinson and the permanently injured Reeves. Two of them would more than likely feature if available, the other picking up a long term wage on the back of yet another Rahic *@?$ up.

 

Whatever system you call it we need width we were far to easy to defend against on Saturday and you can bet your life we will face the same again particularly at home we have to stretch and get behind and get them on the back foot. Don’t think we would have scored if we had played all night and yet we have strikers with a good reputation

 

And a poor central midfield, Palmer and one of the others we have would be over ran at will.

Luton played a narrow diamond for the last two years and they didn’t do to badly, with their full backs providing the width. Mellor did it at times on Saturday in the first half, but there were times when both full had so much space but often weren’t found. It looked like a team still learning a new system to me and trying to gel. Changing tactic now won’t help. We went 4-4-2 last 15 on Saturday and all it didn’t was allow 10 man Cambridge more time on the ball, and we still didn’t look like scoring.

 

He's hardly rapid.

 

The only time we looked dangerous at all on Saturday was the last part of the first half with Mellor down the right providing width and the last five ten minutes with Scannell the rest of the time we were just running headlong into a Brick wall of defenders. I am not saying the system can’t work it obviously can. But it requires the full back getting forward and a proper number 10 to link midfield with the forwards similar to what Clarke used to do

 

I'm not putting Scannell in either Beagrie or Summerbee's bracket but neither of those two had genuine pace and we didn't do to bad with their style of wing play.

 

If he's ever fit to play for us McCartan may well do a decent job. I would hazard a guess that the injury situation lingers for a long while and we don't see much of him though. One of the biggest let downs of a signing in recent history.

 

Yes he did so well in that No 10 position we loaned him out to Lincoln for the season, you've made my point @YungNath highlighted above, IE my last throw of the dice .

 

Enough to build on for the first game of the season. We did the basics right and lacked a little bit of luck to get the ball in the net. Definitely one or two players short but we never looked like losing and had chances to win the game. Doyle was the worst player on the pitch for us by a mile, the best thing he did was get substituted.

 

I disagree about passing out from back. I much prefer to see this than just lumping up front

 

Two banks of four lads, it's elementary even if it isn't your first choice tactic, it's a solid backup and every squad should have players to fill those positions.

For instance when the opposition goes a man down and you want to put pressure on them for the remaining half hour....

 

Exactly. Scunthorpe lost today but I still fully expect them to finish in the top 7, Grimsby won but I don't think they'll finish anywhere near the playoffs. People are reading far too much into one game.

 

Totally agree. What he sees in Anderson god only knows. Marty P I think is a good player but played so far back he wasn’t really influential. Need width and more quicker midfielders. Gibson should be playing wider imo. I know first game and all that and a few to come back but let’s try not to play catch up early doors

 

If i'm playing a straight back four i'm not that bothered about my full backs getting up, there should be enough options already further up the pitch. I would try Mellor further up the pitch rather than full back, always gives an account of himself when played upfield.