Promising Signs In Time for the Play-Offs (Fingers Crossed We Make Them)

Neufville was much better on Saturday against Bolton but for weeks he's been poor. Metcalfe has been very inconsistent too of late with errors and poor decision making creeping into his game. While some of our defending has been uncharacteristically sloppy, resulting in the concession of a number of poor goals.

But in spite of our slump in both performances and results, GA has stuck with pretty much the same team (injuries permitting), despite many abject performances.

Availability has had a hand in that to be fair, like Ashby who played a blinder at Wycombe then came off injured and missed the next couple of games when seemingly destined to finally get his chance. Powell too has obviously missed a lot of football, so understandably his minutes need to be carefully managed.

My only gripe is how we've ignored the likes of Lapslie during the poor spells, especially when by all accounts he has an impeccable attitude in training.

I think the same argument could be said of Joe Wright and Will Swan too because they haven't had a good run in the team since early on in the season. And it's unfair to look at isolated performances when we all know you need a run of games to play into some form.

But Ashby aside, they've been getting more game time recently and we've looked better for it. They turned the game around at Barnsley only for sloppy decision making to cost us the win. They've made a difference when either starting or coming on in the two home games last week too.

Tilt was awarded MotM at the weekend, and it's true he was very good but my choice was Lapslie again who worked tirelessly throughout and it seemed all our good attacking work came through him.

And he once again moved into the middle when Metcalfe came off as he did against Plymouth, and I thought he was excellent there and ran the show from that point on.

Twice he's stepped into central midfield against two of the leagues' strongest teams, and he's single-handedly won the midfield battle that gave us more control of the game and resulted in plenty of chances being created - something that's been in short supply of late.

Had we realised a month of two ago how good he can be for us centrally, then we might well have been challenging Cardiff for second, or at the very least... guaranteed of a play-off spot long before now.

Assuming we make the play-offs though, I feel more confident of our chances now that he's getting a look in because of the impact he's having on games. I couldn't see how we were gonna compete or create enough chances against the likes of Stockport and Bolton for a spot in the Championship given we've been so lacklustre and easy to play against.

Now I'm seeing some fight and enough spark to make us a threat to any team.

One potential upside to overlooking players for so long, is like with Jackson and Powell who are coming back rested after lengthy spells out through injury... most of our fringe players are fresh and are raring to go, which could give us an advantage while opposition regulars grow weary after a long and gruelling season.

I'd like to see Lapslie started ahead of Metcalfe on Saturday because I'm a strong believer that you're more likely to take all 3 points if you win the midfield battle... and for too long, we've been coming second best in that department.

I think he matches Metcalfe for tenacity and tackling, but he's a goal-scoring, box-to-box midfielder, with a tenacious press, and excellent 'football IQ'. He can see a pass while he also makes intelligent runs that often result in chances, or cause headaches for opposing defenders that lead to chances for team mates.

That's not a slight on Metcalfe as he's been our young PotS. Few of us expected him to progress so quickly, especially after his first few appearances which were shaky to say the least. But he's young so rest is essential for his growth, and a little time to reflect on his game (and his first full season as a whole) would serve him well in the long run.

So, I'd definitely go with Lapslie alongside Power right now... where he can have a bigger influence on games and if GA wants to keep the #10 position in this slightly modified formation that we've seen over the past two matches, then either slot Sarce or Powell in there (presuming either are fit).

 

I think GA gave it away the other day when he mentioned he was surprised at how well he played in midfield as he sees it as a #6 - pivot, which I guess he didn't realise Lapslie was suited to. He's been thinking of him only as a replacement for Sarce. So, I'm hoping after another good performance in the middle on Saturday might be enough to convince the gaffer that, he's more than just a stand in there, but actually, he's probably our best midfielder.

Let's see who he selects against Exeter.

Yeah, he does have another year from the summer so he's not going anywhere just yet.

 

Metcalfe did some good things but he also ran into trouble quite a bit and gave the ball away too often. While he can be energetic and get stuck in to tackles, I think it's his decision making he needs to improve on and his understanding of what's happening in game, because it's alright when GA tells him, what he expects of him but when the opposition come with a tactic to stop that, then he can't quite figure a way around it.

I don't know how many times I saw him turn around with the ball the other day, only for a Bolton player to be waiting to take the ball off him. It's like he's got these preferences - one of which is to spin on the ball to get out of trouble, but when the opponents figure it out, he doesn't have an alternative option so he carries on doing it.

That will come with experience and coaching, and this is why you often need to take young players out for a little while - so he can pick these things up and add them to his game as he reflects on the good and bad.

Power looks knackered I must admit though. Problem is, we don't have a direct replacement. We need his influence and leadership out on the field. This is why I think Lapslie has breathed life into the team the past couple of games, especially when dropping to midfield, because he's adding a lot of energy and we've been winning the battle in midfield while he's been in there.

 

We need to control midfield if you ask me. We've been second best for a while and reverted to long balls lately. Lapslie in midfield has given me hope that we can take control of games and start moving the ball around better.

He presses really well as does Jackson, so with them two putting defenders under pressure and the return of Bobby and Sarce either side... I think goals will come more freely than of late.

 

If we're in L1 next year, we'll be starting pre-season from a much stronger footing than last year.

First of all we had to turn a L2 squad into one that could compete against bigger budgets and better quality players.
Then we were viewed by potential signings as a newly promoted team likely to struggle, which meant all the top prospects joined clubs expected to challenge.

This year it's different... half the squad are good L1 quality players already... we offloaded the remaining L2 level players in January, so we can look to build squad depth and increase overall standards further.. and not only will we be viewed as promotion hopefuls (if we don't go up), but we were the 2nd highest supported team and averaged 20K every week, so we'll certainly be a better prospect for players only willing to join a play-off contender - something we weren't at the start of last year.

I don't think you can look too much to January as a marker for a number of reasons, so even though it was a bad window in many respects, your options are much more limited mid-season than end. You end up taking gambles on a much smaller pool and choice for a player who might not even make your top10 list of potential targets come summer.

You're just trying to make do with what's on offer, and this year, Ashby and Jackson aside, January recruitment was poor.

It's a different beast altogether in the summer though and I back GA and co. to make the right signings that will push us on another level. Let's wait and see who they bring in, but I suspect we'll be purring at a few of the names which will ultimately help with our goal of playing better quality football and scoring more goals.

To be fair to GA, he's done exceptionally well with a mediocre L1 team. Look at the other 3 who came up with us to see where we should really have been competing this year. But he somehow managed (more often than not) to get them to punch above their weight and overachieve.

With an even better squad, then I expect him to continue extracting more from his players than most other managers do. Give him time and he'll assemble a top, top squad.

 

While being in form and having momentum does help, it's only ever a 'snapshot' of recent results. Good and bad form can start and end at any time. Personally, I think GA has been forced to learn one or two things these past 4 or 5 games, especially since 3 of those have been against potential play off rivals.

And there definitely has been some encouraging signs, particularly with Lapslie's performances. Hopefully GA is thinking the same thing, but on top of that, I would like to think we get Bobby and Sarce back as well, so here's hoping Saturday is the start of our new run of form.

 

He doesn't exactly have a 'range'. He has one ball which is extremely effective for us but only when he pings it from centre of defence out wide. It's almost as if he hits it as hard as he can and it happens to land perfect every time like with a 7 iron. The problem is, he, like the rest of us, gets a little giddy and seems to think it makes him David Beckham because he tries playing all sorts of other fancy passes and balls that are not on which turns possession over and puts us under pressure more often than not.

He over estimates his passing ability yet his shorter balls nearly always get intercepted. Don't get me wrong, he's definitely an asset for us, but all the hype doesn't help because it gives him a false confidence which makes him do things he shouldn't. Bolton stopped his cross field pass the other day and he kept playing into their hands as 'playing it simple' isn't the role of a 'world class playmaker'.

He's alright but needs to remember to stay in his lane and stick to what he's good at which is defending and switching play (WHEN IT IS ON), other than that, he should be giving it to the 'footballers' in the team.