Just Back on the Train.

Hard to find fault with that performance. Crewe were dreadful again but I do think they looked worse because we were so much better.

We closed the ball down, kept us shape and the 3 at the back works a dream for us.

The pitch didn’t help either side although as the game wore on I suspect Crewe were happy with how shite it was because a few times Town could’ve been away and the ball got stuck.

The soft core man was excellent. A player that looks like he’s not very good and looks like he doesn’t do a lot yet appeared all over the park and their full back didn’t have a clue how to stop it.

Their centre halves were swapped and neither couple could deal with us. They’ll be sick of the sight of seeing us this season.

Link up play between Mcatee and Lloyd was excellent and big shout to Morris who has come in from the cold and looks like he’s never been away.

Max commanding his box again and when ya come away from an away day with three points, three goals, a clean sheet and the home side having only one shot you know it’s been a good day…

Quoted from pontoonlew

Great result and nice to be in an away end that didn’t stop from the first minute.

Lloyd is exactly what McAtee needed, he’s an improvement on all our strikers based on that. He’s what we were told we were getting, a deceptively strong lad who will run through walls, the surprising part was how good he was technically. Great work to set McAtee through who finished very well with the help of some bad goalkeeping and then a superb finish himself after McAtee returned the favour.

Emmanuel was so out of place, both from an ability and physicality perspective, he’s the player we’d hoped we’d signed.

The formation is by far our best and I’m pleased it’s been kept, we look absolutely solid and don’t lose any attacking threat which can be the worry.

Thought Hunt had a good game too and proved his worth.

Overall, a very good win against an absolutely shite Crewe side and a lot to be pleased about.

Love that!

I think it was our best performance of the season.

Clearly McAtee’s best game since before his injury, he had the swagger, that mojo back. When the ball came to him you thought something would happen every time. He scored and set one up, he makes a real difference when he’s at it.

We can attribute McAtee’s improvement to a couple of things. Firstly, the emergence of Lloyd. He is everything as described, he worked so hard, won balls he had no right to win and was better technically than I’d anticipated. He had a great touch and the flick for McAtee’s goal was from beyond this level. Really really impressed.

I also think having three midfielders behind him helped McAtee. Hunt had his best game since he re-signed in the summer. He was given more space than he reckons to get in L2 but moved the ball faster and more accurately than he has been, in those fleeting moments we’ve seen so far.

Emmanuel is on a different stratosphere in terms of ability, both physically and technically. He’s like Michee on steroids as he has the same attributes, strength, pace and athleticism but he’s on a different level in terms his ceiling with those traits. Their defenders didn’t have a clue how to deal with him. He ghosted passed defenders, put nasty deliveries in very early. He grew into the game, he was good in the first half and unplayable after the break. We’ve probably got our hands on the best player in L2 if he can stay fit. Such a shame he can’t play on Tuesday night.

The back three just seems to suit us and our strengths, excellent CB’s, quality wing backs, lots of decent midfielders and the necessity for McAtee to have someone to play off.

Now, it’s only one game and they were truly awful but I’d be surprised if we didn’t move up the table now. The signings definitely appear to have improved us.

Great result. Hursty does it again! After all the 'bargain basement' insults, two of the debutants go on to score.

Lloyd looks like he could be a good short-term replacement for Taylor. He's strong and energetic but also has the intelligence and touch to link-up with McAtee effectively. Emmanuel is as good as Hull fans said he'd be. Dickson-Peters wasn't on for long but poached a goal which is a sign of things to come hopefully.

Crewe were pretty dire and their pitch was atrocious - shows that we aren't the only ones struggling in that department.

I don't think this result turns us into play-off contenders but it hopefully pulls us out of our mid-season slump and puts the worriers' (myself included) nerves at ease. The games come thick and fast now - we should aim to ensure safety by mid/late March and secure a mid-table finish - anything more would be a bonus.

Bring on Luton.

Impressive performance and result when you consider that two players who played very well at Luton last week (Holohan and Orsi) were kept on the bench to protect them for the replay on Tuesday night.

Those that came in gave an excellent account of themselves. We sign a left back, Glennon drops to the bench and Amos puts in a great performance.

I think there's a player in Morris, a run of games and we'll see him start to dictate play. I know a few Hartlepool fans wanted to keep him there (and they tried signing him last month) but he remains with us.

I know some fans were underwhelmed with the January signings but I think it'll go something like this:

Mikey O'Neill and Dickson-Peters will be used fleetingly, mainly as subs to affect games when needed, but will return to their parent clubs in the summer having done what we needed them to do.

I think we'll want to sign Emmanuel but he'll put himself in the shop window and we'll be disappointed when he signs for Blackpool or someone like that.

And we'll probably be disappointed when we can't sign Lloyd permanently because Cheltenham will realise his true potential.

One game, sure — we could get knocked out of the cup on Tuesday and get turned over at home by Colchester next weekend, which would bring us crashing back down to earth.

However, I think these signings, particularly the loans, are gonna be a reflection of the data-led approach we're taking in the transfer market. Seeing something in them that's beyond their goals-to-games ratio on Wiki.

I got the impression with Emmanuel that we had an option if he got himself right again. May we’ll be wrong though.

Great to see McAtee back in his real position. Delighted the new lads scored. But Emmanuel is the one that seems to be genuinely exciting. On paper he seemed a great signing, but thought he’d be getting fit for a few weeks. Straight in and on fire. Could be a massive signing.

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

I got the impression with Emmanuel that we had an option if he got himself right again. May we’ll be wrong though.

Hope so. We seem to have signed the best player in this league.

How did Efete do in the 3? Did he push forward and support Emmanuel in attacks?

Great game.

Negatives:  Vernam and Dallas never got a touch!

Positives:  Everything.  New lads slotted in exceptionally well.  

WE MADE Crewe awful.  We never let the settle on the ball.  Our shape was excellent, not allowing them to break through.  They did once but Maher who seemed yards behind the attacker, made up ground and got a good tackle in. Seemed to have tons of blue shirts in the box for every cross.

MOM:  Hard to call.  McAtee, Lloyd or Emmanuel (cool as a cucumber)