Just back

Decent game tonight but if I can just pick out one tiny fault..........what's the hell's happened to the Strongbow Original ?  

on tonights showing , Welsh was a cut above this level

Thank you all for the feedback, it sounds very encouraging  

Well deserved win but rather too many heart in mouths moments with back passes. Welsh gave a stirring performance and Hessenthaler covered miles of turf. Their second keeper was a worry for them.

My 10p worth on tonight's showing and the squad.

Tonight:

Goalkeeper: Macca looked strong and as confident as ever tonight, distribution was good and he made a fantastic 1-1 save to keep the score 1-0.

Defence: Really like the look of the 3 centre halves in Davis, Whitmore and Collins. They all connected really well, were stong, and compact, won everything in the air and tried to play out from the back more often than not. Whitmore was a rock in the middle of the 3, Collins was the more vocal one, strong and kept them organised. Davis started well but lost possession a couple of times. As someone else pointed out, if we are to play this way then there will be times it doesn't go to plan but what I liked is that when we did lose it we didn't panic and we snuffed out the threat quickly. Davis looks to be the ball player of the 3 and I was impressed overall.
Famewo came on for the last 30 minutes in place of Davis and he looked good. Strong, powerful, good on the ball, great left peg and decent in the air, he also offers pace from back that none of the others do. Unlucky not to get on the scores wet with a decent volleyed effort on the turn late on.

Wingbacks: Clifton had a quiet start with a couple of misplaced passes but grew into the game until he was replaced on 75 minutes. His energy to get up and down was fantastic and he defended really well against the quick and dangerous Malik Wilks and git into some decent positions going forward. I've never had Harry pegged as a wingback but thought he performed really well overall.
Hall-Johnson had a very good game also, being a right footer he's always going to want to cut in on his right foot which can make him a little predictable but worked well for his goal which was a fantastic effort. Showed good work rate and determination in defence and going forward, his pace allowed him to make some good surges forward and he was neat and tidy on the ball. Dixon and Fox came on for the latter stages and both looked decent.

Midfield: Strongest are of the pitch for me. Welsh was excellent, always showing for the ball, playing simple but clever one touch passes and must have out in 20 or 30 sliding challenges, mostly regaining possession for Town. Most of the play went through him and he started some good moves off. If we can get 30 games out him thus season he will be one of our top performers no doubt about it. Such a clever player and the rest imof the teams feeds off him... A proper captain! He may pick up a few bookings but we've been screaming out for a player in his mould for ages! Hessenthaler really impressed me and ran Welsh close for MOTM IMO. Great energy to get up and down, and a real box to box player and showed some talent on the ball to go with his work rate. I think he'll be an important player this year and chip in with a few goals.
Mitch Rose, another standout performer, work rate, skill and passing all very good but looked to be limping a little when he was replaced.

Attack: Hooper, for all his effort didn't really threats the Donny back line. He pestered and harassed when not in possession but for me he doesn't use his strength enough and lacks the movement and intelligent runs needed in that role. Definitely much better playing left of a front 3 but that doesn't seem like the system we will be using this year. Centre forward is definitely not his position and if be a little concerned if we started the season with JJ as our main striker. Put him LFW and I think he'd bag 15-20 goals.
Vernham, just as I remembered. Clever link up play, comfortable on the ball and has a knack of picking out some neat passes. Surprisingly quick also and will certainly score a create a few goal this year providing the we can keep him fit! Robles, didn't really have enough time to make an impression but he does have a very strange running style and looks a little hit like a Sunday league player. Very raw and definitely one to develop rather than a starter IMO. Can't fault his work rate though and he won't give defenders a moments peace when he does play.

All in all I was impressed with the showing tonight. We definitely have a much better squad of players than last year and I think we'll surprise teams this season. What I noticed is that we have much more pace, creativity and intelligence in this squad which bodes well.

For me we are still missing a recognised centre forward, and someone in the Ryan Bowman mould who will lead the line, be a focal point and bag a few goals. Sometimes you just need that player who will Hol the ball up while other cowl into play and I'm not sure we have that at the moment. Cardwell could be that player perhaps Ince he gets his fitness back. Some pace at fullback would be beneficial too, Kioki from Burnley on loan maybe?

Apologies for the long-winded post.

Happy with that.

Can only echo the thoughts about the midfield, on that showing - we'll be fine in that area. Welsh mopped up very effectively and Hess has one hell of a motor on him (and was very unfortunate not to score from a very decent glancing header at the death).

JJ Hooper looks a new man to the one who was with us in the middle of last season. Looks mobile , strong and his link up play was very good tonight.

Vernam will be a class act if we can keep him fit. His direct running and just pace will terrorise defenses at this level, especially as he picks up confidence.

Centre half trio was very good , especially with the ball in the air. I do have a slight concern if Danny Collins is going to be expected to play ever week at his age but ultimately MJ and DC know his conditions x100 more thoroughly than me.

Macca made some fantastic saves tonight. However , to ruin the mood ever so slightly - I do have a question here. It was heavily expected of macca to play an awful lot with his feet tonight. Now, in terms of footballing philosophy - I agree that's the way to go. But I'm not entirely convinced that Macca is capable enough with his feet to play in this manner. On the whole we wasn't punished today but there was a few sketchy moments, especially when he was put onto his left foot. Ultimately we'll wait and see but that was a slight alarm bell.

Full backs are going to be pivotal this season. RHJ adapted to the new system very well. Took Clifton a tiny bit longer to get going but came into the game well in the end. Plus he will not play against many full backs as good as Danny Andrew this season , very harsh to read the comment about him "not being a full back" at this stage. Dixon came on and did well too, I wonder if he can kick on this season ?

All things considered , very happy and gutted to be missing the first few weeks of the season. UTM

After last years red card debacle we need to make sure we need to make sure we don't pick up daft yellows for delaying free kicks etc. Refs always start with fresh agendas and early zeal so let's be alive to it. Welshy has a key role here. It was noticeable how much Donny were in the ref's ear even in a friendly.

https://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/news/2018/july/youtube--doncaster-highlights/

If anyone hasn't see the goal/ highlights these are on YouTube

I quite like the shirts without players names on, they look so much smarter and cleaner somehow, less jumbled with just the number and the small Youngs logo on the back.

Are names compulsory anyway? Do refs need the name when they show yellows? Surely the number is what matters so couldn't teams do away with names and just leave names on the shirts to the fans

Quoted from Ipswin

I quite like the shirts without players names on, they look so much smarter and cleaner somehow, less jumbled with just the number and the small Youngs logo on the back.

Are names compulsory anyway? Do refs need the name when they show yellows? Surely the number is what matters so couldn't teams do away with names and just leave names on the shirts to the fans

FFS!