Just back

I totally accept that this was a pre season game designed to get game time into the legs and to help form understandings.

Having said that there were a few really good performances which is encouraging.

Collins and Whitmore were very strong and dominant. Davis did ok but a few underhit passes nearly cost us. If we are to play out from the back we have to accept that once in a while we may get caught out.
Clifton started poorly with his passes going astray but grew into the game and defended very well against Wilks in the 2nd half. H-J at left wing back was a huge threat going forward and scored a very well worked goal with a great finish from outside the box. Dixon actually made some good passes when he came on

Welsh was simply the best player on the park by a million miles. Years ago managers and coaches preached about having pictures in your head before you received the ball. Welsh seemed to know were every player was, opposition and team mate alike. Tackled and won the ball strongly, passed excellently. Dominated the Donny midfield.
Hessentaler was excellent too, tracked back, tried to make runs forward whenever  the opportunity arose. Rose had a slightly quieter game but still effective. Hooper and Vernam worked hard but we still need options.

Donny opened up on one occasion but Macca made an outstanding save.

Only 90 mins but encouraging but on the same basis (90 mins) Donny looked poor, Marquis who ripped us apart on his last visit turned in a nasty frustrated player more concerned with his hair than football.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a midfield!

Seconded cloudy was really encourage by what I saw

Thought welsh and hessenthaler were superb and clifton was everywhere. Harry is gonna be a real asset for us next season.
I told my dad that Welsh was a mix of Pouton and Futcher. A crunching tackler and lionheart but with the vision and anticipation. Hessenthaler has the tenacity of his dad but alot more mobile and a box to box player given the freedom because Welsh sweeps up in front of the back 4.
Generally defended very well though occasionally sloppy playing out of defence. Although he took his goal superbly, Hall Johnson is not a left wing back as uses his left foot to stand on. Expect Fox or Koiki (fingers crossed) to be the options on the left. Mitch Rose i am expecting to be the customary 2nd season improver of the season.

Hooper had a quiet game until the last 15 minutes and down the centre is definitely not his position. On the left of a front 3 as the end of last season is the preferred for me. Vernam was in and out the game but with some good touches and we still need a main striker.

Overall though a very solid game against a good league one side and i think a few league 2 sides will be surprised at how technically good we will be this season. Great workout and cant wait for the season to start

I thought dixon did well when he came on. Put some good balls in and got up and down well. Clifton is not a right wing back. Hessenthaler wil prove to be our best signing

Think Welsh will be the player we wanted McAllister to be (as long as he doesn’t get injured!).

For the first time in a while we appear to have genuine pace in a lot of positions. Very positive coming away from that. I know Vernam has been injured but his pacy late in the game run suggests he might be over it.

Good end to end match which Town deservedly won, playing some good football, defence and midfield great, just need a target man to play off and we will be fine,  and probably cause a few surprises.

Quoted from Garth

Good end to end match which Town deservedly won, playing some good football, defence and midfield great, just need a target man to play off and we will be fine,  and probably cause a few surprises.

My thoughts exactly.... Ryan Bowman anyone?

I did come away from tonight thinking where does Cook fit into this system?

Would we play both Vernham and Cook up top together?

We'd need to play on the deck 99% of the time for that to work but as others have pointed out, L2 defender struggle against players with pace and movement.

For me we're only a recognised centre forward, pace out wide (RFW) and cover at full back away from being a strong, well-balanced squad that could cause teams a lot of problems this year.

John Welsh showed exactly why Preston fans love him tonight and his positional sense allowed both Rose & Hess to go about their work higher up the pitch. Very good signs.

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!

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

FFS!

Why FFS? Seems perfectly sensible.

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

FFS!

Surely someone like you who never misses a game will know exactly which player is which without his name in block capitals on his back anyway I thought you might be better at numbers than actually reading.

Quoted from Ipswin

Surely someone like you who never misses a game will know exactly which player is which without his name in block capitals on his back anyway I thought you might be better at numbers than actually reading.

You really are a ray of bloody sunshine aren't you fella!

You've spent the last 4 months whinging about everything from choice of manager, tactics, signings and when you've run out of things you move onto bloody players names on shirts because it looks 'too jumbled'..... For Christ's sake have you ever seen the good in anything?!? You must be an absolute joy to be around at Christmas!

Back to your point.... I'm interested to hear just how you know how games I've attended in recent times? Or was it, as I suspect just a throwaway comment to back up your poorly constructed argument?

Also I'd say I fairly proficient at both numeracy and literacy 😁

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

you move onto bloody players names on shirts because it looks 'too jumbled'.

Back to your point.... I'm interested to hear just how you know how games I've attended in recent times? Or was it, as I suspect just a throwaway comment to back up your poorly constructed argument?

Look at the vid of last night's game again, don't you think the shirts look better with just the number on that white background?

My throwaway comment was to pre-empt your inevitable remark about how many games I attend. If you are a regular can't you recognise the players without their names on the shirts?

Quoted from Ipswin

Look at the vid of last night's game again, don't you think the shirts look better with just the number on that white background?

My throwaway comment was to pre-empt your inevitable remark about how many games I attend. If you are a regular can't you recognise the players without their names on the shirts?

Mate I have no interest in how many games you or any other fan attends.... Somebody attending 46 games a season is no more a fan in my eyes than someone who lives out out Town and attend 5 or 10!l

I actually like the names on the back of shirts, it feels like there's something missing if only the number displayed and a little bit Sunday league... But hey each to their own!

Far more impressive performance than those against Clee Town and Sunderland.  Players looked far sharper and comfortable on the ball.  At times we played some lovely stuff and it was only the long grass (which is sensible from the ground staff) that held it up.

Defence is still getting used to playing it out from the back a bit but it's getting there.  Collins obviously looks the more comfortable of the 3 in doing that whereas Davies and Whitmore look they've not perhaps played that way before.  Famewo looks very confident with the ball too so I wonder if he'll force his way in.

Welsh looked the business after a couple of underwhelming displays previously.  Completely bossed the Donny attacking midfielder.  Sits nice and steady in front of the back three, breaks everything up and then moves it on.  Exactly what we need.  Also got the intelligence and experience to cover the wingbacks when they push forward too.

Hessenthaler has got a real engine on him and moved forward with the ball well.  Rose's stamina makes a mockery of where he was 12 months ago.  He looks a fair bit leaner too.

Not a fan of wide players playing on their wrong side, especially with a wingback as they're the only ones down that flank.  Hall-Johnson did fine and showed with his goal (and shot soon after) the benefits of a player on their wrong side but I think it leaves you a little bit vulnerable.  Clifton on the other flank has probably given Jolley more of a headache.  I want to see him in the middle but he looked excellent down that side.  

Up top Vernam looked very lively, although wasn't dropping as deep as I remembered from his first spell.  Hooper still looks a player who'll score 5 in 5 and then do nothing for the next 10 games.  A real Neil Woods type of striker.  Keen to see how Cardwell can perform when he's back fit but we're still missing one striker up there for me.  A proper physical striker who can cause problems, rough people up but also hold it up to bring others into play.  Hooper isn't that type of striker and if he is the striker we start with, there's no point in expecting him to do anything when he's got his back to goal.

FWIW I felt it was fairly jarring not seeing the names on the shirts.

Must be pre-season when you have nothing to complain about other than the names on the back of a shirt.

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

If someone offered you a free holiday to Tenerife you would want to go to Elevenerife 🤣

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Must be pre-season when you have nothing to complain about other than the names on the back of a shirt.

I AM NOT flipping COMPLAINING

I just thought the shirts without names looked good that's all

Personally I don't give a flying intercourse what footballers choose to have on their shirts, half of the illegitimates don't have their full names anyway just either an abbreviation or a given name that they expect everyone to recognise

Why does everyone want the names on the shirts anyway? Granted GTFC have had so many useless dossers on loan or on short term contracts that many can't tell who is who but if they moved a bit faster you shouldn't be able to read the name anyway

I just liked the shirts as they were in the Donny game OK everybody?

Quoted from livosnose

If someone offered you a free holiday to Tenerife you would want to go to Elevenerife 🤣

I've got Formica worktops in my kitchen.  Ipswin wants fivemica in his  

Quoted from Ipswin

I AM NOT flipping COMPLAINING

I just thought the shirts without names looked good that's all

Personally I don't give a flying intercourse what footballers choose to have on their shirts, half of the illegitimates don't have their full names anyway just either an abbreviation or a given name that they expect everyone to recognise

Why does everyone want the names on the shirts anyway? Granted GTFC have had so many useless dossers on loan or on short term contracts that many can't tell who is who but if they moved a bit faster you shouldn't be able to read the name anyway

I just liked the shirts as they were in the Donny game OK everybody?

and that is not complaining????

Time for another review of your medication Swin?😉

Dear Ipswin-I think one or two on here are trying to wind you up-don't keep on biting although this once I do agree with Mighty Mariner [although it gives me a pain in my nether regions to say so] but it's not really worth arguing about as it was only your opinion and THIS time you weren't complaining.

Quoted from golfer

Dear Ipswin-I think one or two on here are trying to wind you up-don't keep on biting although this once I do agree with Mighty Mariner [although it gives me a pain in my nether regions to say so] but it's not really worth arguing about as it was only your opinion and THIS time you weren't complaining.

Have I done something to upset you golfer?

You keep giving me red crosses

Quoted from livosnose

If someone offered you a free holiday to Tenerife you would want to go to Elevenerife 🤣

I wouldn't go to either if you paid me

Crappy lower class resorts full of low life idiots in football shirts with their names on the back

Quoted from Ipswin

I wouldn't go to either if you paid me

Crappy lower class resorts full of low life idiots in football shirts with their names on the back

southern snob

Quoted from golfer

You keep giving me red crosses

Damnit have I been 'sleep red-crossing' again? 🤔

Quoted from Ipswin

I wouldn't go to either if you paid me

Crappy lower class resorts full of low life idiots in football shirts with their names on the back

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

You really are a ray of bloody sunshine aren't you fella!

You've spent the last 4 months whinging about everything from choice of manager, tactics, signings and when you've run out of things you move onto bloody players names on shirts because it looks 'too jumbled'..... For Christ's sake have you ever seen the good in anything?!? You must be an absolute joy to be around at Christmas!

Back to your point.... I'm interested to hear just how you know how games I've attended in recent times? Or was it, as I suspect just a throwaway comment to back up your poorly constructed argument?

Also I'd say I fairly proficient at both numeracy and literacy 😁

Quoted from Ipswin

I AM NOT flipping COMPLAINING

I just thought the shirts without names looked good that's all

Personally I don't give a flying intercourse what footballers choose to have on their shirts, half of the illegitimates don't have their full names anyway just either an abbreviation or a given name that they expect everyone to recognise

Why does everyone want the names on the shirts anyway? Granted GTFC have had so many useless dossers on loan or on short term contracts that many can't tell who is who but if they moved a bit faster you shouldn't be able to read the name anyway

I just liked the shirts as they were in the Donny game OK everybody?

Are you taking into account fans that don't have great eye sight or that they don't have great memories, like my dad lol.

Quoted from GYinScuntland

That's why I was careful to say 'fairly'  proficient 🙄😂