Just Back

Quoted from HertsGTFC

I must say that since MJ arrived we have been a good side in the first half of games but have been patchy in the 2nd, then again he inherited a squad low on quality and is now building for the future so still hard to assess.    

I agree about not being good for whole games and whilst we played very well against Lincoln and MK Dons in the first halves we didn't play very well in the full games against FGR and Newport.

My worry is that the only team we have managed to beat is Macclesfield and that was a bit of a struggle in the second half and they look even at this stage as they may be making a quick return the the National League.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

In that formation Tommy would you expect the full backs to bomb on and Hess or Welsh to drop into a defensive role?  

With Welsh naturally sitting so deep we can most definitely afford to have the full backs pushing on.

To be honest, I've picked that a bit blind really having not seen what type of players Embleton and Pringle are. If Embleton can play in a 3-man central midfield then we could just play the 433 we used against Lincoln and MK. Which would probably make more sense.

In the first 20 mins we should have scored at least once, however we didn’t. We need to be more clinical. Once we’ve scored a couple hopefully we will relax a little in front of goal and it all becomes easier.
Second half, for whatever reason we resorted to pumping the ball long continually, without success, why we did this I don’t know.
With the attributes of our side we need to keep the ball on the deck, at least most of the time.
Yesterday, yes was disappointing, but I’m still thinking we are much better than last season and have looked better in patches. Certainly didn’t need booing off the pitch, like we seem to do at every defeat.
And I do wish the “Three Stooges” sat near me in the Upper would make half as much noise when we play well , as they do when we don’t.

Patience required not a disaster
Forward line too light weight and rubbish in the air and so every high ball is picked off.
Hooper not great but not deserving off so much stick - he is hard working as is Welsh. One gets plaudits yet makes mistakes and the other gets slaughtered.
Whitmore/ Davis are both behind Collins for me and miskick too many.
The Fox sub yesterday was logical , their keeper distributed well ( unlike ours) and aimed for the winger who was winning the headers. The taller Fox improved this. For me Fox should be in this team and I bet he is next week. He adds balance and is consistent.
Their midfield was way sharper than ours - not sure what the issue is but we lack balance. What bit of width we has , has no pace and so unless you have a great day ( Woolford vs Lincoln) it will be easy to defend against.
Hope new midfileders are good as any of the current crop could be replaced. Collins back in a couple of weeks , I like the Luton lad but Davis does not impress me.
Poor so far but I am patient and so we will see. Give it 12 games and see where we are utm

I read a lot from posters saying we 'need fight' - I always think this is the natural English football fan default position when feeling frustrated
We actually need 'composure and craft' - eg: when Fox burst into the box late on and had the touch of a camel!

The players are fighting 100% - hard working, committed, playing for the shirt etc...not a problem at all

We lack cutting edge - that is the simple truth.

I went to MK Dons - we should have gone in 2-0 up but our failure to convert comes back to haunt us. But I saw enough in that game to give fans a lot of hope for the future

MJ (ie: GTFC) cannot attract a star striker like Akinde (simple matter of money) so we have to hope Wes Thomas can resurrect his goal scoring record of 1 in 4

A lot will also depend on Pringle and Embleton's attacking prowess

If 2 of those three come good we will be fine

I will be intrigued to see how MJ's final XI will line up - I expect Hooper, Clifton, Rose to be benched and Woolford perhaps on the bench

That would leave a choice of

Welsh, Embleton, Pringle, Hess, Vernam, Cook, Thomas - one of those would not be in starting line up

MJ to be judged when all his best players are available - might be 12-15 games

Have to be patient IMO

Quoted from devs

I read a lot from posters saying we 'need fight' - I always think this is the natural English football fan default position when feeling frustrated
We actually need 'composure and craft' - eg: when Fox burst into the box late on and had the touch of a camel!

The players are fighting 100% - hard working, committed, playing for the shirt etc...not a problem at all

We lack cutting edge - that is the simple truth.

I went to MK Dons - we should have gone in 2-0 up but our failure to convert comes back to haunt us. But I saw enough in that game to give fans a lot of hope for the future

MJ (ie: GTFC) cannot attract a star striker like Akinde (simple matter of money) so we have to hope Wes Thomas can resurrect his goal scoring record of 1 in 4

A lot will also depend on Pringle and Embleton's attacking prowess

If 2 of those three come good we will be fine

I will be intrigued to see how MJ's final XI will line up - I expect Hooper, Clifton, Rose to be benched and Woolford perhaps on the bench

That would leave a choice of

Welsh, Embleton, Pringle, Hess, Vernam, Cook, Thomas - one of those would not be in starting line up

MJ to be judged when all his best players are available - might be 12-15 games

Have to be patient IMO

Kinda think you may have hit upon something with this post, when we've played well woolford has been exceptional and in the 3 games we've not  played well I think woolie has been either poor or taken out of the game by a good defence which leads me to think that if get consistency out of him and another left sided winger, could be pringle/embleton, then put Thomas alongside cook I reckon we could start to see the goal drought ended...
Fox runs the wing well as does hendrie and I'd have thought with collins and whitmore as central defenders, welsh, hess in midfielder I'm thinking our best formation with the squad we have is the good old fashioned 4-4-2....

Our only meaningful shot yesterday by Vernam I think (?) came from a lovely cushioned header in to his path from JJ when in a central position. It’s a shame that didn’t go in, as I think confidence is really important when a new team are trying to gel.

To be fair to the crowd yesterday, they may have been a bit quiet, but I thought generally supportive and patient.  Perhaps that’s a sign of “resignation “, as how many times do we have a bright opening 20 minutes, don’t make the most of possession, and then get hit by a sucker punch.

The names change, but the story remains the same

I still believe we are better than last year, but do agree that the long ball tactics yesterday were totally ridiculous. If Jolley could see this then why bring Rose on for long throws?  Why did Macca hit every clearance long and not even “flat and fast”?, and why did Welsh as captain and a very experienced pro not calm it down and get the team playing football again?

Well I got back later than everyone else but for all I left MK Done excited I left yesterday worried
After 5 minutes my granny could have worked out that Vernam had the beating of their defence for pace but neither him or Cook would win a ball in the air all day against their centre backs. So what happened for the next 85 minutes?? No pace to turn their defence and remarkable nobody on the pitch to tell the boys to stop lumping it forward.
I sat near the dug out and every time we defended a corner MJ and Limbrick were screaming at Cook and Vernam telling them what to do. I got the distinct feeling they didn't understand, or more worrying they didn't think it made sense and wanted to do something different. MJ was also very unhappy with JJ and when he brought on Fox and Harry was telling them  he wanted more tempo and effort.
Harry is not a winger and if we are to persist with Cook and Vernam we need pace out wide to turn opposing defenders

Erm, when exactly did Vernam beat their defence for pace? He caught them on their heels a couple of times early on and got down the side but never got straight past them. In fact, I remember that their big No. 6 matched him on the couple of times he ran at him.

Not a criticism as Vernam was our quickest player on the pitch yesterday, but they were pretty mobile at the back and had a lot more pace than us elsewhere.

I don't think vernam had them particularly beat for pace either, altho he was more likely to win a race against them than an aerial battle!