Vernam

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

I'm pretty much with you hrre, Cardwell has nowhere near enough pace and struggles to get off the ground to attack the ball in the air, which was evident yesterday, he does have good ground control of the ball and is agile for a big lad but can't see him playing any higher than league 2 at best.  

As for Vernham, there is definitely a good player in there, still think he needs to pick his head up quicker and pass the ball rather than trying to be a 1 man army but as he matures I can only see him improving season on season....

??? Cardwell is pretty decent in the air and has won more headers in his recent stint in that position than the previous incumbents combined. He isn't a right winger so a bit unfair to judge him solely on that position, he had a good game yesterday and has looked good since coming back in IMO...don't think he is suited a lone striker role so is obviously going to struggle if played up there on his own but he is intelligent, links well with others and he does have good movement off the ball.  
With Jolley's system his chances here may be limited unfortunately.

He won very few headers yesterday.

Quoted from moosey_club

??? Cardwell is pretty decent in the air and has won more headers in his recent stint in that position than the previous incumbents combined. He isn't a right winger so a bit unfair to judge him solely on that position, he had a good game yesterday and has looked good since coming back in IMO...don't think he is suited a lone striker role so is obviously going to struggle if played up there on his own but he is intelligent, links well with others and he does have good movement off the ball.  
With Jolley's system his chances here may be limited unfortunately.

If you watched Thomas compared to Cardwell you would see where I am going with this he doesn't get the spring in his legs, Cardwell is lucky to get a foot off the ground where as Thomas had nearly 2 foot of air beneath his studs....
And he doesn't have any raw pace, don't get me wrong I think he works bloody hard for the team and does what is asked off him, I just don't think he has the attributes to be a striker at a level any higher than we are the moment and we need better to pair up alongside Thomas...

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

If you watched Thomas compared to Cardwell you would see where I am going with this he doesn't get the spring in his legs, Cardwell is lucky to get a foot off the ground where as Thomas had nearly 2 foot of air beneath his studs....
And he doesn't have any raw pace, don't get me wrong I think he works bloody hard for the team and does what is asked off him, I just don't think he has the attributes to be a striker at a level any higher than we are the moment and we need better to pair up alongside Thomas...

Y'see I think Cardwell has a role to play as the alternative to Thomas.  At this stage in their careers there's no doubt who's the more effective and eye-catching, Thomas is a proven goalscorer and has those couple of runs a game where he rolls his defender and heads towards goal.  But as a lone striker he looks too isolated too often for me.  I'm with Jolley on that our best set-up is 3 behind the 1, especially if it's Pringle, Vernam and Embleton, that's our best system by a mile.   But Thomas isn't a target man at all, he wants to drift wide and play off someone himself.  That's his game and at times we end up with 3 players on the left wing and no-one in the middle as an outlet. Sometimes it works for us and especially when we're able to keep the ball on the deck we can use our technical players to really get at teams with a quite fluid front 4.  But there are times when we need it to stick up there, yesterday was a classic example.  Thomas looked exhausted and with all the will in the world wasn't able to hold the ball up against their big defenders.  

The exhaustion factor is the other reason why I see Cardwell as a good alternative.  If we're asking Thomas to play that lone striker role every game, hold off two brute defenders and chase every ball down he will get tired very soon, especially as pitches get heavier.  It's important we use Cardwell, or another striker, to ease that burden.  

i also think Cardwell thinks like a striker and often was drifting into the centre when Thomas vacated the hole...the fact he wasnt passed to isnt his fault..plus lets not forget Cardwell has suffered with injuries so really hasnt been fully match fit, missed big chunks of both pre seasons and has only really recently been back in contention....i think Jolley will handle him the right way and he may come on leaps and bounds over the next few weeks. Finger crossed.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

If you watched Thomas compared to Cardwell you would see where I am going with this he doesn't get the spring in his legs, Cardwell is lucky to get a foot off the ground where as Thomas had nearly 2 foot of air beneath his studs....
And he doesn't have any raw pace, don't get me wrong I think he works bloody hard for the team and does what is asked off him, I just don't think he has the attributes to be a striker at a level any higher than we are the moment and we need better to pair up alongside Thomas...

I agree with this. And I think that jolley only plays that way because he hasn't got anyone of suitable quality and with the correct attributes to play alongside Thomas. I'm rather hoping that jolley has a better quality Swedish version of cardwell ready to move across later this month.
Nothing against cardwell, he's worked very hard for us, but I've always felt he was a conference or lower league 2 player.hope I'm proved wrong but I just haven't seen any evidence of it

To be honest, I see a bit of promise in Cardwell. He's strong, not bad in the air, is an additional presence and threat at set pieces, got a bit of a football brain and has worked for the cause out of position straight back after a longish term injury and without a pre-season. I see him as a target man, not first choice at this level possibly, but definitely an active part of a League Two squad. I'm not writing him off yet..

Vernam on the other hand is a baller for this division and has the scope to play at least a league higher in the future if he keeps learning and more importantly stays injury free.

With the undoubted promise Ahkeem has shown so far and a willing worker in Cook, I'm not sure a new forward will be a priority this season unless we unearth a hidden gem that has the potential to be better than all four of them..

Cardwell seems to divide opinion. My brother and nephew are unconvinced by him, but i think he has promise. He's not got a lot of experience yet, so it's hard to tell whether he will develop into a good striker, or if he's already as good as he is going to be. I think there's more to come myself, but as ever, time will tell.

What is his preferred position? He doesn't really look like a forward player to me - but he seems to play most of his best football in midfield areas in our build up.

I don't think he could be an out centre-forward as he doesn't seem to be very good in the air nor in attacking crosses. He doesn't seem to have the turn of pace necessary to be a quick striker. He does, however, have a decent touch for a big man and a willingness to work. I wonder in practice games whether they have tried him in midfield - I imagine he could be a bit like Liam Trotter the goalscoring midfield player who played for us briefly.

Cardwell looked at this best the back end of last season when he was playing as the lone striker.  His workrate and sheer endeavor created opportunities for others and also was our first line of defence.  

I think with a run of games he could start to deliver the goods in front of goal but he really needs to start finding the net on a more regular basis now.  But even without his goals I still think his best position is as that lone striker.  It worked wonders last season with the support coming from wide areas in the form of Clifton and Hooper.  I imagine if he produces the same performances with Vernam, Embleton and Pringle supporting, we would see quite a decent return.

It has to be horses for courses.  There's going to be games where Thomas is best suited and games where Cardwell is best suited.  

To be honest I had completely forgot about Cook.  Is he injured or just completely out of favour?