Just back

Well it ended with a predictable Hurst one-nil away triumph but the game was quite unlike the wins he masterminded for us in the tinpot.  

I thought we won most of the individual battles, especially against their full-backs who didn't look much cop either offensively or defensively, which is a surprise for a Hurst side.  Robson, Hessenthaler and Clifton played with real aggression and got us on the front foot early in both halves.

Vernam and Wright looked much more threatening than usual and most of our dangerous play came when those two could get their opposite numbers turned.

Despite that, I don't think we attacked with any real method or guile; we were great at winning the breakdowns high up the pitch but as soon as we approached the final third and needed to make a telling pass, we froze and looked lost.

Turning point came when Hendrie passed up a golden chance when the ball was begging to be smashed into either bottom corner, followed by Scunny moving somebody else to RB and switched to a diamond (I think) in midfield.  They immediately broke through the lines when our midfield was committed and scored, and what a finish.  We are desperate for somebody to show that sort of composure.

We're not bad by any means but our attacking play seems a bit desperate, hoping something will break for us rather than crafting something deliberately.  That mentality has to be changed by the coaches and I worry that Limbrick might not be able to do that soon enough.

It's all down to (lack of) confidence. When it's going your way you just hit it and it goes in. Hendrie for example wanted too many touches after he burst into the penalty area.  If he was confident he would have buried it.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Hess doesn't work full stop. A more ineffectual midfield player would be hard to find. He makes Ray Wilkins look dynamic.

Never adds anything that I can see - usually passes backwards or sideways, never creates a goal, never scores a goal. Neat and tidy which is fair enough,but in a team struggling for survival is that enough?

He is higher up the pitch now than Clifton, and both are bringing very little to the team; central midfield is where the goals are supposed to be created.

You need a balance.  You can't have two or three creative midfielders in there as they'll let the defence become overrun.  Equally so you can't have three defensive minded players in there as you'll create nothing, which is where we're at now.  At this level we're not going to get a Paul Groves who can do it all.  We need to find a balance of a creative player who is assisted by someone who is prepared to do the dirty week, protect the back four and keep things ticking over.  I think we would do very, very well to find a player at this level better than Hess at the latter of those roles.  However, it's irrelevant largely if we don't compliment him with someone who can unlock a defence and/or bang the goals in.

Quoted from diehardmariner

You need a balance.  You can't have two or three creative midfielders in there as they'll let the defence become overrun.  Equally so you can't have three defensive minded players in there as you'll create nothing, which is where we're at now.  At this level we're not going to get a Paul Groves who can do it all.  We need to find a balance of a creative player who is assisted by someone who is prepared to do the dirty week, protect the back four and keep things ticking over.  I think we would do very, very well to find a player at this level better than Hess at the latter of those roles.  However, it's irrelevant largely if we don't compliment him with someone who can unlock a defence and/or bang the goals in.

Great summary

Quoted from diehardmariner

You need a balance.  You can't have two or three creative midfielders in there as they'll let the defence become overrun.  Equally so you can't have three defensive minded players in there as you'll create nothing, which is where we're at now.  At this level we're not going to get a Paul Groves who can do it all.  We need to find a balance of a creative player who is assisted by someone who is prepared to do the dirty week, protect the back four and keep things ticking over.  I think we would do very, very well to find a player at this level better than Hess at the latter of those roles.  However, it's irrelevant largely if we don't compliment him with someone who can unlock a defence and/or bang the goals in.

Oddly enough on Saturday I thought Robson tried to play the unlocking role and did reasonably well, I get the Groves reference completely as we also need a mid field player to make runs at the right time to join the strikers.