Just Back well on the train  (merged)

I enjoyed the day , a shame we lost .

Do some Town fans think we are going to turn up and dismantle all of these well financed and drilled sides ?

These first 10 games or so are not going to be easy , we need a scruffy win to get some more points on the board and contain the nerves of some on and off the pitch .

Eastwood has pleasantly suprised me , seems like the 'Hurst effect ' has taken effect on yet another player .

Waterfall was superb the first half , he won every single ball in the air , and I thought Mularkey did well again .

Unfortunately (I saw the warning signs  last season from the lower on numerous occasions ) Glennon is borderline becoming a liability and opposition know it - he needs some time out - Mansfield and Salford are more teams with quick and skillful wide players so i don't think he can be risked both for his own confidence and the team .

Vernam seems to have turned into Hursts dream winger - tracks back all day but offers basic forward input , he seems a completely different player to the previous version .

Clifton did well I thought , alongside Eisa who is putting in a real shift off the ball to make it a 5 man midfield when we have not got the ball , and provides a good outlet when we have it .

Conteh is such a thinking footballer , Alex Hunt just needs to watch footage of Conteh to see what he needs to do - Conteh makes the right decision most of the time , Hunt does not and with his obvious technical capabilities it's at least to me becoming an  increasingly frustrating watch - him making the same mistakes time and time again .

Danny Rose is a good forward player , my only concern is he's flogged for 46 games and ends the season in a bad way ; he does not seem to move particularly well anyway .

Anyway all in all yesterday was not the disaster some seem to make it , it's a long season .

I do wish fans of all teams  would stop singing that cringe song though , grates on me that one .

I do wonder sometimes if a minority of fans still hold a grudge over that ear cupping gesture , as it seems some still want to take him down at every opportunity .

Quoted from Mappers

I enjoyed the day , a shame we lost .

Do some Town fans think we are going to turn up and dismantle all of these well financed and drilled sides ?

These first 10 games or so are not going to be easy , we need a scruffy win to get some more points on the board and contain the nerves of some on and off the pitch .

Eastwood has pleasantly suprised me , seems like the 'Hurst effect ' has taken effect on yet another player .

Waterfall was superb the first half , he won every single ball in the air , and I thought Mularkey did well again .

Unfortunately (I saw the warning signs  last season from the lower on numerous occasions ) Glennon is borderline becoming a liability and opposition know it - he needs some time out - Mansfield and Salford are more teams with quick and skillful wide players so i don't think he can be risked both for his own confidence and the team .

Vernam seems to have turned into Hursts dream winger - tracks back all day but offers basic forward input , he seems a completely different player to the previous version .

Clifton did well I thought , alongside Eisa who is putting in a real shift off the ball to make it a 5 man midfield when we have not got the ball , and provides a good outlet when we have it .

Conteh is such a thinking footballer , Alex Hunt just needs to watch footage of Conteh to see what he needs to do - Conteh makes the right decision most of the time , Hunt does not and with his obvious technical capabilities it's at least to me becoming an  increasingly frustrating watch - him making the same mistakes time and time again .

Danny Rose is a good forward player , my only concern is he's flogged for 46 games and ends the season in a bad way ; he does not seem to move particularly well anyway .

Anyway all in all yesterday was not the disaster some seem to make it , it's a long season .

I do wish fans of all teams  would stop singing that cringe song though , grates on me that one .

I do wonder sometimes if a minority of fans still hold a grudge over that ear cupping gesture , as it seems some still want to take him down at every opportunity .

On reflection I think my problem stems from league performances since Christmas before last . Take out the play off games and we have looked poor at times and ok at others but the constant seems to be boring football

Quoted from It Bites

On reflection I think my problem stems from league performances since Christmas before last . Take out the play off games and we have looked poor at times and ok at others but the constant seems to be boring football

My problem is that we set up too defensive because we have a defensive coaching staff. It was my problem under Hurst Mark One and remains an issue. He is a competent manager without doubt but he needs to trust his players and be more front foot.

Quoted from Mappers

Eastwood has pleasantly suprised me , seems like the 'Hurst effect ' has taken effect on yet another player .

Made a couple of decent saves but I've replayed the 2nd goal a number of times with the hope that it gets better...it's a bad one. He's 2 yards off his line when it deflects. I doubt he'll be too happy with the 3rd either

The whole, 'Defenders can't coach attackers' argument is an absolute nonsense. The coaching badges they get involve all aspects of play and tactics.

I suppose it's possible or even probable that former defenders might decide to play a less expansive style due to personal preference, but this would vary by individual.

Wenger and Klopp were both defenders in their playing days (and Wenger's assistant manager was Pat Rice, chicken another defender), but they aren't exactly known for their defensive teams.

In general, you're less likely to see an expansive style of play from teams without the top-end budgets in the division and we're pretty much mid-table in this regard so I'm not overly surprised we're not looking to spray it about and outscore the opposition.

Think you have to be honest & say not good on reflection goals 2 & 3

Quoted from barralad

Go on I'll bite. What was it about Waterfall's performance today that suggested he was past it?

Yeah mate, wonder was it that he won almost every defensive header and was clearly a leader on the pitch?

I thought Waterfall played his way back to a regular starting berth in the XI.

So, I think it's time to collate all the excellent information in this and other threads into an informative email which can be sent to PH and co in order to let them know where they are going wrong.

Most agree on Eastwood as goalie, so no problem there Paul, but the full back situation needs some serious attention. Mullarkey is either good going forward, not very good defensively, or good defensively, but not going forward, depending on which fishy-ite you care to favour. Glennon may as well be sent out on loan/put on the transfer list/sold for dog meat, whichever is the most expedient. Efete is too right footed and Amos is out in the cold, so a new left back by the weekend please Paul.

Waterfall is dogged but a bit old school, so Mullarkey could shuffle across to centre back, his true position, to partner the faultless Rodgers, leaving boo boy Efete to reclaim his right back slot.

Now midfield. No problem with Conteh, apart from he may be gone for millions in Jan, so we need to be looking for a replacement now. Hunt is vastly over rated and most fans can't understand why we paid a fee and gave him a 3 year deal. Ditto Vernam. What were you thinking? Clifton is always playing in the wrong position. Doesn't matter where you play him, a group of fans think he should be elsewhere.

Strike force? Forget it mate, useless to a man. No movement, no height, no penetration, no pace, no vision and always receiving the ball too far back down the pitch, with their backs to goal and nowhere to go. Rose is the pick of the bunch, but he has to do so much work, he is blowing out of his ar$e by 60 mins.

So we have a spine of sorts. Eastwood, Rodgers, Conteh and Rose. The rest leave a lot to be desired and can be moved around and replaced ad infinitum until you luckily chance upon a sort of winning formula. You'll get the hang of it if you stick at it long enough.

As for tactics; well this is the biggest sticking point. You somehow manage to be a tinker man, without actually changing the personnel, have no set pattern of play, and no plan B. When you do decide to do something, it's too late and only ever like for like, so how the hell can we be expected to beat every single side we play against?

I really don't know how you managed to get where you did in football, but worry not, the fans have all the answers, if you would just listen to all the free advice form office workers, bus drivers and insurance salesmen etc.

Alternatively, we could just accept that football teams lose games, and sometimes other teams are better than your team.

Quoted from immariner

Made a couple of decent saves but I've replayed the 2nd goal a number of times with the hope that it gets better...it's a bad one. He's 2 yards off his line when it deflects. I doubt he'll be too happy with the 3rd either

Have only seen live mate , will have a look later.

Quoted from immariner

Made a couple of decent saves but I've replayed the 2nd goal a number of times with the hope that it gets better...it's a bad one. He's 2 yards off his line when it deflects. I doubt he'll be too happy with the 3rd either

That was a freakish deflection that would have wrong footed any keeper.