Just Back

Well throughly enjoyed that. Thought we played some good stuff against a surprisingly poor Salford who had only one game plan which was to thump it up to Smith.

Holohan in the 10 role really worked, supported well by Eisa and Gnahoua who had their best games in town shirts so far.

Conteh and Harry back central dominated the middle with conteh in particular catching the eye.

Danny Amos my MOM, didnt put a foot wrong and makes himself undroppable for Saturday, really pleased for Danny, he’s a genuinely nice lad.

Great to get that win on the board, in front of the home fans, hope we can build on that on Saturday, another tough test

Agree on amos thought he was outstanding , some good performances tonite & all put a shift in

The intensity of our press was spot on tonight .

Eisa is a great player aslong as he stays fit .

Conteh will make us more money than the cup run at some point .

Amos was superb , and the rest of the back 4 solid .

I thought Holahan was back to his better self , Clifton was his usual busy self as was Rose .

We are a better team at this moment in time without Hunt & Glennon in it IMO .

So all in all a good night , but another 6 tough tough games on paper - a win on the board takes the pressure off somewhat - I would take a point on Saturday but who knows what will happen ; it's a yo yo league as you see with all the results tonight .

Brilliant stuff.

The world is a better place tonight, think we were better and Salford were bang average, even with eleven.
Amos was never under pressure but did his job well and Gav did the business on his recall
Cute finishing from Eisa and just a shame we couldn’t get a couple more as Salford lost the plot
Just a word about the away attendance - shocking
90 for a fairly close away game is embarrassing. The sooner they’re back where they belong the better

Change of system to one holding from two worked wonders. Took a few minutes for us to settle but it enabled us to press far more effectively.

Obvious contenders for MoM were Amos, Conteh and the magnificent Rodgers. But big praise for the indefatigable Danny Rose and Gnahoua who worked very hard tonight. Mansfield present another strong test on Saturday but it should show us how much progress we’re making..

Echo the above.
Amos brilliant throughout except for his dead balls. Back 4 all had decent games, Eastwood did what he needed to do, Clifton the secret assassin. Wasn't mention massively throughout but was always in and around the action. Much better from both wide players. Holohan stepped up and played very well moving forward. Lastly, my motm, Conteh. The guy oozes class. He will pick the ball up anywhere on the park with a man right up behind him and 99% of the time he will make a successful pass/move.
Well done town. Hope PH keeps this system moving forward, much prefer it.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Change of system to one holding from two worked wonders. Took a few minutes for us to settle but it enabled us to press far more effectively.

Obvious contenders for MoM were Amos, Conteh and the magnificent Rodgers. But big praise for the indefatigable Danny Rose and Gnahoua who worked very hard tonight. Mansfield present another strong test on Saturday but it should show us how much progress we’re making..

I agree with Rose , he's the unsung type - he's been superb all 3 games tbf playing that role against big lumps can't be easy but he seems to manage it - I'm hoping Pyke/Wilson will be capable to come in for some games because 46 games of that workload/role would be a lot for him.

Very pleasing reaction to Saturday although Salford were absolutely crap. Good performances from everyone and great to see Eisa open his account (©️ Jeff Stelling). Big performance from Amos at just the time we needed it. Conteh is going to play at a very high level, very quickly so enjoy him.

All hail the tinker man.

A solid, rather than spectacular performance, with all parts of the team working well and working together.

Salford were surprisingly dull given the players they have at their disposal and I never felt we were under any undue pressure all night. Of course the sending off blunted them a bit more, but I thought we were comfortable even when they had 11 on the pitch and think we would still have won.

The defence were great, apart from Waterfall occasionally wanting to make a game of it by presenting them with the ball 2 or 3 times in dangerous areas, but I can only remember one serious save from Eastwood all night and that was from a direct free kick.

The midfield were on it all night and the forwards worked their nuts off. Conteh is a special player and I don't know how we managed to snaffle him with other teams in the hunt, but I'm glad we did.

No one had a bad game tonight and it was a great team effort.

Played really well tonight against a fancied side and Eisa who I was scathing of Saturday not only got the goals but looked a right threat and that's down to Amos back in the team giving hhe left side balance.Gav again added some composure in a key area and the two centre backs kept the dangerous Smith quiet. Another hard game on Saturday but nothing to fear hoping PH keeps the same side.Bravo Town Bravo Eisa

Funny only game isn't it. I thought we were better in both league games than tonight. We just got the right result tonight.

We stifled them with our press, but we struggled to play much football. Looked a little better after the sending off, the 2nd goal thankfully killed a nervy end.

Thought Amos was excellent. Clifton and Eisa much more suited swapping roles.

Very quiet on here tonight, can tell we won. Where’s the meltdown? The overreaction? 😂

Thought we controlled that excellently, even without the ball, our intense pressing was relentless. Danny Rose does so many positive things for us without even touching the ball, he’s such an intelligent presser, it’s not just about getting your head down and running, it’s about forcing players into tricky areas with the angle of your run.

Eisa took his goals really well and looked like he’d had a shot of confidence before the game. He looked much more comfortable on the left wing as well. Just praying we can keep him fit!

Danny Amos had his best game in a town shirt tonight. Didn’t get beaten all night and was excellent with the ball as well. Pipped Eisa to MOTM for me. Has certainly grabbed that left back spot with that performance.

And Conteh… ah Kamil Conteh… the midfielder I’ve dreamed of for years. £115 million for Caicedo? £60 million for Lavia? This guy could net us some serious cash in the future, and become a mariners hero in the process!

Just a comment on Salford. Last season, they had a young lad on loan from Manure who ran the show (Galbraith), tonight they were generally poor. Interesting that PH thought we were better on Saturday too.

Hard to find fault tonight. Amos was excellent and the changes, as ruthless as they were, hugely impacted the side in a positive way.

Conteh is different gravy and really could be a player to net us a few quid. Never looks hassled and seems to have an awareness players don’t always have at our level.

Back four was solid tonight and I think their lack of attacking threat was because we stifled them and cut out passes. That said, they were proper disappointing and didn’t offer anything other than a free kick…

Very much looking forward to Saturday.

Too many good performances to mention, but I have to say, Conteh is superb. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Town midfielder win so many tackles, and that’s not even his main asset. Fantastic. He will have a wonderful single season with us.

The win was very pleasing but I'm personally not as happy as a lot seem to be. Defensively sound, Amos came in and made us much more solid on the left (albeit he isn't a patch on glennons dead ball delivery).

Going forward the switch to 1 holding and 2 forward is a definite improvement, don't think we need Hunt back there when we've got conteh. However i was still disappointed with the wide men and thought rose was sometimes still isolated. To be fair to eisa he scored a great long range effort but he had nearly cocked it up twice in open play just before that and had been poor prior to it. All can be forgiven if you stick it away though. He did look improved after the break when switched to the left though (although that is to be expected when given more time and space as they were a man down) and took his second goal well. Gonourah I thought was completely underwhelming under the circumstances, won a few free kicks I suppose, but we need Khan back.

Bearing in mind we were at home, in the lead and with a man advantage I didn't think we looked great going forward still in terms of chance creation for that second half. We look a bit better with the tweaked formation but I think we are going to need to improve further to be challenging. At one point in the first half rose won the ball and went wide with it, looked up to cross and we had literally nobody in the box. 3 points makes everything a bit better though.

Other points - Eastwood made a great save from their free kick, plus very assured with his feet, seems a definite upgrade on Max. Without hunt and glennon our dead balls were really dreadful (Amos and Gonourah mostly). The ref was a complete jekyll and Hyde- first half he was dreadful, missed two obvious handballs right in front of him by them and Waterfall, missed a penalty for us against waterfall. Second half he seemed much better - sending their player off is always gonna help that I suppose!

Oh yeah and echo what others said about conteh, seems an absolute rolls Royce of a player for our level bearing in mind he's still so young.

Just back.

Firstly, those 3 points much needed and welcome.

Amos was solid and played well and did something Glennon fails to do-defend and make it hard for the wide player to get past you. Well done

Centre backs solid (apart from Waterfall’s 2 adorations when passing to their players our for the back). However, defensively, I just like him and what he lacks in Maher’s guile, he makes up for it with competitiveness and defensive qualities.

Conteh immense again and different class and keeper players well.

I must say this though, and Hurst made similar points on RH afterwards. We didn’t play well.

Clifton was anonymous again and doesn’t look to receive the ball shirt at all and does leave us playing far too many long balls from back front.

Holohan is a baller and did well but looks less than 100% match fit and was not as sharp in first couple of yards as seen him. Maybe match rustiness perhaps re playing time

Eisa a confidence player and those goals may bring him out a bit and he took that second really well.

Vernam looked threatening and direct when came on

Overall, we didn’t pass the ball well and it was in the air an awful lot. So a 3 points with a scrappy display.

Hopefully much more to come and that centre mid in front of Conteh not right yet and not creating passes and possession like I hope we see as we go along..

Quoted from jimgtfc

Very quiet on here tonight, can tell we won. Where’s the meltdown? The overreaction? 😂

Thought we controlled that excellently, even without the ball, our intense pressing was relentless. Danny Rose does so many positive things for us without even touching the ball, he’s such an intelligent presser, it’s not just about getting your head down and running, it’s about forcing players into tricky areas with the angle of your run.

Eisa took his goals really well and looked like he’d had a shot of confidence before the game. He looked much more comfortable on the left wing as well. Just praying we can keep him fit!

Danny Amos had his best game in a town shirt tonight. Didn’t get beaten all night and was excellent with the ball as well. Pipped Eisa to MOTM for me. Has certainly grabbed that left back spot with that performance.

And Conteh… ah Kamil Conteh… the midfielder I’ve dreamed of for years. £115 million for Caicedo? £60 million for Lavia? This guy could net us some serious cash in the future, and become a mariners hero in the process!

I second that with DR, there was a moment in the second half whereby he managed to put a Salford defender off balance with his presence just enough for him to mis-place his clearance to regain possession, he’s a real high IQ player

If we get anything less than 2 million for Conteh than we've been robbed, what a player

Quoted from LocalLadGTFC

If we get anything less than 2 million for Conteh than we've been robbed, what a player

Agreed. I’m trying to think if we’ve had anyone better since Paul Groves which, after three games, is some compliment.

Quoted from LocalLadGTFC

If we get anything less than 2 million for Conteh than we've been robbed, what a player

The European giants scout the other continents for players with his skillset and ability. We might actually have to retire his shirt number like Birmingham did for Bellingham!

System tweaked from the weekend and it was much better and allowed us to press better. Don’t need two holding when you’ve got Conteh, he’s the best midfielder we’ve had certainly in the last 10 years, if not longer. We will make some serious money from him.

Eisa looked much more comfortable out wide than central and his second was a really lovely finish.

Special mention for Amos who I thought was excellent, didn’t put a foot wrong. I’ve doubted him before as have others but he was spot on tonight so I’m really pleased for him.

Still some work to do going forward and we could be a bit better at using the ball in the final third but generally solid against a surprisingly bad Salford. Waterfall showed why he should be back up though, Rodgers wins as many headers and Waterfall is terrible on the ball. He won’t let us down when he plays but if we want to be playing the ball on the floor then we need better.

Quality of opposition seems to be biggest factor in games so far . What did I learn tonight Conteh is Rolls Royce though probably worked that out already . Can see why PH likes G very much his sort of player and he was much better tonight then previous cameos. Hunt has been holding us back and can go as far as I am concerned and Glennon is gone . Need a new left back for competition with Amos who did very well defensively but doesn’t give the delivery. The other Danny like my Roses needs a support to keep him upright.

Were we better than previous two games/Were they poorer opposition/bit of both ??

Obviously  we altered the approach , much more consistent press pinning them back and giving us possession higher up the pitch.......
it was noticeable at the line up that they didn't have a physical advantage apart from Smith...
Really good first half in terms of effort, approach and team work, albeit still a bit laboured on the attack front but at least a goal (deflected ?) as a reward...
Second half much the same up until the point of their sending off...when we then sat off ...let them start to build some sort of pressure and even stretch us with a man less...started to feel nervy but we got the breakaway goal, fantastic finish, just when it looked like we had tangled ourselves up.
From then on it was a cakewalk.

First 45 I was happy with,  even without a goal just for the front foot approach and pressing game. Second half hit and miss but eventually made the extra man pay.

Eastwood....decent command of area, a couple of decent claims and a flying save from that free kick...looking a good acquisition so far.

Roll on revenge Saturday

UTM

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Agreed. I’m trying to think if we’ve had anyone better since Paul Groves which, after three games, is some compliment.

Not sure what buffoon gave you a Red Cross for this comment and it was a quote someone said to me walking into the ground tonight and it’s hard to disagree. The only thing he appears to lack is a decent shot on him and don’t suppose he will score many goals but everything else is spot on from him.

Generally a competent display tonight against a surprisingly ineffective Salford but let’s give our side some credit as we can soon jump on here being critical when we lose.

Would still like us to get someone closer to Rose a bit more often and our wide men take on their full backs but can’t have everything and look forward to seeing how we perform against one of the real favourites on Saturday.

Most of what’s been said mirrors my thoughts tbh so the only thing to add is despite the ref falling for all their little tumbles and seemingly giving us very little, did play a great advantage for the first goal and also got the cautions bang on. Good to see.

Just got home. Makes it all worth it when they play like that. A couple of wayward Waterfall passes aside, they were excellent. Suspect we’ll only get better.

Just as I didn’t think the Notts County result meant the world had ended, this was only one game. Lots of positives though.

at work but managed to catch the last half hour or so l, just before the 2nd goal. Holohan impressed me in the no10 role from what I saw and linked up with Eisa superbly a couple of times. I prefer us playing the 4-2-3-1 system as I think it gives us more width whilst making us stronger defensively as the full backs support the wing play instead of trying to do everything. Eastwood certainly looks the part and his performances so far should have dispelled any concerns. Great 3 points and hopefully acts as a platform for us to build on. UTM!

Quoted from buckstown

The world is a better place tonight, think we were better and Salford were bang average, even with eleven.
Amos was never under pressure but did his job well and Gav did the business on his recall
Cute finishing from Eisa and just a shame we couldn’t get a couple more as Salford lost the plot
Just a word about the away attendance - shocking
90 for a fairly close away game is embarrassing. The sooner they’re back where they belong the better

TBF if they dont drive they are at the mercy of Transpennine express.

Quoted from Mayaman

TBF if they dont drive they are at the mercy of Transpennine express.

For all we know there could have been 500 more of their fans abandoned on a windswept train station in the back of nowhere. Fingers crossed anyway

Quoted from LH

Very pleasing reaction to Saturday although Salford were absolutely crap. Good performances from everyone and great to see Eisa open his account (©️ Jeff Stelling). Big performance from Amos at just the time we needed it. Conteh is going to play at a very high level, very quickly so enjoy him.

I’d hazard a guess we probably offered Boro the highest sell on clause which may have swung the deal in our favour?

I didn’t expect many more from Salford. I know they’ve picked up some oddballs that seemingly live over that way that didn’t have a team but in truth, however much cash they throw at it, they’re a non-league side.

90 is decent for them, I didn’t expect anymore. Their home ground always looks relatively full but that’s mainly because it holds about 100 people…

Quoted from Oly1987

at work but managed to catch the last half hour or so l, just before the 2nd goal. Holohan impressed me in the no10 role from what I saw and linked up with Eisa superbly a couple of times. I prefer us playing the 4-2-3-1 system as I think it gives us more width whilst making us stronger defensively as the full backs support the wing play instead of trying to do everything. Eastwood certainly looks the part and his performances so far should have dispelled any concerns. Great 3 points and hopefully acts as a platform for us to build on. UTM!

Perhaps PH doesn’t agree as we switched to 4-1-4-1 last night!

I had to leave at half-time last night as my lad wasn't feeling well (or that's what he said), but I was pleased with what I saw in the first half and it sounds like it continued in the second.

They put us under early pressure and you can see they've spent money on some good players but, oddly enough, the dismal decision-making from the officials helped galvanise the team (and the crowd) and, the odd break and set piece aside, they didn't really threaten too much.

I was impressed by Amos who was playing like he had something to prove and he didn't do too much wrong, the odd minor error aside. I was surprised that he seemed to have a decently-long throw because I don't remember that from his previous performances. Perhaps Cropper gave him some tips?

Conteh looks a very relaxed sort of a player and has the knack of stretching out a long leg to make a tackle and yet keep possession. Doesn't look as though he'll be the most creative of passers, but then he doesn't need to be if he just keeps the ball moving along. Holohan's extra physicality in comparison to Hunt dovetailed well in the middle and, though they had a bit more pace in midfield than us, we were quick enough and organised enough to deal with them in general. Gnuhoua looked like he was playing himself into fitness and the link up between the attackers was decent at times, but I think they still need to learn each others game better.

Powerful shot for Eisa's first goal which I think would have caused their keeper problems even without the deflection so it's always handy to have somebody who can hit one from outside the area.

As others have said, I hope Pyke or Wilson are going to be able to come in and give Rose a rest at times as he works really hard and takes a lot of bumps from big defenders. He'll not be able to keep that up all the way through the season, game in, game out.

Very pleased to see the first win on the board with all the difficult games coming up. I'll hopefully be able to watch all of the remaining ones!

i-follow took ages to come on last night. Eventually started at 19:43, just in time for kick-off.
This was the first time in ages I haven't been tempted to channel-hop looking for a better game.
Very good game with several of Town's players on top of their form.
Looking forward to Saturday. UTM

I try avoid getting too carried away when we lose, and the same with a win.....

But.

I'm 30, and i'm struggling to think of a player that really was as good as Conteh. I've seen him twice, but both times he looks AT LEAST a league 1 player already.
Amos was fantastic, calm, composed, and solid.
Holohan actually seemed to be very comfortable knowing Conteh is behind him, and gained confidence to go forward with the ball.

Minor concern, and very minor it is....
Eastwood's pass back to Amos in the 1st half, after the dodgy back pass was excellent.
His free-kick save towards the end was good.
But he doesn't fill me with confidence on crosses etc..... reminds me a lot of McKeown, wanting to punch everything and sometimes being very 'flappy'

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

I try avoid getting too carried away when we lose, and the same with a win.....

But.

I'm 30, and i'm struggling to think of a player that really was as good as Conteh. I've seen him twice, but both times he looks AT LEAST a league 1 player already.
Amos was fantastic, calm, composed, and solid.
Holohan actually seemed to be very comfortable knowing Conteh is behind him, and gained confidence to go forward with the ball.

Minor concern, and very minor it is....
Eastwood's pass back to Amos in the 1st half, after the dodgy back pass was excellent.
His free-kick save towards the end was good.
But he doesn't fill me with confidence on crosses etc..... reminds me a lot of McKeown, wanting to punch everything and sometimes being very 'flappy'

I think it's his chosen way of clearing the danger. To be fair to him he got all of his punches right. Crocombe's big strength was commanding his box, it's unusual for a keeper at this level to take as many crosses as he did.

Is it a coaching thing? Unless they’re confident they’re going to win the catch then most keepers of this generation punch it away so that it goes *somewhere* rather than just dropping in the box and potentially getting knocked in. Henderson maybe the last keeper we had who was confident enough nearly every time to catch I think.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Agreed. I’m trying to think if we’ve had anyone better since Paul Groves which, after three games, is some compliment.

Conteh reminds me so much of Jay Matete..if he adds goals to his game then we are looking at true "football fortune" kind of money...
Are we seeing the fruits of Joe Hutchinson beginning to pay off, potentially?

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Conteh reminds me so much of Jay Matete..if he adds goals to his game then we arectsking true "football fortune" kind of money...
Are we seeing the fruits of Joe Hutchinson beginning to pay off, potentially?

I think he’s calmer than Matete. But I get where you’re coming from.

I went with a friend who's a Wycombe fan last night and he was seriously impressed with Conteh. He couldn't believe it when I told him he's only 20. He's one of those players who makes it look like he's got an extra couple of seconds of time whenever he's got the ball and has a knack for coming away with the ball 90% of the time. Hopefully he'll keep improving whilst with us and he could end up going for some serious money. I can't remember the last time we had a midfielder who's as good as he is now, let alone when you consider how good he might become.

Regards Eastwood's punching...obviously I, sure everyone, would prefer a 'keeper to come and catch every cross.  

But I would also prefer them to just clear the lines above all else.  As long as they're punching it away from danger, which Eastwood looks to be doing, then I'm happy with that as opposed to trying to take a cross and not get there.  McKeown was another 'puncher' but he seemed to palm it away rather than punch.  I think Eastwood has been excellent these first few games.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Conteh reminds me so much of Jay Matete..if he adds goals to his game then we are looking at true "football fortune" kind of money...
Are we seeing the fruits of Joe Hutchinson beginning to pay off, potentially?

I agree, that's a very good comparison to be fair.
I do honestly think Conteh is better, and has serious potential.

There was a part in the 1st half yesterday when Salford were passing it out, and the left back tried playing it into midfield.
Conteh read it, cut the pass out, run forward and admittedly, had a bit of a poor shot.

But to read that, and cut it out is something you normally see in an FA Cup game when you're trying to play out against a team 2 leagues above you....

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Conteh reminds me so much of Jay Matete..if he adds goals to his game then we are looking at true "football fortune" kind of money...
Are we seeing the fruits of Joe Hutchinson beginning to pay off, potentially?

He unearthed Ben House and Regan Poole (he went to Portsmouth in the summer )  at Lincoln ,House is probably a million pound + player now.

He probably got them a few more to .

I do remember the other new advisor guy saying in an interview he 'had a big one ' or something along those lines that he would be recommending to the club , I wonder whether that was Conteh .

Let's hope we can turn into a bit of a mini Brighton , Brentford or Luton with player trading .

Let's hope Boro don't have a relatively cheap buy back option on Conteh.

Really enjoyed the game and it felt almost a scandal that Danny Amos didn't get MOTM, of course though Abo Eisa is going to get the plaudits with two goals!  

Shift in formation to just having one holding was exactly what we needed, think everyone could see that Conteh is good enough to just hold on his own in that role.  That freed up Holohan, as the Hunt replacement, to be more attacking and it just added that extra dynamic to the attack.  I don't think Holohan individually was outstanding, it was very much the energetic, buzzing about style that we've become used to from him.  But it just meant that Rose was better supported, Salford's midfield and back four didn't have as much time to stroke the ball about as 'Dons and County did but also meant Eisa and Gnahoua were out wide.  

Didn't like Eisa in that No 10 role at all, thought he looked lost and wasted.  But on the wing he looks a different animal.  He's unpredictable and I think he'll frustrate a hell of a lot of the time, but he's got it in his locker to pull something magic out the bag.  Gnahoua doesn't strike me as someone who is going to get headlines or loads of assists/goals.  But he's very industrious and added a nice balance to the side.  Thought Vernam looked very lively when he came on too.  I think between the 3 of them the hope is that at least one of them is on song for most of the games.  Of  course it would be great if all 3 were 9/10 each week but at this level it isn't going to happen.  As long as we keep them wide and encouraging a high press, I'm confident they'll collectively prove to be a threat.  Khan to come back into the mix too which adds something different.

I actually thought it was Conteh's quieter of the 3 league games so far, probably a result of us playing a bit higher up the field.  But god when he has something to do he does it well.  Loads and loads of people getting carried away with him but it's hard not to.  Very, very early days but it's a fair while since I've seen a player in a Town shirt look that much better than anyone at their respective levels.

Most recent was Dembele for that first five-or-six games before everyone doubled, trebled up on him (for anyone who's forgotten how good he was in those early games, look at the highlights for the Chesterfield opener in 2017/18 - just ghosts past players).  Conor Townsend was another.  I suppose Jay Matete, who a few have mentioned as a comparison, but we never got to see him live which was a great shame.

If Conteh continues this form his stay with us will be very short but very lucrative for us.  As others have said, enjoy him whilst we can.

Now that was a PH performance. Everyone on it and working 100% .

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

There was a part in the 1st half yesterday when Salford were passing it out, and the left back tried playing it into midfield.
Conteh read it, cut the pass out, run forward and admittedly, had a bit of a poor shot.

But to read that, and cut it out is something you normally see in an FA Cup game when you're trying to play out against a team 2 leagues above you....

Yeah I saw that . Brilliant. Smith did it when he set up Mcatee in the po final

Quoted from Mappers

I do remember the other new advisor guy saying in an interview he 'had a big one '

It's a bold claim but they do say you need to sell yourself in an interview situation.

I'm shocked to see the comments about Eastwood being ' flappy ' and comparing him to Jimmy Mac. Jimmy Mac was called flappy because everytime he came for it, 99% of the team he made a mess of it. Eastwood was very assured every time he came for it last night and got a firm punch on it everytime, which when your challenging a 6 foot 5 shithouse like Matt Smith I think that's a pretty wise decision. Given the Rochdale comments about him, he seems to be a new man and a very very good signing.

Quoted from LocalLadGTFC

I'm shocked to see the comments about Eastwood being ' flappy ' and comparing him to Jimmy Mac. Jimmy Mac was called flappy because everytime he came for it, 99% of the team he made a mess of it. Eastwood was very assured every time he came for it last night and got a firm punch on it everytime, which when your challenging a 6 foot 5 shithouse like Matt Smith I think that's a pretty wise decision. Given the Rochdale comments about him, he seems to be a new man and a very very good signing.

Firstly great performance full of positives but on the subject of Eastwood, he seems to punch as his default and I think some crosses could have been caught and he got away with a few. On the plus side his control of a rocket back pass from Amos was great. An execellent over all performance with more to come I am sure. Utm

I thought there was only one he might have caught, and the other ones he palmed away he did well with. Had a really good game last night and made a great save second half. For a couple of the awkward ones he may have reasoned that if he committed to the catch under pressure of bodies and dropped, this would be more hazardous than just getting a firm fist/palms on it to get it shifted. Seems pragmatic to me.

He kept a clean sheet, so he can do what he likes for me, if that's the end result!

Eastwood looks the real deal to me . Massive up grade on crocombe in all areas for me

Just on Eastwood 2 clean sheets in 3 games if he keeps that up we will be alright 👍

I remember Eastwood being excellent in his first spell here and was suprised by the mixed reaction on the fishy about his return
Definitely an upgrade on Max

Quoted from 99agrant

I remember Eastwood being excellent in his first spell here and was suprised by the mixed reaction on the fishy about his return
Definitely an upgrade on Max

I think it was based on Rochdale fans views and a couple of highlight reels with numerous errors .

I have been pleasantly suprised - he seems to have good command and confidence .He has much better distribution than Max on the basis of these early games .

Max could well get his chance at Burton now as he came on in the first half last night as their first choice keeper Jamal Blackman went off injured. Not sure how badly he was injured but Max will probably get his chance in their next game if Blackman's not fit.

Amos was excellent.  In the last 5 minutes, when the game was won, he still made 2 crunching tackles and won the ball.

I really enjoyed the game and performance. We even got a guest appearance from a speedy cat.

Hurst improved the team with his 3 changes.  He also made a very welcome change by getting rid of the rain and subbing it with warm weather for a night game.

Amos was excellent.  In the last 5 minutes, when the game was won, he still made 2 crunching tackles and won the ball.

I really enjoyed the game and performance. We even got a guest appearance from a speedy cat.

Hurst improved the team with his 3 changes.  He also made a very welcome change by getting rid of the rain and subbing it with warm weather for a night game.

I was absolutely gutted on Saturday when it seemed we just couldn't cope with Notts and thought that we would struggle this year after that thinking we don't have enough goals in the team and pretty much had a man-baby sulk all day on the Saturday that we might be in for a season of pain. I'm glad I didn't come on the Fishy to try and explain my feelings after the game as would of made myself look a prat.

It was my last game watching town last night before moving over to Australia permanently and what a beautiful performance alongside the weather to top it off. Suppose I'll have to be an armchair fan from now on watching us on tele but it certainly put a smile back on my face, even better it was against Cashcow FC.

I'll be jealous of all you Mariners getting to have some bloody good away days this year.

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

Amos was excellent.  In the last 5 minutes, when the game was won, he still made 2 crunching tackles and won the ball.

I really enjoyed the game and performance. We even got a guest appearance from a speedy cat.

Hurst improved the team with his 3 changes.  He also made a very welcome change by getting rid of the rain and subbing it with warm weather for a night game.

Impossible not to love Amos.
Couldn't possibly try any harder, really hope that he can kick on in the next few games.
Was great to see him and Eastwood passionately hugging at full time.

Going to be difficult on Saturday but we are capable of getting a result.

Quoted from GtfcGarner

I was absolutely gutted on Saturday when it seemed we just couldn't cope with Notts and thought that we would struggle this year after that thinking we don't have enough goals in the team and pretty much had a man-baby sulk all day on the Saturday that we might be in for a season of pain. I'm glad I didn't come on the Fishy to try and explain my feelings after the game as would of made myself look a prat.

It was my last game watching town last night before moving over to Australia permanently and what a beautiful performance alongside the weather to top it off. Suppose I'll have to be an armchair fan from now on watching us on tele but it certainly put a smile back on my face, even better it was against Cashcow FC.

I'll be jealous of all you Mariners getting to have some bloody good away days this year.

Glad for you that your last live game was enjoyable.

Good luck in Oz.

Quoted from GtfcGarner

I was absolutely gutted on Saturday when it seemed we just couldn't cope with Notts and thought that we would struggle this year after that thinking we don't have enough goals in the team and pretty much had a man-baby sulk all day on the Saturday that we might be in for a season of pain. I'm glad I didn't come on the Fishy to try and explain my feelings after the game as would of made myself look a prat.

It was my last game watching town last night before moving over to Australia permanently and what a beautiful performance alongside the weather to top it off. Suppose I'll have to be an armchair fan from now on watching us on tele but it certainly put a smile back on my face, even better it was against Cashcow FC.

I'll be jealous of all you Mariners getting to have some bloody good away days this year.

That’s incredible, what a life change. I’m sure you’ll not regret it, and will have an amazing time out there, but you know full well your life will be missing something. I have a mate who was a big Walsall fan, but after 20 years in Oz I now know he has such a discord with English life that he doesn’t have a clue what division they’re in, never mind what their latest result was. Don’t become a stranger.

Thought we were excellent from start to finish on Tuesday. We were fast out the traps, chasing down everything and Salford simply couldn’t live with our high press and so reverted to lots of long balls, which Luke and Rodger’s ate up all game. What I particularly liked about the presssing was that it was just aimlessly chasing the ball like an excited dog, we seemed to have specific pressing triggers that the team understood. A few times I noticed after a certain Salford player received the ball or a certain pass, all of the front six pressed together - impressive and effective.

I’m reasonable happy with the start, given who we’ve played. Thought Amos was outstanding and should rightfully keep the shirt for Mansfield.

Also love how much of a shithouse Danny Rose is. I hated him at Mansfield for this very reason but now he’s in black and white, I love it!

Did anyone else notice in the second half the ball went out for a throw, the ‘ball retriever’ (we can’t call them ball boys anymore 🤦‍♂️) went to get it give to the Salford man and Rose shouted at him to leave it, so the lad did… Rose laughed his bottom off! Superb player and character to have on the team!

Trying to think, who is the last player of that ilk who opposing fans and players used to hate for being a shithouse, aside from Max’s chronic cramps obviously.

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

Thought we were excellent from start to finish on Tuesday. We were fast out the traps, chasing down everything and Salford simply couldn’t live with our high press and so reverted to lots of long balls, which Luke and Rodger’s ate up all game. What I particularly liked about the presssing was that it was just aimlessly chasing the ball like an excited dog, we seemed to have specific pressing triggers that the team understood. A few times I noticed after a certain Salford player received the ball or a certain pass, all of the front six pressed together - impressive and effective.

I’m reasonable happy with the start, given who we’ve played. Thought Amos was outstanding and should rightfully keep the shirt for Mansfield.

Also love how much of a shithouse Danny Rose is. I hated him at Mansfield for this very reason but now he’s in black and white, I love it!

Did anyone else notice in the second half the ball went out for a throw, the ‘ball retriever’ (we can’t call them ball boys anymore 🤦‍♂️) went to get it give to the Salford man and Rose shouted at him to leave it, so the lad did… Rose laughed his bottom off! Superb player and character to have on the team!

Trying to think, who is the last player of that ilk who opposing fans and players used to hate for being a shithouse, aside from Max’s chronic cramps obviously.

McAtee- certainly in the conference year.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Regards Eastwood's punching...obviously I, sure everyone, would prefer a 'keeper to come and catch every cross.  

But I would also prefer them to just clear the lines above all else.  As long as they're punching it away from danger, which Eastwood looks to be doing, then I'm happy with that as opposed to trying to take a cross and not get there.  McKeown was another 'puncher' but he seemed to palm it away rather than punch.  I think Eastwood has been excellent these first few games.

Few points I would make on Eastwood. No1, obviously we'd all prefer him to catch crosses but he's a L2 keeper, he's going to be flawed. However, he does need to change his technique when it comes to catching balls, he tries to catch it in his midriff as opposed to above his head and he will come a cropper with that sooner or later. His punching is pretty good though, he doesn't flap at crosses, he punches them with authority and critically gets the ball away from goal and gives the defence time to regroup and get into position.

He also makes some good saves. A pen save against Wimbledon and 3 or 4 top class ones against Notts County. He also pushes the ball wide, or away from goal. One of Crocombe's biggest weaknesses was that he had a tendency to parry balls straight back into the dangerzone, regularly remember it costing us. Eastwood doesn't do this.

Plus, he can kick straight, another thing Crocombe couldn't do.

Overall, he's a clear upgrade on Crocombe.

I think keepers punching the ball is a lot more common now and is probably taught at Prem clubs, where you see it a lot. There is also a lot more use of feet by keepers than there used to be.

I imagine he's had top notch coaching at Sheff Utd, but never was quite good enough to force his way into their squad, so has moved on to a level he can get games in.

I think we are a better team with him in it, but he will make mistakes; it's inevitable, though he has been pretty sound so far.

If Luke Waterfall hadn't given the ball away twice cheaply in our half, then Eastwood would have had a very quiet game.

Perhaps both Rodgers and Mullarkey need to know of this slight glitch, and make themselves available for simple passes.

Conteh is a prime example - has time, looks around, makes the simple pass, no danger occurs !

At half time I thought we were excellent closing Salford down, but Conteh apart, they were a little more composed on the ball. I think we've got a little work to do when it comes to creativity, maybe another option still needed in advanced central midfield? It was a decent hard working win, but there's still unanswered questions for me due to the sending off. We're definitely going to be harder to beat than last season, and hopefully the added confidence of a win or two may gel us more with the ball advancing down the pitch. Saturday will give us a greater idea of exactly where we are rather than finishing a game strongly against ten men..

Quoted from ginnywings

I think keepers punching the ball is a lot more common now and is probably taught at Prem clubs, where you see it a lot. There is also a lot more use of feet by keepers than there used to be.

I imagine he's had top notch coaching at Sheff Utd, but never was quite good enough to force his way into their squad, so has moved on to a level he can get games in.

I think we are a better team with him in it, but he will make mistakes; it's inevitable, though he has been pretty sound so far.

My eldest brother was coached by George Tweedy in the early 1950's and was encouraged to punch the ball if he wasn't 100% sure that he could catch it in competition with the opposing centre forward. He was also told it was one fist for the ball and the other for the back of the centre forwards head. When my brother questioned this tactic the reply was " if you don't then you will never become a professional goalkeeper"!

Quoted from acko338

If Luke Waterfall hadn't given the ball away twice cheaply in our half, then Eastwood would have had a very quiet game.

Perhaps both Rodgers and Mullarkey need to know of this slight glitch, and make themselves available for simple passes.

Conteh is a prime example - has time, looks around, makes the simple pass, no danger occurs !

Waterfall is normally pretty good at playing within his limitations, but I think he was perhaps trying a tad too hard to level-up his ball playing game to those around him on Tuesday. Rodgers, Mullarkey, Conteh, Eisa are all better on the ball than what they've replaced. He needs to remember that, after all, he is never going to be Virgil Van Waterfall. He still has value, I thought he was the better of our CB's at Notts County and did most bits well on Tuesday, he still made it very hard for Smith to have any control over where his headers went.

I'd imagine Waterfall was encouraged to play the ball out more but everybody can see that's not his game. I don't think it'd be too much of an issue if he just sticks to making the simple pass to one of the defensive ball players or his keeper and sticking to what he's good at. He's great in the air against a long ball game or a team that relies on crosses into the box and will throw his body in the way to break up attacks but not a defender you'd expect to bring the ball out, beat a man then play a killer pass.

Waterfall was brilliant at county especially first half - won every ball pretty much .
He adds so much in both boxes , he should have had that stonewall penalty on Tuesday .

But Maher gives you the footballing ability , with a tad less physicality and that dominance in both boxes .

A really difficult decision to who plays when both are fit now IMO as Rodgers is different class at this level so is always going to be in that other spot.

Quoted from Mappers

Waterfall was brilliant at county especially first half - won every ball pretty much .
He adds so much in both boxes , he should have had that stonewall penalty on Tuesday .

But Maher gives you the footballing ability , with a tad less physicality and that dominance in both boxes .

A really difficult decision to who plays when both are fit now IMO as Rodgers is different class at this level so is always going to be in that other spot.

I'm sure it'll come down to the opposition and how they play and set up