Just back (merged)

Quoted from diehardmariner

I watched that game with a smile on my face for the majority of it, was just simply enjoyable to watch.

So, so encouraging that we're capable of that standard of football and you can only hope it gets better.

I thought Hunt and Ainley both made great shouts for a start in the next game, Hunt is a completely different animal when he's got the shackles off him.  As much as I've shouted for Hunt to get a chance, I was a bit sceptical when he was paired with Conteh once Glennon went off.  I think I was almost expecting it to become two deep lying midfielders when it was more like two No 8's allowed to switch between attacking and defending.  When Ainley came in they seemed to just have this perfect little triangle working at times.

I really like Gnahoua in the No 10 role too, his quick feet and work-rate were a real asset.

Standard well and truly set.

We schooled them first half especially , a bit like Barrow did to us at BP - I really enjoyed it . Some of the touches were exceptional 1 move first have we absolutely took them to pieces with slick one touch football , and the Alex Hunt piece of Skill second half was delightful . They have set the bar now - play like that , convert more and it will be an exciting second half of the season .

Even the cancelled trains back to Euston and standing at Milton kynes Station at 11 30pm  waiting couldn't dent the pride when watching gtfc  tonight  the approach play the way they played out the back won the encounters in midfield movement upfront   ,little more luck composure in front goal  .It nice to hear supporters  getting behind them .Why they can't allow us  to stand behind goal stuck us up in gods who knows .why.Onwards to Oxford  Saturday with another hour of training for the squad on Thursday who knows

It was a delight to watch Town last night. A team beginning a transformation to what we know they can do. They played with motivation, enthusiasm with team spirit devoid earlier on in the season.

The 610 fans who went also deserve a mention, far more than was predicted, who cheered the team on throughout the night.

It would be interesting to hear a current players take on why things have changed drastically in the past few weeks.  As an outsider, it seems to me that maybe players where asked to play in a certain way by PH that didn't really suit them, or that some of them didn't have the attributes to play as requested.   I guess we will never know.

Quoted from 123614

It would be interesting to hear a current players take on why things have changed drastically in the past few weeks.  As an outsider, it seems to me that maybe players where asked to play in a certain way by PH that didn't really suit them, or that some of them didn't have the attributes to play as requested.   I guess we will never know.

It's been picked up in certain interviews, SP and BD have changed certain things that PH did such as instructing the full backs to bomb on rather than tuck in. Watching DA BTS of training he focused on how we recieve the ball and how we distribute it which was in display last night. Players were recieving the ball in good areas and movement off the ball made it easy for players when they have the ball. As for the PH thing, we all knew what a Paul Hurst team was, he's given many of us the best moments of our life watching Town playing in that way so I think to constantly undermine him by saying players were asked to play in a certain way is just unfair.. we don't know what happened and creating a narrative isn't helping anyone. He's gone, we all wish him well and it's time to move on.

Quoted from Grantley

Can last night put to bed the notion that the summer recruitment was excrement? The players are more than good enough but have just been coached pretty poorly.

or hadn't been coached at all?

Quoted from forza ivano

or hadn't been coached at all?

Well it does make you wonder 🤔

I've always thought the new players were an upgrade on last season. At the start, Mullarkey, Rodgers, Conteh and Rose all looked excellent, but only Rose has carried that on for the rest of the season so far. Gnahoua and Pyke have improved in that time and both look well capable now.

The problem seemed to be with PH not being able to transition to as more possession based game, and he seemed to be caught between two stools all the time. The lack of clarity for the players led to indecisiveness and lots of narrow defeats and draws, affecting confidence.

Only two of our defeats have been by more than one goal and we kept coming out on the wrong side of the results. There are teams way higher than us who have lost the same or more games than we have, but our inability to see games through has cost us dear.

So far, we have been a nearly team and could quite easily have been further up the table if we could stop chucking away leads and start to convert more the chances we make. We definitely have more to come I feel.

Bit behind casting a view but I think over the 90 minutes that has to feature as our best game so far, and beyond that when looking at it as a game in general it was a fantastic advert for League 2 in general, I think the manner in which both teams played wouldn't look out of place in the Premier League, with the obvious difference being the quality.

Personally, I think that our opening 5-8 games of the season were played in a very similar way, the first half at Bradford especially was one of the more dominant performances I've seen of a Town team ever. It all started to fall away as the pressure built and it became much more lacking in purpose.

In the games since SP and BD have taken over I think we've just refreshed little aspects of what came before to give us a bit more attacking impetus and the bit I noticed more was our willingness to play forward into the strikers feet more than we did. Even in those early games when our possession was good, we always went wide and for me it was a huge limitation in what was otherwise good football.

Tuesday was what SP and BD have been offering but cranked up a level. Perhaps the way MK play gave us the licence to showcase more of what we're about, whether an added level was given by the players with the new guy in place and wanting to cement places but it was certainly a very commanding display.

What I particularly liked (others around me didn't!) was our willingness to pass the ball, notably around the box. It can be a little scary but I would much prefer them to actually play than just lump it forward. One particular person asked what 'those two idiots are doing there', when Maher and Rodgers offered on the 6 yard line for a goal kick. 15 passes or so later and we missed a chance, but of course booting up field for their centre backs to win would have been much better.

Couldn't think of a single player who looked out of place and despite missing a few great chances I liked the look of Ainley who could have a big part to play if he can get fitter and replicate more of the good work he did. Hunt had arguably his best performance so far this season and will certainly have caught the managers eye, and with Gav having an uncharacteristically bad game against Sutton, DA may well have made a decision in respect of early pecking order.

Mullarkey and Glennon both looked great, I think Glennon in particular looks the most refreshed player in the squad since the departure of PH which does make you wonder if there is something in rumours of a rift with Doig. I also thought Rose showed more of what he can do. That's not saying I think Rose has been poor, but I don't think we've played into him and used his ability on the ball as much as we could have but he linked really well with players willing to run a little beyond.

Pyke scoring again showed that actually he does have goals in him. I was very much a critic a few weeks back, not because he wasn't scoring goals but because he looked lazy and unwilling to work hard. He's impressing me more and more and even if he doesn't buzz around in the same way Rose does, if he can keep putting it away then we can forgive him that. Considering that Rose, Wilson and Pyke have all scored more goals already (all comps) than Orsi and Taylor combined last season proves our striker recruitment in the summer was an improvement.

If there is more to come from Town, and this isn't where we want to be then it could a very exciting time. Not from a point of negativity but I'm not going to get carried away too much because it's a big ask to improve on what was a great performance on Tuesday. If he can achieve it, and this performance ends up being considered 'meh' in reflection of what could come then it would certainly confirm that his appointment is a fantastic one. That's a pressure I think is unfair to burden him with after one game so a lot more time is needed but it is certainly an encouraging start and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks and how we progress.

I watched an interview with Shaun Pearson a couple of weeks ago in which he spoke about players who didn’t just become bad players but after consistently conceding goals and loosing games had lost confidence and as fans we couldn’t expect them to regain confidence immediately, I think the games that SP and BD were in charge for certainly helped the players but they have now been lifted to a new level with the appointment of Dave Artell . It showed on Tuesday night with his instructions from the pitch side what he wanted the players to do and how to do it which is something I haven’t seen for a long time. Paul Hurst was a good manager for us but I believe DA will take us to a higher level with his more encouraging management style. Hopefully competition for a starting place on the team sheet will help the players play better. UTM