From the kitchen..

Watched it online, and we are not a bad team, just missing a few links

Collins instantly shot down when the team sheet was announced... solid

Hendrie solid

Woolford pinged the ball lovely

Hess... still waiting for him to have a bad game

Ring, hate to say this, but he hasn't settled very well and seems to be all over the place.

Never a pen, but should never of had to have a decision to make as ring should of dealt with it

Vernam did well first half, they struggled with him cutting in.
He gets put up front, which I've been screaming for, and he scores...

Cardwell did well, won his headers, held it up well.

I think the game plan was to hit it to cardwell and work off him, as they didn't get near him so was technically working, but we didn't seem to cut any clear chances
We couldn't play the football people think we should be playing every week as the pitch was far too bobbly and wouldn't of worked

MJ got instantly slated for his double sub, but for me, it's what we needed... why do like for like swaps with the youngsters like so many wanted? We changed shape, and it paid off within a few mins

All in all, we've got a base to build on, but are still a good 4-5 starting player's off being where we want to be

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

From the kitchen..

Watched it online, and we are not a bad team, just missing a few links

Collins instantly shot down when the team sheet was announced... solid

Hendrie solid

Woolford pinged the ball lovely

Hess... still waiting for him to have a bad game

Ring, hate to say this, but he hasn't settled very well and seems to be all over the place.

Never a pen, but should never of had to have a decision to make as ring should of dealt with it

Vernam did well first half, they struggled with him cutting in.
He gets put up front, which I've been screaming for, and he scores...

Cardwell did well, won his headers, held it up well.

I think the game plan was to hit it to cardwell and work off him, as they didn't get near him so was technically working, but we didn't seem to cut any clear chances
We couldn't play the football people think we should be playing every week as the pitch was far too bobbly and wouldn't of worked

MJ got instantly slated for his double sub, but for me, it's what we needed... why do like for like swaps with the youngsters like so many wanted? We changed shape, and it paid off within a few mins

All in all, we've got a base to build on, but are still a good 4-5 starting player's off being where we want to be

I would agree except for the Collins remark, all our troubles came through him and Ring today. He had a better game then last week but he's still a part of the weak link in our defence.

On the train on the way back

Not too bad a performance but I thought we were going to blow it when they got the pen

Credit to the Town though... a nice bit of football on the deck with Dennis the provider to allow Vernam to equalise

We deserved a point overall so came away feeling it hadn’t been too bad an afternoon

UTM

Ok, we played decently, but it was against Morcombe, we are not creating anything, one of the reasons we don't score, plus our attack needs 4/5 chances to score one. If we were playing one of the top 6 sides would we have looked as good.

Quoted from Gaffer58

Ok, we played decently, but it was against Morcombe, we are not creating anything, one of the reasons we don't score, plus our attack needs 4/5 chances to score one. If we were playing one of the top 6 sides would we have looked as good.

That's not exactly true tho is it? In fact most of the best performances this season have been against the top teams.more than honourable draws with Lincoln exeyer bury n mk plus victories v mk exeter and tranmere

We are obviously a few signings away from where we want to be but with the freeing of the wage bill recently maybe MJ is already planning ahead.

Quoted from Gaffer58

Ok, we played decently, but it was against Morcombe, we are not creating anything, one of the reasons we don't score, plus our attack needs 4/5 chances to score one. If we were playing one of the top 6 sides would we have looked as good.

Morecambe have recently beaten 2 top 6 sides at home, so they are no pushover. Decent point in the end.

I went and we played well and it would of been unjust if we hadn’t got the equaliser. My only complaints are Ring and I know he won lots of headers but he can not do anything with his feet, Cardwell. We need much better but we all know that. Collins solid today. Plenty to be happy with as our squad builds.

We did create today just our front pair couldn’t get anything right.

My expectations were low for this game, so I came away quite happy that the players showed commitment and sometimes some skill and got something out of a game, that they didn't deserve to lose.

I was a long way from the penalty decision, but it looked to me that McKeown was first to the ball. Also, the referee did not see this incident as I could see he was he was well behind play and had to move to his left to get a retrospective view, but decided 'blind' to give it.

Having gone behind, I did think it strange to bring on 2 sub defenders, but Town did get a deserved reward with a really good move down the right with Clifton and Dennis combining, and Vernam (my man of the match before he scored) scoring a goal.


So:

McKeown - didn't really have a shot to save (apart from the penalty) - but was 'dodgy' at coming out to through balls, which were a lottery in terms of where he was kicking it.


Hendrie - played well


Ring - made mistakes but also did some good play

Hessenthaler -  generally got about the pitch - won some lost some - in terms of tackling - but distribution ok


Davis - solid performance


Collins - solid performance

Dennis - thought he worked hard and looked a player. Got the impression that he and Vernam could be a useful combination


Cardwell -  a tryer - sometimes his lack of pace showed - didn't win as much in the air as he should - and his control of the football wasn't up to standard at times.


Grayson - in and out the game - need to see him play again


Vernam - looked a threat coming in from the right and tested the Morecambe keeper on more than one occasion. When Cardwell went off, he went central and this looked good with Clifton on.


Woolford - did some good things but his right foot reminds me of Norman Hunter



Conclusion: if Town had have lost this game, it would have been a travesty, as Morecambe did not create one goal chance.

Town have some good players: - now we're mathematically safe - would be good to see those younger subs (kicking the ball around at half time) getting an opportunity.

I honestly thought Cardwell looked decent when played close to a striking partner he can work with and be near, unfortunatly Wes Thomas never seems to be able to play with a partner.
Ring wasnt great but he needs time to settle i think, there is a footballer in there.

Hall Johnson in centre mid didnt look out of place and shows just how valuable a player we have there even if his engine doesnt run for 90 minutes

Wouldn't waste anymore time with Grayson neither, give our contracted players time, he's not rubbish, but not great neither

By the way, the Imps are in L1....🔴⚪️

Quoted from monkeyboy

I honestly thought Cardwell looked decent when played close to a striking partner he can work with and be near, unfortunatly Wes Thomas never seems to be able to play with a partner.
Ring wasnt great but he needs time to settle i think, there is a footballer in there.

Hall Johnson in centre mid didnt look out of place and shows just how valuable a player we have there even if his engine doesnt run for 90 minutes

I am hardly cardwells biggest fan but I thought he did pretty well last week. If only we could get the shop back......

Quoted from SalsaE70

By the way, the Imps are in L1....🔴⚪️

F@ck off idiot!!

Quoted from monkeyboy

I honestly thought Cardwell looked decent when played close to a striking partner he can work with and be near, unfortunatly Wes Thomas never seems to be able to play with a partner.
Ring wasnt great but he needs time to settle i think, there is a footballer in there.

Hall Johnson in centre mid didnt look out of place and shows just how valuable a player we have there even if his engine doesnt run for 90 minutes

I thought Cardwell looked like he had learned a bit versus Stevenage last week to be honest, remember he’s still a young player who if he fills out and keeps the bit of pace he’s got he’ll be a handful.

All being well we’ll have a squad big enough to ensure he can be loaned out for a bit next season.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

I thought Cardwell looked like he had learned a bit versus Stevenage last week to be honest, remember he’s still a young player who if he fills out and keeps the bit of pace he’s got he’ll be a handful.

All being well we’ll have a squad big enough to ensure he can be loaned out for a bit next season.

Spot on ;D

Interesting to read that RHJ played central midfield and he acquitted himself well. Is there an outfield position this guy can't play in!?

Problem with that is that the saying about a jack of all trades being master of none is quite correct. It is very useful to have a player who can cover many positions, but is he good enough in any of them to be first choice when the team is (hopefully!) settled and doing well? Possibly, but I'm still not certain what his best position will actually turn out to be.

Quoted from Maringer

Problem with that is that the saying about a jack of all trades being master of none is quite correct. It is very useful to have a player who can cover many positions, but is he good enough in any of them to be first choice when the team is (hopefully!) settled and doing well? Possibly, but I'm still not certain what his best position will actually turn out to be.

Every team needs a Kevin Jobling.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Interesting to read that RHJ played central midfield and he acquitted himself well. Is there an outfield position this guy can't play in!?

Try him up front. Can't have a much less effective return than our current forwards!

Quoted from Les Brechin

Try him up front. Can't have a much less effective return than our current forwards!

He played up front for Braintree!

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Every team needs a Kevin Jobling.

If memory serves, Jobling played almost all of his games for us at full-back (and mostly on the left?). He was originally a midfielder who Buckley converted to full-back and who filled in on rare occasions in left midfield and even rarer occasions in the middle. If he made fewer than 95% of his appearances for us at full-back, I'd be surprised.

I expect to see RHJ as a regular squad member next season because, as you note, he's versatile. However, I don't think he's really good enough in any position where I've seen him play to be a nailed on first choice there. At least not if we're hoping to be challenging for promotion. I'd be happy to be proven wrong but fear I won't be.

[quote=1133]From the kitchen..

Watched it online, and we are not a bad team, just missing a few links

/quote]

It must have been a different view from your kitchen to the seats at the Globe Arena from where I watched it.

I thought we did OK first half and looked the better team creating a few chances, second half we looked lost at times without looking dangerous at all.

In fact I thought it looked like two poor teams who if I remember rightly only had one shot on target each in the second half being the goals.

I would suggest that both teams need drastic improvement if they are not going to be in another struggle next season.

Quoted from Maringer

If memory serves, Jobling played almost all of his games for us at full-back (and mostly on the left?). He was originally a midfielder who Buckley converted to full-back and who filled in on rare occasions in left midfield and even rarer occasions in the middle. If he made fewer than 95% of his appearances for us at full-back, I'd be surprised.

I expect to see RHJ as a regular squad member next season because, as you note, he's versatile. However, I don't think he's really good enough in any position where I've seen him play to be a nailed on first choice there. At least not if we're hoping to be challenging for promotion. I'd be happy to be proven wrong but fear I won't be.

Kevin was just a fill-in midfielder for a long time in the 90s but he became a pretty good left back after Paul Agnew went to West Brom.

I was pleased to see Vernam scored. To be honest I haven't rated him as a natural born striker but he could play up front if he could last the pace. Personally I don't go along with this being young and developing argument with him, he looks to me like he could do it if he really set his mind to it. A full 90 and a late goal kind of proves that.

I'd forget about having 2 attacking fullbacks because we can't play that way. Iwould try to play with 2 wingers again and one of those would be RHJ. Surely it's worth a try-it can't be any worse than the dross that's being served up.   4-2-4  Please

Vernam has certainly lacked stamina this season which is the reason I expect he has disappeared out of so many games. However, I think this may be his first season for some time where he hasn't done himself a serious injury?

If so, hopefully, he can continue to improve and begin to be more of a threat for the whole 90 minutes. Still not sure where his best position will be, however. Probably attacking the defence after collecting the ball between the centre circle and the penalty area. It's where he has done his best work for us. I don't see him leading the line, however.

Quoted from Maringer

Vernam has certainly lacked stamina this season which is the reason I expect he has disappeared out of so many games. However, I think this may be his first season for some time where he hasn't done himself a serious injury?

If so, hopefully, he can continue to improve and begin to be more of a threat for the whole 90 minutes. Still not sure where his best position will be, however. Probably attacking the defence after collecting the ball between the centre circle and the penalty area. It's where he has done his best work for us. I don't see him leading the line, however.

No neither do I. He is good when he runs from deep but he seems less effective out wide. I would like to see him tried in a front two alongside a proper line leader but wonder if he would score enough to justify it. I wouldn't expect him to be as prolific as Podge but the two strikers would still have to get around 25-30 between them to make it worthwhile even allowing for the usual "better to share out the goals" stuff.

Better late than never...

I didn't think Ring was as bad as some are suggesting. He made some really good tackles, he just seems a bit like he's not settled and hasn't  got used to his centre backs yet. Cardwell had a decent game, challenged well for headers and won more than he has previously done. Dennis has got a better touch than most in the division, but I'm not convinced by him - however he did really well with his assist to get ball right into Vernam's path - I thought for sure he was gonna shoot and the keeper was gonna save it. Woolford gave the ball away in some fairly key areas on a few occasions which is slightly worrying.

Not a classic, definitely two sides who look safe in the lower part of the table but worth the trip for the late equaliser.

Yes I’ll agree Cardwell won plenty of headers but directed them where?? When he got the ball to his feet he was truly woeful. I’m not one for having ago at our players but I really do not see a productive goal scoring machine in him. I really hope I’m wrong. UTM

Quoted from oochiad

Yes I’ll agree Cardwell won plenty of headers but directed them where?? When he got the ball to his feet he was truly woeful. I’m not one for having ago at our players but I really do not see a productive goal scoring machine in him. I really hope I’m wrong. UTM

Strange things happen, but I think it would take a monumental turn around for him to ever be a goalscoring machine!

I think he might be one of those players who haven't found their best position. At least I hope that is the case, seeing we gave him a new deal.

Maybe he's a reverse Magennis and he'll end up as a keeper?

Quoted from oochiad

Yes I’ll agree Cardwell won plenty of headers but directed them where?? When he got the ball to his feet he was truly woeful. I’m not one for having ago at our players but I really do not see a productive goal scoring machine in him. I really hope I’m wrong. UTM

Yeah, that's fair enough about him perhaps not getting his headers to any team mates...however, baby steps and all that! There was a moment when he burst forward into space with the ball and I was thinking "OH AYE CARDWELL, THIS IS NEW!" and then he sort of stumbled over his own feet/the ball at the point when he looked like he might beat his man.