Eagle85

+ Defense again. Johnston, Toal and TSL superb. + Great first half, enough chances to be 3 up. ACD getting in some great positions off the ball to add to his already great goals and work rate. Should have done better with the chances but looks good for the long term. - Missed JDC, I know Christie is better at the simple stuff and doesn't give the ball away as much but we missed his energy getting forward, particularly in the second half, also Bradfords main threat was targeting Christie lack of pace - 2 strikers. Burstow was poor which is fair enough considering how good hes been, but work rate was much lower than usual, hope hes not one of those that relaxes once hes made a bit of a name for himself. Dalby not just a terrible player, but so frustrating to watch. Cant run or even kick a ball properly from what we've seen so far. - Struggling to create chances at home in the second half which isn't like us. Like it when Morley comes on as sub, when fresh hes good at picking it up and distributing late on, think that had a big part in it, can only assume Simons wasn't 100%. Think a combination of that, Dalby being awful and missing JDCs overlaps against a tired team late on had an impact.

Wasn't sure about going last night after being on the back end of Flu and not having left the house for 8 days. Actually flipped a coin for it, thank Christ it landed heads. Had no energy 2nd half and our amazing fans got me up for it, gave me an idea of how it must feel for the lads on the pitch. The good ACD, never mind the goal and assist, the amount of running that lad does is incredible. Burstow brilliant again. Works hard for 90 mins, can hold it, can score, and even added a great assist to his bag. What a player. Top attitude from the players, not the best start but never went hiding. Love how they kept at it and grew into the game before eventually overwhelming them. That dribble from Conway was magical. The bad TSLs confidence looks gone, even in the warm up he was slow getting down to shots and palming some routine efforts straight back in front of him. Our defence is still a worry, got away with it last night because Hudds seemed reluctant to really test us after going a goal up. Toal and Johnston lack speed and strength, and Conway can't defend. JDC was the only one I trusted out of the back 5 starting then he went and gave that goal away.

The good The setup of the starting 11. Skill and pace in the wingers, great effort in support from the fullbacks, enough skill and physicality from the front 2. Backed up by 2 solid centre mids. Forss instead of Randall made a huge difference, could hit it to him earlier with his improved physicality, him doubled up with Burstow down the middle gave them a problem and narrowing their defence to solve it left more room for our wingers, also improved goal scoring threat getting in the box which will benefit our wide players when crossing. Even did a great job pinning defenders and laying it off which was a great surprise. Smashing Wigan obviously. They were slightly time wasting at 2 or 3-0 down which showed just how much of a pasting that was. The bad Still look a bit dodgy defending set pieces. Relied on Forino a lot who was magnificent, keeper still a bit unconvincing. Bringing Dalby on up front stunted our ability to counter and maybe score more when 4-0/1 up, although I understand that the minutes in such a big game will help him get up to speed.

If you want to play 442 one of the front men has to be really good at pressing, like Dion was. Cant have 2 strikers with Dalby and Burstow, they'd get bypassed really easily and our centre mids would be scrambling around too much, leaving them less likely to dictate play or carry the ball. Only situation it's good is chasing a goal last few mins like against Lincoln when we can use the rest of the team to go all out pushing up. There's a correlation between the gradual death of 442 and pitches becoming much better. Occasionally been done since then like Simeone's Atletico but the entire team have to be machines.

Whoever plays number 10 would benefit massively from having the ability to shoot from range. Theres space in there for it considering how much attention is being given to the wingers. Unfortunately its not a quality that Sheehan or Randall have. Mcatee maybe but he has other issues. As it stands though agree Josh is worth a try, especially if you've got EE, Simons and Morley to choose from for the other 2 positions.

The good Thought that Lincoln team was very good to be fair but we wrestled back control in the 2nd half and had em on the ropes. That prick getting the OG was wonderful. The midfield replacements. Sheehan class, carrying and distributing the ball far more quickly, giving anyone receiving the ball from him that crucial extra second or 2. Even defended well. Morley showed urgency and good on the ball as well. The bad Right side defence. Cogley poor today. Toal beaten in the air/positioning for the goal, beaten for pace against Barnsley. Showing his weakness without Santos there. Missed Forino today. Cant see what the plan of attack is. Wingers cutting in but Randall crowded out and FBs not overlapping aggressively. Not enough early crosses as well, appreciate that its generally better to build up and cross from a better position with more in the box but at least try a few for some variety. Still look a bit soft as a team overall. Taylor looked big and athletic so hopefully him, Forino and a fully fit Dalby improves things enough.

I really thought he was, some of the passes he gave away, particularly early on in the match were bad. Simple 10 yarders scuffing it to the oppo players. Then he got released down the wing and instead of getting to ball reasonably quickly to give him a couple of yards grace from the defender (who was much bigger and slower) he just ambled towards it and got outmuscled I like the player generally but had my head in my hands at least 5 times because of him last night.

Glass half full Midfield 2 were quality, more solid defensively than we're used to and still good enough on the ball to supply the front 4. They created nothing, took a scabby deflected effort to score. Our CBs were really good. Varied attacks again, we look able to build up slowly or get quick counter attacks in when required Glass half empty Tutu was absolutely shocking, hopefully just a confidence thing playing out of position that will improve Poor end product. Crying out for a long range shooter, especially with that space in the middle when the wingers are double covered. Losing Collins wasn't great in that regard That number 10 role still, we desperately need Randall to end up good enough in there. Better last night but still not good enough.

That would be even more ideal if one of them can play 10. Not sure who most likely candidate would be at this point though.

Feeling oddly frustrated after that today. Was my first game live this season so think set my expectations too high beforehand. Happy with the way we looked, good ability to spread the play from side to side and looking to attack in different ways. We got in lots of dangerous positions, but end product was really poor. Wingers not able to create good chances, Cogleys awful crossing (even for him) after great overlap play and even Randall and Sheehan playing some overhit through balls when the space appeared in the middle. The number 10 role is a massive concern, no faith in Randall (especially after today) or Mcatee. Sheehan might be an option but dont think he's athletic enough and maybe wont score enough for that position. Cant see who in that team will get double figures for goals, still fuming we let Collins go, probably wont get over it for a while. Toal is a worry as well, seen it said by someone else that Conway played him on but it was him that looked 38 the way he turned and tried to get back. If he gets isolated against a quick striker it won't be good. Do think that its worlds apart playing in this system than in a back 3 with Santos covering you all the time. Looking on the bright side, even though it feels like we could have done better, we still hit the post, ACD should have scored with that early chance and surely our final ball/cross cant be that bad again for a while.

This could be the either the best or worst prediction I've ever made but think JDC will end up being our best player this season, playing on the overlap with a winger in front. Saw signs of it looking good at the end of last season. Looking at our squad at the moment would guess 4231 would be the best fit. The below list isnt what I'd have in an ideal world, with LB and another striker being priority. All other positions I think we're either good or can get by. LB - New player, Johnston, Thomo RB - JDC, Des (with LB playing more defensive if hes in) CB - Taylor, Forino, Toal, Johnston CMs - Simons, Morley, Dempsey, Thomo AMC - Sheehan, Randall, CMG AML - Gale, Mcatee, Schon AMR - Amario, Des, CMG ST - New player, Dalby, Vic Not needed/try to sell - Lolos, Forrester, Dan Don't mind selling - Schon, Toal, Thomo, Mcatee, Vic, Johnston

Not keen on that. Thinking about how many times he is late to the challenge in the middle of the park, would happen more often against wingers and be far more disastrous when it does. Suppose it still might be the best backup option if we can't find anyone else.

Hahaha, did have a browse once when I first came on here, scary stuff

Last couple of years noticed a lot of people I grew up with turning 'gammon'. I'm not that arsed about who is right and wrong as I like hearing opposing views and the answer is usually somewhere in the middle, but it's the fact that the only things they're now interested in or want to talk about are things that make them pissed off (which is now A LOT of things), it's proper draining. Worst thing is they've got another 30-50 years of gradually getting even more angry. Feel like I'm in a zombie move and I'm the last one to get infected.

Teams could push up and mark Sheehan out the game last season because we don't have pacy wide players or a striker that can hold the ball. Hopefully with those additions we can either hit it earlier quicker to those players if the opp push up on Josh, or if they sit off to cover that it will give him the chance to pull the strings a bit more stress free, and there is nobody better for that at this level.

Lots of mixed views about Sheehan. I vaguely recall thinking a big part of our downturn in performances under Evatt was how the opposition chose to deal with marking him. At first it was the odd team that cancelled him out (Barnsley home springs to mind) then towards the end pretty much every time decided to do it. Last night Rotherham remarkably left him free to be the ball carrier from our middle centre half/keeper with options to go to either the wide centre backs pushing on or the more advanced centre mids. I think that was the main reason for the quality and entertainment of what we saw. Lots calling him out for inconsistency depends on this factor, unfortunately when he is man marked by an aggressive midfielder he doesn't have the physical capabilities to get away. I really liked Matete with him as a double pivot earlier in the season, they can both carry from defence onto the forwards (Sheehan more successfully) and the opposition cant mark both. I'm surprised Matete doesn't play more for that very reason.

Can't do nowt but laugh about that really

Surprised by how poor we were yesterday, got my hopes up beforehand that it would end up well. We're missing Rico badly. Forino in that 1-v-1 in the first 10 mins, got to the ball first and still managed it so that it should have ended up either a red card or a goal for them. You know if Rico is in that situation its not even a worry that he will sort it. Makes it easier for the rest of the team knowing you can leave him alone back there as well. Still not seeing it with Randall, think he might be good as a bit of creativity in an already solid team but he just enhances our weaknesses. Hard to know if SS is a fan or not might feel slightly under pressure to play him due to the cost. Stockport were decent, but don't think we were the better side overall which is a bit of a concern.

To me Baxter usually looks incredibly shaky, not just with the ball at his feet but in other aspects of his keeping as well, but the quality is definitely there. Southwood always seems confident, but tonight's lack of courage/physicality to come for the 3rd wasn't much of a surprise. With him there will always be that fear whenever the ball is aerial near our goal. Neither fill me with much confidence. Definitely a key area to focus on next season.

Just seen this, was more referring to the area around the ground. Everywhere being boarded up she thought she was in some kind of dystopian nightmare. Hadn't been there in a good number of years myself, was trying to picture all the hotels still up and running in full swing, couldn't get over the level of decline.

Was sat in the home end for this last year, horrible experience. The wife isn't from the UK originally she was happy to go walking round the town whilst I was at the game. My warning fell on deaf ears. She was traumatised.

Thought Orient were a really good side, helped early on by a cautious set up from ourselves. Expected the worst when 1-0 down thought it was superb result to come back and win that. Nice to see us lately responding to being behind with increased tempo stuff, rather than just more of the same. wont always work but has the bonus effect of getting the crowd more into it as well like we saw second half. Atmosphere was quality. Johnston MOM for me, Cogley great again using his engine as a fullback, opp winger in league 1 is always going to struggle to keep up with that. Think it has to be taken into account that JDC made it easy for Schon, Tutu was a little restricted by Murphys obvious struggles, particularly first half, it dragged him into a bit of a battle that doesn't suit his game The timing and weight of Collins' pass for Mcatee's finish was sublime.

Always thought IE set us up well, but his inability to adapt when teams had us sussed out struck me as a bit arrogant and ignorant, like he didn't appreciate his tactics could ever not work. Randall to me follows on that way of thinking, he probably imagined all the benefits he could bring unlocking defences and carrying it in the final third, but not taking into account that he's someone the opposition can target as a weak link, especially in the more physical encounters. Really hope he finds form soon though, imagine would be a great player to watch if full of confidence.

Bod seems to be doing well at Burton. Was gutted we didn't re-sign him. I'm probably looking at it with rose tints but thought he was skilful, held it up well and could win headers, think him going was a small part of many for our recent decline. Don't remember him being as injury prone as everyone made out and we could have kept him on a very low contract due to that reputation. Different planet compared to Vic.