Well here we go. The excitement builds for our first game. Can we build on 2 years of progress in this division and a good pre-season to state our claim for promotion.

First decision for Evatt will be whether to go with a number 10 behind 2 forwards - if he does CMG is the man.

But I think he’ll grow into the first 11 - he can make a difference next week coming from the bench. 

Just 3 positions up for grabs then for me. I think Morley will pip Thomason, Adebeyejo will go up top with Charles and Iredale wil go LCB (if fit, if not Forrester did very well today.

                      Baxter

       Jones.     Santos.   Iredale 

Dac.Cog.   Sheehan Morley.  Williams

                      Dempsey

            Charles.     Adebeyejo 

4 minutes ago, desperado said:

Well here we go. The excitement builds for our first game. Can we build on 2 years of progress in this division and a good pre-season to state our claim for promotion.

First decision for Evatt will be whether to go with a number 10 behind 2 forwards - if he does CMG is the man.

But I think he’ll grow into the first 11 - he can make a difference next week coming from the bench. 

Just 3 positions up for grabs then for me. I think Morley will pip Thomason, Adebeyejo will go up top with Charles and Iredale wil go LCB (if fit, if not Forrester did very well today.

                      Baxter

       Jones.     Santos.   Iredale 

Dac.Cog.   Sheehan Morley.  Williams

                      Dempsey

            Charles.     Adebeyejo 

Yep, that’s exactly how I see it too that would certainly be my starting eleven.

Undecided on Thomason or Sheehan

but yes looks about right 

13 minutes ago, desperado said:

Well here we go. The excitement builds for our first game. Can we build on 2 years of progress in this division and a good pre-season to state our claim for promotion.

First decision for Evatt will be whether to go with a number 10 behind 2 forwards - if he does CMG is the man.

But I think he’ll grow into the first 11 - he can make a difference next week coming from the bench. 

Just 3 positions up for grabs then for me. I think Morley will pip Thomason, Adebeyejo will go up top with Charles and Iredale wil go LCB (if fit, if not Forrester did very well today.

                      Baxter

       Jones.     Santos.   Iredale 

Dac.Cog.   Sheehan Morley.  Williams

                      Dempsey

            Charles.     Adebeyejo 

Sheehan and Morley,  whis gonna put a tackle in ?

Nice going forward but for me I would bring Dempsey back into Morley's place and play Mendes Gomes for the first hour, then have options of thomason or Morley dependent on how we are doing.

Still think we will see another midfield signing before Saturday.

Partnered with BWiTC competition for 2 match tickets and overnight stay at the hotel.

2-0 RITP

Gomez hasnt come to be on the bench.

Christ knows where he starts though.

Just now, gonzo said:

Gomez hasnt come to be on the bench.

Christ knows where he starts though.

LWB

1 hour ago, victor meldrew said:

Partnered with BWiTC competition for 2 match tickets and overnight stay at the hotel.

Im well impressed youve pulled that off

thats way beyond your it skills

Wouldn't surprise me if IE picked Dan to start alongside Dion, if just for his work rate. He seems to like the idea of trying to run the opposition defence ragged for an hour to wear them down before making striker subs.

Whoever plays I just hope we start on the front foot - seems to take us ages to get going and we seem at our most vulnerable at the beginning of both halves.

And I hope this freedom to shoot from outside the box continues - because we have players who can and last season you wouldn't have known it.

Thomason in for Morley.

Rest I agree with.

 

18 minutes ago, captainmed said:

Thomason in for Morley.

Rest I agree with.

 

No disrespect but not against Lincoln

last 2 games Morley has come off the bench and scored, for me Sheehan drops 

Edited July 30, 20232 yr by radcliffe white

3-1 win after going behind and a meltdown on here.

17 hours ago, desperado said:

Well here we go. The excitement builds for our first game. Can we build on 2 years of progress in this division and a good pre-season to state our claim for promotion.

First decision for Evatt will be whether to go with a number 10 behind 2 forwards - if he does CMG is the man.

But I think he’ll grow into the first 11 - he can make a difference next week coming from the bench. 

Just 3 positions up for grabs then for me. I think Morley will pip Thomason, Adebeyejo will go up top with Charles and Iredale wil go LCB (if fit, if not Forrester did very well today.

                      Baxter

       Jones.     Santos.   Iredale 

Dac.Cog.   Sheehan Morley.  Williams

                      Dempsey

            Charles.     Adebeyejo 

You think Morley will pip Thomasson? You did see him come on yesterday and smash one in top corner . Morley is twice the player Thomasson is it's a no contest. Thomasson is lucky our midfield depth isnt great he shouldn't even be on our bench. 

9 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

You think Morley will pip Thomasson? You did see him come on yesterday and smash one in top corner . Morley is twice the player Thomasson is it's a no contest. Thomasson is lucky our midfield depth isnt great he shouldn't even be on our bench. 

Thomason has improved for me but that role he plays is suited for certain games I would start him over Sheehan Saturday because I think he’s earned it pre season

Morley & Dempsey should be starters only players that can create & hit a ball

 

1 hour ago, Wanderlust said:

And I hope this freedom to shoot from outside the box continues - because we have players who can and last season you wouldn't have known it.

Most definitely.

I seem to think that our players haven’t exactly been encouraged to shoot from distance in the past, but maybe IE has changed his policy on that at last.

Even Lg 1 defences can be difficult to break down, so to have a couple of players in Demps and Morley who are capable of scoring a screamer or 2, it will be a very handy tool to have in our locker.

 

Edited July 30, 20232 yr by Burndens Bogs

46 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

You think Morley will pip Thomasson? You did see him come on yesterday and smash one in top corner . Morley is twice the player Thomasson is it's a no contest. Thomasson is lucky our midfield depth isnt great he shouldn't even be on our bench. 

Crikey, that’s a bit OTT isn’t it?

The gap isn’t that big, that Thomason doesn’t even make the bench! 
 

I wouldn't be shocked if Thomason starts

Wouldn't mind if Thomasson starts ahead of Sheehan 

6 minutes ago, Zico said:

Wouldn't mind if Thomasson starts ahead of Sheehan 

I think it’s a close call. 2 between the 3 (Morley, Sheehan, Thomason). The reason I went between Morley and Thomason, was after the Everton game where I was reminded how much of a class act Sheehan is in that deep lying midfield role. On that form (very much like he showed towards the end of last season - Wembley and away at Sheffield Wed stand out) I don’t think we have another midfielder who does what he does, as well as he does - ball retention, linking play, accuracy of passing and actually against Everton he was breaking up play really well too. 

Bit like @radcliffe white said, Thomason maybe used for specific games, in a specific role - for me when we play two defensive midfielders, but I don’t think at home to Lincoln is the game to do that.

But I certainly won’t be disappointed or surprised if Thomason starts. Nice options for Evatt to have. 

1 hour ago, desperado said:

Crikey, that’s a bit OTT isn’t it?

The gap isn’t that big, that Thomason doesn’t even make the bench! 
 

Personally no I don't think it's OTT. He's just not a good footballer. He's too slow , he's not agile and he's not particularly strong. He's got the turning circle of an Eddie stobart lorry. He's constantly caught in possesion. He posesses none of the attributes you need to be a decent defensive midfielder. All he can do is play an occasional nice pass with his left foot. He doesn't get assists , he can't beat a man. He doesn't do anything well. Nothing. 

It baffles me how people can even consider him in the same bracket as Morley and dempsey and even Sheehan. Actual footballers with technique and skill. 

He might be a really nice lad but he should be playing in the national League. 

I’ve noticed lately that when he receives a pass Thommo often lets the ball run accross him instead of taking a touch.

This is a ploy used quite effectively by Dempsey & it seems to work for Thommo too, it takes out the opposition player closest to him.

Edited July 30, 20232 yr by Burndens Bogs

26 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

Personally no I don't think it's OTT. He's just not a good footballer. He's too slow , he's not agile and he's not particularly strong. He's got the turning circle of an Eddie stobart lorry. He's constantly caught in possesion. He posesses none of the attributes you need to be a decent defensive midfielder. All he can do is play an occasional nice pass with his left foot. He doesn't get assists , he can't beat a man. He doesn't do anything well. Nothing. 

It baffles me how people can even consider him in the same bracket as Morley and dempsey and even Sheehan. Actual footballers with technique and skill. 

He might be a really nice lad but he should be playing in the national League. 

He’s a leader, ball winner and can pick a pass out.

He will start instead of either Sheehan or Morley.

42 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

Personally no I don't think it's OTT. He's just not a good footballer. He's too slow , he's not agile and he's not particularly strong. He's got the turning circle of an Eddie stobart lorry. He's constantly caught in possesion. He posesses none of the attributes you need to be a decent defensive midfielder. All he can do is play an occasional nice pass with his left foot. He doesn't get assists , he can't beat a man. He doesn't do anything well. Nothing. 

It baffles me how people can even consider him in the same bracket as Morley and dempsey and even Sheehan. Actual footballers with technique and skill. 

He might be a really nice lad but he should be playing in the national League. 

Thankfully Evatt doesn't agree.

If we want the likes of sheehan and Morley to be doing their best work in the attacking third, then deeper lying, "water carriers" are essential. 

Morley was dropped last year as Evatt said he wanted him to improve his defensive game. He did indeed achieve this, but he's still not great at it, and in him being disciplined in defensive work, we lose some of his attacking prowess.

Room for everyone at the right time.

The Thomason is shite brigade are still banging on. ... & to make their point exaggerate outrageously. How sad.

Maybe he's not going to be World class anytime soon but he's a hard working lad who clearly receives coaching well & grows his game constantly.

2 hours ago, Burndens Bogs said:

Most definitely.

I seem to think that our players haven’t exactly been encouraged to shoot from distance in the past, but maybe IE has changed his policy on that at last.

Even Lg 1 defences can be difficult to break down, so to have a couple of players in Demps and Morley who are capable of scoring a screamer or 2, it will be a very handy tool to have in our locker.

 

As I mentioned elsewhere, the fact that we show willing to have a pop every now and then forces defenders to come out to try and block the shot which frees up space in the box. Last season they seldom bothered because we were predictable - trying to walk the ball into the net and usually overplaying it - so they just packed the final fifth with bodies. Shooting from distance creates uncertainty, creates space to work in, creates opportunities in the follow up and once in a while flies into the top bins so I'm glad we've finally added it to our repertoire.

The quality of the strikes from Demps, Morley and Victor yesterday make it an even more attractive proposition IMO.