1 hour ago, BeeversLeftPeg said:

Coupled with the fact him being in the team gives Sheehan more freedom and with him being left footed we look far more balanced in the middle. His performance was unbelievable considering he hadn't played a single minute of pre-season.

In hindsight, did we go a long way to securing 3 points v PNE when Simons threw that punch at Gray? (and RR got injured)

No way was EE starting unless it was that type of circumstance - and if it had been Simons instead of EE I'm not sure we'd have dominated as much, small margins and all that.

I said last week Simons might struggle to get back in after his suspension and fingers crossed EE or Sheehan don't get injured before RR is back, hard to see when Simons starts again.

And no cup ties to show what he can do either.

1 hour ago, desperado said:

The other thing I’m still in disagreement about with a few on here, is the criticism for the sub changes SS made.

It’s debatable whether the amount made contributed to a shift in control of the game, I get that.

Although, having just watched the full 90 again this morning, I was amazed Preston’s coming into the game took so long. That first 20/25 of the 2nd half was all us.

Preston’s subs made a difference. They were coming back into it before our subs. And let’s be honest they always were going to have a spell regardless of who we had on the pitch.

Every one of our subs made sense. Mcatee, Gale and Conway (he’s perhaps the only one which was questionable in my eyes, although he did run right down the tunnel when he went off) had run their bollocks off, you could tell they had run their game. (McGinlay’s words on commentary)

Lorrazabel went quieter, understandable considering he’s still settling - he was great for the first 65 mins.

And I’m amazed Stephenson stayed on as long as he did after that knock he took.

So I’m unsure which those subs are wrong in some folks eyes?

I’m sure if SS could have made another and he had someone who could do what Erhahon was doing he would have made another!

No criticism on those subs IMO.

I get both arguments, keeping it fresh v maintaining personnel and shape that has put you in the lead.

But I must admit I was wanting Sheehan to get subbed, after his almost-2nd-booking (obviously in hindsight it was no problem, but its still at the mercy of the ref's judgement).

And I was fully expecting EE to only last till 70-ish minutes, so would have seen the sense in both of those going off, if we had alternatives!

Which we didn't. I get the impression Watson isn't being considered currently barring another emergency situation, surely the last 10 minutes was a big case for a change in midfield, other players who are either very new to the squad or not necessarily ready were picked, but no sign of Watson. Which makes us even shorter in midfield currently if that's the case.

I'd wager Simons is seething with himself now.

Came in strong last year but EE seemed to be the better option.

Strong start pre-season, 3 match ban and EE comes in playing like that!

With Conway and EE struggling for 90 mins, it's hardly surprising, as I'd wager they certainly put in the miles during the match.

3 hours ago, desperado said:

While we shouldn’t get carried away with Saturday, first games of the season often don’t reflect the season ahead, we should, conversely, applaud the contributions of those players who have been written off by some and realise that they can affect games positively and contribute in the Championship.

You're absolutely right.. But what it does reflect, is that they are capable of competing. Whether they do it consistently or not..

It's up to the players to look after themselves now and find consistency. Especially the players who have some question marks over them. I think with the ones you mentioned (McAtee, Gale and Conway) who all have a high ceiling

3 hours ago, desperado said:

The other thing I’m still in disagreement about with a few on here, is the criticism for the sub changes SS made.

It’s debatable whether the amount made contributed to a shift in control of the game, I get that.

Although, having just watched the full 90 again this morning, I was amazed Preston’s coming into the game took so long. That first 20/25 of the 2nd half was all us.

Preston’s subs made a difference. They were coming back into it before our subs. And let’s be honest they always were going to have a spell regardless of who we had on the pitch.

Every one of our subs made sense. Mcatee, Gale and Conway (he’s perhaps the only one which was questionable in my eyes, although he did run right down the tunnel when he went off) had run their bollocks off, you could tell they had run their game. (McGinlay’s words on commentary)

Lorrazabel went quieter, understandable considering he’s still settling - he was great for the first 65 mins.

And I’m amazed Stephenson stayed on as long as he did after that knock he took.

So I’m unsure which those subs are wrong in some folks eyes?

I’m sure if SS could have made another and he had someone who could do what Erhahon was doing he would have made another!

No criticism on those subs IMO.

Yeah, you know I was one who questioned them mate.

And also said I wasn’t in a position to know what the situation with players was so completely take on board what you're saying 👍.

I think the fact that we conceded almost immediately after the defensive subs gave the lads no time to get into the game, was always going to be backs to the wall after that.

Think if we'd gone another 5 minutes we'd have seen the game out comfortably.

The timing just made it look bad, let's face it,there aren't many games when the starting 11 does the whole match

We now get full 15 minute programme on Sky for our highlights. (Although first few minutes taken up earlier programme !)

McAtee really did have an impact and looked like the player we thought we were buying

21 hours ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

McAtee being penalised for the push was a shocker but apart from that the refereeing didn't seem as shit as we're used to

The foul given against him in the second half when he just robbed the centre half was as bad a call as I have seen.

7 minutes ago, Greg_BWFC said:

Yeah, you know I was one who questioned them mate.

And also said I wasn’t in a position to know what the situation with players was so completely take on board what you're saying 👍.

I think the fact that we conceded almost immediately after the defensive subs gave the lads no time to get into the game, was always going to be backs to the wall after that.

Think if we'd gone another 5 minutes we'd have seen the game out comfortably.

The timing just made it look bad, let's face it,there aren't many games when the starting 11 does the whole match

Good post.

And there’s some good counter arguments to it as well which I acknowledge. @Casino makes one, where the whole back 4 were different (or in different positions), so it wasn’t ideal.

But with the squad as it is, at the moment, we are a little hamstrung, so we can’t make like for like replacements everywhere yet and there are players who need more looking after/protecting, than others.

Other than Conway, (I’d love to know why he went off and ran down the tunnel - because he didn’t look fatigued or injured) I’m yet to hear a convincing argument for any of the others staying on who came off. And in changing the FBs, there weren’t a lot of options in the last 10 mins, without disrupting the back line.

Not ideal, but understandable and valid changes.

Edited August 17Aug 17 by desperado

14 minutes ago, desperado said:

Good post.

And there’s some good counter arguments to it as well which I acknowledge. @Casino makes one, where the whole back 4 were different (or in different positions), so it wasn’t ideal.

But with the squad as it is, at the moment, we are a little hamstrung, so we can’t make like for like replacements everywhere yet and there are players who need more looking after/protecting, than others.

Other than Conway, (I’d love to know why he went off and ran down the tunnel - because he didn’t look fatigued or injured) I’m yet to hear a convincing argument for any of the others staying on who came off. And in changing the FBs, there weren’t a lot of options in the last 10 mins, without disrupting the back line.

Not ideal, but understandable and valid changes.

On Conway, no long before he went off he went on one of those runs where he just ran out of space. Left us open at the back. Can see the logic of going safer at the back.

The fact their goal came after the changes does not look though. Brunt did not close the ball down enough to stop the cross, but given he was in Wales till midweek he was probably jet lagged 😂. I thought he was Inwood till he came on and someone reminded me Inwood was out on loan.

5 minutes ago, Ani said:

On Conway, no long before he went off he went on one of those runs where he just ran out of space. Left us open at the back. Can see the logic of going safer at the back.

The fact their goal came after the changes does not look though. Brunt did not close the ball down enough to stop the cross, but given he was in Wales till midweek he was probably jet lagged 😂. I thought he was Inwood till he came on and someone reminded me Inwood was out on loan.

The only other alternative I can think of would have been Christie at RB and Brunt LB, keeping the CBs the same.

But I realise I’m into the territory of thinking I’m a Championship manager with alternative suggestions like that. 😊

22 hours ago, gonzo said:

Who's cleaning the window's just as we scored 🤣

1 hour ago, Ani said:

On Conway, no long before he went off he went on one of those runs where he just ran out of space. Left us open at the back. Can see the logic of going safer at the back.

The fact their goal came after the changes does not look though. Brunt did not close the ball down enough to stop the cross, but given he was in Wales till midweek he was probably jet lagged 😂. I thought he was Inwood till he came on and someone reminded me Inwood was out on loan.

I thought I was seeing things with Brunt, I didn't know what he looked like and thought we must have re-signed Basham 😄 Very similar in physique and style/position. Strikes me from his 10 minutes that he could be a similarly versatile player across the defence or defensive midfield.

10 hours ago, Traf said:

Ethan Erhahon is the unsung hero in this squad.
I still don't think we've seen the best of him and yeah, he looks a bit awkward/clumsy/ungainly, but he gets through a hell of a lot if "unseen/dirty" work for the team.
Our record with him playing vs not playing is staggering if the stat I saw yesterday is true.

His performance was up there with his last game for us, Bradford semi first leg, very polished in both games.

He really aids Conway on the left too and covers his space so he can get forward.

EE is a quality player, very confident on the ball sometimes a bit too casual though remember Lincoln his old team targeting him in the game at Sincil Bank.

I guess it’s a question of playing style & his display on Saturday was almost faultless although he had understandably run out of steam near the end of the game.

Being a left footed midfielder gives us more balance on that side , which lets face it was extensively targeted last season with Conway & Jonstone struggling a bit defensively.Noticed PNE played a lot of long ball down our rhs targeting Stephenson’s lack of height . Didn’t really work fortunately.

We've played 4 games in the last 3 months or so.

All packed houses, big pivotal games, arguably against "rivals", huge media coverage and pressure. Won all 4! Never behind in any, only conceded 2.

Great credit to SS, not many times in our history we've had 4 such games on the trot and won them all.

We've come a long way since having 4 games against Mansfield, Doncaster, Northampton and Posh, got 2 points and were never leading.

45 minutes ago, Take Hunt Off said:

EE is a quality player, very confident on the ball sometimes a bit too casual though remember Lincoln his old team targeting him in the game at Sincil Bank.

I guess it’s a question of playing style & his display on Saturday was almost faultless although he had understandably run out of steam near the end of the game.

Being a left footed midfielder gives us more balance on that side , which lets face it was extensively targeted last season with Conway & Jonstone struggling a bit defensively.Noticed PNE played a lot of long ball down our rhs targeting Stephenson’s lack of height . Didn’t really work fortunately.

The balance is so important.
Having a left footed CB (Famewo) and left footed midfielder (Erhahon) certainly helped Conway, who didn't have to drift in field as much and Erhahon's ability to roll out towards the left hand side created more space for Sheehan to play in, whilst Forino also benefited. It just works all round.

6 minutes ago, Traf said:

The balance is so important.
Having a left footed CB (Famewo) and left footed midfielder (Erhahon) certainly helped Conway, who didn't have to drift in field as much and Erhahon's ability to roll out towards the left hand side created more space for Sheehan to play in, whilst Forino also benefited. It just works all round.

Sooner we all realise we've got a quality player on our hands in Conway the better. Is he a traditional left back that we're used to - probably not. But his touch is great and he attacks really well.

He's a modern day fullback and with better players along side him in defence he won't be as exposed if the move breaks down.

45 minutes ago, Traf said:

The balance is so important.
Having a left footed CB (Famewo) and left footed midfielder (Erhahon) certainly helped Conway, who didn't have to drift in field as much and Erhahon's ability to roll out towards the left hand side created more space for Sheehan to play in, whilst Forino also benefited. It just works all round.

Only 8 full 90s though. Get him playing 30 of those.

2 hours ago, Take Hunt Off said:

EE is a quality player, very confident on the ball sometimes a bit too casual though remember Lincoln his old team targeting him in the game at Sincil Bank.

I guess it’s a question of playing style & his display on Saturday was almost faultless although he had understandably run out of steam near the end of the game.

Being a left footed midfielder gives us more balance on that side , which lets face it was extensively targeted last season with Conway & Jonstone struggling a bit defensively.Noticed PNE played a lot of long ball down our rhs targeting Stephenson’s lack of height . Didn’t really work fortunately.

Stephenson didn’t win many headers but the guy he was marking was massive. Did put us under pressure a few times

Just reffed my daughters U12 friendly in middle of Preston. Couldn’t help myself, so put my wanderers shirt on. Got loads of shit from the sideline was fucking ace. All still very spitty. 😊

4 minutes ago, Matt Lofthouse said:

Just reffed my daughters U12 friendly in middle of Preston. Couldn’t help myself, so put my wanderers shirt on. Got loads of shit from the sideline was fucking ace. All still very spitty. 😊

The day after we beat them in the Cardiff playoff final we took our kids to haigh hall , got chatting to a Preston fan, he wasn’t very complementary. Ace in it.

I know we're only 2 games in but Preston looked shambolic in the highlights versus Wolves. Going to be a long season for them I reckon

I really do hope so. About time they play Blackpool again twice a season.

1 hour ago, Stig said:

I know we're only 2 games in but Preston looked shambolic in the highlights versus Wolves. Going to be a long season for them I reckon

I honestly have few bad feelings about Preston, but if 3 clubs can be utter disasters this year (none being Bolton) then I don't care who they are.