Grimsby Town v Notts

[Chris]

It's not all doom and gloom, however this sort of reinforces what I have been saying for awhile.

We need to be able to defend, this will make going forward easier and I do believe the defence is good - The problem is how much we focus on attacking and using the left/right backs in our attacking phases. I think we need to focus more on the defending, as I do feel some sides will catch us out just like Grimsby did. If we don't score, at the moment we look easy to concede and although attacking is the best type of defending - It's only good if we can score.

No idea how we played, I went out with my family instead of going to the friendly but I am disappointed by the result.

This said, I remind people it's just a friendly and the warning signs are more than fixable.

[Dripsey3]

We will have to play with 2 defensive defenders as it stands. The back 4 has to be protected. So 4-5-1 which will curtail our attacking options. The onus will be on the wingers to create chances. Not protecting the back 4 would be suicidal.

[Northants Pie]

Elsewhere Mr Trew has mentioned the amount we have offered cms, surely that money would be better spent on a decent centre half

[ivansneck]

It was awful. Could have scored 2 and conceded 10

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[liampie]

it does not sound a confident report back from our fans, surely people at the club know we need a solid defence. i am not going to over react but the goal against carlton should have been the warning sign.

[DangerousSausage]

You shouldn't overstate the importance of friendlies - the stylish 3-0 win against West Ham, and the string of defeats before the championship-winning season under Sam Allardyce (I think we lost every single match) should tell you that. However, I'm still a bit concerned by this result. Hopefully the first 60 minutes against Port Vale (a match we'd have won had we treated it as a league match and not made 9 substitutions) will be more of an indicator as to where we're heading.

 

It does raise a couple of important points though. Firstly, the defence. Good teams build from the back - keep a clean sheet and you've got a point already. Last season we collected a ridiculous number of midfielders and neglected the back four, even in January. I hope history isn't repeating itself here. We apparently offered a lot of money to Craig Mackail-Smith, but the board needs to invest this money in all areas of the team rather than get giddy and splash the cash on X number of forwards, most of whom will be warming the bench.

 

Secondly, we need to calm down a bit. There's a reason we're not favourites for promotion at the bookies - we have few defensive options and have signed many unproven players. Some have unquestionable pedigree but are coming to the end of their careers (Stead, Swerts), some have played very little over the last couple of years (Aborah, Jenner, Milsom) and others have played most of their football in the Dutch second division - is that really such a good standard of football? This might even be a step up for them. We have made some very interesting signings and I'm sure many will deliver, but when you sign as many as we have it's unavoidable that some will flop. Hopefully we'll have enough for a promotion push.

[DangerousSausage]

We will have to play with 2 defensive defenders as it stands. The back 4 has to be protected. So 4-5-1 which will curtail our attacking options. The onus will be on the wingers to create chances. Not protecting the back 4 would be suicidal.

 

You can get away with 442 with two defensive midfielders in this division, we were promoted with Bishop and Ravenhill in the middle. I reckon Swerts and Noble or Thompson can do a grand job for us in this division if the wingers turn out to be good.

[Feral Fox]

The red rag says Moniz is looking for 3 more players, focusing on front man and defenders. The lack of a serious presence at the back is the most worrying for me. I've said previously about a big 20 goal striker, and of course that would be good, but I think a new centre back and right back must come in first.

Hollis looks even worse than normal by all accounts!

[DangerousSausage]

I find it odd that Taylor Mackenzie seems to have vanished into thin air, given our lack of options at the back. Surely League Two would be his chance to shine. Is he injured?

 

You can never just buy a guaranteed 20-goal striker, you never know how the season is going to pan out. Besides, an over-reliance on one star striker makes us easier to contain. IMO it's more important that we have many players capable of scoring. Last season we scored virtually no goals from midfield.