theAnticlough

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MP can certainly choose from more players now - the bench will look strong I'm confident because the players will be really up for it and we might surprise them ISS looked a bit hobbled at the end of Tuesday's game so we'll have to see who plays LWB. Smyth's case to start is very strong. It'll probably be Sanders and Finneran in CM. I hope Pato doesn't have to swap and change those spots all season long. With 6 CMs there's going to be competition, but far better if 2 claim the shirts and make it really difficult for the other 4 to get a sniff.

Yes, I think Pato owes Palmer one. By that I mean to apologise to him for setting up with only 1 CM and getting overrun there. You're right it did look like a 5-1-4I think his performance will cost him a starting place, but Pato should promise him another shot later on after inadvertently setting him up to fail. The back 4 question...I suspect Pato is more in favour of it than others. He basically set up that way at home to Chesterfield last season with Platt there and it was horrible. We've probably played about 3 or 4 games with a back four in the past 5 seasons since it changed under Ardley (away at Bromley, arguably away at B Rovers when we went down to 10) so it would be a radical move. You can't just casually switch and interchange formations, which is why we haven't. I don't see how Tsaroulla fits into any formation with a back 4 and he's one of our best players. Apart from that we do have the squad for a decent 4-2-3-1 but I can only see it happening if we really get planted in the bottom 4 this month and are on something like P12 Pts 10. Personally, i don't think it would save us.

Yeah I think a strong clue here is MP's substitutes. He's never shy to bring off poor performers and likes to use all his 5 subs. This time he didn't. Well, he had both Lipsiuc and Longelo on the bench but played Samuels-Smith for the full 90 in a game we were desperately chasing. I think that captures how the coaching team evaluated his performance. I reckon he'll start in the next league game ahead of Lipsiuc and Longelo. As for the Missanga battle @YoopEyes, you should definitely have another look. Ramsay had to hook Missanga after a hour, ISS had him in his pocket. Those ratings look about right to me @Robbie but Bedeau was better than that and Palmer, Kanu, Gibbons get off a bit likely, they were all sub-6s I reckon

Opinions eh, who'd have them? But @Paris Sandwich Man @Piethagoram I'd respectfully ask you to watch back the game to see that player. Far from perfect, but more positive stuff and winning your individual battle than any of the others I thought. Who will play on the left (up to Jan at least)...ISS, Lipsiuc or Longelo (the JJones saga is already aging horribly)? ISS might build on that performance, Lipsiuc keeps dipping after doing well. The answer might turn out to be Longelo if he fixes the defence we saw at Reading and offers more going forward. But after yesterday, I think there's a good chance for ISS

Yes agree@Robbie, knowing your best XI is different issue to the team's identity. But injuries and inconsistencies mean that it will still take some time, and the trial and error period is still with us. Performances will have to sort this out as MP says (that's far better than favouritism) Who's up front in a best XI. I may be wrong, but anyone else get the impression that Smyth is the DoF pick and Kanu the coaches? Well Kanu has done absolutely nothing with all his minutes on the pitch, whereas at least Smyth gets involved in the game. If Kanu is the best bet he might have to prove it from the bench

The honesty is to be applauded. But I'm worried about how confused and undecided he seems to be about basic stuff like the overall style and approach. Losing teams go defensive and then keep on losing. I think I'd rather go down watching us stick to what's left of our attacking, entertaining identity than scrape through by a whisker and become a perennial relegation club. He's stopped saying things like 'we have to be better at being us' in favour of hinting we're not good enough and might have to go backs to the wall. We might need the Technical Board to stop him turning us into Burton Albion.

Autocorrect is a pervert

There were some stinkers today. Kanu for example On the positive side I thought ness and Bedeau did alright. And Finneran of course. I'll get my vote to Samuels-Smith though. He easily won his personal battle with a difficult opponent in Missanga. He did well in 1-to-1 duels in general and contributed quite a bit in attack. He looked like a first ccoice LWB today, in away games at least

Thanks for the write-up @nottsnutter The pub is easy for me to get to, I'll probably try to take the family there one of these days.

Pato picking 5 defenders to start a home game....plus too many non-assertive players ahead of them was a recipe for disaster. Dire to watch, even if Belshaw hadn't given a goal away. Even going back to Dorking, passes to Palmer when there's a hard press has always cost us goals. With 6 CMs, I don't think we'll be seeing Matty for quite some time now. It was much better in the 2nd half after we took off 3 players who weren't cutting it. Finneran started doing what we wanted MP to do straight away, but he had a extra CM next to him Seems like the main thing coming out of the 3 week break was Pato overthinking it. It was a terrible starting XI he sent out there

Oh dear we look lost Palmer is so far off the pace. But it doesn't help when he has nobody with him. How can we have 6 CMs in the squad and only play 1 Roberts and Kanu are too quiet, they need to impose themselves more Gibbons and ISS as WBs for a home game was never going to get us on the front foot. Ishe hasn't done too bad, but it doesn't make sense to have Tsaroulla on the bench and Gibbons playing RWB for a home game we should be attacking

I don't think they'd go Back 4, with just 1 recognised CM I think it's Gibbons and ISS as WBs. Cooper playing deeper

Brunt is on an incredible assists tear - 13 games in, 14 assists for Boreham Wood, runaway NL leaders 24 now, 25 in a month I wonder if an EFL club can prize him away in January. Chesterfield would make sense as he fits their style and was born there. He wasn't good for us 4 years ago, and not a position of need. Also NL to L1 in one jump could leave a player looking off the pace

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