Saturday 16th November

[GTFCfish]

God only knows what will happen - we've won our last 3 away games.

Just be the 3?
Pah……..

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Yeah, I know everyone’s got a bit of an injury crisis this season, but it’s really annoying how pretty much all of ours have happened to attacking players.

Brown’s uptick in form has been useful, but it’s definitely been with him playing deeper and as more of a midfielder, so it’ll be annoying if we’ve got no choice but to have him as a lone striker for this.

And with our injury crisis being almost exclusively impacting attacking players more praise Part Time Stu for managing to keep up right up there since JJs injury and during AJs concussion protocol etc al.

Some impressive determined levels of reluctance to give him praise displayed so far this season.

 

[Si Robin]

Just be the 3?
Pah……..

View attachment 21021

To be fair - one was against a League 1 team.

And we've been shite so far this season.

 

[valefan16]

I don't think he had a terrible game by any stretch but I just feel he didn't impact the game. Feel like Cover would have more dynamism there and willingness to drive forward. At some points, Sang was virtually dropping into the back line. He can play the odd pass but it's not his game to drive the team forward.

Debrah is suited as the centre of a 3, not to the right as he's not good enough on the ball. That's where Sang should be.

We desperately need Byers to get fit quickly.

Play Cover there and Sang RCB who plays RWB?

 

[valefan16]

And with our injury crisis being almost exclusively impacting attacking players more praise Part Time Stu for managing to keep up right up there since JJs injury and during AJs concussion protocol etc al.

Some impressive determined levels of reluctance to give him praise displayed so far this season.

We've had similar in that all our injuries are pretty much in 2 positions, 3 x first choice wing backs (Hart, John, Clarke) and one if tied up out on Loan (Plant)

2 out of 3 of our key central midfielders (Garrity and Byers) with 1 tied up on loan (Ojo) and 1 newly signed not yet match fit (Harper)

The Wing backs are all pretty much due back but all have been fairly long term (Clark since pre season, Hart since August and John did his groin against you guys) so thats one area soon to be back but the midfield is a big worry, especially as the midfield three we have for those two places are two of the best in the division at what they do.

 

[クレイグ]

Colchester. Ugh. Loss.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Got the re-mortgage on the house accepted this morning so Crewe here we come!

 

[Optipez]

And with our injury crisis being almost exclusively impacting attacking players more praise Part Time Stu for managing to keep up right up there since JJs injury and during AJs concussion protocol etc al.

Some impressive determined levels of reluctance to give him praise displayed so far this season.

I agree with you on that. There comes a point where it he's getting blamed for losses he deserves some credit for having us up to third and playing pretty well at the moment.
No idea why he didn't use a couple of subs on Saturday though, it was crying out for fresh legs after Donny put their three subs on.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I agree with you on that. There comes a point where it he's getting blamed for losses he deserves some credit for having us up to third and playing pretty well at the moment.
No idea why he didn't use a couple of subs on Saturday though, it was crying out for fresh legs after Donny put their three subs on.

I find it amusing you have fans who predicted start of the season we would finish mid table under Maynard (we may still do of course) but when 3rd in the table with two defeats all season still say that he's/we are only doing okay.

 

[spireite]

Yes he has, although it won’t matter as the 3 rotate constantly anyway. For me Mandy might be the key to more chances. Dobs and Markanday are similar (Dilan more end product at the min). Berry is great off the bench IMO. Mandy and his assist rate last season could find the killer pass for Grigg for me.

Yea you might be right there. Hard agree that Berry is better off the bench

 

[jacobncfc]

I find it amusing you have fans who predicted start of the season we would finish mid table under Maynard (we may still do of course) but when 3rd in the table with two defeats all season still say that he's/we are only doing okay.

I still can’t make my mind up overall, but ultimately he has us in the top three after a third of the season despite having been without several key attacking players for long periods. You can’t really argue at the minute.

I was a bit frustrated after Saturday because we were so Jekyll and Hyde again, absolutely brilliant for a half and then couldn’t get to grips to it for a half - but that we’re coming away from a trip to Doncaster a bit disappointed with just a point when we didn’t have any of McGoldrick, Crowley, Jones, Grant and Edwards available has to be credit to Maynard tbf.

 

[JJ1990]

I'd probably still take a point given Notts play some outstanding football, but we've never been better at soaking up teams who dominate possession and finding ways to scrap out narrow wins. Add in them missing Jatta, Jones, Scott and it seems that McGoldrick and Crowley won't be 100% fit and this is a great chance to play them and snatch another win.

 

[jacobncfc]

I'd probably still take a point given Notts play some outstanding football, but we've never been better at soaking up teams who dominate possession and finding ways to scrap out narrow wins. Add in them missing Jatta, Jones, Scott and it seems that McGoldrick and Crowley won't be 100% fit and this is a great chance to play them and snatch another win.

We’re much better with that sort of team this season because we don’t get frustrated and leave ourselves horrendously open to counter attacks any more, sounds like it’ll be a very tight game. I’d say the one thing we still have a problem with this season is teams pressing us high because we still lose the ball in our own half a lot when that happens. That said, our two defeats have been to teams who’ve got 1-0 up and then sat off and defended it.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I still can’t make my mind up overall, but ultimately he has us in the top three after a third of the season despite having been without several key attacking players for long periods. You can’t really argue at the minute.

I was a bit frustrated after Saturday because we were so Jekyll and Hyde again, absolutely brilliant for a half and then couldn’t get to grips to it for a half - but that we’re coming away from a trip to Doncaster a bit disappointed with just a point when we didn’t have any of McGoldrick, Crowley, Jones, Grant and Edwards available has to be credit to Maynard tbf.

Tbh that's been 90% of games so far this season we have been bang average or piss poor in one half of football every game. Swindon, Barrow, Morecambe to name but 3. But when we are poor we haven't been blown away by anybody.

It's less arguing more resistance and reluctant praise I'm seeing. Top 7 is more than the okay or fairly decent let alone 3rd especially when you have star players out every week. We've had to rely on a new defence and goalkeeper and thankfully we have been able to or we would be about 13th.

 

[GTFCfish]

To be fair - one was against a League 1 team.

And we've been shite so far this season.

Even more impressive was that one of them was against Premier League sleeping giants Carlisle Utd.

 

[Si Robin]

And the other was against the greatest managerial duo ever in the Cowleys.

Just give us the title now tbf.

 

[Coalite]

Yea you might be right there. Hard agree that Berry is better off the bench

Thirded.

I really don’t like this relying on away games for three points. Doesn’t seem like a sustainable strategy to me. We simply have to be better at home.

 

[GTFCfish]

I really don’t like this relying on away games for three points. Doesn’t seem like a sustainable strategy to me.

 

[Son of Cod]

We've got the most amount of senior players available for selection all season so far I believe. Massive massive boost getting Curtis Thompson and Jordan Davies back in the frame. Not just due to Thomson being one of, if not the, best defensive mids in the division but also because our midfield three have played a lot of football this season with barely any rotation. I doubt we'll see either of them start but I'd expect them both on the bench and they're aren't bad options to be bringing on if we're either trying to close a game out of chasing a game respectively.

I didn't realise until listening to one of our pod previews that Coughlan was no longer in charge for Newport. Hopefully that means they're not quite as rough and tumble. Was always a tough match there under him and Flynn before him.

6 away wins in a row if we get another one, don't think that's ever been done in our history and would put Artell above Bill Shankley on that particular GTFC stat.

 

[DippyDon]

I hadn't realised the extent of Cheltenham's good form until listening to their local journo on one of our facebook live streams last night. I still think we should win it, but I'm not as confident as I was about this game on Tuesday.

 

[LS Bantam]

Colchester away. Can’t think of many if any wins down there and don’t see that changing. Still got four and a half thousand players out injured and in the middle of a run of supposed ‘winnable’ games before we play most of the top sides in a difficult December. 1-1 slog.

 

[ASpireite]

Yes he has, although it won’t matter as the 3 rotate constantly anyway. For me Mandy might be the key to more chances. Dobs and Markanday are similar (Dilan more end product at the min). Berry is great off the bench IMO. Mandy and his assist rate last season could find the killer pass for Grigg for me.

Mandy's set pieces were key last season. We've scored a couple of decent free kicks but our corners and FK into the box haven't been good so far.

 

[NCFC Kim]

I'd probably still take a point given Notts play some outstanding football, but we've never been better at soaking up teams who dominate possession and finding ways to scrap out narrow wins. Add in them missing Jatta, Jones, Scott and it seems that McGoldrick and Crowley won't be 100% fit and this is a great chance to play them and snatch another win.

Scott is back at the club and played on Tuesday, so he might be an option for us. Obviously, Notts aren't going to force him into anything he doesn't feel ready for and may be easing him back in, but his post match interview on Tuesday suggest he'd play if called upon. It would be good to see him play in his more favoured position. He hadn't had the best start to the season before going on leave - one big mitigating circumstance we're now aware of, but another is that he was being asked to play in a role he isn't really suited to. With the shortage of players up front, he could now get the chance to do a job there.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Unbelievably it seems we can live without Crowley (as shown at Donny) but not without McGoldrick IMO in the absence of Jatta. I dread to think what we would look like without both of our main men. Very quiet on McGoldrick which doesn't bode well.

Very fortunate timing for Crewe to have us rock up at Gresty Road with so many missing for a variety of reasons. Edwards would also have been potentially well suited for this game. Frustrating that we can't go there with anywhere near our best XI but it is what it is. Scrap and scrape.

 

[DippyDon]

Unbelievably it seems we can live without Crowley (as shown at Donny) but not without McGoldrick IMO in the absence of Jatta. I dread to think what we would look like without both of our main men. Very quiet on McGoldrick which doesn't bode well.

Very fortunate timing for Crewe to have us rock up at Gresty Road with so many missing for a variety of reasons. Edwards would also have been potentially well suited for this game. Frustrating that we can't go there with anywhere near our best XI but it is what it is. Scrap and scrape.

I wonder if we’ll come back in for him in January then, or if Carlisle will try if that was a MW attempt rather than a club one.

 

[jacobncfc]

I wonder if we’ll come back in for him in January then, or if Carlisle will try if that was a MW attempt rather than a club one.

He’ll be straight back in the team when he’s fit, I can’t see him staying beyond the summer but nor can I see us selling him before then.

It’s been interesting seeing us with him out, though. On balance you’d still rather he’s there, but we definitely move the ball through midfield quicker without him and everyone else seems a bit more willing to try and create rather than give him the ball every time.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I wonder if we’ll come back in for him in January then, or if Carlisle will try if that was a MW attempt rather than a club one.

Carlisle?

As Jacob said he's far too good not to play. As long as he holds onto the ball for an age seeling the perfect pass on the edge of the opponents box, I'm happy.

 

[leedsvaliant]

He’ll be straight back in the team when he’s fit, I can’t see him staying beyond the summer but nor can I see us selling him before then.

It’s been interesting seeing us with him out, though. On balance you’d still rather he’s there, but we definitely move the ball through midfield quicker without him and everyone else seems a bit more willing to try and create rather than give him the ball every time.

From my (admittedly limited, although I've seen him 3 or 4 times now) exposure, Crowley seems to be the sort of player where he wants to do everything. He's a good player but sometimes that's to the detriment of the team.

Sometimes you need someone who will run or move to create space for others, or forego their own natural game and ability for the betterment of the team (Garrity springs to mind).

When you've got a player who wants it to be all about him, it can affect others, as they will also probably constantly look to pass to him when there are others in better positions.

Against Vale, he kept coming to the back line virtually. Either someone needs to tell him or make him listen, that he needs to play much higher up and stay in that position to be effective. It's like telling a striker he needs to be in the box. He needs to stop getting involved in other people's positions.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

He tends to drops or is told to drop to the quarterback role if we don't have control of midfield and/or needed there to help build thought the 3rds like we so often do. That was the case against Vale and other well organised teams.

Crowley last season naturally benefitted from League Two's best player terrorising defences which resulted in double teaming. This meant Crowley and Nemane could benefit on the other side with plenty of room in the oppositions half. Since the long term injury as a result of that oh so heavy challenge from some L2 brute he's not had that luxury. Palmer hasn't been close to his best until probably last weekend and the other midfielders don't really create so he's probably felt like he has to the lions share in terms of creativity. Even if he clearly overdoes it to our detriment at times. He's like that selfish super talented at 5 a side that you don't want to face but aren't happy he's on your side when you pick teams.

When Jones and Crowley were both on the ball equally it was a nightmare for the opposition "The Entertainers"

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

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