nzlatic

Finally, the first win I've seen live in about 12 months. 8 matches of drivel and then that. It was a really great performance I thought. Often a side at the bottom get a first win through a bit of a cup tie type performance but we were really controlled all the way through. Kelly was immense. You can see why he's the biggest loss to the team when he's out, he was everywhere and integral to everything we do. Tactically we were really sound with the pressing high up the field to put their defenders under pressure who like to pass it around. I lost count of the number of times we won the ball off them in their half. After about 70 mins though we retreated back into our own half and I started to worry we were trying to sit back on the lead. But whether instruction came from the dug out or the pitch, they reverted back to the original game plan soon after. If we'd have drawn it would have been devastating - we had the chances to bury them. Winchester's and Higdon's should have been taken really. But credit to the lads for keeping going and getting the winner. Higdon's role in the side is so important. It doesn't matter that he's big and slow, the ball sticks when it goes to him and he brings others in to play. And it was good to see us passing into him rather than 'punting it up to the big man'. Dunn - to be fair to him when he took the job he said he wanted to tighten things up, he did. Then he said he wanted to be more attacking, we were but we started conceding. Then he said he wanted to find the balance, and for the last 2 matches he's done that seemingly. The players he has brought in are all important members of the starting 11 now too. All in all things are looking fairly positive at the moment. All that being said, Swindon were terrible! Key for us now is pushing on and going on a bit of a run, not just one good performance then follow it up with :censored:e. But all in all things are looking fairly positive at the moment!

Swindon 0-2 Oldham (HT 0-1) Liam Kelly 6055

Indeed. Him and Adam Rooney.

Latics 1-3 Sheff Utd (HT 1-1) Poleon 5966

It'd be 12 points from the play offs at most with 33 games left to play. Far from over.

And it probably is. But you've got to have hope otherwise what's the point?!

Season over in mid October if we lose to an expensively assembled Sheffield United side??? Ok then.

Eh? Poleon is on the left but getting as close to Higdon as possible. Winchester on the right with more of a floating role. Jones/Fulton supporting the attack wherever needed. They can get out wide either side if necessary. When defending everyone drops back including Poleon and Winchester. Are you saying that it isn't possible to be solid with that team/formation? We need to find a way of playing that enables our most creative players to do just that.

Teams don't attack with all 10 outfield players. 4 defenders and 3 midfielders should be able to cope with any attack if Poleon and Winchester are slow getting back in. Kelly, Jones and Fulton are all mobile enough to do the leg work. Let Winchester worry about creating stuff. Besides, he did a decent job of holding position when he needed to against Doncaster so I'm not sure why you think we'd be a man down when we don't have the ball if he's playing.

Why can't it convert to a 4-5-1? We don't need 10 players behind the ball to be defensively solid. Winchester did a decent role of keeping things solid at Doncaster but couldn't play freely because he'd leave Jones by himself. I'm saying if he's got Kelly Jones and Fulton too if needed behind him or able to fill in then it doesn't matter if he's caught up field when he's trying to create something.

Even if Winchester only does this a few times in a game it's better than not at all. This is where a standard things-were-better-back-in-the-old-days 4-4-2 formation falls down for me. 4-3-3, 4-5-1, 4-2-3-1 or whatever you want to call it has enough cover to allow players like Winchester to not be :censored:ting themselves about defensive cover and play within himself (like he was against Doncaster), but to play with a bit of freedom because he's got Kelly and 1 other to track back if he gets caught out of position. Kelly, Fulton and Jones do the up and down work, Winchester floats around on the right/in the centre and Poleon supports the main striker from the left.

Who expects you to be ecstatic? For what budget we've got left Fuller, if fit, could be a pretty good signing. But I'm not exactly ecstatic!! And if people are underwhelmed then it suggests they expect better. Pointing out shortcomings is fine if it's part of a balanced assessment of pros and cons but what gets depressing on here sometimes is that's all you get!

Neither fulfil the Cassidy/Higdon/Fuller role though. And neither are setting League 2 alight. Although I would have them both back as back up/competition for Poleon.

It's incredible. I'm not quite sure who people are expecting us to be in the market for?

Fact?!

I was thinking about this at the weekend after another demoralising result. How many genuine periods of excitement have there been recently? In the time we've been in this league we've had 2 play off semi finals, 2 (I think) last day relegation near misses and about 5/6 or so genuine cup giant killings. That is something exciting happening roughly once every two years on average for near enough the last 20 years! Can there have been a more boring team to be a supporter of in recent times?!

I get what you're saying (and I'd like him to be playing now too), but of the 13 match unbeaten run so did Brian Wilson. Except the Coventry 4-1. When Carl only played the last 8 minutes.

If all this is true, then there might not actually be all that much wrong with it depending on how you look at it. For what it's worth I wouldn't play Brown or Philliskirk but I can see why he does in some sense. It's not as simple as putting your most talented 11 players out on the pitch every week. My question for him would be how does he plan to get a performance out of players like Carl Winchester, George Green etc who have the talent but (based on how often they've been picked by everyone, not just Dunn) for some reason don't warrant a starting spot. How does he plan to bring the best out of them?

What you're confusing, deliberately or not, is people supporting the team during the game with them agreeing with every tactical or selection decision.

Amazing isn't it? Supporters actually supporting the team. What a load of deluded happy clapping wankers! It bugs (but doesn't surprise) me that fans getting behind the team are ridiculed by some. Just bizarre.

Id love us to have about 3 fewer right backs on the books and use that money on an experienced, no nonsense, leader of a centre back preferably with experience of promotion. Anthony Gerrard for example. There are probably others out there. I couldn't give a :censored: if they're a 'donkey' just as long as they can marshall the young inexperienced ones and try and create a bit of solidity at the back.

Oldham 2-1 Scunthorpe (HT 1-1) Higdon 3866

Surely we loan them out to whoever wants them?

It also might help us get a live league game. More of a story now than before.

Coleman didn't cover himself in glory with that 1st goal for Bradford. Unfortunately at this level it's always going to happen. Both decent though so not the end of the world.