Very worried last night that some of our " fringe players " - Doherty , Alonso, Evina and Hughes looked very poor - its no wonder that the starting 11 is rarely changed - i hope players that didnt feature last night in Cort, Pritchard and Bover will be selected ahead of these when available.
It also appears that if Stephens or Hollands are unavailable that Jackson will drop into centre midfield and green and wagstaff will be the wingers.
All hoping BWP stays fit now for sure !
Comments
I didn't see it but heard that Evina played pretty well last night, comparatively anyway.
Also, don't forget that a second string side turned Reading over earlier in the season. The problem is not necessarily a lack of quality, rather a lack of motivation. After all, who really cares that much about the JPT in front of 3,000 fans. Even most of the fans aren't concerned that we are out!
Euell is looking like he's playing one too many seasons. I was one of the one's who were glad to see him come back and thought we could get a good season out of him at this level. On what I've seen so far, no.
Don't even get me started on Granpa Doc................................
There is no way Evina will get in front of Wiggins - if Wiggy is out then Jackson will fill in for him at left back .
The fringe players should have used last night as an opportunity to tell Chris Powell - Pick me and give me a chance in the first 16 - im afraid they didnt give him any selection problems last night.
We would be hugely unlucky to have 6 or 7 key first teamers out of the side at the same time, and I am confident that the likes of Court, Pritchard, Green, Kermo & Evina can stand in when required. Even Benson & Francis coule prob do a job for a couple of games. There are clearly a couple of players (BWP for one) that would really hurt the team if injured but last night is no indication of anything very much...just like the earlier game v Reading wasn't...let's not go over board either way!
Can't help feeling that there is no obvious replacement for Hollands in the squad - hopefully I'm forgetting someone. He contributes a lot to the spine of the team and I think we'll struggle if he gets injured.
I think we've got a decent squad for league one, but the lack of deputies for BWP and Hollands is a worry
totally agree Rizzo
after the cc v reading we were all saying look at players like pritchard, bover, benson, mambo push into the starting XI - after last night i think the first 14 players pick themselves - the only 2 spaces left are just bench fillers..
You arent really gonna have real strength in depth at this level and i think most other teams in this league would be jealous of the players we have at our disposal. Any players good enough to cut the mustard arent going to be happy being a squad player in the 3rd division. We arent gonna have the likes of BWP and Dale Stephens x 2 on the bench as you would have to pay Man City money to get a decent player capable of being one of the better players in the league to get splinters each week.
Our key has been playing a consistent team with consistent results and im sure normal service will be resumed come saturday when the first 11 are back.
Having said that i still think Kermit, Green, Sullivan, Pritchard, Alonso, (when match fit), Evina amongst others are more than a compliment to our depth and a few shrewd signings in jan should boost the squad further after christmas.
Certainly got more depth than most clubs will have at this level. Just as we shouldn't read too much into the Reading game we shouldn't judge players completely based on last night.
Clearly the likes of Alonso, Green, Kernorgant need more games. Do agree Hughes, Doherty and Euell are unconvincing though.
You could see the footballing brain was ticking away, but the sharpness and timing were just not there.
And of course, the same applies to Alonso.
It's a bit like picking up a musical instrument again, having not played regularly for a while .......!
;o)
It's always difficult changing so many players like last night. The team can become disjointed and just a bit of a mess really..and that's exactly what happened.
It was also obvious most of the first team players last night like Jackson, Stephens and Hayes weren't too bothered about the game so they didn't play to their best. Understandable really.
Not read all the posts but Evina poor??? Were you watching the game?? - Was the only player to come out with any credit last night.
I'm not overly worried about Alonso as the match went on he was gettin to grips with it a little bit you could see he had a good touch and his passing was improving all the time, just very very ring rusty, with a few good reserve games under his belt I wouldn't worry too much, end of the day he's not going to be starting week in week out.
Hughes - don't really see the point of him - sure he can play a number of positions but he's shite at all of them!
Sullivan will do as a number 2, again not gonna play much not too worried if does have a run of games
Doc - Wouldn't even call him back up he's behind Cort and Mambo in the ranks and will be gone in Jan, truely woeful last night
The two key players (other than Evina) of our reserve/development squad were both injured last ngiht - pritchard (who could easily slot into CM) and Bover (who could do in a yr or so if bulks up a bit!)
In other words, it doesn't provide a stern enough test for our squad players.
More than likely it will be one or two replacements not wholesale changes anyway.
Pretty much what we do already. Played Palace, Dagenham and West Ham recently.
What's happened to Harriott?
First team debut and bench last season but not a sniff this from what I've seen anyway.