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Squad depth & fringe players exposed again in the Cup

I don't think it is a case of Neil not wanting to progress in the cup. He was right to play a weakened side today but our squad is shite with players who are league 1 at best (Earl, Rafferty, Storey, Stockley, Ripley, Bayliss)
Maybe an under 23's team would help fringe players get games and help retain the best youngsters. Players like O'reilly, Holland wilkinson, walker have to be thrown in the deep end and sink or swim and therefore the manager cant blood them
 
I also think I saw @baysidepne say on twitter that Earl isn't defensively good enough. So maybe Earl should be considered as more of a Winger/wing back
He's adapted his game to be a full back, especially with his physical profile. I just feel he lacks natural defensive instincts personally, given he was a winger throughout the youth team scholarship from what I understand, and that's why going forward he offers us a lot more than Hughes.

Ultimately a full-backs role is to primarily defend and that's probably why the manager prefers Hughes the majority of the time.
 
Ultimately a full-backs role is to primarily defend and that's probably why the manager prefers Hughes the majority of the time.
Following this logic, maybe this is why AN picks Rafferty to play right back (when Fisher isn't available) rather than AB....
 
Maybe an under 23's team would help fringe players get games and help retain the best youngsters. Players like O'reilly, Holland wilkinson, walker have to be thrown in the deep end and sink or swim and therefore the manager cant blood them
But the Fa cup third round where were two goals down is hardly the deep end. That’s prime opportunity to see what they can do
 
The bottom line with yesterday's performance is probably that we just had no on-field leadership i.e. just a few players who could not just play well themselves but make other players around them raise their game. Without that all you have is a collection of individuals and not a team.
 
But the Fa cup third round where were two goals down is hardly the deep end. That’s prime opportunity to see what they can do

Would you have seen it as giving up if he'd come out for the second half, 3-1 down, with 3 kids on?

I'm pretty sure I would, and I'm even more sure the fans would be going ballistic.
 
Think you missed my point, I'm agreeing with you that Bayliss and Molumby aren't wingers, yet when we were playing out from the back they were pushed out wide to receive the ball. Didn't build any play using triangles through the middle of the park.

Hands up, walker would have been a better option on the left.

I also think I saw @baysidepne say on twitter that Earl isn't defensively good enough. So maybe Earl should be considered as more of a Winger/wing back
Earl has looked comfortable at wing back but I’m not sure on what basis we can say he would be a good winger, especially in our system.

Do you think he could play in Scott Sinclair’s role and provide the trickery and finishing to get goals and assists at the top end of the pitch.

For me Earl is a defender, and he needs to work on that defensive side of his game, or like other players in the squad who struggle to provide consistency and reliability, he will end up being replaced.
 
Would you have seen it as giving up if he'd come out for the second half, 3-1 down, with 3 kids on?

I'm pretty sure I would, and I'm even more sure the fans would be going ballistic.

I'd rather he'd have started with the kids to be honest and then brought the experience on if we were 3- 1 down. Lets face it, we'd have been a lot more forgiving of the performance if it had been the kids who had started.
 
Following this logic, maybe this is why AN picks Rafferty to play right back (when Fisher isn't available) rather than AB....

I'm not sure Alan Browne does any aspect of the right back slot that well. Should always be a very last resort to fill him in there
 
Earl has looked comfortable at wing back but I’m not sure on what basis we can say he would be a good winger, especially in our system.

Do you think he could play in Scott Sinclair’s role and provide the trickery and finishing to get goals and assists at the top end of the pitch.

For me Earl is a defender, and he needs to work on that defensive side of his game, or like other players in the squad who struggle to provide consistency and reliability, he will end up being replaced.

Enough teams set up with a back 3 and Neil often likes to match them up, and Earl should be an automatic starter at LWB. For that reason I think he is probably worth keeping around even if he has reached his peak defensively.

Given the last fullback we recruited was Joe Rafferty, I'd rather stick with Earl than fish the same waters again.
 
Would you have seen it as giving up if he'd come out for the second half, 3-1 down, with 3 kids on?

I'm pretty sure I would, and I'm even more sure the fans would be going ballistic.
If he’d swapped the immobile Stockley for one of the two young lads, I’d have seen that as going for it whilst trying not to risk Maguire

Same with Bayliss and O’Reilly

Maybe that’s just me, but I felt we looked like we’d given up from the first minute
 
I'd rather he'd have started with the kids to be honest and then brought the experience on if we were 3- 1 down. Lets face it, we'd have been a lot more forgiving of the performance if it had been the kids who had started.

I think Bayliss and Molumby needed the integration more, personally. And I'm sure Ledson was keen to get back in the side, so it's pretty tough for the likes of AOR.

I get it, and I like to see our youth players play, but if he's gonna rotate the side, he has to be giving the lads who are expected to come in for league games a chance to impress.
 
If he’d swapped the immobile Stockley for one of the two young lads, I’d have seen that as going for it whilst trying not to risk Maguire

Same with Bayliss and O’Reilly

Maybe that’s just me, but I felt we looked like we’d given up from the first minute

I'm not convinced, but fair enough. I certainly wouldn't have complained at the removal of Stockley.
 
Earl has looked comfortable at wing back but I’m not sure on what basis we can say he would be a good winger, especially in our system.

Do you think he could play in Scott Sinclair’s role and provide the trickery and finishing to get goals and assists at the top end of the pitch.

For me Earl is a defender, and he needs to work on that defensive side of his game, or like other players in the squad who struggle to provide consistency and reliability, he will end up being replaced.
My basis is that he has decent power and aggression when driving forward and has in numerous appearances got himself up and around the box to help assist.

No I don't think he has the trickery of Sinclair. But neither does Barky. Just because a player doesn't have the same attributes, doesn't mean another player can't play in that same position. Sinclair, DJ and Browne are all different players but can certainly stake a claim to be in the #10 position
 
My basis is that he has decent power and aggression when driving forward and has in numerous appearances got himself up and around the box to help assist.

No I don't think he has the trickery of Sinclair. But neither does Barky. Just because a player doesn't have the same attributes, doesn't mean another player can't play in that same position. Sinclair, DJ and Browne are all different players but can certainly stake a claim to be in the #10 position
Striding forward into loads of space from a full back position is very different to playing from a starting position further up the pitch.

Like I said, there’s no real proof or basis that he’d be a good winger or a better winger than anyone we’ve currently got.

It just seems that whenever he has a bad game, people suggest a new position that he needs to be tried in.
 
Agreed. Let him play as a wingback for now, whilst working on his defensive acumen. Having trouble with tricky wingers is not a trait you want in a full back.
 
The contempt for the Cup is a big mistake IMO.
Can you imagine how big the Marine vs Spurs game would have been 40 years ago. Maybe they would have switched it to Anfield and sold it out.

Jose could play his u18s and lose and it wouldn't make headlines. The era of giantkilling is sadly over - what a competition it used to be.
 
Made a couple of decent saves but he inspires zero confidence in me. He must have one of the worst goals per game ratio's of any keeper in our history.

There are questions over his fitness and attitude.

Shouldn't be anywhere near the 1st team, hence we sought to bring a new keeper in within hours of Rudds injury.
The question must be asked why did we sign him, who checked out his ability, who decided that he was the type of keeper we needed, surely we must have thought he was a prospect we could develop?
What then has changed, has his attitude and fitness levels deteriorated since we signed him? If so why, what is the cause of that what has turned him from what we assessed as a good prospect an up and coming keeper to one that as soon as our number one keeper picks up an injury that will keep him out for a while we need to find an immediate replacement.? 🙄🤔
 
Can you imagine how big the Marine vs Spurs game would have been 40 years ago. Maybe they would have switched it to Anfield and sold it out.

Jose could play his u18s and lose and it wouldn't make headlines. The era of giantkilling is sadly over - what a competition it used to be.
It is a shame. The money for Top 4 finishes and Europe has outshone the glory
 
Can you imagine how big the Marine vs Spurs game would have been 40 years ago. Maybe they would have switched it to Anfield and sold it out.

Jose could play his u18s and lose and it wouldn't make headlines. The era of giantkilling is sadly over - what a competition it used to be.
Non league teams drawn at home playing at a neutral bigger ground to generate maximum revenue was not uncommon.
Blyth Spartans back in the late seventies got drawn against Newcastle or Wrexham only for Wrexham to cause an upset and beat the Geordies so they ended up playing Wrexham away.
The game ended 1-1 with Wrexham grabbing a some what dubious last minute equaliser.
So Blyth got their chance to play at St James Park with the replay being moved there, Blyth lost 2-1 in front of and incredible crowd of over 42,000. 😀
 
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