Match Thread vs. Solihull Moors 14.08.21 [PSF]

[laddo]

It's ridiculous playing pre-season games against teams two three leagues above or below you. You either learn nothing from getting hammered (Swansea?) or learn nothing from hammering another team (Carlton Town?) Ideally you ought to be playing clubs one league above or one below, playing teams in your own league gives them chance to assess your players and style so that's a no-no too.

Exactly LL.

Maybe the 2018 friendlies were a vanity project for the chairman after falling out with our neighbours over the river, so he picked the other two East Midlands big boys to give us a good spanking.

Anyway friendlies smendlies I say. Roll on Barnet.

[SwalePie]

Just feels totally wrong that we're still playing a pre-season fixture when everybody else, including the NL North and South, have started the season proper. Couldn't be bothered with it today, I actually listened to and very much enjoyed the closing stages of Fword on Radio Nottm. Two played two defeats now for them and they lost to a side today who had 8 players unavailable.

Stags very much flying the flag for Nottinghamshire tonight, two wins out of the opening two for the first time since 1994 for them.

Weren't Bournemouth also playing with only 10 men for the last half hour or more? Shame.

[Killerkline]

You can’t, well I can’t, disagree with what Burchnall said.

What does jump out at me is the comment re clubs having no fans in the ground for majority of the season, but then having money to spend this season. I wonder who that could be and how they managed to do it?

Wrexham have wealthy owners and they decided to go down a certain route. I have no issues with this. But Chesterfield have abused a system and benefited from it. Other than Notts, the first result I will look for is Chesterfield. I really hope they don’t get promoted.

[nw6pie]

Good to see the National League is its same old shambolic self - refusing to allow seven subs (I don’t understand why teams who don’t want seven subs just select the number they want, like five) and having this stupid weekend where teams were scrambling for a fixture. Wrexham ended up playing Curzon Ashton at home (won 3-1); Stockport played Fleetwood reserves (drew 3-3); Chesterfield beat Grimsby 2-1 at home. Barnet didn’t even play this weekend, played their last pre-season game on Tuesday. Same as Torquay.

One clear sign of Wrexham’s newfound “Hollywood” status: they’re now sponsored by TikTok.

[the_anticlough]

On to more pressing matters. I wonder if this might be the second season in a row where we discard the formation we’ve worked on in pre-season and go for something else when the real action starts. Go for 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, otherwise the only way we get Cal and Ruben on the pitch together is with Ruben playing as the second striker. And if Cal is one of the three in midfield, the two other midfielders are going to have to do a hell of a lot of defensive work - and I’m not sure we’ve got a dominant ball-winning midfielder a la Neal Bishop.

We definitely need some blood and guts in that midfield, otherwise we’re going to be a soft touch against the Bromleys of this world again, which is rather a depressing thought.

Finally, if we want to improve this season, we really need to start the season well and not be playing catch-up by th3 end of September.

A good post, like you I'm a bit worried about the structure of the team not matching the personnel.

NA's post-match interview was interesting when he spoke about using 3 different formations in the game to work on all his options. He must have been on a bit of a journey and maybe wouldn't want to be forced into a formation change at the same time the squad are having a players' meeting without you. Having a squad that's ready to adapt to different ways of playing seems very sensible to me and I've never understood the 'we can only play 4-4-2, changing the formation would confuse the players' type of comment.

Since arriving, IB has mainly played 5-2-3 with 'wing-backs' being a key part of his system. The recruitment seems to have given us different options in this area, but no surefire specialists. Playing both Roberts and Rodrigues in this system is a bit tricky and I was alarmed by IB's answer that there's a doubt whether Rodrigues starts next week. Being wedded to 5-2-3 means that we could have DKE and Chicksen on the pitch and strong attacking players like Rodders on the bench. This would be madness, you have to play Cal and Ruben together as much as possible. NA's version early last season looked great at times until Cal got injured. How about this 4-2-3-1

................Slocombe
Brindley Rawlinson Cameron Taylor
............Francis.... Palmer
....Roberts..Rodrigues...Sam/O'Brien
.................Wootton

Picking your best players and going on the offensive are essential to getting Top 3. I'd rather the fixed formation be sacrificed if it means playing to our main strengths.

[crazyfists]

IBs post match interview gives me confidence.

[Magpies1959]

Just an observation, did anyone think the grass was very long and matted today. I thought it was, and also last week at home to York. I wonder if this is the relative groundsmen protecting their surfaces for as long as possible, due to the short gap between seasons. Either way I don't think it suits our style of play, although I do think we pased it around quite well.
I know a few people on here thinks our midfield lacks physicality and a hard edge, but in truth I don't think they played through us, and their goals/attacks came from long, diagonal aerial balls to the wings. One leading to a tap in from a low cross into our box, and the other from a free kick after the ridiculous sending off.
Very interesting to see Wootton subbed, tactical or purely to save legs I am not sure, but when playing together, of the two I thought Mitchell looked the fitter/sharper/better of the two. I was very impressed with Palmer when he dropped back into a similar role to which Francis has been playing.
I thought it was a very enlightening post game interview with IB on all questions asked by Leigh Curtis. Good to see we seem to have filled the first team coach vacancy.

[nw6pie]

Just an observation, did anyone think the grass was very long and matted today. I thought it was, and also last week at home to York. I wonder if this is the relative groundsmen protecting their surfaces for as long as possible, due to the short gap between seasons. Either way I don't think it suits our style of play, although I do think we pased it around quite well.
I know a few people on here thinks our midfield lacks physicality and a hard edge, but in truth I don't think they played through us, and their goals/attacks came from long, diagonal aerial balls to the wings. One leading to a tap in from a low cross into our box, and the other from a free kick after the ridiculous sending off.
Very interesting to see Wootton subbed, tactical or purely to save legs I am not sure, but when playing together, of the two I thought Mitchell looked the fitter/sharper/better of the two. I was very impressed with Palmer when he dropped back into a similar role to which Francis has been playing.
I thought it was a very enlightening post game interview with IB on all questions asked by Leigh Curtis. Good to see we seem to have filled the first team coach vacancy.

Agree with you re the post-match interview with IB - honest, smart and gives you a new perspective on the game.

Personally, I’ll be surprised if Francis starts next week. I think Palmer will play the holding role and JOB will be alongside him. Francis has been caught out of position a few times in the last two games, which led to breakaway goals.

Will Rawlinson be suspended next week? I read somewhere that you can miss a league game if the ref reports the red card to the FA.

[Oldstripy]

I was alarmed by IB's answer that there's a doubt whether Rodrigues starts next week.

Are you aware that Rodrigues is coming back after having to isolate because of covid and is not yet match fit.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

Agree with you re the post-match interview with IB - honest, smart and gives you a new perspective on the game.

Personally, I’ll be surprised if Francis starts next week. I think Palmer will play the holding role and JOB will be alongside him. Francis has been caught out of position a few times in the last two games, which led to breakaway goals.

Will Rawlinson be suspended next week? I read somewhere that you can miss a league game if the ref reports the red card to the FA.

He shouldn't be suspended, and if he is, I'd appeal it, there was no foul