Blackpool

[gazan]

Cagey 1-1 last time against the club managed by one of our own ex-coaches. They're on a run of 5 wins out of six including a 3-0 win at Charlton and 1-0 win against Portsmouth In those 5 games, they didn't concede either although the games were v Wigan, Northampton and Rochdale.
Will Charlie be up for near freezing temperatures? Will the Alex shoot on sight like Sunderland eventually did or will we still try to walk the ball in the net. Lowery got his third on Saturday and should have got another. Will he score tonight or do we have to wait another 10 games for him to register? Will we stick with Mandron/Porter up front or is CP likely to need the night off to rest his legs. Will Daniels fancy a punt against his old club? Finally will Walker and Evans show us why they are here and get a game? We'll find out in the next three hours.
Prediction =2-1 win for the Seasiders. About time Dale got on the scoresheet again.

[AstonAlex]

Murphy injured the only change. I hope that Dave recognises when, and if, Daniels and Ports start to run out of steam and gives them a break. No TJ on the bench so I assume he’s not fit and that is a contributing factor.

If we play as we did on Saturday there’s no reason why we can’t win, nicking it 1-0 with Ports getting a tap in before Walker replaces him.

[gazan]

So Daniels injured again. Another hamstring?
Been looking at tweets and it seems a lot of people thought it was a class game. Can't say I shared that feeling. We were looking good until Daniels went down. That was a game changer as after that Blackpool seem to grow into the game and I thought our game broke down and started to slow down, particularly in the second half.
The goal for the tangerines was a sickened. The first corner was a clear warning. However, the second was a repeat of the first but the Alex didn't learn. Why can't they defend corners? I wouldn't mind but our defenders never seem to get off the ground.
Powell looked a bit better while he was on and playing on his favoured left side.
Wintle's distribution seemed to have gone to pot. Has he already got a deal somewhere?Lowery was busy but not impactful. Evans looked good in the first half as did Wood. Shame about Daniels as he looked good before his injury. If he could maintain his fitness, he would be a more than adequate player at RB.
Charlie? Perhaps he needs to rest for a couple of games. Finally, somebody should explain the offside rule to Porter.
In the end, I'll settle for the draw as at 75 mins, I couldn't see us scoring.

[Gobstopper]

So Daniels injured again. Another hamstring?
Been looking at tweets and it seems a lot of people thought it was a class game. Can't say I shared that feeling. We were looking good until Daniels went down. That was a game changer as after that Blackpool seem to grow into the game and I thought our game broke down and started to slow down, particularly in the second half.
The goal for the tangerines was a sickened. The first corner was a clear warning. However, the second was a repeat of the first but the Alex didn't learn. Why can't they defend corners? I wouldn't mind but our defenders never seem to get off the ground.
Powell looked a bit better while he was on and playing on his favoured left side.
Wintle's distribution seemed to have gone to pot. Has he already got a deal somewhere?Lowery was busy but not impactful. Evans looked good in the first half as did Wood. Shame about Daniels as he looked good before his injury. If he could maintain his fitness, he would be a more than adequate player at RB.
Charlie? Perhaps he needs to rest for a couple of games. Finally, somebody should explain the offside rule to Porter.
In the end, I'll settle for the draw as at 75 mins, I couldn't see us scoring.

Totally agree I don't think Evans did his chances any harm of getting more games although was he injured when he came off, which is a bit of concern and maybe Walker will get more time on the pitch his goal looked offside, although difficult to judge, but great run behind defence and he took it well and gave the GK no chance. That right back position is a major problem area, NG sold, Offord injured, Jones injured, Johnson injured (we assume), and now Daniels injured and he looked made for that position, now we will be using a left back to fill that position, although I'm sure he can do a decent job. I'm sure Wintle is not deliberately playing below par, but he has played more games than any other and we cannot really give him a rest. Kirk on the other hand could do with a couple of games on the bench I think Powell is ready to take on that role.

[gazan]

No, you're right Gobstopper, I don't think Wintle is deliberate but may have his mind elsewhere. However, you're also right that he has played more games than the others. So considering he is (most probably) going in the summer, he could be rested a few times while we experiment with the position.

[AstonAlex]

I’ve thought Wintle could do with a break, but then we did have a fortnight off recently when our Saturday match was postponed....

Problem is who will fill his role. Murphy looks the obvious choice, but then he looks tired from half time onwards and picked up a knock at the weekend of course - mind you, sitting in front of the back 4 might suit him for a game or two.. and we know he’s learned how to tackle in his time away from Gresty Road! I believe that Lundstram would be a possibility in that role but, of course, he’s not fit either! Can’t see him being rested on Saturday against a Lincoln side that rolled us over pretty comfortably earlier in the season somehow.

Just as well we have had such a good season and picked up as many points as we have before the injury list grew as long as it has recently!