⚽Match Thread vs. Sutton United FC 27.02.24 [EFL L2]

[durhampie]

He played 4 at back in a number of games Crewe for a start...which he changed to a 3 after 20 mins.

Then changed to a 4 last night as soon as we got to 3-3.

His chopping & changing doesnt help the team especially if low on confidence.

You dont play square pegs in round holes, it doesn't work. but for some unknown reason both LW and SM still do it.. Is blindingly obvious to everyone , except the coach it seems..

[Kent Magpie]

Yes, that's true.

Maynard in his first interview referred to the confidence he had in the tactical knowledge of himself and his management team, and to be fair the first real change he made worked a treat at Newport, but since then he's chopped and changed. I do wonder if he's prone to over-thinking things and losing sight of the obvious.

If I was him, ahead of the Bradford game, I'd decide to revert to and stick with the system used at Newport, and rather than showing the players a video of all the things they did badly last night, I'd show them a video of that Newport game and all the things they did well to get such a good result, including the defensive performance. They didn't do badly at Wrexham either. Positive reinforcement of both the tactic and the individual performances. Confidence is low and they probably need reminding they CAN do it, but it needs the right tactic, consistently applied, combined with greater application, aggression and determination from each individual player.

This is exactly what I would do... and not chop and change mid match. Chose a system and show confidence in it. Remind the players that they can do it and then back them to do it.

[Could'vebeenacontender]

Macari is our most competent defender
How anyone is being picked ahead of him in his position is ridiculous

[legs77]

You dont play square pegs in round holes, it doesn't work. but for some unknown reason both LW and SM still do it.. Is blindingly obvious to everyone , except the coach it seems..

You do understand wing backs have to be good going forward so you can get away with slightly below average defending....there isnt a player on the planet who can attack like Jones but defend like Van Djik not going to happen its a very demanding role.

We have THREE CBs what are they doing ???

I keep seeing people say Baldwin us best CB at the club but his howlers are worse than anyone CB ive seen at this club ever.

LW got way more right than wrong we are now seeing this as I pointed out to you when you were putting boot in a month ago.

[jackal2]

You do understand wing backs have to be good going forward so you can get away with slightly below average defending....there isnt a player on the planet who can attack like Jones but defend like Van Djik not going to happen its a very demanding role.

To be a good wing-back you pretty much have to be the complete footballer - attacking and defensive instincts, great engine, pace, aggression, ability to take on an opponent and beat them etc. etc.

With all due respect to lower league footballers I think players that complete are only generally be found at the higher levels, so it's system that's only likely to work at the higher levels OR in a league where your resources throughout the team are considerably greater than most opponents and your dominance is such that it hides your weaknesses, as was generally the case for us in the National League. We don't have that same dominance in League Two, ergo our weakness at wing-back is being exposed far more. That's why I believe we need some orthodox full-backs who can achieve the primary aim of preventing so many balls going into our box.

[durhampie]

You do understand wing backs have to be good going forward so you can get away with slightly below average defending....there isnt a player on the planet who can attack like Jones but defend like Van Djik not going to happen its a very demanding role.

We have THREE CBs what are they doing ???

I keep seeing people say Baldwin us best CB at the club but his howlers are worse than anyone CB ive seen at this club ever.

LW got way more right than wrong we are now seeing this as I pointed out to you when you were putting boot in a month ago.

It worked to start with as we were an unknown entity, then after a while most clubs sussed us out and he was clueless in how to react. His answer was to keep doing the same and thats when the rot set in..

[MarcusCole]

Balwin should never play for the club again, every match we have him it's like we are 10 v 12. Showed the goal he gave away yesterday and those that saw it could not stop laughing.

The club should produce a highlights reel of all his mistakes in the same way that we get them for macca and JJ.

[matt_magpie]

Balwin should never play for the club again, every match we have him it's like we are 10 v 12. Showed the goal he gave away yesterday and those that saw it could not stop laughing.

The club should produce a highlights reel of all his mistakes in the same way that we get them for macca and JJ.

And yet in my opinion he’s the best defender we have.

[jackal2]

And yet in my opinion he’s the best defender we have.

The most authentic defender we have, in my opinion, is Connell Rawlinson, who pretty much is a head it, kick it, old school centre-half.
Whether he's good enough for this level I'm no so sure, having seen him completely bamboozled by Harry Smith last night, but at least he understands that his primary role is to defend. I'd say Chicksen and Macari are our other two 'defenders' in terms of having genuine defensive instincts and reasonable concentration levels. Baldwin does something great one moment, and then commits a howler the next. You can't have that sort of inconsistency and lack of focus in that part of the pitch.

[Notts78]

And yet in my opinion he’s the best defender we have.

On his day he is.

Prone to drop absolute clangers, made worse by a lack of desire to rectify it. Look at last nights howler, head goes down and ambles back. Or the absolute u5 defending v Shrewsbury.

I have seen St Mirren v Ross County last night… the defender dropped a clanger and did his utmost to atone, failed, but at least tried.

Aden Balwin is a bell end… his arrogance doesn’t match his football ability. I get he’s frustrated, I get that someone may have said something, but to do what he did last night (accident or not) is unforgivable.