Match Thread: Blackpool v Lincoln City | Page 32 | Vital Football

Match Thread: Blackpool v Lincoln City

Chesterimp said:
One thing on this theme I noticed: Blackpool changed their left back / left wing set up, possibly to deal with Johnson. Couple of minutes later, MA brings on Harry A, shifting formation to more of a 442, negating the Blackpool change and letting Johnson loose on tiring centre backs, as the second penalty showed.

Tactical masterstroke? Whether a response to the Blackpool change or pre planned around the hour, it highlighted the flexibility of the squad and the ability of different players to bring different skills to a similar role.
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We have lots of options, which is down to good recruitment...

Would be interesting to know how many other clubs in our league, have a third choice left back that would have dealt as well as Edun did with Hamilton, in the second half.
 
Sincilbanks said:
The remarkable thing is that Harry can apparently do this while keeping the opposition full back pinned back due to his energy, fitness and pace. This is an incredible asset in a wide player
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The lad is a machine. Such a powerful fella, I wouldn't want to have to deal with him for 90 minutes. If he improves his decision making, he might also be worth a few quid.
 
plumbob said:
The lad is a machine. Such a powerful fella, I wouldn't want to have to deal with him for 90 minutes. If he improves his decision making, he might also be worth a few quid.
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I think he has already, to an extent. He generally gets some kind of product (throw, corner, cross, lay-off)down by the corner flag when he often didn't do so a year or so ago and earlier.
 
NottyImp said:
I think he has already, to an extent. He generally gets some kind of product (throw, corner, cross, lay-off)down by the corner flag when he often didn't do so a year or so ago and earlier.
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Yep. A complaint was that he didn’t have a trick if he couldn’t out sprint the opposition but you can’t say that anymore. His crosses are of better too so he’s adding even more quality to his unbelievable speed and work rate.

I bloody love Harry and would say he’s a 500k player already.
 
Impish said:
Harry has certainly looked a much better player and his all round game this season has been fantastic. Grant looks a totally different player, as does Hopper, much must be mentioned to the coaching they have all been given.
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I agree and it's great to see. When I watched the Salford and Oldham friendlies Harry looked a bit of a lost soul and I was wondering how he was going to fit in, but since the start of competitions he has been immense. I look forward to careful management of him as in the past he has gone off the boil a bit as the season progresses.

Grant and Hopper are also revelations so far.
 
Grant needs to keep practicing pens. Can see us getting plenty. No doubt be jibes from opposition supporters saying we have refs in our pocket and we dive, but reality is because we get players with pace into the box.
 
Skip155 said:
You only have to look where we take our shots from - basically inside the box (we’re shooting to the left on this). This is typical of us this season. Penalties are an inevitable consequence of doing your attacking inside the penalty area.

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1312713599991910400
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It's interesting to see that we have a right side of the box bias to the shooting. It does make sense though as from the left we have Grant looking to create/assist from deeper whereas we have Johnson/Anderson looking to get beyond and on the end of things or at the very least more likely to cross from more advanced positions.
 
Jivin Imp said:
Just a note on today's match, really enjoyable. The Dutchman has some sublime skills with head and feet. Edun was ice cold when he came on and shored up an area of concern. Anderson carried on his good start to the season and the young lad Johnson has some twinkle toes!!! Think we were a bit fortunate on second pen and I'm not getting carried away.
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2nd pen looked ok from what I saw...no real protest from Blackpool. I’d add to your comments the character of this young team. When Grant scored
the second goal he raced to retrieve the ball and sprinted back to the centre circle. There was no way we were settling for a draw (which we would probably have all taken) ....so refreshing to see the spirit in this side.
 
Impish said:
Harry has certainly looked a much better player and his all round game this season has been fantastic. Grant looks a totally different player, as does Hopper, much must be mentioned to the coaching they have all been given.
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I think what we are seeing is a young player who we signed relatively cheaply starting to blossom and appreciate his role in the team and develop his craft on the pitch. Couple that with the hard work on coaching him and we can see the future of the model we have in place. Even if he plays no further up the ladder than league 1 we've taken a young lad with all the physical attributes you could want in a wide midfielder and developed him as we've risen up the league ladder and he's been a first team performer at every level. He's been a marvellous, wonderful return on the investment we put in him 3 years ago...
 
Sincilbanks said:
I think what we are seeing is a young player who we signed relatively cheaply starting to blossom and appreciate his role in the team and develop his craft on the pitch. Couple that with the hard work on coaching him and we can see the future of the model we have in place. Even if he plays no further up the ladder than league 1 we've taken a young lad with all the physical attributes you could want in a wide midfielder and developed him as we've risen up the league ladder and he's been a first team performer at every level. He's been a marvellous, wonderful return on the investment we put in him 3 years ago...
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Perfect summary!
 
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