Horwich at home | Page 9 | Vital Football

Horwich at home

Five different goalscorers and five different assisters. Would have been six had Byrne scored after his run from Morsy’s pass towards the end. That seriously impressive, proper team performance.

Best part of that was how much more we wanted it. The players were clear on the seriousness of the occasion and how much it meant to the fans and they delivered. Thought everyone had a good game to be honest, few dodgy moments from a couple in defence but I respect that defending in those conditions would not have been easy and no one made any serious howlers. Robinson over Naismith was a big call but justified as he played really well. I’d probably shade Garner MOTM but I couldn’t argue with other selections mentioned.

Reece James has to play CM for the rest of the season. He’s simply too good to be playing RB for us, we need him somewhere on the park where he can get on the ball as much as possible and directly influence the game which he can’t do at RB.
 
After saying how crap i thought Garner was, i can't deny he had a quality game yesterday. Didn't just win a couple flick on's, he linked the play and had a proper game as a centre forward. Possibly helped by us playing on the front foot and pressing from the front, instead of leaving him exposed up there on his own, chasing shadows.

Reece James, outstanding. Runs the game from midfield. His best position for me, has everything for that role. Calm on the ball, brave, quick, strong, vision and a good work rate. Can play in that position in the prem no problem right now.

Morsy, brilliant first half. Leadership and helped dominate the midfield. Ran out of steam just after half time. Still the early game push helped get us on our way to the end result.

Playing against the least motivated side in England, who don't get payed. It's hard to judge how well we played or how poor they were. With that said on the day we had some great performances from quite a few players. Hopefully they can do that against opposition that are up for a game.

One last thing, James set pieces were better. Not perfect, but around 50% of them were dangerous, with some pace. If he could start taking them how he shoots free kicks he'd be even more effective with them. The loopy floaters never come to anything, but he mixed it up a bit yesterday. Was good to see.
 
Some different opinions on motm - which I guess is a good thing. For once James isn't a forgone conclusion. For me I'd go with Garner.

Lot of work needed on the training ground in the next fortnight and let's hope the points gained yesterday aren't expunged by the time we next play in two weeks time.
 
Bit late to the party (was a busy weekend) but went on Saturday and was delighted with the result and performance.

Back to the positive mindset of early season which was good to see. Reece James excellent in midfield for us, Powell might be likely to go in the summer but those assists could prove to be a nice parting present. Massey and Jacobs excellent on the wings, another good performance by Garner too.

Cook still remains under pressure but the win against bolton has bought him till end of season now. More of same against Brentford in two weeks after international break now please!
 
Not had time to write much due to work so I'm late to comment but it was a performance that deserved some praise. That was more like it.

The early goal probably changed everything and gave us the confidence and killed theirs but ultimately Bolton were one of the worst teams I've ever seen they just had so little quality and heart it is hard to tell exactly how good we were or if they just made us look amazing by being so bad. But the big positive i saw was the return of players willing to take positive risks again and that meant we started breaking again and every time we got the ball forward there were runners and options. You can only beat what is in front of you and we turned up and put them to the sword which is exactly what we needed to do but we did it in a very entertaining and convincing manner which is something long over due and very welcome in a 6 pointer.

We actually played a lot of long balls again but Garner was so effective it meant we got the ball down and played in the final third - if Garner could do that every game he is exactly the striker we've been crying out for to make things work. MOTM for me and lets hope he's got some confidence and can give us more of that against better defenders in the coming games.

Powell often flattered to deceive like he did most of last season but he can be on the fringes of a game and pull out one of those moments of magic out of nowhere and creat great chances that no one else could do. Makes a big difference having that in the side.

Our dodgy game management was on display again as we switched off twice but fortunately we got away with it. Really need to learn how to keep our concentration and keep clean sheets when we are on top.

Everyone in the starting 11 played pretty well; Walton did well after his suprise recall, Robinson was great going forward but he is a terrible defender, Dunkley is a great defender and wins everything but makes some terrible silly mistakes - if he can find comsistency he'll be a very good champ level player. Massey continues to impress and Jacobs had his best game in a long time.

Fingers crossed it's a confidence restoring win and this isn't another false dawn but a real turning point and we take the brave positive attitude into the Brentford game. I've said that about 5 or 6 times this season and it never was but hoping this is the real thing. It would be naive to be confident it is after so many disappointments we've had but all you can do is hope
 
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king_dezeeuw06 said:
Not had time to write much due to work so I'm late to comment but it was a performance that deserved some praise. That was more like it.

The early goal probably changed everything and gave us the confidence and killed theirs but ultimately Bolton were one of the worst teams I've ever seen they just had so little quality and heart it is hard to tell exactly how good we were or if they just made us look amazing by being so bad. But the big positive i saw was the return of players willing to take positive risks again and that meant we started breaking again and every time we got the ball forward there were runners and options.

We actually played a lot of long balls again but Garner was so effective it meant we got the ball down and played in the final third - if Garner could do that every game he is exactly the striker we've been crying out for to make things work. MOTM for me and lets hope he's got some confidence and can give us more of that against better defenders in the coming games.

Powell often flattered to deceive like he did most of last season but he can be on the fringes of a game and pull out one of those moments of magic out of nowhere and creat great chances that no one else could do. Makes a big difference having that in the side.

Our dodgy game management was on display again as we switched off twice but fortunately we got away with it. Really need to learn how to keep our concentration and keep clean sheets when we are on top.

Everyone in the starting 11 played pretty well; Walton did well after his suprise recall, Robinson was great going forward but he is a terrible defender, Dunkley is a great defender and wins everything but makes some terrible silly mistakes - if he can find comsistency he'll be a very good champ level player. Massey continues to impress and Jacobs had his best game in a long time.

Fingers crossed it's a confidence restoring win and this isn't another false dawn but a real turning point and we take the brave positive attitude into the Brentford game.
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Garner seems to have become increasingly better as the season's progressed. Jacobs has games where you're sure he's a Championship level player and then in other matches looks mediocre, so I'm still undecided on him at this level, but I'm really rooting for him to find that consistency as he comes across as a decent guy in interviews and has been with us for a while now. Massey's been the surprise package for me this season; he was one of the players I didn't really rate but has impressed me a lot so far in this campaign.

Would you consider moving Robinson to a winger position?
 
Will_Shahane said:
Garner seems to have become increasingly better as the season's progressed. Jacobs has games where you're sure he's a Championship level player and then in other matches looks mediocre, so I'm still undecided on him at this level, but I'm really rooting for him to find that consistency as he comes across as a decent guy in interviews and has been with us for a while now. Massey's been the surprise package for me this season; he was one of the players I didn't really rate but has impressed me a lot so far in this campaign.

Would you consider moving Robinson to a winger position?
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Im not sure if Robinson has the skill or confidence to be a winger but he certainly doesn't seem to have much defensive ability. He's probably a good wing back rather than a full back if he played in a team with 3 centre halves. I wouldn't move his position for us as we have better options on the flanks with Jacobs, Windass, Pilkington, Naismith and McMannaman all able to play there. But if i was his coach at Everton accademy id be working on him in training and seeing if could convert him into a winger. He's got so much pace and a good cross if he can learn how to most effectively use what he has he could grow into a role that may fit him better.
 
A modern day fullback needs pace and he is very quick , he just needs some defensive coaching .
It is more positioning and when to go when to stay , he plays just like a young en on the park can`t wait to get forward ( which is a good thing )

If he rains that in a little and thinks and is aware of what is around him he will come on in leaps and bounds and would be a good fullback .
Warnock would be a good one to learn from , tough tackling calm on the ball good in the air great positioning ..
 
He’d do very well in a team like Sheff Utd who play three CBs and direct their wing backs to attack attack attack. He’ll always struggle with us as Cook plays a flat back 4, meaning he has to contribute defensively.
 
king_dezeeuw06 said:
Not had time to write much due to work so I'm late to comment but it was a performance that deserved some praise. That was more like it.

The early goal probably changed everything and gave us the confidence and killed theirs but ultimately Bolton were one of the worst teams I've ever seen they just had so little quality and heart it is hard to tell exactly how good we were or if they just made us look amazing by being so bad. But the big positive i saw was the return of players willing to take positive risks again and that meant we started breaking again and every time we got the ball forward there were runners and options. You can only beat what is in front of you and we turned up and put them to the sword which is exactly what we needed to do but we did it in a very entertaining and convincing manner which is something long over due and very welcome in a 6 pointer.

We actually played a lot of long balls again but Garner was so effective it meant we got the ball down and played in the final third - if Garner could do that every game he is exactly the striker we've been crying out for to make things work. MOTM for me and lets hope he's got some confidence and can give us more of that against better defenders in the coming games.

Powell often flattered to deceive like he did most of last season but he can be on the fringes of a game and pull out one of those moments of magic out of nowhere and creat great chances that no one else could do. Makes a big difference having that in the side.

Our dodgy game management was on display again as we switched off twice but fortunately we got away with it. Really need to learn how to keep our concentration and keep clean sheets when we are on top.

Everyone in the starting 11 played pretty well; Walton did well after his suprise recall, Robinson was great going forward but he is a terrible defender, Dunkley is a great defender and wins everything but makes some terrible silly mistakes - if he can find comsistency he'll be a very good champ level player. Massey continues to impress and Jacobs had his best game in a long time.

Fingers crossed it's a confidence restoring win and this isn't another false dawn but a real turning point and we take the brave positive attitude into the Brentford game. I've said that about 5 or 6 times this season and it never was but hoping this is the real thing. It would be naive to be confident it is after so many disappointments we've had but all you can do is hope
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Perhaps Cook was right all along and now that he has got his three players back from injury and fully fit we can turn the corner and pull away from the drop zone.

I agree with your comments about Garner, if he can repeat that sort of performance week in week out then he is exactly the type of player we need.
 
TRUE BELIEVER said:
Perhaps Cook was right all along and now that he has got his three players back from injury and fully fit we can turn the corner and pull away from the drop zone.

I agree with your comments about Garner, if he can repeat that sort of performance week in week out then he is exactly the type of player we need.
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I've no doubt having them fit helps and makes us better but i'm still not having it that being without Powell, Jacobs and Massey was the only reason we turned into a bottom of a pub league team. There was a lot more wrong with us than just missing a few players.

Also Joe Garners goal ratio is 7 (2 pens) goals in 12 starts. Griggs was 4 (3 pens) in 12 starts this term and 6 in 26 starts last time he was at this level for comparison. So he's doing pretty good after a bad start.
 
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