Take a bow Tom Pett

[collingham imps]

Fantastic performance last night - well and truly on method now - have Danny & Nicky unearthed another 'gem'?

 

[imp73]

one swallow does not a summer make.

 

[imp73]

hopefully though.... will he start against Grimsby? Someone will be harshly dropped

 

[Skip155]

one swallow does not a summer make.

... alternatively, you're only as good as your last game.

 

[Luke Imp]

Not sure you can unearth a gem if he's been playing L2 for a years and has round 150 appearances in it!

 

[Impish]

one swallow does not a summer make.

Was probably MOM against Derby too.

 

[Deleted member 10554]

one swallow does not a summer make.

How many does?

Yeovil, Swindon, Port Vale. There's three, and more usually follow.

 

[RedImp73]

Fantastic performance last night - well and truly on method now - have Danny & Nicky unearthed another 'gem'?

He was terrific last night - deservedly MoM.
What a fantastic problem DC now has....... who starts? who doesn't?

 

[jal jal]

I think Pett would be better to be brought on in the second half against Grimsby when all the hustle & bustle and mistimed tackles have settled down.

 

[impsimps]

Last season I thought we had another version of JMD,too lightweight, but after what I saw last Saturday and how he performed last night changed my opinion of him, almost like getting a new player. Good luck to him !

 

[syimp]

The main difference is that our new system is much more to his liking ; for which he was obviously brought in with this in mind.

Surprisingly enough, it seems the Cowleys know what they are doing ?

 

[nlondonimp]

cowley seems to like getting players' careers back on track. woodyard spoke about it. and he has done it with robinson and eardley. this could be happening with pett. mccartan looks like he is crying out for something similar.

[although he tried and failed with stewart and billy knott]

 

[NottyImp]

I was a critic.

But I like what I'm seeing with Pett this season. Fitter, hungrier, on method and obviously better-suited to our style and formation changes.

It's early days, but there isn't a single player in the squad who cannot contribute significantly. I can't remember having seen that since, arguably, Taylor and Murphy's best teams.

 

[Rob the Imp]

Only seen him twice this season, against Wednesday (a friendly, I know I know) and when he came on against Swindon, but he was excellent on both occasions, much improved from what little I saw last season. Could be a key figure, and I hope he is! Run down that dream! He won't back down! Etc etc.

 

[Scotimp]

Pett was the first player DC signed with a change of style in mind. The style did not change immediately because we did not have the right players to do it, and Pett looked out on a limb accordingly. This season we do have the right players, and we can now see why Pett was signed.

 

[syimp]

cowley seems to like getting players' careers back on track. woodyard spoke about it. and he has done it with robinson and eardley. this could be happening with pett. mccartan looks like he is crying out for something similar.

[although he tried and failed with stewart and billy knott]

I'm not sure Pett's career was ever off track at Stevenage.

He was brought into a system he was unfamiliar with, but he was part of the longer term plan, which is slowly being unfurled, and he is revelling in it.

He's always been a good player, he was just a square peg last season.

 

[79imp]

Pett was the first player DC signed with a change of style in mind. The style did not change immediately because we did not have the right players to do it, and Pett looked out on a limb accordingly. This season we do have the right players, and we can now see why Pett was signed.

What about Billy Knott or even Jordan Maguire-Drew? I personally think we tried a change of style in the early part of last season (as proved by Rhead spending most of September and October on the bench). However, the Knott sending off at County, the woeful performances of JMD, and the lack of goals (and goalscoring chances) during that spell probably meant we had to revert by and large to the style which won us the Conference. 100% the correct decision at the time.

Great to see Pett making an impact though. Always thought he had something but never looked like nailing down a position last season... in large part because the style and personnel around him were not suited to his game.

On that front, I think we'll see a big benefit from the Frecklington/O'Connor partnership in midfield. Both players are not shy of a tackle or two, but they are also a lot more adept than Bostwick and Woodyard at getting forward, linking up attacks and playing forward passes. In my view, players like Pett (and McCartan) need that kind of set-up, rather than relying on flicks and knock-downs from a big target man.

 

[Scotimp]

What about Billy Knott or even Jordan Maguire-Drew? I personally think we tried a change of style in the early part of last season (as proved by Rhead spending most of September and October on the bench). However, the Knott sending off at County, the woeful performances of JMD, and the lack of goals (and goalscoring chances) during that spell probably meant we had to revert by and large to the style which won us the Conference. 100% the correct decision at the time.

That's a good point, hadn't really thought of that.

 

[devonexlondonimp]

What about Billy Knott or even Jordan Maguire-Drew? I personally think we tried a change of style in the early part of last season (as proved by Rhead spending most of September and October on the bench). However, the Knott sending off at County, the woeful performances of JMD, and the lack of goals (and goalscoring chances) during that spell probably meant we had to revert by and large to the style which won us the Conference. 100% the correct decision at the time.

Great to see Pett making an impact though. Always thought he had something but never looked like nailing down a position last season... in large part because the style and personnel around him were not suited to his game.

On that front, I think we'll see a big benefit from the Frecklington/O'Connor partnership in midfield. Both players are not shy of a tackle or two, but they are also a lot more adept than Bostwick and Woodyard at getting forward, linking up attacks and playing forward passes. In my view, players like Pett (and McCartan) need that kind of set-up, rather than relying on flicks and knock-downs from a big target man.

ball carriers and link players now on board but were not available last season..the squad depth this season,shows how limited our options were last season with the first 11 virtually picking themselves,not so now and the fight for the shirt on a Saturday is now on!

 

[devonexlondonimp]

this subject of ball carriers and style was an agenda item on Vitals in May2018
https://forums.vitalfootball.co.uk/threads/no-room-for-creative-midfielders.81226/