Team for Stoke (and maybe Leeds) | Page 5 | Vital Football

Team for Stoke (and maybe Leeds)

Bright Enobakhare looks reasonable and showed some skill - very quickly tired in the second half and should have been substitued earlier.
Dujon Sterling seems a little light weight.
Charlie Mulgrew , I can see why Blackburn let him go.
Jamal Lowe was only only one who looked likely to score for us
Joe Williams worked hard and I was impressed with him.

The youngsters (incl Lang) ran round quickly closing down but created nothing when they had the ball.
Jones, Dunkley. Roberts and Naismith all did okay but Massey was quiet.

Nicely summed up.
I am looking forward to see more of Joe Williams.
 
To be fair those moaning about us not looking a team and being disjointed what are you expecting? We haven't been a squad for long enough. So for those ridiculing others worrying about business being done late in the day this can be a knock on effect at times.

The business was great business we've been well backed by IEC but let's be real we've had next to no pre season. So if this is a way of lengthening pre season by starting new lads and having a look then so be it.

It was a glorified friendly for both clubs, don't crucify cook for taking a look at fringe players the game meant nothing to us or stoke, it was merely looking at the squad and seeing what's what.

But this happens if your slow to assemble a squad. Whether that's our fault or not nobody truthfully knows but I have suspicions we left it too late with hugil and then ran out of time. The recruitment team rescued the problem of their own making remarkably well.
All it is Danny is that we now have a squad of basically a first choice and a second choice in every position. We all know the disrespect there is for early League cup rounds so yes it is ideal to get players game time and that's what we did more or less but not quite. We pissed about with positions. It's ok though it's only a pre-season game.
 
If Bright looked bright and he is a striker why was it Lowe who looked like the only one who would score for us when he is the wide player supposedly there to support and supply the striker.Two shots on target in 90 minutes between the lot of them!!!
 
All it is Danny is that we now have a squad of basically a first choice and a second choice in every position. We all know the disrespect there is for early League cup rounds so yes it is ideal to get players game time and that's what we did more or less but not quite. We pissed about with positions. It's ok though it's only a pre-season game.
Well rather do it here and learn from it than later down the line. But cook was guilty of the same poor selections in the league last time out so I can totally see where your coming from Jeff. But it’s got to be said this competition we are better off without, it may as well be pre season. I really do wonder what goes on in his head at times selection wise. He’s positive at home and we succeed (last season) but away he gets negative and feet’s about the opposition so much that we basically roll over from his poor selections on match day, if we go out there aggressively like we do at home we will win some games and maintain our home form too it’s bingo we are a mid table side.
 
Not sure why you say Roberts Arthur). He played centre attacking midfield. Bob on for him.

I thought you were asking because you hadn't gone and I was trying to be informative, I didn't realise your question was a challenge to posters who were suggesting players were out of position.

I thought Roberts was supposed to be one of the 2 central midfielders in a 4 2 3 1 formation, and therefore supposed to be more defensive minded than an attacking midfielder, either way I wasn't suggesting he couldn't play the role, I was just trying to give someone who I thought hadn't gone an idea of how we had set up. Surely you can concede that central defensive midfield was (on paper) a surprising role for Roberts ?
 
If Bright looked bright and he is a striker why was it Lowe who looked like the only one who would score for us when he is the wide player supposedly there to support and supply the striker.Two shots on target in 90 minutes between the lot of them!!!
You need to stop pigeon holing players so rigidly according to what you've heard, read or seen. Especially in a game where the prime aim was game time.

Lowe can play wide or in the middle. As can Lang. Enobakhre (Bright) can play up front or "the Powell position".

As for Cook, whatever side he selected last night, he was going to be slagged off if he lost..... especially after Saturday.
 
All it is Danny is that we now have a squad of basically a first choice and a second choice in every position. We all know the disrespect there is for early League cup rounds so yes it is ideal to get players game time and that's what we did more or less but not quite. We pissed about with positions. It's ok though it's only a pre-season game.
Why do you keep up this fantasy about us playing everyone out of position? Those who went last night explained to you the facts last night! Maybe when you go to a game you will realise that all is different when nnot viewed by comments on message boards
 
....... Surely you can concede that central defensive midfield was (on paper) a surprising role for Roberts ?

Fair enough Arthur. I misunderstood your logic. I thought you were backing up the misnomer that he was out of position cos he wasn't on the wing.

First half in particular, Enobakhare often dropped back to pick up the ball, and had decent interplay with Roberts, but you're right, maybe Roberts didn't always get as far forward as he might normally do.
 
I've been to plenty games in the last 60 years and I also know we will play better if players are in the correct position. Even if not in attendance when you see a team sheet it is possible to work out that the side is not set up the best for the players natural position. Which makes all the more strange to see decisions like Saturday and last night.
Ok Exciled and Moonay you read what you want from a game and some others will read something else whether they are there or not.
 
Fair enough Arthur. I misunderstood your logic. I thought you were backing up the misnomer that he was out of position cos he wasn't on the wing.

First half in particular, Enobakhare often dropped back to pick up the ball, and had decent interplay with Roberts, but you're right, maybe Roberts didn't always get as far forward as he might normally do.
So was Roberts one of the two defensive mids or one of the three attacking mids?
Some of us didn't go. Well six thousand or so all must have been on holiday.
 
So was Roberts one of the two defensive mids or one of the three attacking mids?

To be honest, I thought neither. I had us down as playing 433, with Roberts in middle of Williams and Enobakhare. At times though, we were pulled all over the place, so it was difficult to tell.
 
To be fair Roberts did look out of place last night , getting in the way of a few players n generally not as much influence as he can normally bring with his energy & commitment - altho he wasn't on his own. Whole team looked disjointed n Stoke most def didn't look disinterested & were always pushing for a 2nd goal whilst making easy yards down our left hand side. As much as it's a so called pain in the arse cup I'd have liked to have seen us at least compete with a bit more intent / belief.
 
Williams is first 11 Lowe as well , they should start V Leeds , Dunks hits everything long which was no good for Lang , Massey just needed the game time everything else was ok just in fits and starts ..
You could tell they had not played together ..
No dramas but big game sat
 
If you had seen Massey tonight you would have seen why he isn't playing in the league this season so far! Naismith and Roberts ut in a way better shift than he did, Cook sees Naismith as a left back so he wasn't played out of position! You may think he was, Cook doesn't and I think he knows better!
If Cook thinks Naismith is a left back he doesn't know better at all as it would be incompetent to believe that
 
Other little observations from last night:

Turnstiles: Lowest crowd for a competitive game for a few years and yet its the longest I've queued to get in!

The big screen: What is the point of it? Only shows action (live) when the ball is in play!

Half Time Entertainment: the Quiz isn't for me belongs to CBBC, would rather they put the half time scores on the screen or first half highlights.

East Stand Migrants: thank goodness they'll be back in their own stand on saturday.
 
Other little observations from last night:
Turnstiles: Lowest crowd for a competitive game for a few years and yet its the longest I've queued to get in!
The big screen: What is the point of it? Only shows action (live) when the ball is in play!
Half Time Entertainment: the Quiz isn't for me belongs to CBBC, would rather they put the half time scores on the screen or first half highlights.
East Stand Migrants: thank goodness they'll be back in their own stand on saturday.

The big screen is there as a revenue raiser (nothing wrong with that of course)
40 odd quid if you want your name up on the screen for a birthday greeting for example.
There is also a cunning ploy to grab your attention. The manager shouts at Chey Dunkley (he has had plenty of ear bashings over the course of pre season) to hoof the ball up into the stratosphere or into the empty stands .... the adverts for Clinton Baptiste at the DW suddenly appear.
Simple marketing stuff really !

Up the T.I.C TICS !!
 
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