Team for Blackpool

[Davefevs]

Seen lots of posts over the past day or so….and having watched the Villa game I’m not overly bothered who Nige picks from the core set.

Obvious Qs like:

• will Kalas come in for Baker or Atkinson
• will King start or will Nagy or Bakinson get the gig (Williams / Massengo too soon)
• has Scott done enough to oust Palmer (listening on FBC criticising end product of Palmer over one 45 minute appearance - pre-season overall 4 starts / 287 mins - 1g / 1a, that would be great - just sounds pre-conceived opinion)
• will Wells start over Martin, or will both play over Palmer / Scott

I genuinely don’t see any of those selections choices being weak or strong depending on which one you favour.

That, for me, is a good sign.

Pre-season has seen encouraging signs from a press / without the ball perspective, and starting to see more progressive passage of play, through the lines with it.  Work to do, but we look in a far better place to start this season, than we ended it.

Just putting a possible 18 out there, using the 11 that started yesterday, as I’m sure they all make the 18:

Bentley (O’Leary) 2

Vyner / Baker / Atkinson / Dasilva (Kalas) 5

James / Nagy (King / Bakinson) 4

Weimann / Palmer / O’Dowda (Scott / Bell) 5

Martin (Wells) 2

With the reduction to 7 subs, I’m not sure you can go with 2 defenders on the bench for this one!  So who does this mean from the genuine first team squad of 26 (imho) who don’t even make the 18.

• Massengo / Williams - still getting fully fit - candidates for FGR?
• Pearson / Conway / Janneh - all good pre-seasons, all 3 could conceivably swap with Bell
• Simpson / Pring - don’t need them from the bench
• Moore - see above

Taking Towler, Low, Edwards, Benarous, Owers, Francois and Britton out of the equation.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Good team Dave, I'd mostly agree with that- inclined for Kalas over say Baker but mostly agree.

Semenyo and though we don't fully know his status as far as first team goes, Cundy still injured or working their way back?

[Loosey Boy]

6 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Seen lots of posts over the past day or so….and having watched the Villa game I’m not overly bothered who Nige picks from the core set.

Obvious Qs like:

• will Kalas come in for Baker or Atkinson
• will King start or will Nagy or Bakinson get the gig (Williams / Massengo too soon)
• has Scott done enough to oust Palmer (listening on FBC criticising end product of Palmer over one 45 minute appearance - pre-season overall 4 starts / 287 mins - 1g / 1a, that would be great - just sounds pre-conceived opinion)
• will Wells start over Martin, or will both play over Palmer / Scott

I genuinely don’t see any of those selections choices being weak or strong depending on which one you favour.

That, for me, is a good sign.

Pre-season has seen encouraging signs from a press / without the ball perspective, and starting to see more progressive passage of play, through the lines with it.  Work to do, but we look in a far better place to start this season, than we ended it.

Just putting a possible 18 out there, using the 11 that started yesterday, as I’m sure they all make the 18:

Bentley (O’Leary) 2

Vyner / Baker / Atkinson / Dasilva (Kalas) 5

James / Nagy (King / Bakinson) 4

Weimann / Palmer / O’Dowda (Scott / Bell) 5

Martin (Wells) 2

With the reduction to 7 subs, I’m not sure you can go with 2 defenders on the bench for this one!  So who does this mean from the genuine first team squad of 26 (imho) who don’t even make the 18.

• Massengo / Williams - still getting fully fit - candidates for FGR?
• Pearson / Conway / Janneh - all good pre-seasons, all 3 could conceivably swap with Bell
• Simpson / Pring - don’t need them from the bench
• Moore - see above

Taking Towler, Low, Edwards, Benarous, Owers, Francois and Britton out of the equation.

Can’t really argue with that side @Davefevs - the only change I’d probably make is Wells up top....after yesterday though, could also see an argument for Scott to start over KP

[Davefevs]

3 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Good team Dave, I'd mostly agree with that- inclined for Kalas over say Baker but mostly agree.

Semenyo and though we don't fully know his status as far as first team goes, Cundy still injured or working their way back?

Just now, Loosey Boy said:

Can’t really argue with that side @Davefevs - the only change I’d probably make is Wells up top....after yesterday though, could also see an argument for Scott to start over KP

For info, I wasn’t selecting a starting eleven, merely saying that if it comes from the 18, I won’t have any complaints.

Squad goes to 27/28 when Semenyo, Cundy return. 

[Sarumred]

I would definitely have Kalas as one of the central defenders and Wells up top. Otherwise I am in complete agreement.

[spudski]

Fwiw...over pre season, regardless of personnel, it looks like we've concentrated on fitness and doing the basics right. Nothing more, nothing less.

We look ' generic and hard working'.

Negatives...still shit at defending set pieces and corners.

That's the condensed version.

Not overly excited about coming season.

Think we've become what I've always feared...a mid table team that goes through the basics, that doesn't stand out, bland, hard working, generic and forgettable.

Hope they prove me wrong.

Only thing that ' excites' me is hopefully seeing the Academy lads having a go.

Fingers crossed we play some exciting, attractive football that makes the effort of heating to the ground worth while.

[Lew-T]

Really not keen on Martin up there, gives us nothing apart from roughing up defenders.

[Davefevs]

5 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

Ideally I would want better than Martin, but I thought he did well yesterday. We play it to him and it sticks. He then plays intelligent passes. Pressing better than I thought he did last season too. Looks fitter. 

Wells much quicker and more likely to get chances, but he doesn't link play very well. A few times yesterday a move broke down when it got to him. 

All depends on what Nige wants. I think the safest option is Martin, with him looking decent so far in preseason. Knowing what we will get.

With Wells I wonder if it's actually best to go a narrow 442 and have him and one other mobile forward pressing from the front and running the channels. Wide players playing more narrow in the half spaces.

If I was gonna play both, I’d do the same, like v MKD, where you expect Weimann and O’Dowda to come in narrow to press with Wells, whilst Martin would retreat into blocking passing lanes (much less running to do also)…becoming more like a 4213 in a high press.

[TammyAB]

Hopefully it won’t be ling before we see Semenyo

[IAmNick]

46 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

Really not keen on Martin up there, gives us nothing apart from roughing up defenders.

I think both options are fine, but will help determine the three behind.

Martin does a decent job but is unlikely to be prolific, so you need at least 'two of the three' to be running in behind and past him, being in the box, and getting to or almost to double figures for the season.

Wells is approaching the opposite, where you want your three to be potentially holding the ball a bit longer, picking it up a bit deeper and carrying it, and playing around rather than always in the box more in my opinion.

Neither are exactly what I'd choose but both have their place this season imo.

[And Its Smith]

Blackpool will be a tough game. I expect them to be well organised and to press well. We have struggled against this type of team quite a lot.  The striker we are lacking is a glaring omission.  Would love us to move Wells or Martin on and sign a striker. 

[GrahamC]

1 hour ago, Sarumred said:

I would definitely have Kalas as one of the central defenders and Wells up top. Otherwise I am in complete agreement.

Me too.

What is definitely the case is we have been truly abysmal at home for ages (8 defeats in the last 9?) & certainly need to start getting positive results at home.

Blackpool will be confident but aren’t exactly Fulham or Sheff U, so we need to start with a decent performance & at the very minimum, a point.

[Offside]

1 hour ago, spudski said:

Fwiw...over pre season, regardless of personnel, it looks like we've concentrated on fitness and doing the basics right. Nothing more, nothing less.

We look ' generic and hard working'.

Negatives...still shit at defending set pieces and corners.

That's the condensed version.

Not overly excited about coming season.

Think we've become what I've always feared...a mid table team that goes through the basics, that doesn't stand out, bland, hard working, generic and forgettable.

Hope they prove me wrong.

Only thing that ' excites' me is hopefully seeing the Academy lads having a go.

Fingers crossed we play some exciting, attractive football that makes the effort of heating to the ground worth while.

Fair points, and I’m feeling trepidation rather than excitement about the new season, but considering the mess we were in last season, maybe this is what we need. The team playing as a unit again, gaining some confidence, establishing a more resilient mindset and pushing on from there. 
 

I haven’t seen enough of our young players to form any judgments, but I’m pleased so many of them are now getting a chance because it suggests our youth/academy system is doing what it should be. 

[Offside]

My starting eleven would be:

Bentley

Vyner/Kalas/Atkinson/Dasilva

King or James (I haven’t seen them so can’t choose which one)/Nagy

Weimann/Palmer/COD

Wells

[Davefevs]

18 minutes ago, Offside said:

Fair points, and I’m feeling trepidation rather than excitement about the new season, but considering the mess we were in last season, maybe this is what we need. The team playing as a unit again, gaining some confidence, establishing a more resilient mindset and pushing on from there. 
 

I haven’t seen enough of our young players to form any judgments, but I’m pleased so many of them are now getting a chance because it suggests our youth/academy system is doing what it should be. 

I saw more pass and move yesterday @spudski than the majority of last season November onwards….against an opposition that it likely to be better than all (?) we will come across this season.  We created numerous “chances”, but didn’t take them nor force Steer into any great saves unfortunately.  Nor did we get two penalties that we should have.  We conceded a poor first goal through one simple poorly tracked run on Watkins by James:

Second goal, poor from Bentley, whilst general consensus was 3rd goal was over the line and possibly offside too.

The score line of 0-3 doesn’t really reflect the overall balance of play.  I heard things like we’d never score had we been there all night, which seems unfair when we created as much as we did.  We even created territorial possession / pressure.

It wasn’t perfect, but again, there’s an opposition 11 stopping us doing that….nor are we gonna become Brazil overnight.  Even 17/18 wasn’t free-flowing….quite attritional at times, grounding out results, but the cup run blinded us a bit in terms of some of the league matches in that period.

[spudski]

36 minutes ago, Offside said:

Fair points, and I’m feeling trepidation rather than excitement about the new season, but considering the mess we were in last season, maybe this is what we need. The team playing as a unit again, gaining some confidence, establishing a more resilient mindset and pushing on from there. 
 

I haven’t seen enough of our young players to form any judgments, but I’m pleased so many of them are now getting a chance because it suggests our youth/academy system is doing what it should be. 

I said when we first went up that we needed to take advantage rather than eventually go backwards and become a mid table team that plays pretty much like every other mid table team. We have now unfortunately arrived at that point imo.

Probably got the manager we needed originally, at the wrong time, now back to square one...treading water.

15 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I saw more pass and move yesterday @spudski than the majority of last season November onwards….against an opposition that it likely to be better than all (?) we will come across this season.  We created numerous “chances”, but didn’t take them nor force Steer into any great saves unfortunately.  Nor did we get two penalties that we should have.  We conceded a poor first goal through one simple poorly tracked run on Watkins by James:

Second goal, poor from Bentley, whilst general consensus was 3rd goal was over the line and possibly offside too.

The score line of 0-3 doesn’t really reflect the overall balance of play.  I heard things like we’d never score had we been there all night, which seems unfair when we created as much as we did.  We even created territorial possession / pressure.

It wasn’t perfect, but again, there’s an opposition 11 stopping us doing that….nor are we gonna become Brazil overnight.  Even 17/18 wasn’t free-flowing….quite attritional at times, grounding out results, but the cup run blinded us a bit in terms of some of the league matches in that period.

How I see it...we are fit and will do ok at certain basics.

We still look weak at crosses, set plays and stopping balls into the box.

We look better in midfield, and seem to create more chances...but still have the inability to score from those chances.

It looks very much like safe, bland football with a lot more energy.

Granted...we are happy to improve bon the last two seasons. However, from what I've watched it's very bland. Comfortably numb would sum it up. 

I get we need an upturn, but it should have never gotten this bad.

I feel like we've become like Reading...boring, but settled and could go either way.

We are like the last bird you'd pick up in a night club, when everything exciting has gone, but better than going home on your own so to speak :laugh:

[spudski]

@Davefevs...I enjoy your analysis. Unfortunately I get little time to comment or get involved in conversations long term these days due to commitments.

However...it's been a common theme in the past few seasons how we rarely stop crosses. We make moves in that direction, but it's token and not effective.

When the ball comes into the box we are very poor at attacking and defending the ball. We move with the offensive runner but have little effect at disrupting or influencing the outcome. It's weak. DaSilva is the worst... he'll track, but he might as well be holding their hand. Does nothing to stop anything. Great going forward...but shit at defending. Everything seems about being in position, ticking a box, not being accused of not tracking or following man...but they literally are a wet weekend. No influence on stopping or being aggressive or influencing. It's piss poor.

[lenred]

40 minutes ago, spudski said:

I said when we first went up that we needed to take advantage rather than eventually go backwards and become a mid table team that plays pretty much like every other mid table team. We have now unfortunately arrived at that point imo.

Probably got the manager we needed originally, at the wrong time, now back to square one...treading water.

How I see it...we are fit and will do ok at certain basics.

We still look weak at crosses, set plays and stopping balls into the box.

We look better in midfield, and seem to create more chances...but still have the inability to score from those chances.

It looks very much like safe, bland football with a lot more energy.

Granted...we are happy to improve bon the last two seasons. However, from what I've watched it's very bland. Comfortably numb would sum it up. 

I get we need an upturn, but it should have never gotten this bad.

I feel like we've become like Reading...boring, but settled and could go either way.

We are like the last bird you'd pick up in a night club, when everything exciting has gone, but better than going home on your own so to speak

Agree with most points here.  LJ and MA were allowed to run us into the ground and now we’re paying the penance.  Guess we just all have to try and temper expectations on style and results this year and just look for ‘average’ results and position in the table and then look to build from there.  Going to be very workmanlike and as such quite painful I think this season at times but hopefully we stay up relatively comfortably and then look to build from there. Going to be difficult to remember this when we’re in the guts of the season though!  

[eardun]

2 hours ago, Sarumred said:

I would definitely have Kalas as one of the central defenders and Wells up top. Otherwise I am in complete agreement.

Agree with that. Be good to get Kalas back on the right side of the CBs - he was playing left side a lot last season. I think we’ll be more balanced there rather than playing Baker out of position. I would still start with Baker but at LCB. And need Wells movement up front if we are playing Palmer in the hole behind. 

[NcnsBcfc]

I think statistics wise, we were the worst team in the division last season at defending/stopping crosses into the box.

Atkinson, and a hopefully fit Baker aside. We have not really changed the dynamic of the defensive unit.

We allow far too many crosses into the box, and once they get there; are poor at dealing with them.

I agree JD is one of the worst culprits. For me, he's a wing back; not a left back. Very slow, and ineffective at closing  down those crosses.

We were equally poor on the right side  and of course we haven't really changed the personel that side either.

It'll be interesting to see how teams target us this season. As for me, this was the massive achilles heal for us last season, that game on game was exploited against us.

We were seen as a weak touch, and often bullied in our own box.

That for me will be the biggest differential this season. Are individuals going to become accountable, physically and mentally up to the job.

NP spoke about turning some of those 1 goal losses into draws. Something we failed miserably to do last season.

Let's see what the next month brings. Fingers crossed, the focus on fitness during pre season, has also been applies successfully to our mental application.

 

[RedRoss]

I would go:

Bentley

Vyner Kalas Atkinson Dasilva

James Nagy

Weimann Scott O'Dowda

Wells

[Finley_Smith10]

26 minutes ago, RedRoss said:

I would go:

Bentley

Vyner Kalas Atkinson Dasilva

James Nagy

Weimann Scott O'Dowda

Wells

Gotta be close to that surely. I just got a feeling he’s gunna be loyal to King and play James and King holding 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, JonDolman said:

I would also have to describe Bentley's mistake as poor, but watching it back I don't think it was quite as bad as I first thought. The ball looked very difficult to catch, and with the Villa player right in front of him he tried to parry it away to the right, which was very hard to do too and he couldn't get enough on it, not helped by what was probably a change of decision in the last split second to try and parry it. Probably would have been best to try and catch the ball and risk dropping it.

I thought we played quite well overall. And like you say we got the ball in very good areas. Villa defended superbly. The 4 at the back so close together and so sharp in closing down the angles. Hause in particular really impressed me. Konsa as good as I was expecting. Class player.

Thinking back there were probably 4 shouts for pens. 2 definite, 2 might have been harsh. Scott rugby tackled one of the obvious ones but how about the push in the back straight after. Maybe that was a bit too soft.

Bentley has to catch it, full stop.  Took his eye off it as the player got close.  Hey-ho….mustn’t carry this into season.

Re the second Scott incident, Robinstv cut away to a replay, then we heard commentary of the possibility of another as they cut back to Scott taking a shot.  Did you watch Villa tv?

[Davefevs]

2 minutes ago, Finley_Smith10 said:

Gotta be close to that surely. I just got a feeling he’s gunna be loyal to King and play James and King holding 

Being pedantic but I don’t see either as holding midfielders, they are central midfielders, but modern jargon seems to assume that 2 midfielders together must be holding (or DMs).  James was breaking up play in the Villa third, he is much more than a “sitter”, whilst King has always been happier joining up with the forwards.

I see it much more as a conventional / old-school midfield pair, but it doesn’t matter, just me being a pedantic old fart!

[Finley_Smith10]

2 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Being pedantic but I don’t see either as holding midfielders, they are central midfielders, but modern jargon seems to assume that 2 midfielders together must be holding (or DMs).  James was breaking up play in the Villa third, he is much more than a “sitter”, whilst King has always been happier joining up with the forwards.

I see it much more as a conventional / old-school midfield pair, but it doesn’t matter, just me being a pedantic old fart!

I think I’d just prefer James and Nagy, gives you abit of energy in Nagy and James dictating play. A good balance imo. 
Still hope for a winger and striker to come in before the end of the window. Defo a striker

[Davefevs]

33 minutes ago, Finley_Smith10 said:

I think I’d just prefer James and Nagy, gives you abit of energy in Nagy and James dictating play. A good balance imo. 
Still hope for a winger and striker to come in before the end of the window. Defo a striker

I think I’d do the same next Saturday.

[Street red]

I'm not sure James and bakinson for me Nagy holds the midfield yes but bakinson gives you that drive also a forward pass and going by pre season he's added strength to go with his height.

[Robbored]

Nige has an abundance of midfielders, two who he knows exactly what they’ll bring so I suspect they’ll both start - a safe bet in other words.

As for a deeper midfielder then it’s likely to be Nagy or Bakinson but I have a feeling that NP might just just surprise us all come the Blackpool fixture…………..

[Garland-sweden]

If COD starts Really hope he can make something out of it. So many games, so few  gols and assists Really hope he gets sucsessful.

[mozo]

15 hours ago, spudski said:

Fwiw...over pre season, regardless of personnel, it looks like we've concentrated on fitness and doing the basics right. Nothing more, nothing less.

We look ' generic and hard working'.

Negatives...still shit at defending set pieces and corners.

That's the condensed version.

Not overly excited about coming season.

Think we've become what I've always feared...a mid table team that goes through the basics, that doesn't stand out, bland, hard working, generic and forgettable.

Hope they prove me wrong.

Only thing that ' excites' me is hopefully seeing the Academy lads having a go.

Fingers crossed we play some exciting, attractive football that makes the effort of heating to the ground worth while.

I see where you're coming from there. I guess a gritty, uninspiring unit is only palatable in the context of last season. It's a steady the ship season, and you would hope for year on year improvement both in terms of results and playing style.

14 hours ago, JonDolman said:

Nige might even surprise us. What he is working on in training might be quite different to what we have seen recently in the preseason games. Unless he doesn't care about giving things away to Blackpool.

I think Nige has shown his hand in pre-season right from the early friendlies a pattern emerged and the team v Villa was relatively predictable (unlike any game last season!)