I was thinking that this team has remained pretty much intact for over a season now (much longer for the defence) and that DC has assembled a balanced team who are very familiar with each other. In addition to that, the core of our team has amassed over 1,000 games playing for the Gas: Lee Brown age 25 – appearances 170 Tom Lockyer 20 – 90 Tom Parkes 23 – 150 Ollie Clarke 23 – 70 Ellis Harrison 21 – 70 Chris Lines 29 – 180 Matty Taylor 25 – 50 Mark McChrystal 31 – 85 Steve Mildenhall 36 - 100 That's a great mix of youth and experience, with a good number of players who have come up through the youth ranks and are Gas through and through. I think this bodes well for the future and it's been years since we had a settled squad. That said, there's only 10 days of the window left open - should we be looking to sign additional cover at the back and/or another striker?
Apart from Mark McChrystal the possibility of this team being together for the next 5/6 years is good as long as they continue to improve as we go up through the divisions. Haven't included Steve Mildenhall as he has already been told that he is not considered 1st choice
Football Teams are always evolving and have got to evolve, that is the nature of the business so I would say 'Yes', There will be no success if you stand still in this game !
Good thread Baldee These players also know what we the fans expect from them. Our fans can be poison at times and we have seen many managers in pre match interviews say they will try and frustrate us and make the fans turn on our own players, so we have a bad reputation and some players won't have the bottle to come here. But we have as you pointed out baldee, a good size group here who been here a while in football terms. They understand our fan base and as we can see they try and give us 100%. So any new player that comes in will have many players who can explain and guide them and that will remove any bad reputation we have. Notice DC got in players he worked with previously who trusts him. Now they along with existing players have built up a great understanding together who has created a great team spirit which as a result you see new players fitting in very quicking now. DC has worked wonders here. DC wants 2/3 more players. Blissett has gone, so expect 1 player to be a striker. But I can't see Easter, Harrison or Taylor dropping to 4th choice striker. I rather bring Lucas on the bench as 4th choice striker instead of use money on a new striker. If we then get an injury up front then use loan market I say. Plus we have Bodin too.
DC has got players who can play in many positions. GK... Chapman Mildenhall Puddy Preston RB... Leadbitter Lockyer J Clarke LB... Brown Greenslade CB... Parkes McChrystal Lockyer J Clarke Great choices here where we can play 352 or 442.
CM... Mansell Lines Sinclair O Clarke RW/LW... Montano Monakana Bodin Gosling SK... Easter Taylor Harrison Lucas - out on loan Blistery - out on loan
Based on all the positions mentioned above, which doesn't include Malpas, Broom and Thomas along with other youngsters, we have a good size squad. All who have a good understanding together, who can play in a number of positions as well, I wouldn't get in any players now unless they can improve what we have in the starting 11 and not just to be a bench player. Players in our squad who lack experience in the football league make up for it by their determination and our boys have shown they have that in abundance.
Would be interesting but that leaves Harrison and Easter up top with no striker options on the bench unless we use Bodin.
I wonder if 1-4-3-1-2 formation has been tried, Matty Taylor has a good football brain and could do a good job for us, I know Sinclair played a game there but I wasn't sure if that formation was used and if we lost a striker through injury we could revert to 4-4-2.
I like the 3-5-2 we're playing now - we're compact and we dominated both Yeovil and Luton with that formation. But one thing DC is and that's a pragmatist - he'll play whichever formation he thinks will win us games and he expects his players to be flexible. I'd like to see us sign an LB to cover Lee and maybe another striker, but on loan. Other than that we're pretty well catered for.
4-3-1-2...... if we play Taylor behind the strikers then I still prefer to the defensive line that we are currently operating - 3 at the back and using wing backs. So playing 3-4-1-2. Maybe too offensive when away but use this at home. ---------------Chapman--------------- ------Lockyer--Clarke--Parkes------ Leadbitter--------------------- Brown ----------Sinclair-----Lines----------- -----------------Taylor----------------- ---------Harrison---Easter----------- Please note, selected fit players only. Mansell and McChrystal would be contenders to start!
We have to be more ruthless in front of goal, especially when we dominate like we did at Yeovil and Luton. I expect Easter to do just that when he is 100% and im sure he just needs that 1st goal to kick start it all.
I hope that goal comes tomorrow! We could do with Jermaine to start scoring - he's got quality and I hope he gets up to 100% sooner rather than later. He's a great signing, but I'm a tad concerned about his fitness. Do you think we need to sign a big lump up front to give us a plan b or to hold the ball up? Barry Corr who signed for Cambridge from Southend is already a massive hit, scoring 5 goals in his first 3 league games. Perhaps we could do with someone like that - better than Blissett.
No harm having a Blissett type for a plan B. We played route 1 vs Northampton and lost and were poor. Played the ball on the floor vs Yeovil and Luton and we won both and dominated both. I guess we know what we need to do. But as you said before, DC has a plan for each opponent. Some times we will have to use the route 1 plan but now we dont have a big man like Blissett to aim for. But that didnt stop us trying to boot it up to Easter, Harrison and Taylor vs Northampton. Until we get a big man to use route 1 as a plan B then no point playing those tactics. Just stick to the ball on the floor and keep perfecting that.
