Nantwich Verdict

[paddockgraham]

Dibble was shouting loudly instructions, some of his kicking was wayward

Jennings looked angry, needs to calm it

Rutherford all over the place, cant fault him for effort but his passing lets him down

Hurst needs to get involved more

Kelly is a quality footballer

Leo off form today but still had his moments

Need a midfield general, still no voice in there

Akil needs target practice

Gimme trying too hard

Boden not match ready but it will come

We won't really know what this team is like until the best 11 play together, they didn't today, but dont think so far on evidence of games that we are top 7 material

[Colonel D]

I would like to say what a neat little ground Nantwich have with a
food bar that sold the usual hot dogs, burgers, chips ,chocolate and hot drinks for £1.30 ,which is much cheaper than ours.
Also an ice cream van in the ground.
Good car park , but hell to exit
Good luck to Nantwich this season.

[Alan Attack]

It can't be a bad thing. Hopefully it'll train the collective brain in training next week

['Orrible Ogre]

Pearson made a difference in the second half, nice to hear someone bossing the game.

[gazw]

Healthy dose of realism - won't do us any harm.

The players missing from the starting line up would likely have made a big difference so I wouldn't be too worried but Keates will have learnt a few things from today I'm sure and that's half of what pre-season is about.
Posted via mobile theme

[REDROBBO]

Today was my first of season. My take for what its worth:
1 Traore ain't the answer
2 Leo not a first teamer yet.
3 Marx is not ready either
4 Still a lack of true pace without Makreth. Left side could struggle if Kelly played in centre. Proper left footer needed badly.
5 Enough negs, Kelly looks class and will be one hell of an asset.
6 Pearson and Manny look quality as does Roberts.
7 People still give Rutherford stick but I think he was our only attacker who gave them problems today although end ball sometimes lacked. That said a lot of end balls lacked.
8 Boden will be ok with better service. I thought he did alright considering service provided today.
I would like to see what Deano considers to be first first team play and it still concerns me we haven't mastered small pitches and how to unlock tight, organised defences. Our general, all round finishing must improve too.

[jrpwxm]

Jimmy McLeod 👎

[Huffy]

Originally Posted by [Removed User

;2052825]Given the attendance I'm surprised there's been so little comment. So, here goes

Nice little ground with 2 decent stands and a much better pitch than at Warrington, although it seemed similarly tight. If, as I understand it, that was a 3G pitch then it was quite impressive, although more on that later.

Should have got a better picture (see my Twitter feed) but the pitch side cover for wheelchairs looked impressive and was certainly a very pleasant surprise for a club of that size. Put others to shame albeit that the height and design of the pitch side barrier rendered the view dreadful.

Before I comment on individual performances I need to make a tactical observation. Lots of people, me included, welcomed Darlo back based on what he's done in Wales, with NS and under Wilkin and briefly post Wilkin .

I was prepared to give the benefit of the doubt to our tactics against Warrington so I didn't comment. In order to understand why we lost today it's impossible to not comment on the tactics. I hope things can be seen in a different light when we acquire another striker but playing 442 with the team put out today doomed us to defeat. Knocks to Massanka, Mackreth and presumably Holroyd added to that but the big thing was tactical. Several issues.

We started the game with a midfield 4 consisting of 4 players who are considerably better in central midfield and yet 2 of them were played effectively as wingers. It was hardly a shock we lacked width as both Smith and Rutherford came inside naturally and repeatedly. Kelly and Wright often covered when they did but that just meant 2 other central midfielders forced wide and whilst they did okay defensively it meant we carried negligible attacking threat and midfield was often crowded and chaotic.

Both full backs repeatedly put the ball down the channels and for that to work 1 striker had to pull wide to collect and that left the other wholly isolated. It was a tactic we used at Warrington and got away with. Here it was embarrassing. We will win lots of throw ins this season if nothing else!

We have pretty much zero threat in the air and yet kept pinging set pieces and deep crosses in high and then winning zilch bar the occasional failed clearance. A number of our players seemed to fear the pitch whereas Nantwich, whilst carrying negligible attacking threat, kept the ball on the floor and looked neat and entertaining. I don't think it any coincidence 2nd half that we had a number of chances all of which came from the ball coming into the area on the floor.

In this context I hope it's possible to see why both Marx and Smith have so far been picked out as having poor games slightly unfairly. The former, needing a guide alongside him. Gets star of silent film Manny Smith and is behind a midfield that is wholly dysfunctional because of being a 4 not a 3. A mistake was always going to happen. The latter was played out wide and always looked excellent when he moved inside and out of his depth when he didn't. However, the constant moving inside meant once again we lacked pace and momentum. No-one moving between the lines bar Kelly and even then he was mostly isolated and easily marshalled.

It's a sad statement that none of us could see how an equaliser was going to come from the moment Nantwich got a break and scored 12 minutes in. A 2nd goal was only ever going to go to them on the break.

Interestingly again, most of the team (with 4 captains from other teams) simply didn't talk. Most concerning.

Anyway, the players

Dibble - won't be first choice and there's much to work on. Distribution was suspect today again as was his positioning in open play. Not wildly off but just enough to be forced into punches when catches would have been an option had he started in the right place. Much more vocal than at Warrington, which was good, but very oddly specific. "Olly, Manny is free NOW!" like he would lose the ball or it was his only option when Olly was bringing the ball out from the back under no pressure and could have chosen 1 of 6 players!

Hurst - better than at Warrington in that he was clearly looking where he was passing but doesn't look great defensively and, having seen the impact of Roberts, I can only conclude that the hoofs up in the air and down the channel to Rutherford or Traore were all his own making. Would have liked to see him in midfield when Roberts came on.

Marx - really not helped by 45 minutes of silent Manny and a puzzle of a midfield. Will rightly be blamed for the goal but, as stated above, our tactics and selection, made it inevitable someone would make a mistake. Saw enough in the 1st team last year to say he'll be fine.

Manny - stayed on his feet when coming out far more than at Warrington but looked scared of the pitch and tackling. Rarely won a clean header. Again though, the midfield mess didn't help.

Jennings - looked to me like he's carrying his alleged niggle from the other night into the season. Did okay but looked tentative on the pitch and had to be cajoled to cross the halfway line and keep going. By "cajoled" I mean "screamed repeatedly at" by Pearson once the latter came on.

Rutherford - had a decent game effort wise and seems fitter than last season. Wrong position for him though and it was painful to watch on occasion. Otherwise, what others have said.

Leo - looked strong and fast but immensely frustrated at where he was being asked to play. Absolutely is ready for the 1st team. Not convinced it's ready for him though.

Wright - a decent game but had to spend too long fire-fighting the positional madness around him instead of creating. Suspect he has a red card or 2 in him. Certainly lots of yellows. Some great tackles in there though.

Kelly - absolutely lovely on the ball but is currently using that skill to dig the midfield out of a hole of our own tactical making rather than threading balls through on the floor. When he did it we carried a threat. When he lost the ball only Wright was there to chase it down and when he wasn't then we got taken apart down the middle. Beat 3 players in a tight space at 1 point but then had no out ball at all and took the foul. Could be a match winner. Could be a liability. At present he's also firefighting a tactical/team selection mess.

Traore - said it the other night. He's a placeholder. Genuinely felt sorry for him today though. Balls down the channels that he either couldn't win or couldn't get to Boden as they were too far apart as a 2 because of the tactic. Never going to win a header from a cross and simply didn't get the service with his back to goal that he needs until late in the 2nd half when he had to be repeatedly fouled as he turned. He's been an interesting diversion but he's not what we need with or without these tactics.

Boden - clearly the lad is a player. Quick feet and brain. Survived on scraps today. Again though, what's he going to win from balls down the channel and high crosses?

Carra - came on and started to link play in midfield. Took a while to get going but was probably my MOTM today and I'm not a massive fan. Again though, he slows play down.

Freeman - looked okay when he came on. Hard to judge so it can wait until I've seen more to be fair.

Pearson - an absolute beast of a player when he came on. It's an injustice to call him a talker. He will burst eardrums before season end. His abuse of the liner made Jennings jump as well as seem like the calm one. His organisational ability is clearly going to be critical too.

Roberts - interesting. The hoofing ceased and we started attacking with great effect down the right and looked tighter defensively down there too. An impressive debut that I'd like to have seen more of.

And yes, I know it's pre-season. Yes, I know it's about fitness and trying things out. Yes, I know there are more players to come. However, I have to say that by this stage I expected to see much more and tactically we were inept. We have a decent squad being built but I suspect tactically we have a problem.

Thanks Mike!! You need a rest after all that !!

[Mozzarella]

It was my first preseason friendly this summer.

Dibble: didn't have much to do other than pick the ball out of the net once, he's certainly in his defenders' ears but we'll see him have busier games.
Jennings: we know about him.
Manny: Ditto
Hurst: Looks ok but I don't remember him being involved in much.
Marx: Doesn't look ready for our first team regularly. Not a very assured performance.
Roberts: Looks a good player and will help with attack, but looked a bit unfit to me. Maybe his preseason at Halifax has been a bit lacking.
Ruthers: We know about him but I think he looks fitter and faster.
Kelly: looks a great little player, composed and can pass a ball.
Wright: Said he isn't known for his goal scoring and he wasn't kidding, but he's a good physical presence and he can tackle and run and didn't do a lot wrong other than blaze his shots anywhere other than at the goal.
Leo Smith: Didn't have as much of the ball out wide but he's coming on nicely as a player generally. I think he's got a good future.
Jimmy: Harsh but I wasn't at all impressed and I hope we don't sign him unless he's incredibly cheap. However, strikers are funny creatures, I thought Morrell and Walters were crap when I first saw them, so I'd love to be proved wrong.
Boden: Didn't get much ammunition today but he looks like an intelligent player with tidy feet.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Roberts and Mackreth overlap and link up.
Do we have a few knocks and niggles? I didn't see Wedge, Mackreth or Holroyd today.

Overall we seemed a bit toothless up top today as I think Jimmy was the weakest link, so the sooner we get another good striker the better.