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AlexGulls wrote:Olejnik

RB (Not sure who he is) Robertson Palmer Rowe Turner

McPhee Mansell Lathrope Stevens

Kee Spear

2-1 now Hill with the goal.

The little runt has been on the pitch 5 minutes and they pull one back.

Why am I not surprised ?

How did Saah and Ellis play as a partnership?

We won 2-1.

Hmmm, where to start with this. I don't want to come over as a doom and gloom merchant & it was only a pre season friendly, so i will at least raise some of the positives first.

Saah & Ellis played very well together, Saah looked commanding and a really solid defender. In him we look like we have a more than adequate replacement for Branston, strong, decent pace and able to read the game well.
Leadbitter looked good going forward, and was a fairly solid defensively although he wasn't overly troubled int he first half. Olejnik also looked pretty solid, his kicking was very solid he commanded his box well and looked pretty confortable. He only made one mistake, and he recovered the situation well enough. One of my main concerns has been the lack of wingers at the club that look like they can step up and play an important role. I have to say I thought macklin looked pretty useful, his pace and his energy really caused Tiverton problems down the right hand side.
I think McPhee once he settles in could be a decent squad plaer, he made some good runs and also played some lovelly passes, however at start of 2nd half he was out on the right of midfield, he didn't look comfortable there, I think his best position may well be in the middle of the park.

Now the bit that really worries me is the strikers (or lack of), we scored two goals against tiverton, one a mistake by the keeper gifted a shot on goal by Oastler, and even then if the keeper had tried he could have saved it. Also a penalty which was despatched well enough by Taiwo. Taiwo put in plenty of running, was willing to have a go at most things and was pretty pacey. However I don't think he will get goals at league 2 level, he didn't ever look like he would score this evening. Billy Kee, was a willing runner, but again never looked like he was gonna score. Ashley Yeoman had plenty of good movement and running, but I don't think he is quite there yet. The second half we looked devoid of ideas, the midfield lacked any kind of thrust or direction. I should have mentioned in the first half O'Kane was his usual busy self, lots of good football and he looked fit and sharp already. For me mansell, lathrope or oastler would be the ones to fill the spot in the middle with Eunan. If we play with two of them, we looked like we had no idea going forward.

I am very worried about what we have up front, Hopefully Howe has something to offer, because if he dosen't and we sign Taiwo I think it's going to be a very long hard season

Ultimately, I think the Howe signing means we won't sign Atieno, we need something more than both of them can offer, and I hope Ling sees that.

Guile not force please Ling.

Nope, I'll not have that, he looked good enough to merit a place. If there is space in the squad for Macklin and Stevens (both of whom were pretty useless again tonight) then there is definitely room for Atieno.
Kind of a Billy Kee in so much as it was nigh on impossible to get the ball off him. He made a couple of mistakes, but that was 10 minutes into his TUFC career, he'll do well for us.

Matt.

McPhee usless as ever & Kee never really looked like scoring. Saah & GK look solid enough.

First PSF of the year brother, be cool.

Matt.

Not an Oastler fan but he was class 1st half.

AlexGulls wrote:2-0 Atieno (Pen)

These updates are from Brett. Whos keeping me updated.

Im good like that

Was very impressed with Leadbitter, Saah, Bobby tonight. Ok bobby made a mistake for the goal but was not drastic, a few more games and they wont happen.

I was happy with Mcphee, did nothing wrong and played well. Decent finish when his goal was ruled out for offside. I feel its harsh to say he had a bad game when he did nothing wrong.

Same with Kee, he wasnt that bad. Just because he didnt score doesnt mean the goals wont come in the season.

The striker on trial, forgot his name and spent all night calling him antonio with matt but i was impressed with him. Worth looking at in saturday and if he impresses again then worth getting him on board.

Considering the guys all had a hard fitness session this morning and played tonight i was impressed. Things are looking up and will be good to see how the fair against bristol city.

Ah yes, something else to mention, LRT is on his bike, constantly, he is properly fast.

Add to this Lloyd 'useless' Macklin, Leadbitter and Atieno and we have some serious pace available to us next year.

GRRRRRR to you Smiffy! Kee will do just fine, it's the first PSF of the year and Tivvy defended in numbers. They didn't get anywhere close to getting the ball off him. He will get fitten and sharper as the pre-season goes on and he gets his eye in, he will get more and more deadly. He is clearly the best finisher at the club (evidenced by Burton, NTFC and the Tivvy game a year ago, among others) and will only get better as the year goes on. Have a littele faith. That ball he played across the box for Spear at the far post was mm perfect and Spear was a bit of a donkey for missing such a good chance.

Matt.

ferrarilover wrote:Ah yes, something else to mention, LRT is on his bike, constantly, he is properly fast.

Add to this Lloyd 'useless' Macklin, Leadbitter and Atieno and we have some serious pace available to us next year.

Matt.

Rene Howe isnt exactly slow either, but i dont know what he will be like compared to the guys you mentioned.

tufcbrett wrote: Rene Howe isnt exactly slow either, but i dont know what he will be like compared to the guys you mentioned.

How do you know Rene is not slow brett? Everyone from Gas indicated that he is not the quickest??

Hope you be right and they be wrong!!!

tufcbrett wrote: Rene Howe isnt exactly slow either, but i dont know what he will be like compared to the guys you mentioned.

Don't shoot me down but pace certainly isn't something Howe possesses. He's definitely slower than Billy Kee having seen him live 5-10 times. Howes game isn't based on pace though, it's holding the ball up, winning flick ons and bringing faster people into the game. If he plays regularly I think he'll get about 7-12 goals, a similar figure to Harrold for us.

blueboy wrote:If he plays regularly I think he'll get about 7-12 goals, a similar figure to Harrold for us.

Made oi larf! You pay £100k for a striker to get you 7-12 a season? Bargain!