Pompey.

football19 said:
Good question Phil,as Wakefield has done nothing wrong and looks a great prospect.
Slightly different from Pearson and maybe has a bit more balance/composure,but it's Mattys "will to win"catches my eye.
I first thought they would both play giving us a big uncompromising back four,but Bucko has curtailed that with his rapid improvement in the defensive side of his game and really can't be dropped.
Although a attempted cruyff turn on the edge of our box with three men around him yesterday wasn't one of his best decisions !!!
You could even play Wakefield at CB with Joe,who's also a good prospect,
Simple for the lads,keep clean sheets and you'll keep your shirt,if you don't,there's good players waiting to step in.
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I think Coley has a bit of a dilemma on his hands. If Wakefield has only signed till January, he's going to need game time or else he'll be off and we will have lost a good player. Pearson is clearly a brave and whole-hearted player, but that heart-in-mouth moment yesterday when he sliced the ball across our goal led me to wonder whether a slight lack of composure has been his Achilles heel in the past.

Bucko, on the other hand, sometimes goes too far the other way, as you mention. But his distribution from the back is very good for this level. It's been a long-standing personal bugbear that we so often lose possession with the hoof from the back, but this season we are definitely trying to play our way out, which is a big plus.

Re Kee, he looks well short of match fitness, but is always a presence against tiring defenders. I thought Proccy also looked sharp when he came on, which will be good competition for Crooksy.
 
To be fair Phil all players have a mistake or two in them,but I think Pearson has been consistent whether left of right back and I wouldn't hesitate playing him the holding/defensive midfielder.
I am not convinced this position is Crooksys best,for me he's better when he has license to drift into spaces (like Windass).
I know he's an imposing lad but he's not one for the "rough stuff"and gets pushed off the ball too easily (good technically tho).
So many options available makes for good debate !!
 
football19 said:
To be fair Phil all players have a mistake or two in them,but I think Pearson has been consistent whether left of right back and I wouldn't hesitate playing him the holding/defensive midfielder.
I am not convinced this position is Crooksys best,for me he's better when he has license to drift into spaces (like Windass).
I know he's an imposing lad but he's not one for the "rough stuff"and gets pushed off the ball too easily (good technically tho).
So many options available makes for good debate !!
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It does indeed! Crooks does provide flair in the middle, like you say, whilst also some height at the back to defend set-pieces, so you can see Coley really valuing the variety of roles he brings to the team.

The way Coneelly is playing, the holding/defensive midfielder role is taken, which keeps Proccy out unless you pair them. Coley did this yesterday, but it made perfect sense as we needed to see out the game. Starting with those two would leave us a bit short of attacking flair, which is where we are struggling a bit as it is.
 
Great post match interview by Coley. He deserves a lot of credit for seemingly turning our defence round as compared with last season, which hasn't happened by accident. He sees that we need to sharpen up our finishing and just hope he will be bold enough to stand down any player who is performing even a little bit under expectations, regardless of status!
 
When playing 4-2-3-1 ,the two holding players don't normally get ahead of the ball,but I presume Crooks gets encouraged to get forward/join in.
So technically it's more 4-1-4-1 when we are attacking.
I think when we don't have the ball Proccy/Pearson are the better options and are more disciplined.
Then again we are doing well defensively so he must be doing alright !!.
Who would be a manager,you need your head testing 😃😃😃
 
football19 said:
Crooks was in that area a few times in the last 15 minutes and was one on one with their fullback,could have paid dividends as Proccy blocked up the middle
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I think Crooksy was absolutely knackered when he went off, understandably as he covered some ground. He won that free kick just outside the box late on 'cause he fell over. Proccy was a good swop for him, given the pressure from Pompey. I'd have brought McConville off for Bruna. But the Professor's judgement proved correct. Just loved the pregnant pause on his post match interview when he had to think long and hard when asked if he was happy.:)
 
It was a great point. I was a little surprised that Bruna was left on the bench again. I think if he was given a bit more game time he would be a great addition to the squad, I have seen flashes of quality from him that would leave other players breathless.
 
I am on the fence with Bruna,technically excellent,but very suspect when we don't have it !!, John Miles ??.
Good impact sub for me,but that's just my opinion
 
football19 said:
I am on the fence with Bruna,technically excellent,but very suspect when we don't have it !!, John Miles ??.
Good impact sub for me,but that's just my opinion
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John Miles ?..... Great singer not much of a football player sadly !......
Like yours truly he dididn't know his 4-4-2 from his 4-5-1 either F19, but is there really need to drag his name into a comparison with the dashing Señor Bruna ?, who, it is rumoured , is absolutemente inutil where warbling a sentimental ballad is concerned !...
But wait !...am I mistaken for once ?....Alfred.E. with his eye for detail thinks that there just might be more than one John Miles in this world , and he that hit the charts with 'Music' in
1976 might not be The Stanley's erstwhile flying striker who wasn't born until 1981 !!.
So, I have been labouring under a serious misconception for some time now or so it would appear,
Alfred.E.is sniggering in his corner, and I turn to my tumbler of Absolut V and T covered in embarrassment again.....and continue to follow you and the tactical gurus with interest and excitement !.TTFN......KTF !.
 
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football19 said:
I am on the fence with Bruna,technically excellent,but very suspect when we don't have it !!, John Miles ??.
Good impact sub for me,but that's just my opinion
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Fair enough, but even impact subs need a decent amount of minutes on the pitch in order to be effective. Too often our subs only get about 10 minutes even when games are being changed by the opposition's imaginative substitutions.
 
Fwiw, I agree Kee made a difference to our threat level when he came on, but then their defenders would have been tiring by then, so perhaps it would have been just the same if Gornell had replaced Kee at the same point. Certainly their defence had Gornell, Mingoia and McConville shackled throughout and we only looked really dangerous when Windass and to a lesser extent Crooks were attacking from deep.

Equally our defence looked competent and confident pretty well throughout, only a couple of moments of panic and a couple of over-confidence had me worried. I don't know them well enough to pick out the best (first game I've seen this season), it was just a very good all round team effort for 90 minutes against a Pompey attack which looked promising but never really delivered.

For me, the highlight was Mooney's incredible save :eek: down to his left bottom corner towards the end of the second half - a genuine point saver. And the greatest surprise was that there were still 22 players on the park at the final whistle :rolleyes:.

All in all, I think that was the best Stanley display I've seen over the 20 or so games I've managed to get to since Woking :). Not as exciting as Watford, Newcastle or the win here last year, but the best football and in the face of a daunting crowd.

Twice I was asked by Pompey fans how long it took me to get down. "Walked it in 20 minutes" seemed to surprise them .... :D
 
Good interview on the Fishy site with Mr.Davies. If he's not already on a two year deal, Stanley should offer another year's contract now as there'll be loads of clubs sniffing around at the end of this season.
 
Better than the rubbish on Sky's web site, Baldy, which showed one second half Pompey attack, followed by one from the first half.
From the away end we could see how close it was to the goalpost, but didn't appreciate how far out was Gornell's header. Great cross and great header.
Also Pompey keeper made a great save to deny McConville in the second half which, I guess, didn't rate a "highlight" for the Pompey faithful.
 
Was that a swipe at our "game plan" at the end as he turned round to see who was around before he said it?

Also noticed he still has his 4 different voices that change during his interviews!!
 
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