Solihull Moors v Rovers

[Ian]

Well well Andy Cook. 2-0.

 

[Boz]

Good result. Haven't caught any match commentary so dependent on reports.

Is Pilling injured? Note Wharton was on the bench today.

 

[Sparky]

Well I would have liked a few more goals but the win was all that mattered. Cook once again showing his importance with a goal and an assist - surely he will remain in the team from now on and MM realises he was wrong to drop him. Notts County & Carlisle still linked with him ahead of the deadline this week.

Buxton as sub was a surprise perhaps altho Mitch did ok on Saturday. Against better sides tho surely bucko will play if fit.

Nors and CJ on the bench meant no place for Dunn or Alabi. Pleased Norburn got his second of the season as we need midfield goals.

Still only 14th but moving in the right direction.

 

[Mal]

Good result. Haven't caught any match commentary so dependent on reports.

Is Pilling injured? Note Wharton was on the bench today.

Apparently, Pilling is playing for Wales u21

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Very comfortable victory. Not great for periods but created lots of chances and looked our old selves towards the end. Cook and McNulty outstanding.

 

[Boz]

Well I would have liked a few more goals but the win was all that mattered. Cook once again showing his importance with a goal and an assist - surely he will remain in the team from now on and MM realises he was wrong to drop him. Notts County & Carlisle still linked with him ahead of the deadline this week.

Buxton as sub was a surprise perhaps altho Mitch did ok on Saturday. Against better sides tho surely bucko will play if fit.

Nors and CJ on the bench meant no place for Dunn or Alabi. Pleased Norburn got his second of the season as we need midfield goals.

Still only 14th but moving in the right direction.

At this point, hope we say no to any moves for Cook, having just turned the corner on the pitch. Any strike force which doesn't include Cook hasn't looked like scoring. It may be that Waring may be able to fill the Cook/Stockton role, but a youngster with no pre-season should not have that burden foisted upon him. He might not be capable of that and an entirely different type of forward.

 

[Ian]

Selling Cook would be a complete backwards step so lets hope that doesn't go anywhere. Really pleased with the win today, I hope we can use this to get a decent run going. Four goals in two games is also a lot more promising.

 

[Ian]

 

[White Star]

Really pleased with that. Thought things improved when Nors and Jennings came on 2nd half.

 

[White Star]

Just look at that ground..

Tinpot F.C.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

A deserved victory in a game we controlled almost from start to finish against poor opposition who look relegation certainties. As White Star says, in the final half hour after the subs had come on we played some really good football. However, for the first sixty minutes, while we were clearly the better side and were never threatened defensively, there were periods of average play where we were not particularly creative and relied too much on long balls, and we will have to up our performance level again to win next week. That said, the intense heat did not help and we still created eight or nine clear chances and could have won by a bigger margin, and Solihull did not have a shot on target in the entire game.

Individually, I thought Mangan looked sharp and worked hard and went close on a couple of occasions. However, it was noticeable how much better our movement was when Norwood came on, and I still see him and Cook as our best strike partnership. Similarly, the quality of our football improved dramatically when Jennings came on, with Connor linking up in little triangles with Hughes, Cook and Norwood as we really started to carve the home defence open. In the first half we really missed his creativity in midfield. Duggan did ok again at wing back, but Adam Buxton showed his class when he came on and is too good to be left on the bench; whether he replaces Duggan or one of the centre backs is a matter for debate. It was a great cut back from Buxton which led to Cook's goal. McEveley put in an improved performance but still had a couple of nervous moments. Jay Harris was as energetic as usual, but I thought our best players were McNulty, who dominated their forwards all game, and Cook, who was immense. In addition to his goal, he set up Norburn for the opener, shrugging off a defender and playing a great through ball, and led the line superbly all afternoon. I think he is a tremendous player at this level and will score virtually every game if played regularly. It would be suicidal to sell him.

There was a decent turnout from the SWA, which looked a lot more than the 570 which was officially announced.

With no team running away at the top of the table, and Daggers and Aldershot again dropping points, there is a great opportunity for us this season if we can find consistency.

 

[Sparky]

Thanks for the report RLC. With the system we play I still have concerns whether we'll create enough so for me having Buxton and Ridehalgh as wing backs means good delivery from both sides.

Obviously that means at the moment McEveley plays but I'm not convinced by him yet.

The importance of Cook can't be understated, especially as no other strikers are scoring. Norwoods day got worse when he returned as he's tweeted his car was broken into and had stuff stolen.

A good win but need to follow it up on Saturday in another winnable game.

 

[Higgy 2]

Steady win. Decent team selection and formation, but prefer Buxton on from the start. Like the midfield three, but not surprised at the difference Connor Jennings made when he came on. Could he not be accommodated with a free role up front next to Cook instead of Mangan and still keep the staritng central midfield three. I do take the point Norwood is a better option than Mangan also.

 

[Boz]

It sounds very encouraging, not least in that a number of players who had stinkers on Saturday have put that behind them and moved on. It will be a nice kind of headache for Micky to have when picking the side to face Dover.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Much better. Note that Cook has been involved in five of our seven goals (3 scored, 2 assisted) and we haven't scored at all when he's not been playing. Enough said.

 

[Tranmere69]

Cookie will be an integral part of a successful season. The opposition hasn't been the best and we have struggled in the first few games.Fortunately no one is running away with it. The next month will indicate how the season will pan out. I believe we'll go up as champions.S W A

 

[Mal]

Much better. Note that Cook has been involved in five of our seven goals (3 scored, 2 assisted) and we haven't scored at all when he's not been playing. Enough said.

true enough. However, we need to be scoring more than a one-a-game average to be serious title contenders.

 

[Sparky]

Yep sooner or later one of our other forwards is going to have to score on a fairly regular basis. We can't rely on cookie all season. You look at dagenhams goals scored so far and they have been on fire.

 

[Boz]

true enough. However, we need to be scoring more than a one-a-game average to be serious title contenders.

Unless our defence are so good we win all the remaining games 1-0

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Dagenham have conceded a hell of a lot of goals as well. I don't think any team has been convincing so far.