Thanks to Brightonian for the excellent report. There are some interesting points above regarding the lack of mobility in the spine of the side. The decision to select Jennings ahead of Maynard in centre midfield week after week is baffling when you consider that Lois is one of the few players we have with athleticism and height, as well as ability, the attributes you surely need in the centre of midfield at this level.
More generally, I wonder whether Palios and Brabin have just repeated the errors that were made under Adams last season, namely bringing in big name players mid season which disrupts the squad and leaves it unbalanced. When Adams only had Edwards' squad to work with he got them organised and we saw a steady improvement over a number of weeks. Then came the January spending spree, a succession of permanent and loan players, and a complete mess on the pitch and in the dressing room.
This season, we had good, settled partnerships at the heart of the defence and up front: Sutton and Hogan, Mangan and Norwood. When we suffered short-term injuries to two of those players and lost Dawson, McNulty and GTF were brought in almost as a knee-jerk reaction to the Barrow defeat. For all their undoubted ability, the effect on the team has been to make it worse. Would Palios have been better advised simply to tell Brabin to organise the players he had, bring Kirby back from loan until the injuries settled, and get on with things (I admit I supported the signings at the time) ? This season and last, our recruitment policy has been like that of a kid playing Fifa, rather than a manager constructing a team as opposed to a collection of individuals.
With regard to GTF, I think he spends too much time outside the box leaving a partly-fit Mangan isolated up front. Even worse, he actually operates in the deeper areas where Mangan likes to drift, inhibiting his game. At this level you are probably better off with two conventional centre forwards getting in the eighteen yard box, than the endless tippy-tappy stuff we have played to little effect in recent weeks (pleasing on the eye though it is). Bizarrely, at the moment we have four forwards on the pitch in some games, three of them operating outside the box.