League Two Dons (1) v Rovers (0)

[Ian]

I'd be worried if we weren't getting chances but we have in all the games to far. I'm not too worried as we now have experienced strikers in the squad. Once it clicks, we'll be fine.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

I agree that there is no cause for panic yet. There have been mistakes made, but Dawesy has got a lot right. He should get huge credit for Barnsley, we were a bit unlucky against Barrow and it's not his fault we missed two golden chances to win today's game. Team spirit appears to be good.

I agree with KHB in that I don't think he knows his best eleven or best formation yet. I think his "squad rotation" is a bit of a cover for that. He's also trying to get some players match fit and keep others match fit. But he is a rookie manager, who is on a steep learning curve. As each game goes by he will learn more about the capabilities of his squad and the effectiveness of different formations. When it comes down to it, with a little more luck we'd have won all three games.

However, we have to start winning soon. Harrogate on Tuesday is not a "must win", but is a great chance to get the monkey off the manager's back.

 

[Am on mobile]

Hi all just got home after doing a private dining in Manchester se need to get some points on the board sooner rather than later no pictures of the food guys i am not allowed to show

 

[Am on mobile]

Having a beer or 3 now.

 

[Am on mobile]

Also doing southport flower show next week helping my friend who is a remarkable head chef out for 1 day

 

[ADD]

A real tale of two halves indeed and as others have said we should at the very least have got a draw probably a win. The first half was poor yet again but second half I though we played some of our best football in a long time. Norris will miss a chance like that at most 1 or 2 times in a 100 surely, whilst Jennings also should have done much better.
LOC looked far better than he has been for some time. After the game Dawes said his performance was "more like what we expect from him". He showed in the second half that blip which arguably included the last 2 months of last season was hopefully just that a blip and that being dropped has concentrated his mind.
Now that Norris is getting very close to being fully match fit having played 90 minutes and with Dennis getting 45, Dawes needs to quickly decide on his preferred team and formation. As others have mentioned having Dennis out wide seems strange to me and replacing Hawkes as he did even more so. Also I felt Taylor not starting was an error. I appreciate that he is young and the coaching staff want to look after him but for me he should be starting - he can always be replaced after 60 if need be.
Our 3 games thsi season so far match exactly our start last season - we then won our next game 3-0 - if we play as we did second half we will surely kick start the season and be far too good for Harrogate.

 

[Boz]

The difficulty with both Norris and Dennis being injured for the bulk of pre-season is that they’ve not had much opportunity to play as a front 2 and for Dawes to assess how that would work. I have some reservations and it will be interesting to see how it works out, but now both are close to full fitness, perhaps the time has come for Dawes to bite the bullet and start them in that formation. The question of how/when we use Jennings Saunders and Taylor will arise from adopting that formation. Unfortunately we can only have eleven on the pitch at any one time

 

[Higgy 2]

Yes, I don't think there is need for panic this early. Two games in so still plenty of time. As mundane as the first half was, there was lots to be positive about in the second half. One of the early concerns for me regarding Dawes is his quite frank statement about rotating players. I really don't think this approach will work even though he sees it as quite a positive. The first half seemed almost experimental until the big boys came on and changed the game. Rotating players on a weekly basis could get him in all sorts of trouble, just pick the best team you've got and don't rotate for the sake of it.

I'm sure Dawsey spelt out his reasoning for rotation in a recent interview. It did involve the length of the games this season and perhaps opposition dependent.
I'd love to see a regular proper front two of Norris and Dennis. However I struggle to sort out a formation that would make it viable, and still play our better creative players. In a 442 would the centre midfield be strong enough? The likes of Morris and Hawkes would have to put in good defensive shifts to support Hendry + 1.

 

[ADD]

I think his rotation comments are a little bit overplayed. He has been without his first choice front 3 forwards almost all pre-season and even now is having to balance players fitness levels but just because the games are now going to 100 minutes I don't think it necessarily means more rotation but rather more subs in the last 20 minutes or so.

Since he hasn't seen Dennis much at all yet, he must as Higgy says still be working on how he gets Dennis and Norris on the pitch together both playing in their preferred roles or indeed if he can. Secondly, given how much Taylor has come on since his cameos in last season he surely can't be 100% sure yet of who and how to play out of Saunders, Taylor, Morris, Jennings and Hawkes. He then has Hemmings to throw into the mix if he is staying? I suspect after another 5 or 6 games rotation will mainly be limited to Cup games as per normal or will be forced on him by injuries.

 

[Sparky]

A lot of this ties in with formation. We used to have the Dawesy diamond with two strikers. He now seems like 4-3-3 and hawkes will always be a starter you would think. Norris would take the central position as a physical focal point so that leaves one wide position left which the likes of dennis, Saunders and Taylor are competing for, never mind Jolley or Hemmings or even Jennings.

I’m a bit old fashioned and prefer Ronnie Moore 4-4-2. As Higgy says it does mean some defensive responsibilities for the wingers and you need to pick two central midfielders from an abundance we have.

I suspect Dawes isn’t sure yet of his best team or system and some of that comes with having such a big squad and so many options. It is good we have so much competition but he can only field 11 and in this day and age, you don’t get much time to experiment as it’s a results business

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

819 in the away end yesterday. In good voice too.

We‘re obviously a work in progress, a 45 minute performance for sure but, even then, the understanding between the forwards wasn’t quite there yet. That’ll come, so long as Dawes doesn’t tinker too much with the forwards just for the sake of rotation.

Jennings roved intelligently between the lines and Dennis occasionally dropped back in there too, and that certainly helped the creativity, but, even when we were on top, I felt we still lacked that bit of extra pace to get behind them and really open them up. Maybe that‘s an option we’re still looking to bring in before the window shuts, even if it’s just a loanee.

The midfield holding role is also a concern. An enforcer to complement the quality of Hendry would be nice, but that’s probably wishful thinking.

Still, frustration about not winning yesterday is significant progress compared to the frustrations of last season!

 

[Ian]

I’m a bit old fashioned and prefer Ronnie Moore 4-4-2.

Same here.

Jennings roved intelligently between the lines and Dennis occasionally dropped back in there too, and that certainly helped the creativity, but, even when we were on top, I felt we still lacked that bit of extra pace to get behind them and really open them up

I didn't think we could have done much more. Dons went deep so it was difficult at times to break them down but we still did on a few occasions. We could actually have won that game had we been able to convert those two chances. Hopefully it will click a bit more on Tues.

 

[bigmart]

The issue with the midfield holding role is that Walker and Merrie are not yet fit enough and O'Connor is now at right back so we are having to play sumbody there who's not ideal for that position

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

The issue with the midfield holding role is that Walker and Merrie are not yet fit enough and O'Connor is now at right back so we are having to play sumbody there who's not ideal for that position

Yes I was probably doing Walker in particular a disservice, when he’s fit he should be the answer. That’s if he ever gets fit for any length of time..

 

[Ian]

The issue for me is that Walker cannot stay fit and Merrie just isn't that good.

 

[Boz]

The concern with Walker is that he appears to have let himself go over the summer break added weight and appears less fit than when he played last season. I’d have reservations that he’ll ever be ready.
Dawes did use Merrie at the base of a diamond a couple of times last season, but unsure it’s his best position. Could McAlear play a defensive midfield role or do we give up using O’Connor as right-back and put him in midfield?

 

[Sparky]

Dawes made an interesting point post match that in the three games so far, we’ve apparently had over 50 shots which in his words were more than he’d ever seen in his time at the club.

That said, shots mean nothing if they don’t turn into goals but hopefully it means we’re on the right track. We had 11 corners to MK Dons 3 yesterday and still couldn’t score

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

The concern with Walker is that he appears to have let himself go over the summer break added weight and appears less fit than when he played last season. I’d have reservations that he’ll ever be ready.
Dawes did use Merrie at the base of a diamond a couple of times last season, but unsure it’s his best position. Could McAlear play a defensive midfield role or do we give up using O’Connor as right-back and put him in midfield?

For me, O’Connor has be right back.

If promotion‘s the aim, my midfield enforcer would have to be either a fully fit Walker or someone we haven’t yet signed.

We could probably get by with any of Merrie, O’Connor, an in-form Lewis or maybe McAlear in that role but that’s all we’d be doing, getting by.

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

That said, shots mean nothing if they don’t turn into goals but hopefully it means we’re on the right track. We had 11 corners to MK Dons 3 yesterday and still couldn’t score

I’d say a fair few of those 11 were the result of attempted crosses that were easily blocked but, with bit more pace at our disposal, they could’ve been dangerous crosses against back-peddling defenders. I thought much of our attacking play was a bit pedestrian but we did still create chances and I agree we’re progressing.

 

[Higgy 2]

For me, O’Connor has be right back.

If promotion‘s the aim, my midfield enforcer would have to be either a fully fit Walker or someone we haven’t yet signed.

We could probably get by with any of Merrie, O’Connor, an in-form Lewis or maybe McAlear in that role but that’s all we’d be doing, getting by.

Fingers crossed re Walker. I thought Lewis tidied up a few threats Saturday and read the game OK.
When we're more on the front foot second half there was less of a need.
Bits I've seen of Yarney showed decent distribution. Wonder whether he could sit in there?