Imps v Rovers

[Rockford's Love Child]

McNulty is a good player and played well yesterday. I would agree with Boz that coming into a side struggling for form with a big turnover of personnel has not helped him, but I am sure he will be an asset for us in the long term.

Regarding the wide positions, I don't think it matters much who the individuals are, it is just crucial that they are genuine wingers and give natural balance to the team. Jackson is not everybody's favourite, but he would have done a better job than Tomlinson yesterday and would have given proper shape to the team, as he does at least hug the touchline and attempt to beat the full back occasionally. Marlon on one wing and Norwood on the other would have been better than what we had. Similarly, Mekki might not be the most gifted player but his presence is very important to the balance of the side.

 

[drwhoman]

Dawson fit is crucial. They have gone downhill since his injury.

 

[Ian]

Dawson fit is crucial. They have gone downhill since his injury.

Sadly this is true, but also worrying that we cannot function without him. It doesn't help that the players can't seem to hit a barn door at the moment. Some of the finishing in the last few weeks has been awful.

I'd rather be walking away with three points than the team who had lots of chances. GB needs to sort this out ASAP.

 

[Sparky]

There is no doubt Dawson was a key player for us and probably our most creative, but every team will have injuries to key players at some point during the season. The disappointing thing for me is that GB has still assembled a fairly well known/large squad but isn't getting the best out of them.

Of course there is a lack of confidence in the squad which isn't easy to reverse, but what annoys many fans is the whole square pegs in round holes, and bringing in players who clearly are not good enough. Tomlinson is an example. He clearly knows where the goal is given his record at Lincoln fairly recently. We sign him and play him out wide, where he has done nothing yet, at a time when we need someone who knows where the goal is.

Palios has backed GB a lot and must be scratching his head at the moment.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I don't really accept the 'Dawson is the answer to our prayers' argument. For various reasons, a number of players who were on top of their game during our unbeaten run are struggling for form at the moment, and the return of a semi-fit Dawson is not going to change that. It reminds me a bit of the Wallace debate of a couple of years ago: when he finally did return it made little difference, as our problems ran deeper than the absence of one player.

Regardless of whether or not Dawson is available, we can set up in a simpler, more balanced formation than we have been doing.

As Sparky says above, we have numerous options and a lot of quality in this squad and it must be possible to get more out of the available players than we are at present.

 

[Boz]

I'd agree that Dawson, while missed, is not the sole answer to our current problems. In this game and the home games against Barrow and Lincoln, we created enough chances to have come away with something.

Brabin has got to be prepared to change things, within the unbalanced squad he has built. It wouldn't have hurt on Saturday to give Margetts a try when our established strikers weren't registering, for example. I'm as worried about the mentality and lack of fight in the side as much as anything just now.

 

[Ian]

The balance may not be as bad as we think. With the team creating chances and generally playing well it sounds like the big problem is the strikers just aren't putting the ball in the net. I'd be even more worried if the team weren't creating anything. Not sure what the answer is up front, but they get paid for scoring goals. They need to improve.