Shuker 2-0 Cheltenham

[SonkORLY?]

banging performance from the boyo today. thought he had a great game. shukes has struggled for a while now with injuries and had the crowd on his back at times (and understandably so some may argue...) but to perform like he did tonight (in addition to good displays in his last 2-3 games also) is a testament to his attitude IMO. i've always liked shukes, and hopefully he'll crack on from here and show us all that he's the player we all know he's capable of being - and was before we signed him. the 4-5-1/4-3-3 seems to suit him nicely.

thought chorley looked a lot better alongside goodison (well, obviously) and generally thought the team played quite well. kay isn't great on the ball but he did a better job than usual, still don't fancy him in a 4-4-2 but he can do a job with 2 other lads around him. i'd say that jenno and edds did a workmans like job, and with 3 bodies in there chelts struggled to play through us. savage did a great job as usual, he's been my player of the season, having played well in every single game i've been to. nice to see him add to his goals tally tonight too. amazing celebration btw :shock:

...good all round performance i guess, and most importantly a home win for the first time in a few games. a victory over crewe on friday should leave us nicely positioned in the league. here's to hoping we don't throw away a good oppertunity.

 

[Tartantranmere64]

Can't really add much to that, agree Shuker was on fire at times in the second half and it was great to see. I've slagged him off in the past, but he looks fitter and stronger now than at any time in the last 18 months, hopefully all his hard work with Les will pay off. Well done Shukes!

We really won the game when Ronnie changed to 442 and brought on Sonko. I thought the 433/451 did the job of containing CT but couldn't see a goal coming. When Sonko came on for Edds it immediately stretched them and gave Shukers some room to work. It's a conundrum through. I thought the Edds/Jenno/Kay midfield looked a bit plodding - I would have liked to have seen O'Callaghan given a chance in there - I believe he's a passer, a creative player. Maybe he was injured...?

Anyway, more of the same on Friday please and maybe 2008-09 will be up and running.... at last!

PS What a poor crowd. I suppose two home games in four days, recession, etc. etc. means we can expect some low turnouts this season. Look at the other attendances in L1 - even Leicester and Leeds had small crowds by their standards. Must be a worry for clubs.

 

[Ian]

Agree with you lads. The game definately changed when Ronnie made changes. Cheltenham were a poor team really. They did fairly well containing us, but their forward line was weak. Coyne was a mere spectator.

I was pleased with the performance though and they all worked hard. Even Jenno looked interested!
I missed Bas' celebration, I was too busy celebrating myself! Was it the moonwalk?

Attendence, was poor, but like you say generally, attendences were poor and Man Utd were on the TV last night! #-o

This is now the time Ronnie needs to stand up and be counted. Two wins in a row, next game at home to Crewe who are struggling. If ever there's a time for consistency, it's now. Three wins in a row, and that shoots you right up the table. Into 9th now though, so it's looking better

My only concern is beating the better teams. That's what we need to do to get anywhere in this division. No disresepct to Cheltenham, but they are a weak team. Anything other than a win last night would have been poor, but it's when we come up against the likes of Scunthorpe, Oldham, Millwall, Leicester and Leeds. Scunthorpe and Leeds we haven't played yet, Oldham, Millwall and Leicester have already beaten us!

 

[SonkORLY?]

[We really won the game when Ronnie changed to 442 and brought on Sonko. I thought the 433/451 did the job of containing CT but couldn't see a goal coming. When Sonko came on for Edds it immediately stretched them and gave Shukers some room to work. It's a conundrum through. I thought the Edds/Jenno/Kay midfield looked a bit plodding - I would have liked to have seen O'Callaghan given a chance in there - I believe he's a passer, a creative player. Maybe he was injured...?

yeah, interesting points. regarding the switch to 4-4-2, it was nice that we could get a goal fairly instantly following the tactical substitution, but its worth noting that as soon as that goal went in the cheltenham players heads dropped and they had to open up a little bit, wheras we grew in confidence and there was more space to exploit - just a thought, before we get carried away about the contrasting success of the formations. on which note, im more than convinced that the 4-5-1 can be a very effective formation both away from and at PP (moreso against teams stronger than cheltenham...) and i dont blame ronnie for changing things up given that we'd lost 3 games on the bounce at home with 4-4-2, and performed so well away with 5 accross the middle. i'd also credit him for making the switch to 4-4-2, as he is so often infuriatingly reluctant to make changes during a game. i expect us to line up with a 4-4-2 on friday though.

re: o'calla....he's been given a few chances now in the 4-5-1 in away games, and has failed to impress on each occasion. i, like yourself, am keen to see him play more often as i think he looks like he could be an interesting prospect given his creativity and passing ability. that said, given that he's failed to secure his place when given the chance, i do think it's fair to give edds a go, lethargic though the combination of jennings/kay/edds may appear to be...also, can't see jenno staying, so georgie and barnett should get a good go soon enough if this is to be the case...