Swindons Towns (h) 20/10/2020 K/O 19:45

[St Edmundsbury Cobbler]

If Wellens thinks they were brilliant last night then that's one relegation place filled.

[west stand oap]

For all of Swindon's possession (65%) Mitchell did not have to make a decent save. With 37 free kicks (1 every 2.1/2 minutes) it was a bit of a stop-go game but we could have been out of site at half time. The only attack of note in the 2nd half was the fine save their keeper made from Sowerby.
Somebody on here was recently criticising Missilou stating that he was unable to pass a ball more than 5 yards but he was man of the match and apart from scoring the first played a superb ball for Rose to score the second. Good job Rose did score otherwise he would have come in for some stick on here for shooting from a narrow angle instead of playing the square pass.
Sowerby had another good game, Harriman always puts in a solid performance wherever he is asked play and Bolger was much better. Horsefall has come in for a lot of criticism on here for getting caught in possession and for the poor back pass but he also responsible for a lot of headed clearances.
In a game where we did not have a single corner kick there was few crosses and although Smith was poor when he came on he showed last season that he is capable of getting on the end of these and scoring.
Overall it was a game between 2 teams you would expect to finish in the lower half of the division, on that performance, and we will have to raise our game to any points off Charlton.

[DrillingCobbler]

Mostly been covered but a few observations after what was, a pretty fortunate but very welcome win!

1. Smith substitute. I thought when it was announced, it was a good move. Benny had beaten up his marker; Smith I thought would do it better and also hold the ball up. That defender was useless in the air and not very physically strong. It didn't work, obviously. But Id put that down to Swindon taking total control of the middle third of the pitch. Smith was isolated, as were the other forwards after around the 35-40 minute mark.
2. Marshall. Won us the game, at the end., with his corner flag play, ability to carry the ball forward etc. HAS TO START Saturday, he really has to!
3. Our current back line. It looks more than shaky. But its a new league for the Horse and Racic (when he plays). Hopefully they will settle down in time, they certainly have age on their sides. However Id love to see a 30-33year old warhorse (think Clarke Carlise) brought in to help Bolger organise things. Surely our number1 recruitment requirement. He could become the difference in what league we are in next season...
4. Chuck needs to be given a good run on Saturday, ahead of Smith. Not because of last night, but because....I just think hes a fantastic prospect and needs to be given some pro-longed opportunities and a platform to challenge those in the starting11.
5.  Id stick with Hoskins and Adams as our wingbacks. If Adams isn't fit, then Marshall should play there. If Adams is fit, then Marshall should start in the front3.
6. If the wingbacks are struggling to get forward and 'we are losing the midfield' Id like to see the middle of the park strengthened earlier (I was calling for Watson to come on after 50 minutes last night to rectify that issue but KC kept it as it was until they scored!) at the cost of one of the forwards. A forward three is great if you have the ball , but when you surrender the midfield territory, you end up effectively playing with 8 or 9 players. That happened last night after the first 35-40 minutes.

[Pablo69]

May i ask if Keiths dominos have all been packed away now or can we still sign non league or loan players, particularly a striker and centre back?

[west stand oap]

As I understand it we can now only sign players who have been released and are without a club.

[guest3086]

May i ask if Keiths dominos have all been packed away now or can we still sign non league or loan players, particularly a striker and centre back?

Only if they are injured.

[TheShoeArmy1897]

My take aways from that game

I thought that was Bolgers best game for Cobblers. Not hard so far but still, much more calm and dominant defending the box
Harriman was solid too. Horsfall was largely ok other than his absolute brain fart moments with the ball at his feet

Korboa is our best CAM, linked the play so well and even did a job well switching to WB with Hoskins late on. Loved it

Missilou was eratic but thats the kind of player he is I guess. Good finish and superb assist first half, caught wrong side for his penalty and slightly out of position in other moments.

We dropped points in those games last season so have to be happy we held on, even with the manner of the victory
Some players played superb on the night, others made lots of mistakes so it was a tough performance to look at as a team whole

I'd like to see largely the same side on Saturday again but Charlton will pose different questions and I can see Curle tweaking things to be a bit more assured at the back. Will happily take a point from that game, they've got plenty of dangerous names and strung some wins together now. Anything will do!

[Manwork04]

Only if they are injured.

[EB Claret]

How many should you have scored Richie?

"The way they play, they go long, they hope for second balls and they break the game up and that gives them something to hold onto, but to be honest we should have scored seven or eight tonight.

"We didn't hit the target with one-on-ones and when we did it was straight at the goalkeeper. We looked in a rush to get our shots off.

"We should have had six or seven, I really believe that. Even in the first half-hour when we I didn't think we played well, we still countered them and could have scored a few goals.

"We were brilliant tonight - brilliant - in the middle of the pitch but inside their box we didn't take our chances and then we let too many balls bounce in our box and it bounces very high on this pitch. But we should have scored five or six."

Keep talking and you might be saying you were lucky to get 1.

 
Hard to know if Wellens is (understandably) biased or totally deluded!

[Zen Master]

Korboa looks a decent signing. The level he’s stepped up from is massive and he doesn’t look out of his depth at all.

I really want Smith to be a threat but it just doesn’t seem to work. He should be a beast given his size but not firing for us currently. He’s never going to beat a player for pace off the last man and pinging balls at his head doesn’t work regardless of how many headers he wins as the link up play is lacking and he’s too often isolated. I think he’d be a lot better in a 442 if the wings were crossing from the by line for him to attack.

Benny, Rose and Korboa look like the best blend in attack with Marshall and Adams supporting depending on fitness. Sowerby is a definite starter with Missilou or McWillliams. I see Watson dropping down the order.

Enjoyed the game but not the last 15 mins.

[bungle]

I would argue that last night's starting X1 is actually our strongest team. For me, Mitchell's handling was first rate last night and he has the edge on Arnold. I agree with Drilling that Hoskins is best deployed as a wing-back where his pace, pressing ability and capacity to carry the ball can be most effective. (Playing him there also frees up an extra spot in attack which is partly why I think we were more fluent last night.)

 I like Seal and was surprised and disappointed when he was brought off. He's raw, but his pace, power and technique will make him a threat. Calderwood called it on the commentary: what he needs is the game intelligence to know when to make a run down the line and when to come in short. That will come with game time and coaching. Him and Chucks have a lot of potential to grow and develop this year.

                             

[west stand oap]

Explaining the substitution BAS for Smith at half time KC said BAS has had a slight injury and he was playing in moulded boots hence the number of times he lost his footing.

[Clarity]

Unusual reasons to get substituted part 1


Curle said: "He was annoying the life out of me because he kept slipping over! But he's been nursing a slight injury and he's had to wear moulded boots because of that."

[Manwork04]

Mostly been covered but a few observations after what was, a pretty fortunate but very welcome win!

1. Smith substitute. I thought when it was announced, it was a good move. Benny had beaten up his marker; Smith I thought would do it better and also hold the ball up. That defender was useless in the air and not very physically strong. It didn't work, obviously. But Id put that down to Swindon taking total control of the middle third of the pitch. Smith was isolated, as were the other forwards after around the 35-40 minute mark.
2. Marshall. Won us the game, at the end., with his corner flag play, ability to carry the ball forward etc. HAS TO START Saturday, he really has to!
3. Our current back line. It looks more than shaky. But its a new league for the Horse and Racic (when he plays). Hopefully they will settle down in time, they certainly have age on their sides. However Id love to see a 30-33year old warhorse (think Clarke Carlise) brought in to help Bolger organise things. Surely our number1 recruitment requirement. He could become the difference in what league we are in next season...
4. Chuck needs to be given a good run on Saturday, ahead of Smith. Not because of last night, but because....I just think hes a fantastic prospect and needs to be given some pro-longed opportunities and a platform to challenge those in the starting11.
5.  Id stick with Hoskins and Adams as our wingbacks. If Adams isn't fit, then Marshall should play there. If Adams is fit, then Marshall should start in the front3.
6. If the wingbacks are struggling to get forward and 'we are losing the midfield' Id like to see the middle of the park strengthened earlier (I was calling for Watson to come on after 50 minutes last night to rectify that issue but KC kept it as it was until they scored!) at the cost of one of the forwards. A forward three is great if you have the ball , but when you surrender the midfield territory, you end up effectively playing with 8 or 9 players. That happened last night after the first 35-40 minutes.

Drilling, I agree with all of that apart from the bit about Smith, when has he ever held the ball up well? In fact when has he ever played well? I can forgive a player for being sh1t but what I can’t forgive is a lazy attitude.

[BackOfTheNet]

Drilling, I agree with all of that apart from the bit about Smith, when has he ever held the ball up well? In fact when has he ever played well? I can forgive a player for being sh1t but what I can’t forgive is a lazy attitude.

I don't know what's going on with Smith. I know Curle said he has some personal stuff at the moment and he looks for all the world like a player whose mind is very much in a different place right now. I don't think he's a bad player (I just don't think he's a target man) but I don't think it's doing him (or anyone else) any favours to have him in the side right now. Personally, I think he should be left out of the firing line and hope that whatever the problem is gets resolved soon.

[Deepcut Cobbler]

Just watched the highlights, what a great goal our second was... So many good things about it... 

[Clarity]

I don't know what's going on with Smith. I know Curle said he has some personal stuff at the moment and he looks for all the world like a player whose mind is very much in a different place right now. I don't think he's a bad player (I just don't think he's a target man) but I don't think it's doing him (or anyone else) any favours to have him in the side right now. Personally, I think he should be left out of the firing line and hope that whatever the problem is gets resolved soon.

Think I saw something on Twitter about his Grandad in hospital with Covid

[Manwork04]

Think I saw something on Twitter about his Grandad in hospital with Covid

I hope his Grandad gets well soon, I just don’t buy that he can’t play and put 100% effort in because of this.

[Mysterious Curle]

I hope his Grandad gets well soon, I just don’t buy that he can’t play and put 100% effort in because of this.

I'm hoping for a quick recovery for his grandad also, but surely his grandad hasn't been in hospital with Covid for a year and a half?

[everbrite]

Drilling, I agree with all of that apart from the bit about Smith, when has he ever held the ball up well? In fact when has he ever played well? I can forgive a player for being sh1t but what I can’t forgive is a lazy attitude.

I like Smith but am disappointed with his game input especially last Tuesday. Have no real idea why he has failed to meet expectation.  All sort of issues have been raised from Personal to Poor service  to style of Play. Yet he did well at Macclesfield in a desperate situation. Having seen him play at Stevenage scoring with a powerful angled header fully expected him to kick on! He really should be showing the attitude and determination shown in the past. Some posters have now accused him of laziness or worse but not sure of that knee jerk reaction. Perhaps some sort of digital encouragement might help?