Home v the Gills 29.12.20

[everbrite]

Which for me is a travesty. He's proved his fitness, if we can afford his wages, him and Sheehan should be the first two names on the team sheet.

Your judgement is amiss CJ - Holmes has not played well enough imo to justify inclusion in the starting X1 let alone the bench.

[the grumpy old man]

I thought we played well tonight, even Benny played well, and I have to say I have not been impressed by him in game's past, hopefully he is now finding his feet in L1. Lloyd Jones slotted in well, and Sheehan made a big difference too, although I am not sure why he came off, unless it was to preserve him for Saturday and the challenge of Sunderland.

I was also disappointed to see Rose come off as he was working his socks off in both attack and defence, he should have had two more goals though.

As for Oliver, I didn't really notice him.

Let's hope we can play like that Saturday, Sunderland may be a big club but they are no great shakes.

[Deepcut Cobbler]

Those querying Mitchells positioning for the FK, where should he have been standing?

[Deepcut Cobbler]

I thought we played well tonight, even Benny played well, and I have to say I have not been impressed by him in game's past, hopefully he is now finding his feet in L1. Lloyd Jones slotted in well, and Sheehan made a big difference too, although I am not sure why he came off, unless it was to preserve him for Saturday and the challenge of Sunderland.

I was also disappointed to see Rose come off as he was working his socks off in both attack and defence, he should have had two more goals though.

As for Oliver, I didn't really notice him.

Let's hope we can play like that Saturday, Sunderland may be a big club but they are no great shakes.

Didn't someone say that Sheehan hobbled/limped off?

[andycobbler]

Your judgement is amiss CJ - Holmes has not played well enough imo to justify inclusion in the starting X1 let alone the bench.
Disagree, Holmes is a game changer. I think the only reason he's playing a camio is because of his contract. He'll come to the fore when required.

[Coolcat]

View from the opposition. Apologies for the photos...not so much the Fat Lady singing as screaming down the touchline!

Kent Online: Northampton 3 Gillingham 1: Gills lose out to strugglers.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/sport/northampton-town-v-gillingham-match-report-239905/

[guest2995]

Sheehan is the new Macca .
He holds the side together and is the leader .
He won’t let players like Bolger coast and we look a different proposition with him in the side .
Great win tonight and Curle must be relieved .

[GrangeParkCobbler]

Win when there's no fans, we only win when there's no fans, win when there's nooooo fans.....

[guest3338]

Didn't someone say that Sheehan hobbled/limped off?

It looked to me like he was struggling with his left knee just before he came off, but he also had his wrist bandaged.

[guest3338]

Thing is that Holmes is in no way a "Curle type of player".......yes he was first on the teamsheet under Wilder and his style of play suited ours. Holmes would be chastised by this manager for going on a mazy run taking on players and firing into the top corner from 25 yards ala Stevenage away!

Ricky went in the Chron and said he was ready to take the shackles off and show us more of his 2015/16 style of play.....seems that Curle has stuck a few more padlocks on those shackles since!!

It does doesnt it 

[guest3338]

Your judgement is amiss CJ - Holmes has not played well enough imo to justify inclusion in the starting X1 let alone the bench.

I disagree Mr Curle 

[everbrite]

I disagree Mr Curle 

both of us cannot be right

[everbrite]

Some thoughts.

1. IMO, wing-back is Hoskins' best position. His pace, his capacity to carry the ball and his ability to harry and press from a defensive perspective are are all attributes which are best deployed at WB. His final ball and decision making still leaves a lot to be desired at times, but this is less of an issue when playing at WB.

2. Playing Hoskins at WB means that Curle picked three genuine central midfielders for perhaps the first time this season. It was really refreshing to see us line up in a coherent, recognisable system (3-5-2/5-3-2) rather than the strange pseudo-3-4-3 bollocks we've seen far too often this year. Everyone was playing more or less in their favoured position, with no real square pegs in round holes. You could see the difference that this kind of tactical simplicity makes in the vastly improved performances of players like Seal, Rose and Watson. Seal and Rose looked so much better as a conventional partnership rather than running the channels as wide forwards in a three. Curle needs to stick with the proper 3-5-2 and sign some more quality in key positions such as wing-back, central midfield and up front. I thought Jones had a good game. At 25 he still has time to develop.


3. Having said that, we STILL sat back far too much in the second half. A better side that Gillingham would have punished us. We lack composure in midfield and we lack an 'out ball' other than hoofs into the channels - both of which are problems which Curle needs to address in the window.

Priority signings for me are:

1. Composed midfielder/playmaker type who can put his foot on the ball and enable us to keep possession
2. Wing-back with pace who can carry the ball and provide an 'out-ball' in addition to a bit of defensive nous (hopefully Mills will eventually prove to be the answer on the left, but we probably need a right-sided equivalent to challenge Hoskins)

Agree with most of this and some genuine thought has gone into the message. The identification of giving the ball away so cheaply/often, a right sided player and good standard fwd to compliment/imrove the goals scored ratio are decent practical comments.

[guest3264]

For the first time all 3 team units performed in the same match.

The back 3 communicated well (especially Sheehan) and did the simple things well.

The 3 midfielders (especially McWilliams) harried and then carried on occasions to the front two.

For the first time this season the 2 strikers combined with good movement and used the service provided well.

Now the hardest aspect, be consistant and repeat the performance against Sunderland!

If all fit , please KC select the same team, without any tinkering!

[1HorshamCobbler]

Well summarised by Boring Bar, I thought it was probably our best performance of the season. If we could just get Mills back and keep Sheehan fit then we could have a chance with hopefully some additions to come.

[1971cobbler]

I dont know Melbourne. Maybe TP is correct and Curle is doing him a favour by putting him on at the end so he can claim his match fee. If that is the case though I fear we might not see Ricky on the New Year?

Is that because you think that his contract might not be extended?

I have been wondering whether it is Holmes himself who's said he won't renew.

Think about how it would look for KC if he opted against the extension of a contract for our talisman, given our performance levels?

[Manwork04]

I will be pleasantly surprised if Sir Ricky of Holmes signs.
Sheehan made a huge difference at the back organising, as did getting Horsfall out of the team.
Good win last night.

[Carton Lid]

Was the 3rd guy on the commentary REALLY from Radio Kent, I thought he had dropped in from Barcelona, when he was describing all this cultured football being played by the team in blue. The game I watched was 2 teams playing a very similar style and, of course, we had the usual from the opposition "Northampton are a big physical team" when only Jones, Bolger and BAS would actually be described as "big"
     

[Winslow Lee]

2 things going forward, maybe it was a one off last night but I’d at least like to see us try:
1) continue with 3 in midfield
2) not have to have a ‘big lump’ at top.

[Tabasco Kid]

Was the 3rd guy on the commentary REALLY from Radio Kent,

Yeah he was. his name is Paul lloyd. He was the summariser providing the info. I have to agree with you though, some of his comments were a little odd. And monotone, he sounds like Holly off Red Dwarf. At least Terry Angus showed enthusiasm.