the grumpy old man
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I spent some time on the PV forum last night and at least one of their contributors was saying that we would be weakened without Hoskins playing. It seems to be a common theme among opposition fans that Sam is one of our better players. He is much admired by commentators also, so it seems Sam is loved by everyone but us. I personally would like to see him back in the team sooner rather than later, but don't ask me who should drop out.
I thought the game was ok and it was good to finally get a win in our first home game of the season. Pinnock was my mom but no-one really played badly especially considering it was the first time they have played a proper game together. I though Kabamba had dived and the goalie never touchéd him but everyone else, including James Heneghan thought it was a foul so I won't argue on that.
What was weird was that I had not seen any of the 11 players live before, thanks to Covid, and I guess that was the same for most people.
Here's to a good season.
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west stand oap
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Boy how different people see players performances in a different light, you would not think that we were at the same game. This is my view on each player:- Roberts, I first saw him in our defeat at Walsall when Austin was manager and he was very young and was impressed and thought he had good future prospects. When we signed him I was surprised by Walsall's fans negative comments (poppadom hands etc) and that he was not going to be their first choice 'keeper. Perhaps he needed a new club to get on an upward curve again but in the 3 games I have seen him he has done nothing to change my original opinion. McGowan, Surprised at some of the low ratings on here and comments that he will be found out by a speedy winger as this would be the case with most division 2 full backs including the popular Buchanan. Realistically we were not getting another Kioso but so far the 3 times I have seen him he has put in acceptable performances. Horsfall, Continues his good form of last season and will be a key player, remember some on here questioning his signing when we got him from Macclesfield. Guthrie, Looks solid and should form a reliable partnership with Horsfall. Mills, I like the way he tries to cut out the pass to the opposition winger instead of waiting to win it off him in the tackle. Good track record in this division with FGR. Lewis, Grew into the game yesterday and not a player who is going to give stand out performances. I think he will be battling Sowerby and maybe Pollock for a place. Flores, So far has not really impressed and has not shown the goal threat we heard about. Think McWilliams will take his place in the starting 11. Connolly, His pace will cause problems for opposition defenses although his close control sometimes lets him down by playing the ball too far in front of himself and giving the defender a chance to intercept. There is a comment on here that he was woefull yesterday and Koiki was great when he came on giving Brady an easy choice. Koiki is not going to replace Connolly on the right as he is a left sided player. Connolly's place will be more under threat when Hoskins is fit. Pinnock, Strikes me as a Nicky Adams type of wide man with more of a goal threat. We appear to try to get the ball to whenever possible and maintains possession and uses the ball well, also done some good defensive work yesterday. Kabamba, Wins a lot of ball, holds it up well and lays it off effectively. A good signing but not sure how prolific he will be. BAS, Pleased that he got his goal and hope it gives him added confidence. I think he is probably only in the starting 11 at the moment due to Rose only recently recovering from covid and Etete only just joining. McWilliams, Looked back to his best when he came on and will quickly be reinstated to the starting 11. Rose, Engaged PV's defense more when he came on and is the type of player who will win us a lot of free kicks. Can he regain his Mansfield form where he was usually good for 10-12 goals a season? Koiki, Did very well in his cameo, caused their defense problems with his direct running and close ball control. My only question would be where do we fit him into the side? Overall I do not us struggling but I wonder if we will score enough goals to mount a promotion challenge.
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Knockingonabit
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Right in front of me Grumpy, blatant trip by the keeper.
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Charlatan
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Right in front of me Grumpy, blatant trip by the keeper.
It certainly was.
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DrillingCobbler
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Really enjoyed it, and contrary to a lot of views I've read on here saying it was a typical first game of the season, I felt it was the total opposite! The game was very stretched throughout, both teams were trying everything to get the upper hand on the other side by means of 'dark arts' (maybe I'm biased but I thought Vales gamesmanship was almost at the levels of a Cowley brothers team and not far off Forest Green a few seasons back when Williams scored right at the end). The guy that went down holding his face after receiving a petulant shove in the back from Guthrie...that bordered on the worst CHEATING I've seen at this level of football. Shocking. That type of stuff should be proper tackled, ban him for 3 games, then it would stop immediately. Anyway, rant over!
Lots of positives, a few negatives but Hamster hit the nail on the head...without knowing how good/bad/indifferent Vale are at the minute, its very difficult to make any assessment based on one game!
I did think that Guthrie could have utilised the acres of space better though. Also, McWilliams has to be fast tracked into the starting line up. At this level he's an utterly class act and it showed when he came on yesterday. I also think the forgotten man (Sowerby) will be a force at this level, so our midfield options are really strong. I'd utilise Kioki as an impact player for now, but it wont be long before he's starting matches if he continues to impress like he has during pre-season and in his cameo yesterday. My only change in the starting line up next week would be McWilliams for one of the two new midfielders who played yesterday. Bas wasn't great but he scored, and will be full of confidence...
Pick of our players for me were Pinnock and Kabamba. I had concerns that a 4-4-2 with two out and out wingers would leave us lightweight, it rarely ever works. Those concerns though were unproven when it quickly became apparent that Pinnock's work rate is absolutely phenomenal! I've not seen a wide player track back like he did yesterday since 'Larry' Grayson, and with that in mind Hoskins may have a real fight to get into this team. After a slow start, Kabamba really grew into it and that little flick which drew a foul and a free kick just outside the box in the 2nd half was a moment of skill we rarely see from a Cobblers player. It wasn't the only time either! He also has incredible work rate and desire which I'm sure will make him a crowd favourite.
All in all. Great start to the season and Im looking forward to seeing how we kick on in the coming weeks. Final point. We looked really fit for a first game; Brady and co clearly got the balance right with the pre-season training stuff, and had them ready and raring to go!
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E-Cobbler
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A solid performance pretty much from front to back but with it being first game of the season its just nice to get 3 points, other than that who knows. Do feel like we have the base of an exciting squad but probably not one that will challenge right at the top.
Only thing I felt was very apparent was that there is no chance we go the season playing 4-4-2 with those two in midfield. We’ll get overrun easily against even half decent teams that stick an extra man in the middle. Thought they both looked incredibly slow.
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Coolcat
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Thought Roberts was safe, calm and assured...nice to actually have a keeper between the sticks! Loved Kabamba...skill, work rate and attitude. Koiki was absolutely immense for his short stint towards the end. Rarely see, power, skill and conviction combined in one player at this level. Running at the defence, then agile to get past them...Curle would have quickly put an end to that nonsense!
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Terryfenwickatemyhamster
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Thought Roberts was safe, calm and assured...nice to actually have a keeper between the sticks! Loved Kabamba...skill, work rate and attitude. Koiki was absolutely immense for his short stint towards the end. Rarely see, power, skill and conviction combined in one player at this level. Running at the defence, then agile to get past them...Curle would have quickly put an end to that nonsense!
Totally agree about Koiki. Looked like he could cause trouble for L2 defences.
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OCoole
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Those concerns though were unproven when it quickly became apparent that Pinnock's work rate is absolutely phenomenal! I've not seen a wide player track back like he did yesterday since 'Larry' Grayson Agreed, although I would also like to throw in the name of one of my favourite ever Cobblers players, Andy Holt, into the ring of hard-working wide players! Maybe Pinnock too will one day make the strange journey down the pitch to left back and then centre back
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guest2995
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Interesting to learn that it was planned to close the keeper down who likes to play from outside his box . Mission accomplished .
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EB Claret
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Enjoyable first game, ok we weren't brilliant but just great to be back at the ground, and we won! This team can improve a lot yet but there were some encouraging signs. Yes! we may now have a goalkeeper, Roberts wasn't worked hard but looked competent. The two centre backs already seem to have an understanding, Horsfall MMOTM. Only criticism would be they passed long too often, maybe because our centre mids were outnumbered. In that midfield I also thought Flores looked slow but showed one or two nice touches, Lewis improved as the game went on and I think enjoyed playing along side Shaun McW. Connolly is fast but erratic, Pinnock looks a real player, works hard, is calm on the ball and displayed more subtlety than all the other players combined. Neither BAS or Kabamba look comfortable trying to win high balls with defenders at their backs, they need balls to their feet or in behind. Kabamba got better as the game went on and worked really hard. The goal should do BAS a world of good (prove us all wrong Son!) We started slowly but the goal brought us to life, wish we were a bit braver on the ball, pass a bit more and mix that up with direct balls to the front men. No complaints about the substitutions made, all had an effect and Koiki looked genuinely exiting. So, overall reasons to be cheerful (Pt.1)
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everbrite
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Connolly was woeful, no argument there. His set pieces were Sunday league stabdard . Koiki was far more effective,easy choice next game for Brady.
Thought that Connolly was in effect a right winger whilst Koiki performed a sort of centre left in midfield? What I can't understand for the first game of the season how split opinion was, some of hope for the coming season and also some unnecessary negative comment. Not only on MaGowan but also on Connolly and even Guthrie! As pointed out by the wiser heads it was decent first effort by the X1 selected and with the substitutions there was some genuine promise. In the case of Connolly he was man marked by their number 3 who stuck to his task with some not inconsiderable persistence. This type of man marking was quite effective as it certainly limited Connolly to very few chances to impress. It also limited their No 3 to a somewhat negative role in his teams overall performance.
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2020 Grand National S/S 3rd Place
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everbrite
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Right in front of me Grumpy, blatant trip by the keeper.
Yes silly foul and as at least two Port Vale commentators said gave the ref no option but send him off.
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2020 Grand National S/S 3rd Place
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Melbourne Cobbler
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Following a bit of a c0ck up on the ifollow front I finally got to watch the game. With such a high turnover of players the understanding/team spirit thing is always going to be a challenge, but I was really happy with how it went. I thought we were good value for the win and think we are going to do well this season on that showing. A couple of players struggled to find their feet so to speak but that is to be expected, I don’t think it’s reasonable to demand everyone performs to 7/10, not in the first game. For me Kabamba is perhaps our best forward signing since Morton, loads of potential to do some damage at this level. McWilliams is a must start though in the holding role. Looking forward I am really interested to see what our plan B will be with this squad, Curle was always a one trick pony but given the experience in the management team I’m expecting significant improvement on that score.
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Not a real supporter but unelected chair of the Northampton Town Honorary Supporters Club. (Please note: any opinions given may not necessarily be shared by proper supporters. In incidents of conflict the views of real supporters shall take precedence).
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BackOfTheNet
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At the weekend I thought nothing of the sending off as it just looked a nailed on red card, but looking at the pitch side video the club have just posted off the incident I'm not so sure it should have been - there's a defender absolutely caning it back who might well have been able to get between Kabamba and the goal.
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The Hotelend Grand National* Sweepstake Champion 2020
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Irchy cob
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At the weekend I thought nothing of the sending off as it just looked a nailed on red card, but looking at the pitch side video the club have just posted off the incident I'm not so sure it should have been - there's a defender absolutely caning it back who might well have been able to get between Kabamba and the goal.
We probably benefited from the fact that it took place right in front of the West Stand with fans (including myself) baying for a Red Card - it probably influenced a referee who was taking part in his first league match. It would have been interesting to see what the decision might have been if it had been an empty stadium.
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guest2995
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Made sweeter because the goalkeeper’s agent had been pushing him to come to our club in pre season . on another note - how did BAS get into the team of the week ? Apart from the goal he was poor and it was no surprise he got replaced .
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west stand oap
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I think it was a clear red card as when Kabamba was pulled down there was no defender directly between him and the goal. As for why was Benny in the starting 11 there was really no other choice. Rose had been isolating and had not featured much in the pre season games, if he had started he would have played 90 minutes. Etete had only just arrived and if he was to take any part in the game it would have been off the bench and Chukwuemeka never gets in the starting 11. With Rose approaching full fitness I wouldn't be surprised if he started at Colchester as he keeps the ball better and wins us a lot of free kicks so Benny's goal may not keep him in the team.
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Manwork04
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Made sweeter because the goalkeeper’s agent had been pushing him to come to our club in pre season . on another note - how did BAS get into the team of the week ? Apart from the goal he was poor and it was no surprise he got replaced .
BAS team of the week 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
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Rule Britannia
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Irchy cob
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Made sweeter because the goalkeeper’s agent had been pushing him to come to our club in pre season . on another note - how did BAS get into the team of the week ? Apart from the goal he was poor and it was no surprise he got replaced .
I thought that all 3 of the substitutions improved us - Rose must be a pain in the a**e to play against and some of his antics are frustrating but he is generally effective. A bit of a lower league Jack Grealish!
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