Tyrone Shoelaces

That’s big for a full back. Big guys don’t turn well. I’ll wait until I’ve seen him play but not many centre halves made good full backs.

Watching him playing against Kargbo will be interesting. Kargbo will be faster running backwards.

It was like losing two players in one. He’d have been perfect for the modern game.

That really is the issue. Get a very solid back four and two wingers who can make things happen and we’ll be no worse off. The secret is in getting those players in.

I remember that cup tie at Leicester JRC had that Harvey Barnes in his back pocket and we were cruising. JRC comes off, Brittain comes on in his place and Barnes ran him ragged. Leicester were shovelled the ball out to his wing. Another 5-10 mins and that game would have gone. A good attacking player who could usually put in a good ball, but for that he wouldn’t have been seen as good enough to get in the team as a pure defender. Keith Newton he wasn’t. Or Henning Berg or Kevin Hird etc etc.

There are basically two types of players - those who play to get you on top in the game and then there are those that play when the first type of players have got you on top. Buckley belongs in the second category.

Too right. If we don’t learn to balance aggression with a bit of grit and determination the Ashes will be staying in Australia.

We seem to produce players like this all the time. Very average. See Scott snd Hackney. They can do the basics but none of them have that game changing “ X “ factor that Wharton has.

He looks pretty ordinary to me. Another one who can run a bit, pass the ball a bit, tackle a bit, head it a bit, have a shot from time to time, look busy. if he wasn’t English nobody would be commenting on him. Wharton is twice the player he is. Wharton can make things happen.

Most of these players have been benefitting from professional coaching for the last 15 years of their lives and more yet they can’t be trusted to land a ball in the danger zone. The mind boggles !

Hackney looked deeply average to me whenever I’ve seen him playing for the young England team.

We have to play the guy who we bought to replace Brittain. The guy who came on yesterday at half time. If not why did we sign him ? Montgomery at right back is a ticking time bomb. You wouldn’t see a tackle like that yesterday on your local rec. I had the sound off on my TV and I thought he was grabbing the lad because the ref had blown up for something. WBA’s coaching staff will have watched yesterdays game and will be targeting him from the off.

We’ve got a board ? Wow. Who are the lucky people ?

The ball was crying.

Yeah I saw it live, a very similar situation.

Montgomery at right back after yesterday ? De Neve instead of Kargbo ?

Toth ?

Poor defending though. Two players tackle each other then the guys at the back must have been saying - “ just come inside and have a pop with your good foot “

Much as I rate Beck as a left back the lad Liverpool signed from Bournemouth is a better prospect. He’s got what Beck has got but more of it.

We were chasing shadows for 3/4 of the game. All their players were technically accomplished, fit and faster than us. Pass and move off either foot. Play in to runners. We play walking football, they played running football.

If it’s a battle against similar players they’re ok. When they come up against footballers like they did yesterday they get bypassed too easily. The question is how many teams will we come up against that are as slick as NEC ?

Van Basten was.

Much as I like Travis and Tronstad as individual players playing both of them together it makes us a very defensive and unthreatening team to play against. It’s really rare that either of them gets up to support the lone striker, never mind getting beyond them.

With Crohns disease ?

He did well apart from dispensing with the wall that allowed their player to fire in a 30 yard thunderbolt that spanked his left hand post with him nowhere.