We are fast approaching halfway through the season and I can see promising things based on the last few matches. First of all our strikers Josh Gordon and Caolan Lavery have started to look like a well combined attacking force and they have also started to produce goals thanks to this.
Why it has taken so long into the season for us to see this pair is due to natural reasons. First, Lavery was injured in pre-season and due to this, he’s been forced to catch up a bit to be on the same fitness level as his teammates. Secondly, we haven’t got our midfield sorted out I feel. We have been a bit too much sideways and not so much going forward. Third, we have been too low in our positions. In the last few matches, we have had a higher line of engagement and pressed higher up in the field causing the opponent losing the ball and we can break the play against an opponent who is on their way forward and is not defensively organised making our wingers able to put crosses into the box where we now have two strikers.
Earlier in the season we won the ball on our own half and didn’t go forward and let the opponents come back a reorganise defensively causing our strikers to not find space and was forced wide in an attempt to have the ball which then leads to having not enough players in front of goal.
One more contribution to our more promising attacking play could be down to Wes McDonald who been very attacking his wing and the introduction of youngster Alfie Bates in midfield. He has shown very promising things when he played and often been our best midfielder.
I hope Darrell Clarke get his team to focus on what they have done good in the last few matches and keep rising the standard of play. If we are able to do this we will climb the table. It might not end with a playoff place but it creates a winning mentality within the squad and the fans will hopefully be filled with a much more positive mindset when we leave the ground after 90 minutes. The buzz that was among us fans in the summer needs to come back. In order to do that we need to get a much better experience when go watching the club, we love and support.
What I want to see in the upcoming matches is our lowest point must be raised, we need more consistency because when we are good we are really good but when we are bad we are really bad. We need to be really bad less of the time and become pretty good or really good more.
One other thing I want to see is a player in midfield who can show the same signs as Bates have done. We need someone who can step into his shoes when he needs a rest. Yes, he should be played as much as possible but he is young and should not be overplayed and when he is rested we need someone to come in and take his place.
Creativity in midfield is maybe one area I feel we lack players in. We have Guthrie but he seems to be able to play one match and then he’s out for a few matches which are not good enough. Maybe Clarke needs to strengthen the midfield with one more creative player with a more attacking mindset. We need more forward passes and not players passing sideways or backwards which more defensively minded players might have as default style of play. Those we have plenty of already.
With just less than an hour until I bench my self in front of the computer to watch the Stevenage match on iFollow, I have a good feeling. I hope our players turn up in their best possible way today and give us an entertaining +90 minutes.
Stevenage is last in the league at the moment with nill wins away. We don’t have many teams below us in the table and this is a match we have to win. We struggled against Darlington and for a while against Cambridge but I still predict a win for Walsall, 3-1.
Goals from Gordon, Lavery and Kinsella.
Be the first to comment