Better late than never as they say. Ian was at Huish Park on Saturday and here are his Five Conclusions from a difficult afternoon in the sun.
We were outclassed. The gulf between two sides couldn’t have been more obvious. York’s squad has been very expensively assembled and the way they controlled the game was impressive. The way they passed at pace with one and two touch passes is everything we should aspire to be. We had no response for their runners as they methodically pulled green and white shirts out of position.
James Plant needed help. I get the back three with our current availability, but poor James Plant was left on toast by Joe Felix all day. It wasn’t until it was probably too late that Josh Sims moved over to the left to offer more protection than Junior Morias. Felix had the better of Plant repeatedly and Plant’s afternoon was summed up with the conceding of the penalty. Would we have been better as a back four with a left midfielder to double up on Felix? Probably. Would that have taken an attacking threat away? Probably. Would it have made any difference? Probably not.
Pic – Gary Brown
We look tired. Clearly having a small squad with injuries to key players increases the work load on these players and its showing. I thought our substitutes looked like they’d played the full 90 when they were on the pitch. With no back up in the fullback positions we’re asking a centre-back to come in do a job at right wing back, we’re asking Josh Sims – our most impressive attacking player this season – to cover off defensively when we need his impact higher up. Without Alex Whittle, Charlie Cooper and James Daly, this small squad of quality needs a top up sharpish.
Luke McCormick is quickly becoming my favourite. Since moving to centre midfield we’ve seen what a player we have in McCormick. Energy, running with the ball and a brilliant finish on Saturday shows he has goals in his game too….ahem. We need to protect him though, because if he has to come out of the team our midfield really is weakened. With Charlie Cooper still out and Finn Cousin-Dawson in the unenviable position of utility man, there is a lot of pressure on McMidfield to play the full 90 if matches are in the balance.
Pic – Gary Brown
We need to get this appointment sorted. I am all for patience. Hell, I was waiting two and half years for us to produce the kind of football we saw undo us on Saturday. But these players need direction, new ways or working and a bit of a rocket to get out of this funk. The next three matches are what I would consider winnable. We won’t just these players on York and Forest Green Rovers but if we’re going to be looking up rather than over our shoulders, Woking, Tamworth and Aldershot are the teams we must be competitive against.