The Poolie Bunker

Centre backs - Does anyone else think that they are making too many costly errors right now? We barely made such mistakes last season but it seems that we are giving away goals on a fairly regular basis at the moment. Maybe the more familiar Antwi becomes playing alongside Nelson will help matters but im sure I cant be the only one with some concerns here. Antwi has looked a bit dodgy at times lately, maybe we should think about bringing Clark back?

Centre forwards - Yes, I know Barker has 3 penalties and Moore is off the mark too but as the Leeds fans picked up on yesterday, our forwards are not up to it, not if we are serious about getting into the Championship. I know that barker has his uses as a target man and he holds the ball up excelently but surely we need someone prolific alongside him. Im not saying Moore and Barker are rubbish, merely that if the club are serious about mounting a promotion push then we may need to consider a new striker. Foley has done well but again, can we really see him being prolific? Porter has looked a bit rusty at times but this may be due to the injury which he apparently is still carrying. Does anyone else think we could lose out this season if we dont strengthen in this department?

Individually we have 3 great if not brilliant centre backs. However it looks like Nelson and Antwi aint working as well as we hoped. Maybe it will come with more time? Id give Nelson and Clark a go and see how it goes, maybe will make Antwi realise he has to fight to keep his place as at the moment we play him whether injured or not.

Striker wise I think Barker should always be starting for us, we just need someone with him. Moore still doesnt do enough i n my opinion, would like to see Porter given a game with Barker.

I've said it many many times before but I'm going to repeat it. With Nelson & Antwi we have a re-run of the Nelson/Collins situation; they are almost identical players. Ben Clark gives us something different; a bit of pace and an attack minded player who is a great central defender. I'd far rather see Nelson/Clark or Antwi/Clark.

Up front I'm very worried. We need to give Porter a run in the team. Yes Moore is an industrious player but he doesn't know where the goal is.

Grave, I hear what you are saying but do you not think that if there was aplayer that we could pick up, there would be other clubs in for him?

We bid £150k for Duffy (by all accounts), but even if we matched the swansea offer, he made it clear that Swansea was his first choice.

Look at Kandol yesterday, scored against us a few years back playing for dagenham and yet he went to Darlo, who outed him, then went to Barnet before finally 'making it' at Leeds. It just doesn't happen overnight.

I just don't think there's an simple answer, although I do think it is time that Joel started games!

In this league if the centre backs let the ball go to ground then there are strikers around that will punish them - there weren't such strikers last season. My concern at the back was Elliott. There were a number of times in the first half when Elliott was nowhere near the left back slot and to be honest I don't know if he'd gone off for a cup of tea but he was nowhere to be seen. He certainly cost us the first goal. When Boland and Sweeney come back I would like to se Richie back at left back. In Elliotts defence he didn't get too much support from midfield at times.

Up front we don't seem to have an out and out goalcorer. Barker wins lots of knock downs and flick ons but nobody finishes the moves and he is prone to miss himself when the chance arrives. I thought we were much more dangerous when Joel came on as we were was much more fluid with Brown drifting across the front line. How we didn't get a couple of goals is beyond me.

BUT what great day and a great performance. If we play like that and have a bit of luck we will beat a lot of teams.

The transfer window is now open for short term loans and I would think that Danny has some targets in mind.

There's a lad called Boyd, doing not too badly at Orient,
but apparently we didn't want him

Centre Backs: Antwi is a going to be a very good player for Liverpool, perhaps for Spain/Ghana. However at the moment he is inexperienced and his decision making can sometimes be a bit suspect. Antwi and Nelson are similar players and they need someone to complement them. I think I voted for Ben Clark as POTY last season and he must be gutted not be in the team.

Up front...so far I've read Luton and Leeds fans say our forward line isn't up to scratch. I also seem to remember a Sheff Wed fan saying that our forwards are not as good as our midfield, even though a large part of the game was spent in our half. I agree with them, our forwards aren’t doing as well as our midfielder.

Barker: Good at penalties but so far he hasn't looked as clinical as last season. He's missed some easy chances.
Moore: Works hard, pressurises defenders and has scored two goals. But those two goals were from a yard out and apart from against Oldham he's never really looked the business for me.
Foley: Has barely played but when he's come on he's looked impressive. He made well be an impact player and when he came on early against Sheff Wed he didn’t do as well...but he can't stay an impact player forever, he'll need full games under his belt at some time to give him experience. He's capable of working things out for himself and learning how to play against strikers when they're not tired.
Porter: Looks a tad short of sharpness but when he's come on he's looked dangerous. Took his goal well at Oldham. Porter is obviously a good player but will need one or two FULL games to get used to playing again. Is Wilson prepared to give him a chance and stick with him for two full games?
Brown: Obviously a great player. I think he should stay on the wing as he lacks a bit of physical strength to play up front at the moment.
Mackay: Before anyone mentions him...he is still a long way for being ready for first team football. He needs to develop. Give him time.

So far we have:
2 Forwards: Moore, Barker.
3 Strikers: Porter, Foley and Mackay
Then a winger/striker Brown

My preferred combo would be Barker and Porter as Barker can hold up the ball and flick it on and Porter can make runs and read the flick ons.

Do we need to sign another striker?
Maybe...but seriously who is available? Wilson will know whose out there but there may be nobody. All teams need a striker that can bang in the goals. The teams with one will be desperate to hang onto one. Wilson found Duffy last season and he could find another striker in the Duffy mould capable of scoring the goals.

Edit Edit Edit.

Thats 4