A few observations on yesterday. Firstly, off the pitch, I had the role of host on behalf of the Shrimpers Trust for our colleagues at the York City Supporters Trust; this was a really important thing for us to do as a thank-you for everything they did to raise money for our Hardship Fund last year. Justin Rees and Tom Lawrence also visited the Blue Boar before the game, and Tom also popped into the box, so many thanks to them for that, another example of the club beginning to do things the right way and recognising these types of things.
It was nice to hear the round of applause from both sets of supporters when our message was read over the public address system before kick-off, and showed that, although football is very tribal, especially during the 90 minutes, there’s a lot of mutual respect and appreciation amongst lower league and non-league supporters in particular.
As a result, I was watching the match in a more sanitised position in one of the boxes at Roots Hall rather than being amongst supporters, and with members of the YCST, so I probably gained a slightly different perspective on the game. The folks from the YCST were complimentary about how played, enjoyed the match (even before their late winner) and thought we possibly shaded it overall, although a draw would’ve been a fair result. They did identify that goalscoring is our major issue.
For me, there are a couple of key aspects that have contributed to a couple of disappointing home results. One is confidence. We lost momentum after the wins over Halifax and Eastleigh with the postponements, then lost at Chesterfield, so by the time Gateshead came around, we hadn’t won in a significant period of time. You can’t just switch confidence on and off, and it’s one reason why scoring the first goal at the moment is so crucial.
Harry Cardwell is a prime example of this. The chance he had in the first half against Gateshead, if he’d had that three months ago before his injury, he’d’ve taken because he was in form, scoring goals and sharp. At the moment, he’s not sharp, he hasn’t scored for a long spell and therefore he doesn’t take that chance.
But there are too many players at the moment playing without confidence that it has an impact on performances and results. So if we don’t take the few opportunities that arrive, they are amplified because there are fewer chances created. And that is magnified because, when you lack confidence, you don’t take a risk on making a run, or playing a more incisive pass, because you are fearful that if won’t work, and as a consequence you’re more likely to play a safe pass, or hold your position.
What Kev and the coaching staff will be focussing on is making sure players are in the correct mindset when they take to the field next Saturday, so I don’t expect wholesale changes, given that many of these players have proven they can perform very well at this level, and there are still limitations in terms of squad numbers anyway. It will just take one moment where Bridge beats his man, or Gus gambles at the back post, or one goes in off Cardwell’s backside and we’ll be back in business.
The one thing they may look to change is the balance of the team. Formations are fluid, but last weekend the balance up front wasn’t quite right with Cardwell and Dackers, who are fairly similar forwards; that was addressed, but at the expense of balance in midfield, where Miley, Morton and Husin don’t complement each other enough or provide enough attacking thrust.
Miley and Morton as a double-pivot in front of the back three might work against leading sides away from home, but it’s always likely to draw criticism at home where there’s more emphasis on being creative. Ideally at home, Miley or Morton play as that pivot, Husin or Coker in front of them to provide energy and passing through the thirds, then Fonguck or Wood, or possibly Sandat, in the role behind the forwards, linking the midfield to the front line. Shifting Husin further forwards to replace Fonguck negates his attributes, and doesn’t solve the problem of two midfielders who prefer to pick the ball up from deep and build play from there; either the midfield loses control as it’s over-stretched or the player in the advanced role is forced back and the forwards are isolated.
Miley would ordinarily be the first name on my teamsheet, so if Morton is as good as we hope, that will be a tough decision for Kev moving forwards, at home at least, in order to achieve the correct balance.
As for our league position, I can understand the anxiety. The ten-point deduction cannot be ignored; we would be in a completely different position with those ten points and it would mean we’d now be concerned that we were going to miss out on the play-offs, rather than dropping to the sixth tier. It does, however, mean that there will be a focussing of minds. There is more than enough ability in the squad, and they still have something to play for this season, which is to get enough points to mean we are launching a promotion push back into the league, and not the National League, next season. That’s something our friends at York, unfortunately, know all too much about. A win next weekend against a shell-shocked Oxford City would go a long way to rebuilding confidence not just amongst the fanbase, but amongst the squad.
