That’ll do us

[Usher wide.]

Hanlan was MOM! He must be the clinical finisher!

He played well last night in terrible conditions. Not sure he was my MOTM but solid delivery and can be very pleased with his performance. Doesn't need him to be clinical in that role. If he's going to act as the hold-up player, we need others to be the clinical finishers/people running through.

Don’t agree.

If you just want your No.9 to hold the ball up & lay it off to ‘runners’ we might well have as just hung onto Joe Ironside.

We need a leader of the line who will score into double figures if we’re ever to get back to ‘the promised land’.

[danumdon]

Last night also showed how much we miss a player of Mols standard in the team, his interplay with Sterry and unpredictability was missing from a game that had little quality but the conditions and pitch didn't help.

The fact we kept another clean sheet and managed to subdue a team who are getting towards desperation point demonstrated how the team have grown over the season, the lack of a more potent strike force has set us back but you can only deal with the hand you have and we've managed that well since the turn of the year.

Plenty to build on.

[BillyStubbsTears]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

[Ldr]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

He’d be here a while.

[GazLaz]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

Think it pains him because it would mean he's admitting I was right!!

[Northants Nomad]

Hanlan was MOM! He must be the clinical finisher!

He played well last night in terrible conditions. Not sure he was my MOTM but solid delivery and can be very pleased with his performance. Doesn't need him to be clinical in that role. If he's going to act as the hold-up player, we need others to be the clinical finishers/people running through.

Don’t agree.

If you just want your No.9 to hold the ball up & lay it off to ‘runners’ we might well have as just hung onto Joe Ironside.

We need a leader of the line who will score into double figures if we’re ever to get back to ‘the promised land’.

Horses for courses. Crap pitch, awful conditions. Yes, arguably last night would very much have suited Joe.

[ncRover]

We need a striker who is something to aim for in the box next season as an alternative option to Hanlan IMO.

Can’t see much out there though as I’ve thought quite a few visiting teams have also lacked that this season. Maybe Frankie but do you take the injury risk?

Grant needs wide players with the potential to be goal threats too and I can’t see that from Middleton or Gibson at this level. Lisbie at Colchester?

Now that it’s obvious we’re going to be in League One next year we can crack on with contacting upcoming free agents and sorting out contracts.

[turnbull for england]

Watched on tele last night, Lee Turnbull was absolutely singing Hanlons praises as they came off  at half time. Holding ball up in those conditions against  two big solid units at the back and generally not letting them settle

[Usher wide.]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

Hanlan may well have been ‘awarded’ MOM by the club sponsors but if you’d really award him with it over Senior then you were watching a different game to me.

We need much, much better than Hanlan as our No.9 if we’re to progress to the next level & you’re right, I’ll never ‘let that go’.

[Ldr]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

Hanlan may well have been ‘awarded’ MOM by the club sponsors but if you’d really award him with it over Senior then you were watching a different game to me.

We need much, much better than Hanlan as our No.9 if we’re to progress to the next level & you’re right, I’ll never ‘let that go’.

I think everyone always watches a different game to you mate

[turnbull for england]

We all watch the same game , but it's interesting that it seems we watch it for different reasons. I'm not for the technical side , never have been .  It's more about the feeling.for me. Some watch to analyse in fine detail , and seemingly some come having decided who's not good enough and  a  perfect hat trick in first 10 mins every game for a month won't convince them otherwise.  Funny old game

[Usher wide.]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

Hanlan may well have been ‘awarded’ MOM by the club sponsors but if you’d really award him with it over Senior then you were watching a different game to me.

We need much, much better than Hanlan as our No.9 if we’re to progress to the next level & you’re right, I’ll never ‘let that go’.

I think everyone always watches a different game to you mate

You’d choose Hanlan over Senior as MOM?

[Plumbster]

I think we ask a very tough job of our front three- as a team, and midfield in particular, we rarely create any space for them- we either hit the channels with, at best, 50/50 balls or hit it long to them when they are  well marked and back to goal, and then expect them to create opportunities. That wasn’t always successful in L2 so it’s no surprise it’s tougher now, Billy has found it hard to make an impact all season and you can see Haks struggling now.  In the circumstances I think Hanlon and Luke in particular have worked miracles to get us to where we are now.

[jmt23]

He did ok, I would like him to be more selfish in front of goal. He had 3 good chances to get shots off, not from the best areas admittedly, but that sometimes works in your favour.

His hold up play is undoubtedly getting better, but the players who Grant expects to get the goals, Molly, Gibbo, Middleton,Haks and Lee isn’t working well enough. That has been the biggest reason we are where we are.

[Ldr]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

Hanlan may well have been ‘awarded’ MOM by the club sponsors but if you’d really award him with it over Senior then you were watching a different game to me.

We need much, much better than Hanlan as our No.9 if we’re to progress to the next level & you’re right, I’ll never ‘let that go’.

I think everyone always watches a different game to you mate

You’d choose Hanlan over Senior as MOM?

Last night? Yeah, ran his blood to water

[mugnapper]

Bookies have got it right tonight. You can get:

150/1 against us  going down
150/1 against us going up.

For those unfamiliar with Betting Odds can I simplify it thus:
If you stake £10 on us to get promoted at 150/1, you will lose £10.
However.....
If you risk £10 on us to get relegated at 150/1, you will also lose £10.
You're welcome.

[Barmby Rover]

We create more chances than any other team in the league according to GM, but we are not converting them. Hanlan is not the goal scorer for that job, so who is? It is a priority to recruit two strikers over the summer, the need to convert loanees into permanent signings will be a definite option too. I would love to see Byrne, Clark and Lee here next season.

[Alan Southstand]

For longer term investment, I’d prefer TLT over Clarke but money will play a part in that decision.

[jmt23]

Hanlan - in my opinion, was never bought in for goal scoring alone. The goal scorers are the wide men, and attacking midfielders in Grants current set up.
The problem being the goals from these areas have dried up this season.
We can all see it starting to work in bit parts, another season and with a bit of added quality, who knows what next year could bring.

[GazLaz]

Hanlan - in my opinion, was never bought in for goal scoring alone. The goal scorers are the wide men, and attacking midfielders in Grants current set up.
The problem being the goals from these areas have dried up this season.
We can all see it starting to work in bit parts, another season and with a bit of added quality, who knows what next year could bring.

If you want goals from wide areas why bring in Middleton? No history of goal scoring at all. He’s been a dreadful signing. Clifton another that hasn’t contributed enough goals for the positions he has got in.

[jmt23]

True, but I think he is there for a different purpose. I should say Middleton frustrates the heck out of me. Such a good left foot, but goes to pieces in front of goal, but he is the only wide man playing on his dominant side, so not asked to cut in and shoot .The others are, and haven’t.

Those goals from wide helped us win the league, they’ve all but disappeared.

[StocksArmy]

You can point blame at every player barring Bailey for not scoring enough this season. And probably even only Mols has a respectable amount of assists. But that doesn’t tell me Gotts has been an awful signing on that basis. It’s a collective. Think we are so hell bent on everything going through our wide players it stifles goals coming from anywhere else.

[GazLaz]

True, but I think he is there for a different purpose. I should say Middleton frustrates the heck out of me. Such a good left foot, but goes to pieces in front of goal, but he is the only wide man playing on his dominant side, so not asked to cut in and shoot .The others are, and haven’t.

Those goals from wide helped us win the league, they’ve all but disappeared.

Mols- 4
Gibson- 3
Middleton- 1
Haks- 1
Ajayi- 0

Non penalty goals from the wide men this season. It’s not enough, especially given the way that Grant wants his wingers to play. They are such a key part to the system.

If we don’t upgrade that department in the summer, we will struggle again. Problem is that 3 of them are still under contract next season.

[ncRover]

If you look at the history of McCann’s teams you often see the goals getting spread across the front three, with the wingers essentially being wide strikers who cut in on their stronger foot.

The exact opposite of Middleton who folds at the sight of goal and can only go on the outside. He is a limited player and doesn’t suit this system.

His midfielders don’t typically get that many goals they are there to graft.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

Hanlan may well have been ‘awarded’ MOM by the club sponsors but if you’d really award him with it over Senior then you were watching a different game to me.

We need much, much better than Hanlan as our No.9 if we’re to progress to the next level & you’re right, I’ll never ‘let that go’.

I thought both Senior and Pearson were contenders for MOM with the latter taking another no nonsense approach plus taking one in the face to ensure we kept the clean sheet.

Senior for me is getting better and better with his high energy approach to both attack and defense. His footballing brain is evolving with passes like the sublime touchline hugger at pace to Hanlan in the lead up to the goal (when he also put in the final cross). His link up play with Lee also caught my eye. Jack can play the game at a high tempo in a more controlled way now which opens up his potential.

Noticeable both he and Sterry are pushing further up lately. Maybe that's the confidence they have in Byrne and Pearson to hold the Fort.

Whilst Hanlan put in another good performance with some good touches and lay offs, much of his good stuff comes when he controls the ball first time however, there's still maybe too many where the ball gets away from him after a poor first touch. He did battle away though and made life difficult for the defenders. On his strike rate, I haven't enough confidence he's a natural scorer with little evidence he's comfortable heading for goal so he hasn't got the all round ability we need to score more goals.  That said, he has scored some tidy finishes and who knows where his own confidence levels are at, but he has improved with games.

[Iberian Red]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

Hanlan may well have been ‘awarded’ MOM by the club sponsors but if you’d really award him with it over Senior then you were watching a different game to me.

We need much, much better than Hanlan as our No.9 if we’re to progress to the next level & you’re right, I’ll never ‘let that go’.

I think everyone always watches a different game to you mate

You’d choose Hanlan over Senior as MOM?

Last night? Yeah, ran his blood to water

Got a sneaky feeling that  if Gazlaz gave the MOTM to Senior the flat earther would have have given it to Hanlan

[Alan Southstand]

Agreed on both Senior and Hanlan, DBR. We really have struggled in the goal scoring department this season and the somewhat erratic approach to our summer dealings left a lot to be desired. I think we’ll be having another, hopefully much improved, go at it this summer as we’ll probably see Billy retire. We simply have to find a much better alternative this summer.

Senior has been a bit of a revelation this season and has taken to L1 football really well. He has pushed Maxwell right out of the picture and I can see him moving on in the summer (Maxwell, that is).

[i_ateallthepies]

I thought the ref was shocking.

I thought Senior was excellent.

We need much better players coming into the club for next season.

We have no recognisable centre forward. Let’s be honest, we haven’t had all season. That needs to be addressed.

We’ll stayup in fact I wouldn’t discount a top half finish, but in order to get into the top six we need a good a clear out of the deadwood……& there’s plenty of it.

You won't let it go will you. Hanlan was superb in the first half last night and rightly MoM.

It's not a sign of weakness to admit you've got a call wrong

Hanlan may well have been ‘awarded’ MOM by the club sponsors but if you’d really award him with it over Senior then you were watching a different game to me.

We need much, much better than Hanlan as our No.9 if we’re to progress to the next level & you’re right, I’ll never ‘let that go’.

I thought both Senior and Pearson were contenders for MOM with the latter taking another no nonsense approach plus taking one in the face to ensure we kept the clean sheet.

Senior for me is getting better and better with his high energy approach to both attack and defense. His footballing brain is evolving with passes like the sublime touchline hugger at pace to Hanlan in the lead up to the goal (when he also put in the final cross). His link up play with Lee also caught my eye. Jack can play the game at a high tempo in a more controlled way now which opens up his potential.

Noticeable both he and Sterry are pushing further up lately. Maybe that's the confidence they have in Byrne and Pearson to hold the Fort.

Whilst Hanlan put in another good performance with some good touches and lay offs, much of his good stuff comes when he controls the ball first time however, there's still maybe too many where the ball gets away from him after a poor first touch. He did battle away though and made life difficult for the defenders. On his strike rate, I haven't enough confidence he's a natural scorer with little evidence he's comfortable heading for goal so he hasn't got the all round ability we need to score more goals.  That said, he has scored some tidy finishes and who knows where his own confidence levels are at, but he has improved with games.

Bit of a stretch to credit Pearson with intentionally taking one in the face to ensure the clean sheet.  Nobody intentionally puts their face in the way of a ball hit that hard, he knew nothing about it until it hit him.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Byrne was cramping up in his calf. Gave the signal he was ‘fine’, but GM didn’t risk it.

Crying out for a clinical finisher!

We didn’t create enough last night to warrant more than one goal.

Statistically probably not.  However we got very close to doing so with the final ball not quite the best.

[GazLaz]

Byrne was cramping up in his calf. Gave the signal he was ‘fine’, but GM didn’t risk it.

Crying out for a clinical finisher!

We didn’t create enough last night to warrant more than one goal.

Statistically probably not.  However we got very close to doing so with the final ball not quite the best.

Not even statistically. We were really lacking quality IMO, especially second half. Similar to Barnsley, the extra bit of solidarity has come at a trade off attacking wise. Fullbacks a bit less expansive, etc etc.

Think I mentioned before that I would like to see a bit more positivity now the pressure is off a bit. Three games in a row we’ve produced very little, I wouldn’t want the performances to fizzle out to nothing now we are safe.