Today

[Isaac]

Everyone did look more comfortable in a 4-4-2. I thought Foster was very good, the best thing you could say is that he's similar to Pettefer in style and didn't give ball away.

My concern would be that a midfield of Anaclet, Pettefer, Foster and Rose is, to say the least, on the small side. Hargreaves is obviously useless as a footballer but at least he wins the odd header. I think our vulnerability/lack of threat at set pieces is related - how many of our XI are good in the air? I'd say Gilchrist, Hargreaves, Duffy and possibly Corocan (although he was at fault for the goal I think), I think this is one of the biggest problems, apart from an inability to shoot straight. I'd still rather have good footballers than Atkins style monsters though.

Quinn looked better at right back than in the centre. I didn't think Brevett was as bad as others say, but then I've always thought he looks ok

[Matt D]

i remember reading the view of someone on the conference message board when we were on our winning run, who wondered how we'd cope in the latter stages of the seasons when teams came for a point and kicked you to get it. i guess we're finding out now.

with that rationale it was a better performance, and given that if we're to get anything out of this season now i feel we need to have an optimistic attitude, hopefully a first step back towards some form. enough of a rush of blood to lead me to buy an aldershot ticket afterwards, anyway.

the only things i have to add to what's been said is that i was also impressed with foster's ability to deliver a cross or dead ball - which pettefer doesn't usually do. it was noticeable he has clearly been given responsibility for these straightaway.

did anyone watch johnson warm up before the game? the only player we had out there who was consistently putting well hit shots on target, away from the keeper, and into the corners of the goal. i said before the one thing that i liked about johnson being moved into the middle of midfield is that he's around the box to take shots. with him on the left of midfield, we don't have to rely on him having the legs to get up to the opposition penalty box so much to have a shot. probably not a view shared by others i guess given the criticism of him on here.

[Ancient Colin]

I'm a bit surprised that no-one's being a bit critical of Rose. I do find it astonishing that he was on a pro contract at ManUre given his apparent inability to do basics (like pass), never mind whether or not he's lightweight.

[DLT]

I hope I have hinted at similar thoughts AC.

The ManUre fans in my office tell me he was never on any radar of theirs at all. And the sods spend have their timeon ManUre websites.

To compare him to young Arsenal reserves of similar age, Denilson, Song or Diaby and you would think that Mr Ferguson has big problems brewing.

Personally I cannot wait for Hutchison to get fit because he has to be better than we have seen from him so far.

[Mooro]

A few questions and comments on what others have said -

How did Rose do on the left? - I'm inclined to agree with the last couple of posters who have been a little underwhelmed by his influence to date, but wonder whether left midfield is the place for him. What is his delivery like from out there?

RHS - I'm inclined to think Quinn at RB is a safer option at the moment while we get used to 442 again. Was going to query whether Eddie is a good enough defender to play as a pure RB, but was interested in his interview on the club site saying that is where he wants to play...

LB - Both Brevitt and johnson will benefit from distinct roles on the left rather than the LWB hybrid, not sure there is anyone in the youths ready to come in yet anyway(Ben Weedon is out for the season).

Duffy - what were we expecting from him at the start of the season? I'm inclined to think his goal return (penalties or not) is a plus given the low expectations we had back in August, rather than a let down.

Grebis - not his fault that the club didnt watch him live, but as the agent concerned has provided some decent leads to Smith in the past, then why shouldn't he trust his opinion if he wants to? Also how many opportunities would they have had for someone to go see him, given it was his close season and it sounds like he was trialling at other clubs before we got a chance? I think it is perfectly reasonable to take him out of the firing line and give him a couple of games in the reserves (tonight &amp next Monday) to find his feet by when he might be able to come back in and have more of an influence in the first team.

Signings - not so much scattergun or badly aligned sights, as perhaps not enough ammunition. No issue with a 4th CB, given Gilly's susceptibility to missing games &amp Gunn's inexperience. Foster too, Conference experience amongst the youngsters in the middle could be very important. Coombs I think will be versatile too so no real complaints with who came in (or Dempster leaving). Of course there remains a gap on the left (hence my query over Rose's suitability for playing out there) and I would have thought that somewhere in the top couple of tiers of non-league there would have been some left-sided whippet who can put in a decent cross at least some of the time and would be happy to come take a chance with us on next to nothing, to at least offer an option out there - but who knows.

Still - first outing with 442 and seemingly a more upbeat conclusion, so with another couple of weeks to work on it in training, maybe some hope of having settled into it by the run of games due in March. Catching D&ampR may be a tall order, but if this system can deliver a few wins and a return to some sort of form/threat, then staying in the top 5 and posing a threat in the playoffs is not beyond the realms of possibility.

One final question - did anyone else watching the Sky game see them flash up a caption indicating Rufus had acquired his fifth booking of the season? If so, should he not have been suspended for yesterday?

[ty cobb]

Whilst I agree with many of these comments and I find it hard to get too excited about a draw at home to a team down to 10 men who we beat 3-0 earlier in the season there were signs of improvement.

However, I don't understand all the complaints Duffy gets both during the game and on here afterwards. Yes he had a bad game on Sat but I didn't think he gave up at all. As a striker it must be very frustrating to spend the whole game winning headers when no-one gets onto them and having no chances created for you.

Someone said about how many of his goals coming from set pieces. I would point out that when he gets the chance on the whole he takes it. Robinson hasn't looked like scoring since he's been here yet people are talking about swapping him for the one goalscorer in our team - crazy!

He seems to becoming the boo-boy for many people, what a good way to keep his confidence high when going through a differcult spell.

For someone who is so strong in the air the lack of crosses coming into the box is unbelivable, find Burgess may not be going through the best of times at the moment but playing Rose out left seemed very odd to me. I'd rather Johnson or the new bloke from Cardiff.

[Kernow Yellow]

However, I don't understand all the complaints Duffy gets both during the game and on here afterwards. Yes he had a bad game on Sat but I didn't think he gave up at all. As a striker it must be very frustrating to spend the whole game winning headers when no-one gets onto them and having no chances created for you.

Someone said about how many of his goals coming from set pieces. I would point out that when he gets the chance on the whole he takes it. Robinson hasn't looked like scoring since he's been here yet people are talking about swapping him for the one goalscorer in our team - crazy!

He seems to becoming the boo-boy for many people, what a good way to keep his confidence high when going through a differcult spell.

Couldn't agree more. I thought Duffy showed with his (first) goal celebration at Grays what he thought of being constantly slagged off by our self-proclaimed 'brilliant' fans.

And, as I have said before, there is no-one else in our squad likely to score goals like that one - certainly none of the so-called strikers.

The fans complaints remind me of Atkins' verdict on some player or other - I forget who: 'We don't need to sign him - all he does is score goals'.

[Resurrection Ox]

However, I don't understand all the complaints Duffy gets both during the game and on here afterwards. Yes he had a bad game on Sat but I didn't think he gave up at all. As a striker it must be very frustrating to spend the whole game winning headers when no-one gets onto them and having no chances created for you.

Someone said about how many of his goals coming from set pieces. I would point out that when he gets the chance on the whole he takes it. Robinson hasn't looked like scoring since he's been here yet people are talking about swapping him for the one goalscorer in our team - crazy!

He seems to becoming the boo-boy for many people, what a good way to keep his confidence high when going through a differcult spell.

Couldn't agree more. I thought Duffy showed with his (first) goal celebration at Grays what he thought of being constantly slagged off by our self-proclaimed 'brilliant' fans.

And, as I have said before, there is no-one else in our squad likely to score goals like that one - certainly none of the so-called strikers.

The fans complaints remind me of Atkins' verdict on some player or other - I forget who: 'We don't need to sign him - all he does is score goals'.

Uts not a matter of 'commitment. He's not mobile enough.

He may score a few goals but will the team as a whole score enough with him there? He stands up there like the Bishops Rock lighthouse. A poor, poor performance on Saturday.

[GodalmingYellow]

Well, lets clear up this Duffer situation.

8 of his 18 goals have come from the penalty spot.

Of the 10 he's scored from open play, 3 were in a single game, so he's actually only scored in 8 games from open play.

That I think indicates that he isn't the prolific striker that his goals for tally suggests.

On top of that, his team contribution is limited. He doesn't make runs. He doesn't make the effort to get to the ball. He doesn't chase down the back passes. He doesn't drag defenders out of position. es he wins a lot of headers, but they tend to be uncontrolled. And speaking of his control, he doesn't have any with his feet either.

So his team contribution is limited and his goal scoring from open play is limited. that's why many feel he doesn't put in enough effort.

Having said all that, in my view, he has taken a good proportion of the chances which have been preented close to his feet, and without anyone else getting close to his finishing record, it is very hard to leave him out.

Really the coaching team needs to do 2 things. Firstly to get Duffer moving much more, and secondly get our players to pass and cross the ball much more accurately. Then we might score a few more goals.

[ty cobb]

What target men are mobile, especially at our level? I would argue he's far more mobile then most and especially more so then Marv our only other option to play up there.

He does make runs, he's the one the ball is aimed at 90% of the time and I reckon 60% of the time he gets there and wins the ball - the fact that we can't settle on someone to play alongside him means the understanding isn't there, quite often the header is a good flick on but no-one gets on the end of it - I wouldn't blame him for this.

I really can't see how you can argue his team contribution is limited, most of our play tends to go through him, he's the danger man up front the players teams quite often put two people on and kick and pull all over the place - the amount of times he gets nothing from the ref is shocking.

This should create more space for the midfield to fun into but as none of them get forward to support quick enough he's isolated up there, it seems to me that he is expected to not just score the goals from the chances that are created for him but also create the chances himself.

Besides no matter what you feel about him he's our best striker, as with all stikers he thrives on confidence yet many of our fans are on his back - hardly helping is it?

[GodalmingYellow]

What target men are mobile, especially at our level? I would argue he's far more mobile then most and especially more so then Marv our only other option to play up there.

He does make runs, he's the one the ball is aimed at 90% of the time and I reckon 60% of the time he gets there and wins the ball - the fact that we can't settle on someone to play alongside him means the understanding isn't there, quite often the header is a good flick on but no-one gets on the end of it - I wouldn't blame him for this.

I really can't see how you can argue his team contribution is limited, most of our play tends to go through him, he's the danger man up front the players teams quite often put two people on and kick and pull all over the place - the amount of times he gets nothing from the ref is shocking.

This should create more space for the midfield to fun into but as none of them get forward to support quick enough he's isolated up there, it seems to me that he is expected to not just score the goals from the chances that are created for him but also create the chances himself.

Besides no matter what you feel about him he's our best striker, as with all stikers he thrives on confidence yet many of our fans are on his back - hardly helping is it?

I really can't see how you could argue Duffer is mobile. He is static most of the time, and if the ball is played more than 3 feet from his body, he doesn't even try to reach it.

His runs off the ball are non-existent. I've watched.

I wouldn't argue that we've got anyone better for the role of target man. I would argue that we've got no one who is good enough, so Duffer gets the shirt on the basis of being best of a poor bunch. There are plenty of better strikers at this level in my view.

For me Robinson is mobile, and has pace, but rarely reaches the ball, and when he does, his lack of basic skill usually results in giving the ball away, and he wins very little in the air, and he never looks like scoring.

You argue most of our play goes through Duffer. Not true. Most of our long balls are aimed at Duffer, but even if he does make 60% of them as you claim, his lack of control means 80% of that 60% goes to the opposition.

All players get kicked at this level. Its a very physical league. Other players seem to cope with it though.

I've seen little in your argument that promotes Duffer as being any good. Only being better than the rest we have as a target man, which isn't actually saying much.

Fans have a right to criticise players who don't put in the effort. I don't promote hurling abuse at players, especially not during games, but at the final whistle, if they haven't earned their corn, they can have little to complain about if they are booed off the pitch.

[ty cobb]

Duffy has got 18 goals with a good chunk of the season to go - this is my argument for why he is good enough to play in our team. In all likelihood he's goign to get the most goals that anyone has scored for us in ages. I don't care how many have come from penalties, he hasn't missed any - thats the important thing.

I'm not saying he's as mobile as someone like Yemi but he's the most mobile target man we've had at the club since we've been at the Kassam at least. Name me a better target man at this level.

Like I said it's not his lack of control that lets him down half the time its the fact that no one is anywhere near him for him to either flick it onto or give to. Of course it could be better but thats why he's playing at this level because like the rest of our team he ain't that good!

I don't know how you have worked out that Marv has pace - I haven't seen any evidence of that, to be fair to him he's been injured most the time.

Its not about being kicked its about everytime you try and win a header you get your shirt pulled or arms all over you, I think he copes well with it but it happens a awful lot yet the refs at this level seem to do nothing.

We're not going to agree on this one are we, so lets leave it at that shall we?

[GodalmingYellow]

Duffy has got 18 goals with a good chunk of the season to go - this is my argument for why he is good enough to play in our team. In all likelihood he's goign to get the most goals that anyone has scored for us in ages. I don't care how many have come from penalties, he hasn't missed any - thats the important thing.

Yes he has got 18 goals, but as you know that's a meaningless stat on its own. 8 of them are penalties and he has only scored in open play in 8 different games. Most strikers would score the penalties they take, so Duffy's influence on games is only limited because of that. If Yemi had taken those penalties, I bet each one would have been scored too. I bet if Basham had, the result would have been the same. The goals scored from the penalty spot do not reflect a player's influence on a football match. If you don't want to accept that, no problem, we just won't agree.

I'm not saying he's as mobile as someone like Yemi but he's the most mobile target man we've had at the club since we've been at the Kassam at least. Name me a better target man at this level.

Again, not a meaningful conclusion to draw from the players we have had since we've been at the new stadium, its hardly a dream selection of players to choose between and all have been tarnished by their collective and respective failures. I would agree with you that Duffer is the best we've had since moving from the Manor, but that doesn't mean very much. Better players at this level - Luke Donaldson, Craig Mackail-Smith, Daryl Clare, how many would you like me to name?

Like I said it's not his lack of control that lets him down half the time its the fact that no one is anywhere near him for him to either flick it onto or give to. Of course it could be better but thats why he's playing at this level because like the rest of our team he ain't that good!

So the team have to compensate for Duffer's lack of control by standing within 5 yards of him in every direction to make sure we keep the ball? Don't think so.

The question is not whether his lack of control is because of the level we play at, the question should be, is his control comparable to or better than other players at this standard. Answer no.

I don't know how you have worked out that Marv has pace - I haven't seen any evidence of that, to be fair to him he's been injured most the time.

By virtue of him winning each one on one race to the ball. But as I said, I rate him less than Duffer. At least Duffer knows where the goal is and will convert a reasonable proportion of decent chances that come his way, he just doesn't help to maximise the number of chances.

As you say, I don't think we're going to agree, but whilst I don't think Duffer is that bad, I don't think he's that good either, and I won't be joining the band of boo boys who get on his back.

[boris]

Actually, GY, Bash has already missed a pen this season.

[GodalmingYellow]

Actually, GY, Bash has already missed a pen this season.

I'm unconvinced that makes much difference.