theAnticlough

Iorpenda again for me, best of a bad bunch. Macari OK, Ness Ok apart from the terrible mistake, Dennis the best of the subs I thought

I'll be honest then Robbie, that's enough of a blow to say, that's it we're done and let's hope for better injury luck next year. At least we'll have another year of winning loads of matches.... Of course MP and the boys will soldier on. But Belshaw, Macari, Ness, Browne etc. are strangers to each other in football terms. It's such a massive ask for them to keep it together for this run-in - you never know though i just hope for a quick couple of wins to secure that play-off place. With our attacking players, we'd still be a scary team for others to face.

Haven't heard that yet @Robbie - a massive setback if true.

Hopefully, they can just bin that - we don't need soul-searching or a crisis of confidence at this point. It was a diificult game even before a ball was kicked, but the foul, anti-football conditions and Norburn being a liability are 2 big reasons for that result (I wonder if MP thought about subbing Norburn at HT, but found it too hard to do). I think the key now is MP believing in the attacking, ball-playing abilities of the squad (like at Accy) and seeing if this can take us where we want to go. We don't need journeymen or players picked for physical tussles, it only drags us down to a bog-standard L2 level, which is where we'll stay with that approach.

The blessing here is Norburn's 2 match suspension and the chance to play to our strengths now It'll force MP, maybe against his instincts but more in line with the club, to play a team based on pass and move, and creative, skillful, attacking play. There's no option now but Palmer and Iorpenda, which is the best midfield pairing anyway.

Oh dear. Difficult game, terrible conditions. You can understand the team selection, but the scoreline tells us it hasn't worked. I think MP should bite the bullet, Norburn or Palmer. As Norburn's on a yellow, and can't be trusted to avoid another, I'd say it has to be him to be subbed. One pass or piece of skill from Tangan might help us get a goal.

Pity about McDonald. Great test for Ness. Looking forward to see him rise to the challenge, hopefully

I already accepted that the No10 conundrum, if it's going to be solved at all, will be solved by committee, and he's one more for the committee! Step by step I guess. As Chris says game time may be limited so he will have to try to shine in sub appearances and take it from there. We absolutely can't take chances or allow someone to rebuild their game in these 8 cup finals we have left .... Autos is one or two slip ups out of our grasp, and play-offs is 75% failure

Great summing up, @Robbie Yeah, tricky place at the best of times, even without them being the form team of the league. And the best defence in the league We've played a lot of matches, have a lot of players returning from injuries and breaks. And we need to steady the defensive line without Platt. If ever there's a case to sacrifice an attacking piece for a bit more control, it's this game (and I don't usually say that!). There's less to gain by blitzing them (their CB Monthe is really good). It's the kind of game we should stay in and look for the quality of players like Jones and Jatta to win it for us. They're obviously a solid team that relies on discipline. But they'll have play-off ambitions and need to win if they're to catch the likes of Grimsby and Chesterfield. An ideal game would be to take the lead either side of HT and then steal a 2nd as they chase.

Amusing reply @YoopEyes It's going to be a gripping end-of season run-in and very interesting from the team selection, tactical angle. MP certainly has options. Look forward to returning to these subjects as it all unfolds.

Yes @Chris I've loved how he's knitted the play together this year. I think the most under-appreciated part of that is showing for the ball all the time. Then comes the accurate, clever and stylish passing. The mystery is, and better to whisper it, what happened last season? We expected him not be himself after the injury and to need a long time to get his level back but the passing was so negative. It couldn't only be the injury. Anyway, this season is another story entirely and he's been a joy to watch.

@Fan of Big Tone a really memorable day with my family was a shortish stay at Reighton Sands and walking the full beach to Filey and back again. Longer that it looks, many steps in it for you, probably 1 hour there, 1 hour back. The Flamborough Head cliff top walks too - we were lucky enough to see seals enjoying the shallows from up there.

I've almost given Matty Palmer MoM so many times @Chris, but he always gets pipped by another. I think it's because he's such a regular 7/10 player. Yesterday though he was 9/10 and still gets pipped by a 10/10!

Fun fact @YoopEyes All of Iorpendas 3 goals this season ( MK away, MK & Cheltm home) and have been in games where he's started in Centre Midfield. So the breakdown will be something like Starting in Centre Midfield - P10 Goals 3 Starting in Attacking Midfield P28 Goals 0 Yes, he scored yesterday when his position was switched, but we still get his goal threat and full-pitch contributions from deeper. Oldham as a one-off away match might be a different matter. But MP faces a big choice in these vital run-in games. Go with the double CM pivot of Norburn and Palmer, or go with a side like the one at Accy or starting yesterday with Iorpenda at CM. Personally, it would drive me nuts if we missed out going for the seemingly safe option of Palmer/Norburn (not enough vertical movement up and down the pitch) & Grant/Iorpenda (not enough end-product, potentially)

Sounds like you're back on track and all's well@Fan of Big Tone enjoy the rest of your holiday

I'd much rather focus on our 5 goals and attacking play.... but about the 2 conceded The first is such a mess involving so many players that it'd take all day to work out. The second though, we were in pretty good shape as the move developed down their right. Macari as RCB is right to slide over and Tsaroulla is there at RWB as he should be. At that point we had a comfortable 3 v 2 at the back stick. Their late movement is clever though. Should Tsaroulla have passed on his player to Macari? Probably, but when he last saw Hutchinson it might have seemed Grant was with him. That flick of Grant's left arm to say 'here, you have him' isn't good enough really. If you read that situation correctly you keep with the man you're tracking. Ultimately though, if we have a back line of 5 including WBs, there's no way the far end of that line, Tsaroulla in this case, should be that far over. I'd imagine there's a zonal principle there. Just guessing, but maybe 2 communication issues there....Tsaroulla to Macari saying he's yours and Grant screaming 'player' if he's going to stop tracking him as he enters the box

How is Matty Palmer not MoM?! Well, he isn't! Cos that has to go to Tom Iorpenda. I'd say two bold things.... That was the best individual performance of the season so far And, that probably puts him well ahead and clinches POTS as well.

Exhilarating win. We desperately needed it to stay in touch for autos with 3 away games coming up. Players seem to be getting the message now, no non-performances. We keep losing defenders, and we should know it's not our strength, we have to play this attacking style to the end now and hope we keep blowing teams away.

Really entertaining game. Level, but confident that our quality creative play today can win the game.

Something interesting in the offing at the MK stadium

Nice team - and good bench Bennetts can consider himself unlucky after Tuesday. My wish for him was about reward, but I think Tangan is the better bet for helping us get ahead today. And delighted to see the same midfield pairing and Jatta back to start. COYP

Most of those have recent L1 history, so that's believable. Once wages go up, it must be very difficult for clubs to reduce (if relegated) as it'll mean dividing your playing squad between old and new contracts and clubs fancy themselves to bounce straight back up anyway. As it's only based on estimates, I tend not to believe Barrow has a bigger budget than us so that would have us smneaking into the top 10.

Charlton Athletic 0-2 Norwich QPR 2-0 Portsmouth Stevenage 0-2 Reading Wigan Athletic 2-0 Exeter City Accrington Stanley 0-2 Chesterfield Joker Shrews 1-1 Crewe Alexandra Altrincham 0-2 Southend United Yeovil Town 1-2 Morecambe

Exciting match day today. Cambridge v Salford will be interesting at 12:30. Anything apart from a Cambridge win I think...

I guess that's possible @Robbie but Tsaroulla would've been so wildly wrong in his positioning in that case.... If you watch, he's always a good 10-20 yards forward of Platt. I wonder if those 'average positioning' maps are still done. Regardless of whatever MP wanted, Platt was RCB and Tsaroulla RM or RWB [ a back 4, if you wanted RodMac and Platt together, would've needed a radical shift to something like 4-2-3-1 no more Wing-backs, or 4-4-2 no more No. 10s] Defensive team changes has been a lifelong pet hate of mine as a fan. That pair though take the biscuit in terms of impact, if Platt and Norburn weren't out of their natural roles..... The best way to promotion now is the Accy formula IMO. Pick a positive team and concentrate on accurate passing and movement, hard running, final third execution. Trust in a full season's training ground work by better footballers to take us all the way.