saintant

Is he fast because my impression so far is that he's a bit slow.

Yeah, I noticed that. No excuse for him to stray offside there and he ruined a good attacking situation. Not a good sign but hopefully the coaching staff will have had a word in his ear about that.

Who gives a shit. This should act as a motivator.

Azaz, Leo and Fellows are our brightest, most creative players and they must start this game in their usual positions. The experiment to play Leo in the middle didn't work and we missed the probing of Azaz and runs of Fellows from the start. Get them in the side and we'll be able to hurt teams much more than on Sunday.

Reading between the lines the lad wanted a permanent move to test himself regularly in an EFL side. Good luck to him.

It is unlikely Jander will go straight into the side even if fit. Bench at best would be my guess.

Not so much 'sway' as reaffirm.

Good player who would fit our style. Would be good alongside Downes or Jander with Azaz in front. He can spot mid/long range passes and execute them superbly. Good on corners and free kicks. Get him signed.

Agree.

You were happy with how Stephens performed?

It was warm for both sides and the first game of the season. You might want to watch the highlights of the 2nd goal - Stephens was available to backtrack but chose to hold his position in the middle despite us having enough cover there. He then decided to try to close the guy down when it was far too late. Horrific defending from an experienced player who should know better.

Just watched the highlights back. WTF is Stephens doing for their second goal? He runs back centrally where we already have cover and gives the scorer a free run. He makes a token effort to close him down when it is too late. I'm afraid age and lack of ability has caught up with Capn Jack

Stephens needs to sit this one out.

Of course it was a mistake. Dobbin was a disaster on the wing. Leo just left the midfield exposed particularly Bragg because of the huge gap between him and Downes/Bragg plus he was continually clattered and risked serious injury. When Azaz plays there we look compact because he understands the need to mainly stay in touch with the two midfielders. Leo should have played on the left with Dobbin assigned for the Azaz role until the part way through the second half.

Obviously we have aspirations to be among the top 2 or to win the Play Off final. It's a tough ask and the season is long. However, we will give ourselves zero chance if we make 2 massive mistakes in games like we did today. Teams challenging for promotion do not gift 2 chances from such basic errors. Unfortunately, if we persist with Jack Stephens those errors will come regularly, it's nothing new because we've seen it countless times and there is nothing to suggest his basic mistakes won't keep on happening. (I get that Manning was also at fault big time for the second goal but Stephens covering run was woeful) Wood finished last season as a strong partner for THB yet Stephens walks straight back in to the side today. Wood may or may not be good enough - if he's not we'll need to sign a centre back to partner THB assuming he stays. If THB goes we need to sign two CBs. Stephens is ok as 3rd choice with limited game time - as a starter he is a liability we cannot afford. Today wasn't all his fault but he is the weakest link and Tonda needs to fix that.