L 1-0 vs Tranmere Rovers (H) - League Two - Sat 24th Sept, 3pm

It seems so, yes…

Thanks. That is good news. I do not think many home fans would prefer the stream over a live game (except those who cannot get to the game anyway). It may be that fewer people would travel but the money we would lose from away supporters coming to Bescot might be made up by Saddlers fans watching on line.

Maybe we can even look forward to more than one camera.

It’s discussed in more depth elsewhere, but that’s partly down to the 1-2 match injuries being picked up on top of the long term ones (we were down to a bench of 6 against Orient.- and that included Mukuna or it would have been just 5). Looked like 2-3 others took knocks on Tuesday so might be doubts for tomorrow and we’re also without Maher. Down to bare bones and potentially rushing back Gordon etc just to get a team out.

What doesn’t help though is MF not yet finding his go-to formation and right players to fill the positions in it. Ignoring the old chestnut of where to play Kinsella (if at all), Tuesday night typified his scattergun approach when he brought on our only supposedly out-and-out left back Rodney for Cashman in a right-sided forward position, while keeping proven RB/RWB Bennett at left back just to accommodate White as RB. Then when Daniels had to go off a few minutes later and he shuffled White to CB with Bennett switching back to replace the latter on the right, i think most people’s guess would have been Gordon to slot into his default position and bring on another forward - but instead he brought on midfielder-playing-as-makeshift-LB Allen, the majority of whose contributions were runs with the ball across the middle of the park where hes obviously more at home. What was that all about?

Also, can you play Clarke in flat back 4 rather than a 3 where he has 2 other CBs to bail him out? White is obviously not the best RB/RWB or right-sided CB we have so why the compulsion to start him every game he’s fit rather than have him on the bench as general defensive cover? Why both Kinsella and Comley as defensive/holding midfielders even when playing a back 3? And if we do go down that route, how come playmakers Hutchinson/Knowles/Earing are often found BEHIND them showing for the ball rather than in front - which then diminishes the attacking capability we expect from them and makes them appear more naff than they actually are (or would be if they only played further up the pitch)? Can Johnson (or any of the other “forwards” play the lone striker role? If not, who do we play alongside him, and as a 2 or a 3-man attack?

He needs to find the right balance PDQ.

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Another draw incoming.

I think Flynns default is to stop the rot by taking a point at a time.

Anyone expecting or hoping to see Maddox, Earing, Knowles and Hutchinson all playing will be disappointed and I fully expect to see Kinsella and Comley in the side.

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Same. Although he might start earing again if Knowles is still out.

And of course White for our opposition to exploit.

Earing will start for sure. Flynn made that obvious Wednesday.

So will Knowles, although if any other player played like he did Tuesday they wouldn’t.

You’ve got some agenda against Knowles…

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:joy: No it’s not an agenda at all. I just have types of players I rate and things I look for and apart from enthusiasm and effort he doesn’t possess many others. It’s just how or what I look for in a player thats all.

That’s a bit harsh. In his last three league appearances he has won a penalty, got an assist and scored. I think there’s more to his game than just ‘effort’.

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Pretty much through effort and determination alone. Which is commendable I agree and a valuable asset that more need to be showing, but he’s also passed it less and given the ball away more than pretty much every other player……

His pass completion is the lowest in the entire squad at 52% and he’s made less passes than every other player other than the subs and Williams and DJ. His dribble success rate is lower than everyone except Williams, Maddox, White, Clarke, DJT and Cashman and he’s lost more balls than every player except, Monthe, Allen and Williams.

But that isn’t enough statistically speaking you see. You and I are old fashioned.We have to be told that what we see isn’t right all the time. My view on Knowles is that after DJ he is our most dangerous player to the opposition defence. I think the fact he has lost"more balls" sums it up perfectly to me.Statistics can only take you so far…other factors like spirit ,determination and most of all a willingness never to give up score more highly for me.

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Knowles could always start tippy tappy passing it a few yards backwards and square from midfield to boost his pass completion figure. Not that I’m suggesting anyone else in the team does that of course😉

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What? :joy: Against Bradford he brings down a long ball, nutmegs the defender and gets fouled. The goal against Colchester features a heavy first touch, but he showed composure to sprint past their entire defence to finish with his weak foot and the Grimsby one sees him pick out Johnson in a crowded six yard box.

How is that effort an determination alone?

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What’s a more important stat at the top end of the field - pass completion rate or goals/assists?

He’s an attacking midfielder. Everyone on here has said how poor he was up front!!

By far the worst part about the Leyton Orient performance was the last half an hour, where none of our players had the courage to receive the ball, pass forward or attempt to dribble past their opponent.

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Have you heard of Goodhart’s Law? It is the principle that once a measure becomes a target it ceases to be a good measure.

If players know that they will be judged by certain statistics there is a danger that this will influence the way they play, and not in a good way. Football cannot be reduced to raw statistics. Passes are not all the same; some completed passes are unhelpful. Some dribbles that end with lost possession have taken the ball into a dangerous area which leads to a goal.

Fooball is a very unusual game in that the vast majority of good passes, good control, good dribbles and good shots do not result in a score. 75% of crosses result in lost possession, and less than 2% to a goal. Does that mean that players should stop putting in crosses?

I judge players based on what I see, and it is far more subtle than just counting statistics.

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I like to think of our friend as the Chris Witty of this board.Wedded to graphs and statistics whilst the real world goes on around him.Obviously the results will not be as disastrous as those used by Whitty but I hope Flynn takes other things into account as well the wealth of statistics that now abound in the game.

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