The Real War of the Roses , the Play-Offs Part One, V Barnsley at home Sat 13th May 3-0 clock.

[Worthy4England]

I thought John would get the nod today but in fairness to Williams thought he played decent yesterday. Still might be a freshen it up change for Friday.

Wouldn't be averse to swapping Sheehan for Lee, albeit that might make us more susceptible to their inevitable pressure.

N'lundulu. Certainly improved as he's gone along, with his best performance in the last league match. For me though, just feels like Vic is slightly more likely to hit the onion and Kacha much better at creating width...

[officer_dibble]

It’s still positioning for me with Nlundulu. I think he needs some serious coaching - and I’m not sure why we would be any more likely to coax positional sense out of him than Southampton at 24. I don’t see him as the next Ivan toney!

[officer_dibble]

There’s a serious chance we need 120 minutes out of Dion Charles on Friday. Is he up to it?

[Bertie Wooster]

It’s still positioning for me with Nlundulu. I think he needs some serious coaching - and I’m not sure why we would be any more likely to coax positional sense out of him than Southampton at 24. I don’t see him as the next Ivan toney!

I agree he's definitely not the next Ivan Toney, I just think that we need more pace & physicality up front on Friday - Vic would also be an option.

The Ivan Toney comparison from Evatt was ridiculous.

[officer_dibble]

Agreed on the physicality - we definitely lack a presence and he is the one who best offers that. I’d sit him in a room watching videos of Kevin Davies…

[BWFC_Insane]

I watched the game again in the cold hard light of day. I think that for me we are only two players off being right in the mix for automatics this season.

1) A decent strike partner for Charles. Yes we were unlucky with Bod but none of the others have for me this season done the business for a team with promotion aspirations,

2) A physical and combative midfield player who is mobile around the pitch. Our current midfield has good players but not one permutation is balanced. Yesterday we lacked the ability to win the ball back. Put MJ in and he helps there but wins it back deeper. Lee for me early doors fixed much of that with his press but it’s less effective now - maybe his legs are tiring and certainly Charles’ are. We need someone who can bring about more transitions and get at teams. Yesterday Barnsley had too easy a ride in possession.

Yes we will need a GK and wing backs but in terms of this team I think that’s all we lack compared to the best sides.

[Worthy4England]

I don't disagree particularly, but I think contracts might be a problem. Jerome has 12 months. Vic, three years (I think) and I suspect N'lundulu probably isn't on the sort of dosh, you'd get a decent top end L1/mid table champo level striker for.

Morley' set piece was good yesterday, his open play passes less so. Demps was well martialled. Sheehan largely anonymous. You're going to struggle when that happens.

[TANGODANCER]

There’s absolutely no chance Bodvarson starts in a first game back from injury in 5 months unfortunately tango.

Miught not start, I agree Dibs, but my money is on him on the subs list. This is really last chance saloon time and a shade of Reading or Notts magic dust needed. Keep the Faith, it can move mountains...

[officer_dibble]

There’s absolutely no chance Bodvarson starts in a first game back from injury in 5 months unfortunately tango.

Miught not start, I agree Dibs, but my money is on him on the subs list. This is really last chance saloon time and a shade of Reading or Notts magic dust needed. Keep the Faith, it can move mountains...

Fingers crossed!

[BWFC_Insane]

I don't disagree particularly, but I think contracts might be a problem. Jerome has 12 months. Vic, three years (I think) and I suspect N'lundulu probably isn't on the sort of dosh, you'd get a decent top end L1/mid table champo level striker for.

Morley' set piece was good yesterday, his open play passes less so. Demps was well martialled. Sheehan largely anonymous. You're going to struggle when that happens.

Well I guess we hope Vic becomes that man. Or we keep Bod or we replace him with a younger option who does the business.

I don’t think we are outlandishly far away. I think midfield balance with that key player a couple of wing backs a Trafford replacement and retaining Bod or signing a good replacement is probably making us more than competitive.

I mean it’s not trivial. It’s also not a ridiculous undertaking.

[Bertie Wooster]

I watched the game again in the cold hard light of day. I think that for me we are only two players off being right in the mix for automatics this season.

1) A decent strike partner for Charles. Yes we were unlucky with Bod but none of the others have for me this season done the business for a team with promotion aspirations,

2) A physical and combative midfield player who is mobile around the pitch. Our current midfield has good players but not one permutation is balanced. Yesterday we lacked the ability to win the ball back. Put MJ in and he helps there but wins it back deeper. Lee for me early doors fixed much of that with his press but it’s less effective now - maybe his legs are tiring and certainly Charles’ are. We need someone who can bring about more transitions and get at teams. Yesterday Barnsley had too easy a ride in possession.

Yes we will need a GK and wing backs but in terms of this team I think that’s all we lack compared to the best sides.

This is a must for me, however it doesn't appear to be a priority for Evatt - based on his time here to date it looks like he prefers the smaller, more lightweight tippy tappy type of midfielder, plenty on here over the past few years have said that we need a more physical, more combative box to box central midfielder, unless this type of player is out of our budget ?

[Worthy4England]

I suspect IE thinks Demps is probably that man. It's pretty strange when you read other teams forums, where we get labelled by quite a few as being a "physical" side...but another enforcer works for me...

[TANGODANCER]

2) A physical and combative midfield player who is mobile around the pitch. of our budget ?

There was this lad called Dapo....oh, er....

[BWFC_Insane]

I suspect IE thinks Demps is probably that man. It's pretty strange when you read other teams forums, where we get labelled by quite a few as being a "physical" side...but another enforcer works for me...

It’s not a kicker we need. It’s someone who covers ground is more physical than Dempsey (who is a grafter but doesn’t really impact off the ball) and can really dictate a game.

An engine combined with some strength and ability to play a controlled game.

Having a number 8 do that would mean either Morley and Sheehan can play more and also let Dempsey or whoever make the runs. In Sheehan, Morley and Dempsey we don’t have enough impact off the ball. With MJ that impact is not in the number 8 role.

We need to create more transitions as a side and that’s either being better in the press or with a stronger and hard running midfield type who will do that. In effect it’s a Thomason but one that is better than he is.

[TANGODANCER]

We need to create more transitions as a side and that’s either being better in the press or with a stronger and hard running midfield type who will do that. In effect it’s a Thomason but one that is better than he is.

Meanwhile, a one-goal win will have the Double Diamond effect on all else and dispel all doubt.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Interesting convo. I agree with BWFCi that we're maybe two (very) good players from a title-chaser – specifically a reliable sidekick for Charles and a dominant midfielder. Not sure how expensive that sort of midfielder is, though - they don't tend to hang around. And of course we'll have to replace Traf and Bradley, who by any sane reckoning have been two of the best, if not the two best, players this season. So that's just 44% of the team, then...

...but at least the squad is in good shape. Under the Prufrock Formula, you improve either your best players or your worst players (or both), and there are very few abject players around. We can debate whether we retain or release contract-lapsingers like Sheehan, MJ and Bodvarsson, but I don't think any of us would be utterly miserable either way - the expectation would be that if they go, we replace with as good or better. Harder decisions over Lee and Kacha, easier over Dixon and Isgrove.

It's still weird. I'm not downhearted by yesterday but equally I don't think I'd be devastated if we lost on Friday (again, BWFCi is right that that would be much easier than doing so at Wembley). If we were to win the next two games, how confident are we that we'd be alright in the next tier up? Barnsley would presumably be one of the weaker teams... so that 4/11 ratio of 1st-XI needing replacing might ratchet up, and some of the lesser squad members would certainly have heavier question marks. Such is the nature of improvement.

[BWFC_Insane]

^^Yeah I don’t think we should fear going up. You can as Sunderland show make a fist of it if you get things right.

But I also think we are maybe a season away from having the base to really support a go a championship survival.

Yesterday was an eye opener as to how the bottom end of championship teams with enough physicality could really cause us issues to the point that we’d look second best even against the poorer sides potentially.

I’m more upbeat about what we have to do to really be challengers at this level next season. 4 players in or 5 isn’t the gargantuan take of previous windows and it’s also very clear the types we need.

Do I think it’s better to go up? Yeah. I won’t be devastated if we don’t though. Whatever happens we have a reasonable test of owner ambitions now. Not in that we are asking them to spend money they don’t have but can they support a push to win league one or to keep a side in the tier above. Both are questions I don’t know the answer to.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Yeah, if we go up I wouldn't spend summer sh!tting it, but it would need a much deeper rebuild. Players I'm confident of in this division would be questions in the one above. Take, for example, Dempsey – one of our matchwinners, but his only second-tier experience is 20-odd mixed games at Huddersfield way back before the Brexit referendum. Gethin, 17 games for Barnsley in 2017. Santos, Morley, obviously Toal - never played second-tier. Dion is perhaps the most (ha) striking example of someone very useful at this level who you might worry about up there. Some will adapt. If they all do, it's nigh on miraculous. And I've not even mentioend Evatt yet...

I keep talking about the glass ceiling. It's alright when most of our games are punching down, but I worry about the atmosphere if most of them are punching up. Doesn't take long for folk to jump on the backs of the manager, various players, and I'm guessing the board would get it too if we're seen as underachieving. It's one question - and a huge one - as to whether the manager and squad are ready for promotion to the Championship; are the fans?

[jmjhb]

That is, of course, if we don't lose any players to higher-division sides. I reckon the vultures might be circling for a couple of our players at least if we don't go up.

[BWFC_Insane]

That is, of course, if we don't lose any players to higher-division sides. I reckon the vultures might be circling for a couple of our players at least if we don't go up.

In that case you have money though. There isn’t a player we’ve got who I think is irreplaceable with a very decent offer.

Charles probably biggest task to replace the goals but also one I don’t see clubs the level above coming for. I don’t think his game is strong enough for that to really happen.