Will Lancashire triumph at Happy Valley? Charlton (A), Saturday, 28 January, 12:30pm

[GhostoftheBok]

All in all, I think Charlton would rather than played us yesterday.

[irie Cee Bee]

All in all, I think Charlton would rather than played us yesterday.

Indeed, but then, it will take some time for our new players to integrate into our system. Our attack is almost completely new which will confuse Charlton as much as it will us and our players. The defense should have less of an issue but Aimson was a vital cog in the wheels over the past weeks.

We have better players now, but it will take time. Hopefully the individual quality of our new players will prevail over the unfamiliar team synergy. Playing away from home is never easy, no matter who the opponent is.

[Harry Genshaw]

I'd have much preferred to be playing this lot pre Holden when they were looking a disorganised rabble & seemingly headed for relegation.
Have we had confirmation that either or both our new boys can feature tomorrow? They surely won't have trained with the team and are unlikely to click immediately with Dion

[sonicthewhite]

They're both eligible Harry.

[Harry Genshaw]

They're both eligible Harry.

Brill. Ta!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Interesting to see the bench today. With injuries and suspension we are a bit thin, so any absences will be notable. John, Sheehan, MJ, Izzy, Dixon… we can also expect Geth, Shola (assuming Lee returns - “watch what he does for us, kid”) and Jerome/Ade to be there, so the missing name from the five above will attract speculation.

[GhostoftheBok]

This is a genuinely tough ask today.

Long trip down. Early kick-off. Coming off a killer of a game against FGR. Charlton bang in form. All the pressure of the cameras. New lads having to slot in immediately. No real rotation at the back if anyone is carrying a knock.

Will be interesting to see what the 11 is and whether John is involved. Connor and Randell were both moving poorly when they came off.

Aimson's just left, so obviously big Rico will be cursed by the gods for this one too.

Easy Bolton win.

[Bruce Rioja]

Will be interesting to see what the 11 is and whether John is involved. Connor and Randell were both moving poorly when they came off.

I'd have thought so. I think it also unlikely that we'll see Dempsey start either.

Of course, these lads are young, fit athletes, but on the back of such a monumental effort the other night, it'd take the meanest (or least understanding) of taskmasters to expect some of them to simply go again.

[DJBlu]

Enough with the negativity.

Last Sky game away in that there London shire? Was it Crawley? Its in there if you draw a big looping line around it.

That team that finished on Tuesday were possibly the strongest, mentally, I've seen for a long while.

COYWM!!!!

[BWFC_Insane]

Tough game but it will come down to needing a clean sheet I think. We need the back three to match its performances with Aimson. No errors. No mistakes. We will need to absorb pressure. Important that Santos focuses in the same way Aimson did and as he did Tuesday and we have that mentality.

I feel that most of our results will be dictated primarily by our ability to keep a clean sheet or not.

[GhostoftheBok]

One of the issues Evatt currently has is the "drop off" in midfield when the main two don't start.

He's always banging on about consistency between those who go out and those who come in, but Morley and Dempsey are just better than Sheehan and Williams for how we play now. Love both Josh and MJ, but they're not quite what we need.

I agree it'll be some effort from Dempsey (and a mild worry for his hamstrings) if he starts again today, but you'd want him in there if it's possible.

We're better at 10 now. Much better in attack (on paper). If we can limp through this game then hopefully we'll emerge stronger at the back too and kick on.

[GhostoftheBok]

Enough with the negativity.

I said easy Bolton win...

[BWFC_Insane]

He could play Jones at rwb today. I mean I fundamentally think he’s no rwb. And we lose a lot without Bradley. But we have to be mindful of not running him into the ground. And I feel today is a sit a bit deeper absorb it then hope one of the new boys or Charles scores. I doubt we can play our usual toe to toe game after Tuesday.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

He could play Jones at rwb today. I mean I fundamentally think he’s no rwb. And we lose a lot without Bradley. But we have to be mindful of not running him into the ground. And I feel today is a sit a bit deeper absorb it then hope one of the new boys or Charles scores. I doubt we can play our usual toe to toe game after Tuesday.

Thing with Bradley is he’s one yellow away from a two-match ban, so he’s getting a fortnight off soon. I agree that he must be in the red zone by now - he’d be prime option to sub off - but they may be doing some risk calculations.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

One of the issues Evatt currently has is the "drop off" in midfield when the main two don't start.

He's always banging on about consistency between those who go out and those who come in, but Morley and Dempsey are just better than Sheehan and Williams for how we play now. Love both Josh and MJ, but they're not quite what we need.

…which is why I worry about central midfield. Without dipping into doomsday scenarios, we can cover a centre-back injury or a centre-forward injury. In central midfield, so crucial to our game (then again which team doesn’t say that?), if we lose one or other - and one of them has had several injury niggles - there’s a sudden drop-off in suitability. As you say Josh and MJ aren’t poor players but they aren’t right for that job.

[BWFC_Insane]

One of the issues Evatt currently has is the "drop off" in midfield when the main two don't start.

He's always banging on about consistency between those who go out and those who come in, but Morley and Dempsey are just better than Sheehan and Williams for how we play now. Love both Josh and MJ, but they're not quite what we need.

…which is why I worry about central midfield. Without dipping into doomsday scenarios, we can cover a centre-back injury or a centre-forward injury. In central midfield, so crucial to our game (then again which team doesn’t say that?), if we lose one or other - and one of them has had several injury niggles - there’s a sudden drop-off in suitability. As you say Josh and MJ aren’t poor players but they aren’t right for that job.

I agree. But the centre back and wing back area is arguably weaker. Our only cover is Jones for RWB and CB. Bradley ban and an injury is far from doomsday and we are at the point of needing to change the system and even then having no natural right back.

The midfield issue is succinctly that Sheehan isn’t a fit in any shape we might play and MJ requires a different midfield shape. It’s far from ideal. If we could get another one it would be ideal.

But my biggest worry is flogging two wing backs who are let’s be honest both in red zones right now especially when Bradley is our only real outlet and will remain so. It’s also now having no cover for Santos and really needing some experience back there.

I fear we have too much to do for the rest of the window so need to prioritise. Some versatile options would be no bad thing. Could play in midfield or wing back sort of things. Or play CB or wing back etc…

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

A fair point. And one I raised a week ago when asking people to prioritise which positions to strengthen. Wouldn’t surprise me to see us loan a utility player - someone like Osho (which is a guess not a whisper) - to cover eventualities.

[GhostoftheBok]

As you say Josh and MJ aren’t poor players but they aren’t right for that job.

Evatt might argue he's got different tools for different jobs. We're just better with the other lads in, though.

[The_Gun]

I’m in the pub in Woolwich, and half way through my first pint my optimism is rising significantly.

COYFWM

[Worthy4England]

I'd like the perfect squad. No doubt, so would every other team playing football.

Personally, I think Gun has it nailed. Have a beer and let's see what happens. We were never going to resolve the numerous "squad issues" that we have in one January window.