Also to add to what said yesterday about I've noticed Pinnock isn't strong at taking players on in close down the wing. Not sure Wagstaff is really either. Both seem better in broken play with space to beat people.

Interesting about not dealing with Sibbick being targeted, last season or maybe one before a team brought on a Hanson style player who was winning all the headers. Cox shouted a load of instructions, we stuck Soares in front, Charles behind and the guy won fuck all for the rest of the match. I've seen nothing of that kind of analysis and action from the bench this season.

Silk - yes - that is what I meant by back five earlier. Then we can be very defensive when we need to. Also Sibbick likes to get forward.

Silk. agree especially since Thomas and Oshilaja have the pace to cover a back 3 and Purrington, Watson and Sibbick all seem better suited to wing back. Did like last couple of games that Sibbick at least wants to take people on and get to the line.

We need to look at the positives, we are through to round 2. Ok it was an awful performance but we got the result. I brought this up last night, but I attended Staines v stockport when Staines knocked out their higher league placed opponents. Also they held a league 1 Millwall to a draw when they were still a Ryman side. Millwall also got promoted later on that year so I think it’s a job done against a plucky side with nothing to lose in crap conditions and considering our confidence is totally shot relieved to be in the hat come Monday

“Realistically one could argue we might be better cutting our cloth to a League Two budget for the next five to ten years.” Wu – I said before and after the play-off final that we would have been better off losing it and staying in League 2, the time to push for League 1 being the season before we move to NPL. I was derided by quite a few on here - they are entitled to the opinions, I am to mine. As it is, since we got to League 1 we’ve have had several seasons of dire football with the constant threat of relegation, we have spunked far more money on players than in League 2 (remember when we thought the Beast’s £2k per week was a lot?), and many of these players are past it/sicknotes, we’ve had no significant increase in income from league matches, and we look like we’re heading back to League 2 anyway where we’ll be in a much worse state financially and possibly on the pitch than if we’d never left it.

I can't believe anybody is suggesting a Nil Ardley team lacks goal threat

With the likes of Sibbick, Nightingale, Thomas, Deji and McDonald are we better suited to playing a back three with attacking full backs? It does seem we have been trying to play Sibbick and Deji at right back which is not their natural position to me.

One point to ponder this morning that there was just two players, Deji and Soares, that started that played regularly last season. You can say that Piggott did to a point but he was sub a lot. It quite clearly showed that while we have some players that do not look like a team who know each others game and we certainly do not look like a team who would help each other out. Case in point was Sibbick who was being outnumbered in the first half - surely someone should have stepped in to nullify that. We looked like with lacked spirit, fight and togetherness. Whilst winning helps we also need to retain a settled squad. This close season we will not retain Deji but maybe we can try and keep as many as possible to at least try and get some sort of team spirit.

Agree Lurker, Thomas has a bit of steel about him, grit and determination that stands out a mile. I'd be happy to keep him.

Slow train. Thanks. Bad news

last for this hattrick, I thought, again, Thomas looks worth persevering with.

If/when we go down we really have to target a target man (even if Hanson stays) in our summer shopping.

One thing Hanson has done is to prove the difference it makes to have a specialist target man, who is big, tough, wins headers against multiple defenders and gets stuck into players. We are a different team with him, not least cos Pigott isn't a target man.

Good artilcle [Link]

I don't think we'll see him again this side of Christmas.

STTA and anyone who counts Jervis is missing the point

Or what STTA said.

I didn’t read what was said but from reaction of others on here I got the impression it was likely to be a month or so.

Mark - he's out long-term according to NA's pre-match interview [Link]

Hope he is back for Doncaster!

He’s out for 2 goals ML, or until May if you want to look at it that way.

Six attackers effectively? Would make for exciting football but we might leak a few goals.

How long is Hansen out for? Has it been announced?

Hanson is crocked Dave