Just Back on the Bus

Thomas set up both goals I thought for him he had a quiet game but two assists I will take that every week

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Thomas set up both goals I thought for him he had a quiet game but two assists I will take that every week

We were having the discussion during the game regards Thomas...for a large proportion of the game he was on a hiding to nothing as the service was poor, Macca's kicks didnt go anywhere near him half the time and he was outnumbered throughout....
however it was noticeable that he virtually didn't move outside of the centre circle when we were defending in open play...he never came across to the likely channel were the ball may be cleared which i thought was quite inept of him...while others thought it must be a clear directive he has rather than his personal decision/ awareness. By him staying central it maybe would leave the channels open for others.  Not sure.

For me he could be more effective not only for his own involvement but for the team, with a bit more anticipation in situations like that then being in the likely area should save energy, give him a fighting chance of retaining the ball helping relieve pressure, it also puts the defenders under pressure preventing them picking a team mate out and possibly having to put the ball straight into touch.

Lovely turn to set Clifton up though.

Quoted from moosey_club

We were having the discussion during the game regards Thomas...for a large proportion of the game he was on a hiding to nothing as the service was poor, Macca's kicks didnt go anywhere near him half the time and he was outnumbered throughout....
however it was noticeable that he virtually didn't move outside of the centre circle when we were defending in open play...he never came across to the likely channel were the ball may be cleared which i thought was quite inept of him...while others thought it must be a clear directive he has rather than his personal decision/ awareness. By him staying central it maybe would leave the channels open for others.  Not sure.

For me he could be more effective not only for his own involvement but for the team, with a bit more anticipation in situations like that then being in the likely area should save energy, give him a fighting chance of retaining the ball helping relieve pressure, it also puts the defenders under pressure preventing them picking a team mate out and possibly having to put the ball straight into touch.

Lovely turn to set Clifton up though.

I have too say Thomas has impressed me since he got match fit he generally works the centre halves even on his own and his lay offs are good.Like you point out his hold up play leaves a bit to be desired BUT I wager he will do Town a massive favour with Cardwell/Rose/Vernam I have high hopes for those 3 and their recent goals will have given them a huge confidence boost.Were scoring goals now and a Month or so ago it didn`t look likely did it?

Thomas plays more like Lump than LJL.

My guess is he is at least in part playing to orders. Keep the centre backs occupied by being around and we will always know where to find you (if and when we hit a decent ball out from the back ).

He's good at the layoffs when he gets the chance like for Clifton and his nod on for Vernam from the corner was class.

I missed the first half hour but watched the rest at home.

Sounded like we weathered a storm early on but from the moment i switched it on we were pretty comfortable. Not very composed as the first half ended but certainly some better spells of football and some half-decent breaks forward.

Second half we were a class above them. Moved the ball around really well at times and broke forward very effectively.

Embleton fantastic at drifting into areas behind Chesterfield's midfield where he could pick the ball up on the half-turn and run at their back 4. Hessenthaler and Clifton were very good at finding him and eliminating several Chesterfield players with one pass.

The longer the game went on, we should've scored a good few more than we did. The BBC highlights don't show all our breaks forward in the 2nd half because it seems like they're instructed to only show shots on target. And most of the time we didn't hit the target from decent positions. We seemed to get forward countless times with Clifton joining Vernam, Embleton and Thomas in attack, often against just 3 or 4 defenders. We just didn't take advantage enough of the situations we got into in the final third.

Great set piece for our first goal. Great corner from Pringle and a fantastic flick on from Thomas.
Second goal very well worked, great work by Thomas and a great run off the ball initially from Clifton. Luckily he got a second bite at it as the better decision would've been to square for an Embleton tap-in really.

Thought Martin Allen looked a bit clueless on what to do and don't think he'll be there much longer.

We look to be really developing as a side. With an identity, a structure to what we're doing, and a core of young players at the heart of it. Exciting and interesting times I think.

Also on the set-piece front, that's the third game in a row we've scored a goal from a set-piece.

Before these last 3 games we'd previously only scored once from a set-piece this season.

Regarding Thomas and where he positions himself when we are defending,

I just can't see Jolley saying to him" stand where you like"

Wes will do what MJ tells him to do and stand where he is instructed,

Quoted from Tommy

Great set piece for our first goal. Great corner from Pringle and a fantastic flick on from Thomas.

Really like Pringles technique. His crosses aren't overhit with too much pace as we were seeing at the seasons start, he 'sits the ball up' as the pundits say.
His corners are great, that clever style where you' almost facing 90 degrees away from where the ball is going, with a little twist of the ankle and hips to give a wicked spin to fade/dip the ball.
Hope the set-pieces can really pick up with him and Embletons delivery quality.