Not good but maybe not as bad as the result suggests. We had chances and put together some good moves, but too often we were slow to build up and passed the ball around at the back to no effect. Shades of last season. What I found disappointing was the lack of energy in midfield. Frequently our MF would take the ball facing our own goal, not look up and knock it back to the CBs or Seny. Stef was the worst offender. I think the time has come to bench him. We were better when he went off and Dozzel looked better. Why can't the midfield take the ball on the angle, look up, see another player moving?

Dickie and to a lesser extent Dunne tried to bring the ball forward but the MF didn't make themselves available and teams are wising up to this. Laird did ok but wasn't a clear upgrade on Ossy. He needs time. Paal has not impressed in any of the games I've seen so far. And of course Armstrong looked great but very, very raw. He's still a long term project but should get plenty of time off the bench, especially as we are failing badly in front of goal. Dykes missed at least two glorious opportunities. Chair showed signs of coming back into form.

MotM between Roberts and Dickie.

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@Geoff78

Yes agree about Chair. I think at 5.5 he’s probably been underrated by most and was in the 6’s for me. 3.8 for Dykes is a little harsh too. Otherwise it’s pretty much as I saw it.

I do worry that Armstrong may become a bit of a problem for Beale if we continue to struggle, as the crowd will be calling for him to be introduced all the time. Of course the answer to this is to do better when he’s not on the pitch.

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Dykes should have had three in the first half before Blackpool scored. We were slow in the build-up, with too much side-to-side and back-passing. Blackpool played with energy and countered quickly, and were as good as I've ever seen them. I thought Roberts and Laird played well, but agree with the comments about Paal and Johansen, the latter of whom seems to carrying on where he left off at the end of last season. We've seen him play so much better, but not for a long time.

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Johansen is unfortunately the 2021-22 version not 2020-21.

Dykes is just pony and will never make it

Please remind me who recruited him again? (Teflon Les we know it was you) - another forward who can't score goals - hopeless recruitment - 2 million down the drain along with all the other rubbish recruitment.
How much is this poor recruiting holding us back?
Why did we spent 2m on Bonne?
Do we really need to waste so much money on an academy and players that will never make it?
Great example Charlie Owens - he'll never will make it with us.
Niko -rubbish - why give him a four year deal Les? - he is pony.
Kakay I like him but please wake up.
Why can't we just recruit good players and have the one system for all our teams?
I trust Mick Beale to get it right as long as the owners wake up to to who is really holding us back.

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Not good but maybe not as bad as the result suggests. We had chances and put together some good moves, but too often we were slow to build up and passed the ball around at the back to no effect. Shades of last season. What I found disappointing was the lack of energy in midfield. Frequently our MF would take the ball facing our own goal, not look up and knock it back to the CBs or Seny. Stef was the worst offender. I think the time has come to bench him. We were better when he went off and Dozzel looked better. Why can't the midfield take the ball on the angle, look up, see another player moving?

Dickie and to a lesser extent Dunne tried to bring the ball forward but the MF didn't make themselves available and teams are wising up to this. Laird did ok but wasn't a clear upgrade on Ossy. He needs time. Paal has not impressed in any of the games I've seen so far. And of course Armstrong looked great but very, very raw. He's still a long term project but should get plenty of time off the bench, especially as we are failing badly in front of goal. Dykes missed at least two glorious opportunities. Chair showed signs of coming back into form.

MotM between Roberts and Dickie.

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I’m amazed at the immense criticism levelled at the team and our overall performance. This was only the new Manager’s 4th game and without our best player, we dominated large sections of the match had far more possession but failed to take our chances. I’m convinced that sometimes hysterical reaction to a loss (online especially) is driven purely by result without actual performance being seriously considered. I was bitterly disappointed with the but we will play far worse and take points (Saturday for example).

The problem lies with our striking options, Dykes may try hard but fails to get in position and isn’t a finisher. Armstrong has pace, power and enthusiasm but we can’t rely on a player with no league experience, I feel we have to bring someone in.

I was really disappointed with Paal also, let’s hope he can adapt quickly to this league or we have a problem in this position also.

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