Into the second period and by this time we looked very makeshift. Jack Diamond was forced on early but didn’t really make an impression, and as four at the back with Sorensen on the right, I thought we’d concede many more chances than we did. We’ve gone from more centre-backs than any club needs to having to move Poole, our first-choice right-back, into the middle (he’s good enough, obviously). Yesterday, Sorensen, Boyes, Sanders, Oakley-Boothe, Duffy, and Plange all finished the game, not one of which would be in our strongest XI. It’s not an excuse, but it is a mitigating factor in why we looked a bit disjointed at times. Of course, we don’t have that excuse for Exeter away.
Fleetwood did look stronger in the second half, and we faded, but right up until the second goal, I felt we were going to get something. It’s a crap goal to concede, putting it mildly, a free header from six yards or so, and I’m sure there will be some studying of the moment in training on Monday. I do still think despite that, we deserved something, but we lost our way towards the end, and the changes felt a bit more in hope than anything. Diamond finished in the ten role, not a position he thrives in, young Duffy got on which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s a roll of the dice. Tashan, frozen out since Christmas made up the three behind Plange for the last ten minutes, with the on-loan striker once again not getting the service, or making much impact of his own. Ironic, isn’t it, that I felt we needed a big January, and aside from Erhahon, the signings haven’t had the impact we hoped, yet we’re still all-but safe.
I was a little hacked off at the EFL for once again changing the referee. I think it’s four times now they’ve scheduled one official and given us another. I wonder if they’re just trying to stop the likes of me from doing articles in advance. I thought Declan Bourne was poor yesterday, letting a lot go and generally lacking any consistency. One thing that is consistent is our delivery from free kicks in good areas. We’ve had a few now, Exeter, Peterborough, and yesterday, chances to work a keeper from 20 to 25 yards. Not one of those free kicks has been notable, meaning we’re consistent. Just not in the right way. I know Mark works a lot in training on different things, I wonder if it might be worth working on some new free kick takers? Max and Danny were both disappointing from dead-ball situations at Highbury.
Stats, for those who like to find some positives. We had more possession, the first time we have done so in a game since the back-to-back wins against Bristol Rovers and Accrington. We had 17 shots, the most in a single game since those back-to-back wins. Of those shots, seven were on target, the most since Accrington and Bristol Rovers. Our xG was 1.67, more than Fleetwood’s (1.51), and was our highest xG since, well, you know that by now, I’m sure. This was, to all intents and purposes, the sort of performance we turned in against Accrington and Bristol Rovers, only with fewer first-team players and a couple of defensive errors.
Do you see why it’s hard to assess the game? Mitigating factors, the very marginal chance of relegation, and the fact we’ve learned nothing at all. Most fans are in one camp or another – they either believe in the journey and see yesterday as disappointing, but ultimately meaningless, or see each defeat as a further indication of the fact something needs to change. There’s a small subsection of the second group that I understand want a return for two faces from the past – again, everyone is entitled to an opinion. yesterday won’t change anyone’s mind either way.
Where am I? Same place as last week, and the week before. I see the positives, but with each passing week, the balance is shifting once again. I can’t help but feel the injuries and call-ups affected us and, had we had three or four of those first-team players available, we’d have got at least a point yesterday. Is a point at Fleetwood enough? It’s all we’ve ever got from there, so I’ll say it would have been, yes. They’re the sort of team I so desperately want us to beat, spending money they don’t generate on players we can’t afford, skewing the landscape for everyone else. Forest Green do it, and they’ll be playing League Two football next season. Fleetwood have done it for years and flirted with the play-offs, but with each passing season, the amount of investment they’ve had without a return goes up beyond the sort of figure a typical Euromillions winner gets. If you keep blowing air into a balloon, eventually it will pop. I’m sure there would be Twitter responses of ‘cry more’ or ‘do you want some chips with that salt’ if their fans read this, and you know what? Maybe that would be fair. I’m not jealous of teams like them, or MK Dons, who spend more on wages than they earn in revenue, more than the club would generate as a standalone endeavour without the rich backer, but it does make me angry. Even more so when a depleted, out-of-form Lincoln City go there and still deserved something, even from a poor game.
This is a big summer for the Imps. Of the current squad, I’d keep one loan player (Virtue) as we know we’d never get Rushworth. The others, Shodipo, Plange, Diamond, Oakley-Boothe, and Boyes are all sub-par or struggled to make an impact. Of our own players, there are question marks over the impacts some could have on our first team if we’re to progress, for a multitude of reasons. -Sorensen, Sanders, Walsh, and Vernam are the main ones. Poole will go, sadly, so O’Connor, Jackson, Montsma, Eyoma, Roughan, Erhahon, Bishop and House will be the nucleus of the squad. We have some unknowns, Duffy and Mandroiu still have to settle, and the latter shows flashes of ability but not consistency right now. Keepers is hard to assess, and I’m hearing really good things about young Elicha Ahui from Ireland, who could be a surprise package for us. That still leaves us short, in my eyes needing a striker or two, wingers, and at least one attacking full back in the summer.
What I do like is that we started in a 3-5-2 yesterday, and I think that is the way forward. In that formation, O’Connor, Montsma, and Roughan would make a solid three for next season. Erhahon and (if we could get him) Virtue and Bishop might be effective, with House as a key part as well. That would mean the two wide players and another striker would be the bare minimum for a strong XI. Of course, we might get to cash in on Sean Roughan, a huge prospect with a growing reputation. We might have the same chance with Ben House as his star rises, and there’s a concern maybe Ted hasn’t quite lived up to his obvious talent. Matty Virtue might not sign, leaving us needing more reinforcements. It promises to be a big summer.
Then again, you knew that 48 hours ago. We all did. Our defeat was just another reflection of what we already know.