Cantwell doesnt provide adequate cover, its half arsed and he was fortunate not to concede a penalty. I know that it was a game that was closely fought between two well organised teams and the players may well know their roles. As often is the case with games managed by Eustace, it wasnt the most pleasing on the eye. The main reason for that is our lack of spark (beside Cantwell) and speed in attack which is obviously not his fault. You also have been very keen to criticise JDT since he has left after staunchly defending his style until the day he left, on which you were very angry and sad.

What you are quoting is him replying to me who has specifically clarified repeatedly that it is about results. Its a ridiculous oversimplification to suggest that we nearly went down because of JDT's style too. For some context, 3 of our regular squad players last season are currently failing to get into the Bristol Rovers team, have been loaned to League 2 and sold to the German 3rd division.

Yes, surely its self explanatory.

"Its all about results" is probably the answer to that.

Seemed like the queues as a result of the checks tonight were a joke. Piss up and brewery spring to mind.

Another borefest, Eustace football isnt entertaining but its all about results. I think tonight was a decent point but not a good watch. 19 points from 11 is a very solid return but we need to start winning away from home. Defensively we are well organised and thats where Eustace's strengths lie, certainly at home. We limit teams to very few shots on target which is a good job as Pears dealt with the little he had to tonight very strangely. Hyam is clearly not a fans favourite but he has been really good in the last 2 games without any real credit. The Carter injury is a big concern, we needed another CB in the summer as it likely will mean Batth will have to play every game, at his age and with his lack of pace that will push us further back, and our only other centre back is ancient and can only play in a back 3 so an injury to Hyam or Batth and we are in trouble. The 2 current full backs are 2 of our best players and offer something in attack and defence. They should keep their places leaving Brittain (never a winger just as he wasnt under JDT) and Pickering as very respectable cover. Tronstad again very good, Travis decent next to him. The attack is where I have huge concerns. We have 4 goals in 6 games and 2 came against 10 man QPR. Cantwell stands out but he has to play centrally, his ability is well above anyone else and he needs to be where he can hurt teams the most and not failing to provide adequate cover for Beck. It feels with the 2 strikers that Eustace is constantly rotating them because when either play, they dont do enough to deserve more games, I am not convinced by either. And our other attackers (Hedges, Dolan, Weimann and Sigurdsson) feel like a conveyor belt of players who do very little.

Hes our best RB. Better defensively, better on the ball, had a long spell at RB where he was really good. If you are a winger up against Brittain you are getting chances to get crosses in. Still, Brittain is a better right back (an actual right back) than your suggestion of Carter who struggles there.

Youve changed half of the back 4 after being really solid. Hyam was really good on Saturday and JRC was also good and is our best RB.

It wont be too long.

Carter is not a right back and Karlan Grant will have a field day if he plays there. And Hedges is hardly dominant in the air.

Obviously Eustace will pick players based on how he wants to play. But we are talking about how we would do it. Our own opinions dont have to correlate with the manager. Who would you pick as number 10 based solely on your own opinions if you was picking the team? Seperate it from Eustace for a second. Cantwell enjoyed his best form at Rangers more centrally and has said himself that he prefers to play as number 10. Im not sure he can go either way either on the left, he doesnt have the pace nor a preference for his left foot to go on the outside. There are advantages to playing him from the left, to me they are outweighed by those of playing him central, but I dont get why you keep qualifying what are supposed to be your own opinions by repeating that its how Eustace wants to play.

For you?

Lets get our best player in his best position then please.

Where did he mention about ACD?

Im not convinced that we have too many goals over the course of the season. The one natural goalscorer appears to be Ohashi, he is very much solely a penalty box player. Anticipates well, bit of a fox in the box kind of player but offers nothing outside. You look outside of that, Cantwell scored a few at Rangers but isnt going to be prolific, Dolan isnt a natural goalscorer and Hedges chips in with one every half a season. With Gueye, he doesnt seem to have the instinct to get into goalscoring positions too often and when he does, he isnt a very good finisher. I just question if he is perhaps somewhat ill suited to the rest of the squad considering the lack of width and lack of capable crossers. We will see over time I guess if he is up to the standard, if he suits the way we play and his team mates strengths/weaknesses, and if he can score a reasonable amount over the course of a season. Certainly question marks on all 3 fronts. Its not as simple as saying well how many chances were created. A good striker himself creates chances through his movement, thats why the natural goalscorers end up having more chances. Gallagher didnt used to miss many chances because again he didnt get himself into those positions.

I would agree on Hedges and have said a few times lately that he should certainly not be a regular and that I would move him on in the summer. I would also certainly agree that I would rather not let Dolan leave for free. I think the issue might be because hes been a regular, he might want a wage representative of that which is fair enough, but I am not yet convinced that I want him to continue as a guaranteed starter without seeing a bit more from him.

Im just offering my opinion on what I would do. Rather than trying to justify what Eustace is doing. I accept the idea of him drifting inside especially in tandem with an overlapping Beck. But on the flip side I see benefits in having him central, notably not potentially leaving his full back exposed defensively as he isnt the hardest worker as we saw away at Coventry in particular. But also he is our best player at receiving the ball in tight areas and the most likely to unlock a defence. That central role in theory anyway is naturally the one where you will get more influence on a game. I dont feel like Dolan has been any more productive central, and I suspect (just a hunch) that both would rather play central if they could choose. I would rather our best attacker plays there with the team built around him more, I dont think that Dolan does enough to justify guaranteed selection personally but he could play from the left. Hedges would be someone I would happily let go at the end of the season. Dolan is a more complex one. He is still only 22 but he hasnt really progressed anywhere near as I would have hoped over a number of years. I would rather keep him around but unless he has a real breakthrough season, I wouldnt see him as deserving of being offered a wage befitting a guaranteed regular, or indeed a role as such. But he would expect to be and understandably so as he has played so many games. If he does go then another club at this level will definitely pick him up. At the end of the season we have ACD, Weimann, Sigurdsson, Hedges and Dolan all at the end of their deals with us. Its a position I would really want us to overhaul as will likely naturally happen barring a sudden series of contract renewals. We need players in these positions to contribute more and we also need some pace.

I was offering an alternative comparison to Ohashi in Rhodes who also wasnt the quickest. He obviously cant be compared in terms of quality until he regularly scores 20 goals plus a season, but he is very much a penalty box player who doesnt really do anything outside of that. It might well turn out that Ohashi nailing down a regular place depends on the quantity of goals. If he scores plenty then even if it means him doing little aside, and especially considering the lack of goalscorers around him, the goals alone will keep him in the team. Your examples highlight Ohashi's penalty box sharpness and composure. On Gueye, like with all strikers, its not just a case of others supplying chances, you often find that some strikers regularly find chances coming their way because its as reliant on a strikers movement and anticipation. Take Ohashi's goal at Norwich, the little bit of movement made the goal, would Gueye have had the cleverness to be able to do that? But also a question I raised earlier. A striker like Gueye ie one who wants a very specific type of service, he is a poor technical player so he wants regular crosses. Is it not a seemingly strange bit of recruitment to sign a player who perhaps doesnt suit the players around him, ie one that lacks good crossers of the ball notably out wide? Gestede seemingly played a big role in signing him, he must have appreciated the role that the likes of Marshall and in particular Conway had in putting in so many crosses for him to attack as a player. Was there nothing in his mind to say, well we dont have that type of player, so is it wise?

You say Brittain would play there then put JRC in your team on the WBA page. Ultimately I think what you dont understand is that it is possible to have an opinion that doesnt identically match what the manager will do. I think Cantwell will continue to play from the left. But I personally wouldnt. You seemingly are suggesting that we play Cantwell left because you know that Eustace will. He has played in both positions, I have seen him play centrally a number of times for Rangers. My thinking is, he is by far our best technical player, so allowing him to pick the ball up in tight central areas where he is closer to the opposition goal makes sense to me. He is more productive on the ball, and on the flip side he isnt the most athletic nor the hardest worker. I wouldnt like to be a full back behind him as he wont do much covering. I also dont think that Dolan appears any more productive from a central position. I dont doubt that Ohashi works hard but I see him as almost a Jordan Rhodes type. In terms of his all round play, very limited. Not the quickest, wont win many headers in general play, hold up not the best, technically not the best. In the 18 yard box though, he clearly has a natural ability to make clever movement and to sniff out and take chances, all 5 of his goals so far have been very impressively taken. If he scores enough goals, then he can guarantee a place in the team. If he doesnt, then it will be hard to justify. Im not convinced yet that Gueye is of the required standard but of course there is time to prove that instinct wrong. He does some things well, but he must be a frustrating player to play with and he doesnt really look like scoring. And we arent a team that has natural crossers of a ball to feed him.

I think the back 4 and midfield 2 pick themselves after yesterday, that back 4 is our best, and although Pears is a ticking time bomb I would understand him starting the next game. The attack is where we need to look at changing it up as it didnt work the other day. Im still not convinced we have the right mix of attacking options nor that the recruitment has led (under very limited resources) to us having fully what we need. Its hard to choose and it feels like picking out of a hat each time. Gueye has had 2 starts and flattered to deceive but Ohashi struggled when he came on too. I would build around Cantwell, I would start Cozier Duberry if fit, and maybe even give Sigurdsson a game. Pears JRC Carter Hyam Beck Tronstad Travis ACD Cantwell Sigurdsson Ohashi

Of course, his personal story is a credit from him, released from Preston and dealing with personal tragedy but clearly has done well personally. He perhaps does get an unfair percentage of criticism compared to other similar attacking players who also fail to do enough often enough, maybe thats to do with his contract as much as anything. Although I did debate with a number on here regarding Hedges who also has been criticised for not doing enough. I personally think that either he needs to do more to guarantee a starting spot or risk being more of a squad player, and maybe the inability to tie him down comes from him being able to expect a decent wage considering his sheer number of games. I would like the side to be built around Cantwell but he seemingly will be played wide to accomodate Dolan more than the other way round.

Is he "pretty productive" with his end product, and is his decision making "streets ahead" of when he joined? I am not too sure on either. I think our attacking midfielders across a number of years have in the main flattered to deceive, apart from the odd individual (Szmodics and Brereton) who has contributed above and beyond what you would expect from those positions.

Why is it pleasing? Do you have an affinity for Wolves and/or O'Neil. Even allowing for a spirited performance today, he will be very lucky to keep his job being on 1 point from 8 games.

The reason that streaming has become such a big issue is because of the extortionate cost of buying all of the TV packages. You throw in the total disregard to match going fans in terms of moving so many games, coupled with the fact that as expected, the constantly increasing TV deals notably with Sky do not lead to a reduction in ticket prices. And it is little wonder that streaming is now so popular at a tiny fraction of the cost. Its a mess of the broadcasters and clubs own making. There has been talk of clamping down on it for years but it feels beyond that point now.

I agree on Cantwell. Get him in that position where he can get on the ball more in areas that suit him and has less defensively to do. Rankin Costello is a good full back at this level and has struggled with positional changes elsewhere. He isnt the liability that Brittain is and he helps to link our team from defence to attack. With Ohashi, he has to try and offer more in general play. Numerous attacks broke down as a direct result of really poor (and simple to execute) passes that may have led to him then having chances after that had the attack continued. Gueye must be so hard to play with because he isnt an intelligent footballer nor is he technically any good.