Thetownend.com

....I could have sworn at one point tonight all our players slotted back into 2 banks of 4, with the front 2 pressing thus causing PV to needlessly hoof the ball into touch......probably coincidence, as they should have been 3-1 up by half time....this is why they're down the wrong end, just about the least goals away in the league....presumably with Brooker and McPhee last season, they'd have put them away.

 Still makes a change to get a 1-0 from the inevitable dour encounter with the Valiants.

 Also pleased to see Matty Heywood getting back to something like a couple of seasons ago.....he was quite vocal, its always disappointing when you can hear the players shout......bit like a glorified reserves game.

Seemed to be giving the subs living hell with the old drills after the match.

Glad Heywood is looking back to his old self.  Taken some time though.

Shame about the attendance, Champions league, mid-week and weather can't have helped at all.

That and the free commentry on the old wireless.   8)

i think harford is working with the defence more than king did. this was evident in heywood last night

Heywood is starting to look good again I have to say.  Not quite back to his POTY standards of 3 years ago but getting there I reckon.

(N.B. POTY = Player Of The Year) :wink:

I reckon that's all down to my drunken pep talk on Saturday night.   :beers

All that Matty's "Return to form" shows is that it's far easier to play well when you're not starting games already injured.

This is the first time since his "POTY" year that he's been free from injury and acceptably fit.

All the time that he's been less good than in his "POTY" year King has known the reason why and has consciously decided that he'd rather play an injured Matty than leave him out. Asking a player to play through the pain etc. is all well and good for the club short term but if it carries on it is very definitely not well and good for the player.

It's taken Matty so long this season to get to a reasonable level of fitness because he missed ALL pre-season and so he's been trying to build fitness on no foundations. Playing doesn't get you fit it just makes you sharper if you're already fit.

Lets hope there's moreto come then......I think the same sort of thing is behind Nicho's struggles this season.

I thought that all the players looked more motivated than usual.I thought Igoe and Rhys were two of the best.Pleased for matty too.Once again dukey did very well!

I think you're wide of the mark there Reg me old mate.  He is as fit as a butchers dog.  His non-selection is a mystery - maybe only Kingy knows the answer.

I think we did look fairly solid and kept our shape.
The only problem with Heywood is he refuses to let the ball run out. He always has to save our own goal kick by giving them a throw.

Only defensive errors last night were when blokey got that volley in from 6 yards (good save Rhys!) and when Evans had to claim a cross between two unmarked Vale players about 8 yards out. Shouldn't be happening.

I noticed that with Heywood, but if that's his biggest fault I don't mind.  Least he's not like Ifil who tries turning the centre forward and standing on the ball.  If the centre half clears he's line and gives away a throw in least it gives us time to regroup and get organised.

Fair enough, but there was one occasion where we were about to get a throw round the halfway line, and Heywood sees a bloke running towards it, so instead of shielding it out (which would've been fairly easy) he hoofed it into row Z!

I like that he whallops the ball out of play, in fact I wish more defenders would do it. Like Jan says, it's better to give a throw-in to the opposition and regroup than to try and shepard the ball out and get caught out...

Obviously if you're good then you can make a decision between the two, but when you're not quite as good then the old hoof is fine by me. Clear the ball for a few seconds and sort yourself out.

Unfortunately Reg, Nicho's problems are all in Andy King's mind.

If anybody knows why King has gone off Nicho this season send your answer on a post card to Andrew Nicholas, c/o The County Ground, ...

As it stands at the moment David Duke is under no pressure for his starting place as a left back. Nicho isn't even getting on the bench.

How crazy is that ?

King continues to pick a right winger with no bottle instead of a proven left back who's no slouch when it comes to attacking. Weird or what ?

Apparently Nicho had an ankle injury for most of the season but the club never told the fans until quite recently when it was discreetly mentioned in the Gazette.

To be honest that's not what Nicho told my mate a couple of Saturdays ago when he saw him out.  He didn't have a clue why he wasn't being selected.  Best go back to the answers on a post card idea I think.

That being said I think Stan's being a little harsh on Dook.  He's had a quality season I think, excluding the two months of the season, when he was getting used to his new position.  I don't think you can say he's been shirking out of tackles.  Come on give credit where credits due.  Dook played well, very well recently.

Errrr - wrong.

Picked up an ankle injury 3 weeks ago or so when doing extra training in prep for a start that weekend - unlucky or what?

Can we curb the conspiracy theories a little, it's not fucking Area 51. Nicholas has fallen out of favour with King, isn't that obvious? We all knew King wasn't going to drop Duke after he was booed off the pitch against Torquay and his form has improved quite a lot. It's not that confusing.

booo yuff out - he's part of the conspiracy. i reckon he's not playing WoW at all, just conspiring with mr king  :wink:

I knew the geeks where planning world domination. That just proves it

So he's been out for 3 weeks, what about the rest of the season?

Frozen out.