Just like last season...

We are completely unable to control a game when in front. Defenders hoofing it over our midfield straight to the opposition is surely down to poor coaching. Clarke needs to get a grip- and stop making stupid suvstitutions

 

We effectively start each game with 3 defenders. None of our wing backs amount to anything defensively and none of them are left footed. That's down to recruitment. What we saw yesterday when our midfield sits deep and squeezes our back line might, arguably, be down to coaching. I say might because it might just be down to natural instinct that we go all defensive. Once players get on the pitch it limits Clarke's ability to control things. By sitting deep it leaves our attackers isolated because, more often than not the only outlet is hoofing it.

 

If you and I can see this without UEFA coaching badges it doesn't say a lot for our recruitment team

 

I think they expected more from Gent, but he’s proved himself lightweight and defensively frail.
The club has known we had too many right wingbacks for over a year and have from outside done nothing to address it.
We still don’t have enough attacking players of the necessary quality to finish top 6. Still not convinced about Dunn, I’m hoping he’s a slow burner

 

Panic signing after the Longelo deal fell through, same as the majority of our summer business. Humphrys luckily looks like he could be a decent acquisition, not hard to look good against our other strikers tho is it.

 

Should have scored last night.

 

I think we were blessed getting him. There were so many other clubs lining him up.

I hope he comes good. Great run yesterday for pen, and a decent home debut. I guess we are hardly setting him up with many chances at present though?

 

We are set up incorrectly I’d say - but it is clear that we are short of a natural left wing back given Gent is as solid as a wet paper bag; we don’t have anyone that could play right back in a back four who you’d trust defensively (unless you shoved De Gevigney out there and Earl on the left - not enough quality on the ball that way though).

O’Keeffe on the left isn’t a good solution but Clarke has little option other than Lofthouse currently. I’d give him a go over O’Keeffe but he’s not bound to be any better.

We lack balance, Longelo in the squad would have made a pretty big difference.

 

We were desperate for a ready to play left wing back, what's the point in signing Gent if he isn't going to get a chance...... Same goes for the keeper we've signed. Stockpiling players that can't/don't make a difference to the starting eleven, but they hope will be able to be sold as a profit in the future?? Dog$hit is what it is. We sold Kitching, Mads and Helik..... What has that done for us?? Absolutely nothing on the field, abysmal.

 

How do you know Gent is as solid as a wet paper bag? Weve only seen him for about 45 minutes. He deserves a chance. Same for Lofthouse.

 

The fact that Clarke isn’t even including Gent in the matchday squad tells us all we need to know. He obviously doesn’t rate him.
Like the other poster says, him and the goalie Smith are looking pointless signings. We really do some strange recruiting.

 

I was really excited by Gent. Still am long term. Not sure why he's not fancied because he was excellent up in Scotland. Smith was always one for future - though I'm assuming he was supposed to have been loaned out mate. Otherwise we'd have been better off signing him and loaning him straight back to Walsall. Pinnock wasn't fancied whilst here at times either, and look where he's ended up. Solid premier league player. Clarke has some serious work to do but im not writing any transfers off yet after 8 league games

 

He’s made five appearances, I wasn’t present for all of them but have watched them all I think.

He looks lightweight, a yard short and not ready for mens football. And he’s 21, not 17.

Desperation signing, not who we wanted as seems to be common knowledge, and the manager doesn’t feel he can play him. I’m not saying Clarke hasn’t been wrong about other stuff but only a raving lunatic would continue to select O’Keeffe at left wing back if we had a viable left footed alternative.

 

Hes played 73 minutes of league one football for us bud. Far too early to write him off. We're in league one as well, half of Scotland top tier is championship quality, majority of other half league one and then maybe 1 or 2 teams of league 2 quality. There's no way he can look one of better left backs in Scotland and then just turn to **** in league one- its up to Clarke to get him up to speed anyhow so be an interesting challenge for him mate. Id still start Lofthouse over Okeefe.

 

I dunno, he gets one chance a game to influence them when he.keeps telling Slonina to feign an injury

 

I think Gent will prove to be a really good signing. He’s got all the ability just needs to work on his positing.

But we needed two left wing backs. So it’s a failure to not recruit another. Especially when we knew we had the budget due to the midfielders we’ve signed & the extra goalie compared to last season.

 

I think a better idea would be to not play with wing backs any more.

The popular formation atm is 4-2-3-1, which would suit us a lot more

 

Poor recruitment we'd months to line up a decent left full/wingback...

Mladen's incharge of theses things the buck stops with him.

 

In this system wing backs are pivotal in a nutshell for differing reasons all we have aren't good enough. I was excited by the signing of Gent I know a show reel on YouTube can be misleading but the lad looked like he could drop a shoulder and deliver a quality cross. Not sure what's gone wrong but we need balance and we ain't getting it with O'Keeffe on the left that's for sure.

 

We have some good players at this level, for me at the moment it's square pegs in round holes.
That first 15 minutes against Bristol Rovers,was on another level .
We need to find some consistency, I beleive We can get there.