I like the graft!

Not Lizz Trusses words. My words !
That's what I want to see from tarn players. Even Cole had a blinder .
Great result from the team . Running non stop. Rovers right back was hammered tonight.
Also when the rain came I went up to the west stand upper , not been in there since we beat Man City with Aylotts header, really enjoyed it . Some proper fans up there,

 

Yep, everyone looked a lot fitter tonight than all of last season. Duff has got them fitter and way more organised.

Total domination I thought tonight. Particularly the first half.

 

Was never really worried about the opposition scoring, which makes a big change!

 

Time will tell but I do think 2 additions will see us up there which we should be aiming for. Surprised how we came out flying today.

 

Although they have lost 3 out of 4 I reckon Wycombe will be a true test of our ability and will give us a real indication of how good we are.

 

Still no goats though Mick!

 

With that rain they were hiding

 

You would have loved that then Helen lol.

 

I felt we had no pace up front with Devante,who was exceptional last night,rather wasted by Duff moving him to the right wing in the second half. Norwood so far seems a pointless waste of a signing,Aitchinson isn't a striker and offered very little. Thomas offers more threat up front but it does need at least one more striker and to start using Iseka. We are bit short skill wise in midfield, perhaps if Kane ever gets fit he will be the answer. Good performances by most of the team yesterday but there will be sterner tests.

 

Main thing for me was that we played on the front foot and got what we deserved, I'd love to see us do that in every game and see where it takes us.

 

I can't catch my breath! First @SuperTyke waxing lyrical about stewards, and now a positive from you Micky lad - today is a good day!

 

I thought all 3 central midfielders were great last night.
Connell was tidy and assured. Can read the game well. Bensons current form and attitude speaks for itself. Thomas again was tenacious with the press, he only needed to cap off his performance with a goal.

 

Only half way through but a very solid first half. Lots of energy and Styles and Benson in particular were standouts. Thought we were a bit lucky with our two goals, but could easily have scored from other good chances had the finishing been better. Very little threat from Rovers, a surprise given there seemingly good start.

Looking forward to watching the second half a little later.

 

Agree with everything that's been written in this thread, it was a pleasing performance. Benson and Thomas in particular look different players than previously and I thought Cole had possibly his best game for us. Hopefully his performance and goal might give him confidence and set him off on a goalscoring run.

Having said that, how poor were Bristol Rovers? Their one tactic appeared to be to bang it long and hope to get behind us. I thought Cheltenham were very limited but Bristol were even worse. Given that, if I was to be churlish I'd say I was slightly disappointed we're didn't expose them more and get 4 or 5. I accept that's a bit greedy though and that it was certainly nice being so comfortable and knowing we were definitely going to win - I don't remember thinking that in any game last season.

A note of caution though, whilst progress is clearly being made, I still think there will be games when we don't perform and we're all disappointed. It remains a work in progress and we need to be be patient as there will be games when things don't go right.

 

I don't like this phrase particularly but i thought we 'made our own luck' for the goals. We created space, wore them down, and kept them on the back foot. The goals felt somewhat inevitable, and that is a feeling we have all long since forgotten. Wait until you see the Joshy Benson wonder strike!

 

Definitely not quite a Val-esqe workrate performance but certainly the best since he departed.

 

Even though I knew the score, the first 2 goals didn't feel inevitable, especially being so early in the game. Good we started with a lot of energy again and hopefully there is a big effort to try and always get the first goal.

I started watching the second half and just caught Bensons goal, though now it's hanging at 1hr 25 and 10 secs.

Great strike. Really top notch hit. A decent coach, confidence and belief don't half make a difference to a player. Last season he hid terribly and his confidence and effort were equally low. Yesterday in the bit I've seen, he's wanting the ball, shielding it well, popping passes about crisply, getting back, getting forward. Just the sort of midfielder who tends to be accepted by our fans. Hope he can keep it up.

 

Don't get the Cole having had a great game. Thought apart from the goal in the 3rd minute he was bang average with a sprinkling of effort every 10 minutes. Nothing more.

2nd half would have filed a missing persons report for him other than 2 or three moments where he decided to have a go.

 

I thought we came right out of the traps from the off, that's what I meant with the inevitability. It felt that to me anyway, when we scored I wasn't surprised put it that way. When we keep possession and keep the pressure on the goals will naturally come.

And glad you enjoyed the Benson goal. He had a fantastic game and I'm really pleased for him.

 

It might have even have been Duff who said that there tends to be two leagues within League 1. I think we've got what we deserved quite accurately in the first 4 league games. On that showing, I don't think we're going to be in the second league battling the drop. Though I do expect some more departures and then a couple of cheap/free/loan additions.

I'm cautiously optimistic that given more time and better understanding with midfield and the forwards and getting a new back 3 to gel, that we might turn out to be a fair bit better than we feared. I've said for a while, technically, we're a decent side. The way you become a good side is through the decisions you make.