Following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat away at Chippenham Town in the First Round of The FA Cup, I asked the Vital Lincoln City members what three things they learnt from the match.
You can discuss what has been said in this article HERE, and get involved with many other threads on our 100% Imps forum!
Here’s what sedgleyimp said:
Right…dog walked…expletives exhausted…let’s get on with this:
1. Good will is so very hard earned but so very easily lost. The wins and defensive heroics at Ipswich and Barnsley have now been forgotten. I have seen posts on this forum and (although I’m not on them) I’d imagine elsewhere suggesting that we should be looking for a new manager/head coach come Monday. That’s an over-reaction, but the reality of a result like this is that Mark Kennedy and his coaching staff are going to be under deeper scrutiny from now onwards. This kind of result can haunt a manager, especially one who is still learning his craft. One result re-sets everything back to the starting point of the season for many supporters and this will be a test of his credentials to get a reaction from the players who, let’s be honest let him and themselves down today.
2. The 3/5 at the back formation can be a dynamic attacking formation, but only if you have the right players for it. It’s a system which is being used at the highest levels in this country and Internationally. You will see it in the upcoming World Cup. But for it to be successful you just must have the right players for it. Central defenders have to be comfortable bringing the ball out from the back. Wing-backs have to be just as good going forward as defending otherwise chances are just not made. Midfielders must combine that ability to destroy the opponents game but also be that bit adventurous and look forward. At present we have players who can do the defensive bit, but not the offensive one. Consider when we were playing this kind of system under Keith Alexander specifically the central midfield position. We basically played two in midfield then, but now we have two Scott Willis’s or Ben Sedgemore’s. We haven’t got a Peter Gain and that is what is very much missing. So as we move forward through the next two months before the transfer window we must look at where the players are comfortable in playing and adapt the tactics and formations to them rather than shoe-horn them into positions they are not suited to.
3. A reliance of loan deals can bite you on the arse. Jack Diamond has been our best attacking option since he came here. Today, Sunderland refused permission for him to play. Whether that is because they want to recall him come January and to ensure he isn’t cup-tied either for them or some other team willing to buy him I don’t know. It’s a choice they are entitled to make. I don’t know if Swansea made the same decision with Jordan Garrick but he may just have made a difference today. It made us toothless though as we were relying on a young striker who has only just come back from injury who was being fed scraps. Days like this show the need to have your own contracted players, not players from elsewhere.
Thank you to Graham Burrell and Lincoln City Football Club for the photograph!
Chippenham Town 1-0 Lincoln City: Three Things We Learnt:https://t.co/5FuC58oBwE#BlueArmy #ImpsAsOne #WeAreImps
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) November 8, 2022
