Having taken a bit of time to process the game, I still can’t shake the feeling it will very much feel like a vital two points dropped come the end of the season - but in isolation it was so fun to be back in a packed stadium and back at an away game that compartmentalising the result becomes much easier.
There were points where we had so much quality on the field - but some of our play in the final third felt so lacking in composure. In the second half we overloaded the flanks to really great effect. Multiple times it felt like they had a full-back faced with the trio of Forde/Henry/Williams (or Bodin) on one side…or Seddon/Sykes/Whyte on the other - yet very few times were we able to really capitalise on that and make a genuine chance on goal.
Gorrin and Long really felt like they would improve that team. Brannagan is a top
player at L1 level so of course is extremely effective as the CDM - but he doesn’t break up enough play, he isn’t ‘physical’ enough and having him deeper means we don’t have his composure and canny ability to pick a pass when we get higher up the pitch. As someone else said, if KR’s opinion is that Gorrin isn’t now good enough in the holding role of the midfield trio then we need to go and get someone that he feels is. The Brannagan/Sykes/Henry trio are attractive to watch with the ball at their feet but are not strong enough, not physical enough, not savvy enough and not good enough at getting the ball back if we are genuinely aiming to get promoted.
I’m going to try not to be too negative - but the ‘pre-planned’ sub nonsense was ridiculous. We got worse with Winnall on the pitch. It wasn’t all his fault - the game became far slower and a more stunted, stop-start affair which suited them far more - but his movement isn’t as good as Taylor’s, his ability to retain the football is substantially worse than Matty’s and he was bullied in the air. I hope Winnall comes good this season, but also hope we’re prepared to get rid of him early in the January window if he isn’t able to perform.
Ending on a positive - I was impressed with all our signings. Seddon made a few defensive errors but was SO full of energy and constantly threatening as the extra wide man. Really looking forward to watching him this season. Thorniley looked solid and decent with the ball at his feet, meaning he felt like an effective like-for-like replacement for Atkinson. Williams was exactly as I remembered, i.e. direct, bad-tempered, rash tackling and generally looking like a nightmare to play against! Bodin could be a really fun sub to bring on against tiring defences if we keep him fit. He was blowing by the end having only played 30 minutes - but at points he drifted past opposition players like they weren’t even there.
Definitely lots to work on, and based on what I saw Cambridge looked like possible relegation candidates (albeit with some really talented attacking midfielders). But it was great to be back on the road at an away game, I’m glad we didn’t lose as clearly this was the absolute worst time to play Cambridge at their place, and it certainly felt like we had a LOT more fluidity and continuity from the previous season than we’ve had on opening day over the last few years…