Just got back, haven't read any of the thread yet so apologies if repeating.
All a bit after the lord mayor's show. After the buzz on and off the pitch of Saturday everything seemed a little subdued tonight, both fans and players. Still, a win's a win and a clean sheet (that was probably merited, despite that sitter at the end for Crewe) is very welcome. With some big teams you'd expect to be in and around it in MAy dropping points, it seems pretty obvious that there are a few teams still 'gelling' in our league, who will move up a gear in a month or two. Important for us to get points on the board while we can.
Three players really stood out for me, all for different reasons.
First, McNally. Lad's fast becoming an absolute fan favourite. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he could have a higher ceiling than Dickie or Atkinson. The kid is just an unreal athlete. He also has that ability to drive out of defence, which was such a key attribute of those first two. What a player. I said it on Saturday, I'll say it again - does Moore, when fit, get back in the side? Not a perfect performance by any means, with a couple of dangerous moments with the ball at his feet, but I'm very impressed.
Second, Bodin. I don't think anybody was consistently good all game - it was all a bit bitty, as I say - but he looked really busy and useful for me. Showed some lovely flashes of skill. Lacking a bit of end product at the moment, but another acquisition that went under the radar a bit but I think could prove really canny.
Finally, Agyei. The guy is just such a frustrating footballer. He always, always looks like he's playing at about 75%. I was watching him quite closely when he came on, after the whole Winnall / Agyei debate of the last couple weeks, and he always just seems to reactive to everything. There were SO many times when Thorniley had the ball, looking for that big diagonal we know he loves, and Agyei, with acres of green grass, half the pitch free ahead of him, didn't make any kind of run. Same happened again in the second half, with one notable occasion with Brannagan on the left. Just needed to stretch his legs and f*****g gun it and he just kind of quickly jogs into position. He's got everything - the physical attributes, the ability on the ball, even the end product (the goal came from a wicked ball in from him) - but he just seems to refuse to use it. I thought the moment at the end with KR was very telling, when he was fouled. KR went absolutely f*****g spare, and with good reason. I do get that not every player has to be a Brannagan, Williams, Taylor-type, wear your heart on your sleeve, and some are that more lackadaisical, Berbatov type. But when the rest of the side is busting a gut to close players down and stop crosses and you're there sitting with your arms on your knees feeling sorry for yourself and not doing anything to stop the quick freekick, you're just not a KR player.
The rightback situation is really worrying, but, to be fair to the club, it's hardly due to lack of foresight. Even if we had two backup rightbacks, we would still now be out of naturals in that position. We need to get one in by the weekend, obviously, but equally the club has been dreadfully unlucky in that department.
Crewe seemed fine. Classic solid, well-organised League One side without much going forward. Were better than I anticipated, and better than Charlton imo, without the unique danger of a Stockley to give them any kind of threat up front. I also suspect I may be alone in this but I really like Madley as a referee. I like how not everything is a foul and he tries to allow for a bit of niggle. Both sides benefitted at times today and it made the game a more entertaining spectacle (although that did have all the effect of polishing a turd, to be fair).
Not a classic, bloody stressful at the end, and some concerning injuries. But the season is still shaping up really promisingly.