The question was asked about who had made a case for more first team or squad time based on the last week.
Jamie Hanson has probably been the one who has done himself the most good. We had some saying that we should just drop him from the playing squad, or pay him off. But, when fit, he is a player who gives everything and could still play a vital part in our season. Definitely worth keeping in the back ground, and could replace Gorrin as our midfield enforcer.
Luke McNally has been excellent and is certainly someone we can rotate in and out the team. A few years ago we did the same with Elliott Moore and Mous partnering Dickie, and we again have 3 very good CB's to share 2 places. I still think Moore/Thorniley slightly edge it for best partnership but have even greater confidence of knowing that McNally can come in at any time.
Sam Long. Although it's no surprise to see him step into the middle and still give 100%, the bonus was seeing his natural leadership both towards talking McNally and others through their game but also throughout the whole team. I think it was Brannagan's goal against Fleetwood where during the celebrations Long singled out a few players to talk to. A future captain and one that could follow Mous into that "future manager" role in several years.
Kane, Brannagan and McGuane. Our midfield really stood up over both games and all played roles for the team rather than their own natural game. We have an exceptional midfield, with the option of bringing in Forde/Hanson to do the ugly stuff or Henry to add creativity, this is the area that will bring us success this season.
Steve Seddon deserves a mention for showing us the player we first signed. He looked very good in his first few games, and has focused on his defending this week which was back to being solid if not exceptional. Given that he must be exhausted, he is our new Ruffels in both performance and reliability.
Gavin Whyte had a difficult couple of games where he tried and probably plated better for the team than he did for himself. I thought that he lead the line quite well, hassling the defenders and putting the hard yards in, but without ant end product. With confidence and possibly switching with Taylor after 60 minutes we may see the real benefit of him playing there.
Dan Agyei showed yesterday alone more than he has this season and played with real purpose. The ability has always been there and whether confidence or attitude it just hasn't been consistent enough in his delivery. Keep playing like that and he should get plenty of cameo performances and could be the difference to our season. I'd certainly keep him in the squad after January IF he wants to stay and fight.
Holland played as he does. Sometimes quiet, sometimes frustrating. But the ability to create something amazing once it twice a game. Henry equally looked great pulling the strings against Fleetwood, less so on the right against a very strong Rotherham. But again, that's where he is as a player.
The one player I don't think has shown us much is Billy Bodin. Admittedly he looked lively against Fleetwood but without any end product and I'm not sure how much of this is down to confidence or something just isn't clicking. I can't see him going anywhere in January but equally don't see him offering us too much unfortunately. Equally Joel Cooper, although barely played, is someone who I'm just not sure will ever make it for us. There have been sparks but far too few to see him getting a decent run and sadly I think his days are numbered more than anyone right now.
Finally, Karl Robinson had been excellent this week. The way he dealt with the covid situation, insisted on playing when possible, and getting his players up for the fight, shows the quality of the man. We had the usual suspects saying shite about him, but there are very few managers at this level that do a better job on the pitch, let alone everything he does off it for our club. It will upset a few, but he's here for the long haul, and rightly so.