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Young Prynn about to come on. Good luck to the lad.

Pleased with a point in the circumstances. No Young no Bowman

A fair and predictable result between two out-of-form teams. Neither side really did enough to warrant the three points - it was very cagey up until the final five minutes when the game opened up and Wrexham's best chance was palmed away by Rice. Our clearest opportunity came within the first few minutes but a wasteful Yeoman was denied by the keeper after Briscoe put him clean through. We were solid at the back and tried to keep the ball on the deck but had no cutting edge in the final third. Bowman was at the game so must have failed a late fitness test - we definitely missed his presence up front and lacked creativity without Young (especially from a flurry of poor set-pieces).

Rice made two decent saves and looked assured in goal aside from one mis-hit clearance which fortunately he got away with. Downes and Pearce were excellent and probably our best two players. Ives did quite well - particularly in the first half - while Dawson had a mixed debut. Got beaten a couple of times and doesn't look particularly strong or quick - a clear downgrade on Berry but he's probably only trained a couple of times so too early to judge. Richards won a fair few headers and put himself about but was weak in possession. McQuilken was a lot more comfortable on the ball and looks a tidy player. There's just not much of him. He reminds me a little of O'Kane at the start of his Gulls career. Ajala huffed and puffed as he usually does but didn't provide any end product. Chapell was the best of our front six - whipped in some dangerous crosses and had the beating of his full-back. Yeoman missed a golden chance and will be disappointed not to have scored, while Briscoe was our worst player. Didn't really run or jump and isn't shedding any weight. O'Achie didn't change too much but at least chased down defenders unlike Briscoe and it was nice to see Prynn handed his debut. He won a couple of headers - which was a couple more than the much taller O'Achie!

Considering we had Young, Bowman, MacDonald, Harding and Cruise all out injured, this patched-up spotty side can be proud of their efforts. We had two youth team players finish the game, a debutant at right-back and McQuilken played for the first time in his favoured position. There was some encouraging stuff - we just lacked a clinical edge going forward.

Dont disagree with TommyGs analysis. Wasnt a classic by any means and I wont be buying the video.

The big forward you brought on looked to be a handful and the right winger shaped up well.

Your number 7 is fatter than me.

Probably would have taken a point before the game!

Looking forward to Youngs return next week and hopefully Bowman!

Can we really afford to keep a player who hasn't bothered to lose any weight?

Most certainly would have taken a 0-0 draw before the game when I saw the team we were fielding, so cannot really complain. How did young Prynn show up?

hector wrote:Most certainly would have taken a 0-0 draw before the game when I saw the team we were fielding, so cannot really complain. How did young Prynn show up?

on the team coach with the rest of the squad.

People on here wank themselves into a coma every time Rene Howe's name is mentioned. Briscoe is nothing like as oversized as Howe, yet he's "too fat" and "can't be arsed".
Bring a fact hunt isn't doing his game any harm at all. It's **** all good employing a team full of Danny Stevens-alikes. A bit of a bulky bastard in the hole behind the strikers is ideal for the Conference.

Matt.

ferrarilover wrote:People on here w**k themselves into a coma every time Rene Howe's name is mentioned. Briscoe is nothing like as oversized as Howe, yet he's "too fat" and "can't be arsed".
Bring a fact hunt isn't doing his game any harm at all. It's f*** all good employing a team full of Danny Stevens-alikes. A bit of a bulky bastard in the hole behind the strikers is ideal for the Conference.

Matt.

Agreed, and when he thinks somethings on he can be quite pacey

ferrarilover wrote:People on here w**k themselves into a coma every time Rene Howe's name is mentioned. Briscoe is nothing like as oversized as Howe, yet he's "too fat" and "can't be arsed".
Bring a fact hunt isn't doing his game any harm at all. It's f*** all good employing a team full of Danny Stevens-alikes. A bit of a bulky bastard in the hole behind the strikers is ideal for the Conference.

Matt.

Your right Matt but Hargreaves lets himself down when he starts him wide.

Plain fact is Howe could last ninety minutes - Briscoe lasts about 35 if he's lucky.

Good result yesterday - considering the side we had out we were lucky to get nought.

A world record three pages for a match day thread - apathy has set in.

ferrarilover wrote:People on here w**k themselves into a coma every time Rene Howe's name is mentioned. Briscoe is nothing like as oversized as Howe, yet he's "too fat" and "can't be arsed".
Bring a fact hunt isn't doing his game any harm at all. It's f*** all good employing a team full of Danny Stevens-alikes. A bit of a bulky bastard in the hole behind the strikers is ideal for the Conference.

Matt.

How can you say it's not doing any harm when he struggles to complete 90 minutes? I can count on one hand how many games he has started and finished this season and that's because he's not fit enough and so becomes a liability towards the end of games. When Howe first arrived at the club, he was in poor shape but Ling put him on a programme and he lost about 20lbs during his first season. Briscoe doesn't look like he's shed any weight and blows out of his arse after an hour. Technically, he's one of our best players and is capable of producing a match-winning moment out of nothing. I'd argue he's probably our best finisher but he needs to sort his fitness out. We might be a non-league club but he's still paid to be a professional athlete. Our squad is stretched enough as it is and it doesn't help when one of our senior players struggles to complete a full match.

Agree with that tommyg. For me, he is probably our most gifted player (bar Young) with an excellent touch, finish and also a touch of speed when he sniffs an opportunity. We've all heard that he had almost a season out of football, but his physique is definitely an issue that the management and Briscoe himself have failed to sort out. Looking at old Mansfield clips, he has always been of a sturdy build, but he is way off his athletic best and that shouldn't happen with a professional at a professional club. I like him as a player, but reckon we'd all like him more if he shed at least a stone of excess from his core.

ferrarilover wrote:People on here w**k themselves into a coma every time Rene Howe's name is mentioned. Briscoe is nothing like as oversized as Howe, yet he's "too fat" and "can't be arsed".
Bring a fact hunt isn't doing his game any harm at all. It's f*** all good employing a team full of Danny Stevens-alikes. A bit of a bulky bastard in the hole behind the strikers is ideal for the Conference.

Matt.

Like others have said, I don't really have an issue with Briscoe's build, other than the fact he rarely seems to last a full game. Whether that is a tactical decision, or down to him not having enough stamina, I don't know. It might just be that he has not recovered from his injury issues yet and is not yet match fit.

You are right that people didn't have the same issues with Rene Howe but he didn't seem to falter as the game wore on, or putting it a different way, he wasn't substituted.

I personally think Briscoe is a useful player but he has not yet consistently proven it over a full 90 minutes. That day may come.