Everton scorefred sponsored by no takers (kick off 7pm)

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

I would have preferred Swan and Gale to swop positions with Swan on the wing and Gale down the centre. Swan is a spent force in the centre at the minute and moves broke down every time he got the ball. Gale isn’t a winger but does ruffle and battle.

[yellowstagsfan]

Straight decider with Burton now

[Cleveland_Stag]

Now tell me we don't need a striker in January.

Gale is not only slow but gives the ball away too easily, Swan didn't receive a decent pass all game.

Boateng needs a stiff talking too, didn't break sweat in this awful performance.

It’s not saying much, but I thought Boateng was probably our best player tonight, along with McLaughlin before he went off who I thought looked lively too. Boateng made a few good challenges which was good to see and thought he looked tidy on the ball.

Obviously can’t put much stock into games like this when you make a lot of changes to the team, but it’s another home game where we’ve been shut out. It’s odd how much better we look going forwards away from home compared to at home.

[SelstonStag88]

Now tell me we don't need a striker in January.

Gale is not only slow but gives the ball away too easily, Swan didn't receive a decent pass all game.

Boateng needs a stiff talking too, didn't break sweat in this awful performance.

It’s not saying much, but I thought Boateng was probably our best player tonight, along with McLaughlin before he went off who I thought looked lively too. Boateng made a few good challenges which was good to see and thought he looked tidy on the ball.

Obviously can’t put much stock into games like this when you make a lot of changes to the team, but it’s another home game where we’ve been shut out. It’s odd how much better we look going forwards away from home compared to at home.

Boateng? Best player? If we were away id of made him walk back

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

Well it could be worse.

County have lost all three of their games and finished rock bottom.

[adamstag]

Those saying we don’t need an AM/forward with some hold up play were naive before the injury to akins and the last 3 games have reiterated that point massively without thankfully affecting our league position.

But as my good friend sharp pointed out saturday in the railway, hardly like one of those is just going to magically appear, for me it wouldn’t necessarily be the physicality it would be the experience, which in swan/gale we don’t have (not their fault) i like to refer to my old example of ned kelly/scott sellers when we last got promotion from this league, it’s that which we miss for me.

[stagone1959]

Boateng best player.Stop it I need to stitch my sides up.

[MTFCMusings]

I would have preferred Swan and Gale to swop positions with Swan on the wing and Gale down the centre. Swan is a spent force in the centre at the minute and moves broke down every time he got the ball. Gale isn’t a winger but does ruffle and battle.

More moves broke down off Gale than Swan, he’s a turnover machine.

[yorkshire stag]

Gale needs to go out in January, confidence is shot sadly, looking like maybe a season to soon for him sadly

[BH_Stag]

Would definitely agree that another forward would be useful, with Gale going out on loan.

For me it doesn’t have to be a goal machine that comes at a premium price. I’d like another player that fits in to the way we play, can play with his back to goal, has a good first touch, can link up play with our midfielders and has a good work rate. If Akins isn’t available then it effects the way the whole team plays. Obviously you want them to be able to put the ball in the net too don’t get me wrong - what I’m saying is they have to be the right profile.

Swan is having a tough time of it. One or two mention he makes the runs but doesn’t get the service and I take that on board to an extent, but he’s a league 2 footballer now - he’s got to start finding a way to be effective. Looks short on confidence when his chances do fall as well. We have to hope he can nick a goal off the bench and that sets him on his way. Gale, well fair to say he needs to go out and get some more experience. He looks a bit panicked and more often than not just ends up fouling his opponent.

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

I would have preferred Swan and Gale to swop positions with Swan on the wing and Gale down the centre. Swan is a spent force in the centre at the minute and moves broke down every time he got the ball. Gale isn’t a winger but does ruffle and battle.

More moves broke down off Gale than Swan, he’s a turnover machine.

Maybe that’s because he was more involved. Swan was a total passenger for me and I can’t remember him making anything like a reasonable contribution apart from one cross into nobody in the box. He just does nothing at the moment and it’s not because people aren’t playing him in, he’s just not there at the right time and when he does pass to a colleague the ball is usually short and results in the other player losing it.

[bigalstag1]

On this seasons evidence Swan would struggle to hold down a place in a Sunday league side. To easy to knock off the ball, static, and looking disinterested ,unless the ball is played to his feet. He's got to work to get out of his slump, and it's just not happening. At least Gale puts the work in, even if the end product is not always there.

[MTFCMusings]

I would have preferred Swan and Gale to swop positions with Swan on the wing and Gale down the centre. Swan is a spent force in the centre at the minute and moves broke down every time he got the ball. Gale isn’t a winger but does ruffle and battle.

More moves broke down off Gale than Swan, he’s a turnover machine.

Maybe that’s because he was more involved. Swan was a total passenger for me and I can’t remember him making anything like a reasonable contribution apart from one cross into nobody in the box. He just does nothing at the moment and it’s not because people aren’t playing him in, he’s just not there at the right time and when he does pass to a colleague the ball is usually short and results in the other player losing it.

I took a mate tonight who doesn’t usually watch Stags. His opinion was that he could see something in Swan (probably that he could actually control the ball), whereas he thought Gale looked like a Sunday league player. Obviously that’s just one opinion based on one game.

Swan as I said the other day looks short on confidence but has at least proved he can score goals at a decent rate at this level. Gale on the other hand just looks out of his depth to me at present. He does have something about him but it needs refining and that will only come with playing games.

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

I would have preferred Swan and Gale to swop positions with Swan on the wing and Gale down the centre. Swan is a spent force in the centre at the minute and moves broke down every time he got the ball. Gale isn’t a winger but does ruffle and battle.

More moves broke down off Gale than Swan, he’s a turnover machine.

Maybe that’s because he was more involved. Swan was a total passenger for me and I can’t remember him making anything like a reasonable contribution apart from one cross into nobody in the box. He just does nothing at the moment and it’s not because people aren’t playing him in, he’s just not there at the right time and when he does pass to a colleague the ball is usually short and results in the other player losing it.

I took a mate tonight who doesn’t usually watch Stags. His opinion was that he could see something in Swan (probably that he could actually control the ball), whereas he thought Gale looked like a Sunday league player. Obviously that’s just one opinion based on one game.

Swan as I said the other day looks short on confidence but has at least proved he can score goals at a decent rate at this level. Gale on the other hand just looks out of his depth to me at present. He does have something about him but it needs refining and that will only come with playing games.

Or by playing him in his most effective position which isn’t down the wings.

Swan looks a bit like a one season wonder to me. We’ve seen plenty of those over the years and I’ve not seen anything that convinces me he can reproduce last season’s goal tally. It may be confidence but I think it’s deeper than that and I think we are now seeing why Forest were happy to sell him while they had the chance. He was shown up for lack of pace tonight in areas where it mattered. It was a bit of pace that created his chances last year but he seems to have lost a yard or two this time around. His shooting is now completely devoid of any type of power and his accuracy also seems adrift. When Gale was looking for someone to pass to tonight it was generally Boateng he had to turn to as Swan seemed incapable of getting away from his markers. If he’s going to playing the middle he has to find space which he isn’t consistently doing. In short he is flattering to deceive and out of the two of them, Swan would be the one I’d be loaning out to the conference for a month or two but I think if he didn’t succeed there we would have a very difficult job to get him anywhere near last season’s player.

[Sneag]

What was the crowd & was the gate shut?

[Rob]

I would have preferred Swan and Gale to swop positions with Swan on the wing and Gale down the centre. Swan is a spent force in the centre at the minute and moves broke down every time he got the ball. Gale isn’t a winger but does ruffle and battle.

More moves broke down off Gale than Swan, he’s a turnover machine.

Maybe that’s because he was more involved. Swan was a total passenger for me and I can’t remember him making anything like a reasonable contribution apart from one cross into nobody in the box. He just does nothing at the moment and it’s not because people aren’t playing him in, he’s just not there at the right time and when he does pass to a colleague the ball is usually short and results in the other player losing it.

I took a mate tonight who doesn’t usually watch Stags. His opinion was that he could see something in Swan (probably that he could actually control the ball), whereas he thought Gale looked like a Sunday league player. Obviously that’s just one opinion based on one game.

Swan as I said the other day looks short on confidence but has at least proved he can score goals at a decent rate at this level. Gale on the other hand just looks out of his depth to me at present. He does have something about him but it needs refining and that will only come with playing games.

Or by playing him in his most effective position which isn’t down the wings.

Swan looks a bit like a one season wonder to me. We’ve seen plenty of those over the years and I’ve not seen anything that convinces me he can reproduce last season’s goal tally. It may be confidence but I think it’s deeper than that and I think we are now seeing why Forest were happy to sell him while they had the chance. He was shown up for lack of pace tonight in areas where it mattered. It was a bit of pace that created his chances last year but he seems to have lost a yard or two this time around. His shooting is now completely devoid of any type of power and his accuracy also seems adrift. When Gale was looking for someone to pass to tonight it was generally Boateng he had to turn to as Swan seemed incapable of getting away from his markers. If he’s going to playing the middle he has to find space which he isn’t consistently doing. In short he is flattering to deceive and out of the two of them, Swan would be the one I’d be loaning out to the conference for a month or two but I think if he didn’t succeed there we would have a very difficult job to get him anywhere near last season’s player.

Gale needs to go on loan, he was poor tonight and has been all season - if he does not go on loan he will be released at the end of the season as he will not get the chance to prove himself otherwise - he has not taken any chance given to him so far this season. As for Swan, the club paid big bucks for him and he is with us for two more seasons, they will persevere with him even though he is struggling at the moment. Your support of Gale is commendable, but quite clearly misguided.

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

More moves broke down off Gale than Swan, he’s a turnover machine.

Maybe that’s because he was more involved. Swan was a total passenger for me and I can’t remember him making anything like a reasonable contribution apart from one cross into nobody in the box. He just does nothing at the moment and it’s not because people aren’t playing him in, he’s just not there at the right time and when he does pass to a colleague the ball is usually short and results in the other player losing it.

I took a mate tonight who doesn’t usually watch Stags. His opinion was that he could see something in Swan (probably that he could actually control the ball), whereas he thought Gale looked like a Sunday league player. Obviously that’s just one opinion based on one game.

Swan as I said the other day looks short on confidence but has at least proved he can score goals at a decent rate at this level. Gale on the other hand just looks out of his depth to me at present. He does have something about him but it needs refining and that will only come with playing games.[/quote]

Or by playing him in his most effective position which isn’t down the wings.

Swan looks a bit like a one season wonder to me. We’ve seen plenty of those over the years and I’ve not seen anything that convinces me he can reproduce last season’s goal tally. It may be confidence but I think it’s deeper than that and I think we are now seeing why Forest were happy to sell him while they had the chance. He was shown up for lack of pace tonight in areas where it mattered. It was a bit of pace that created his chances last year but he seems to have lost a yard or two this time around. His shooting is now completely devoid of any type of power and his accuracy also seems adrift. When Gale was looking for someone to pass to tonight it was generally Boateng he had to turn to as Swan seemed incapable of getting away from his markers. If he’s going to playing the middle he has to find space which he isn’t consistently doing. In short he is flattering to deceive and out of the two of them, Swan would be the one I’d be loaning out to the conference for a month or two but I think if he didn’t succeed there we would have a very difficult job to get him anywhere near last season’s player.[/quote]

Gale needs to go on loan, he was poor tonight and has been all season - if he does not go on loan he will be released at the end of the season as he will not get the chance to prove himself otherwise - he has not taken any chance given to him so far this season. As for Swan, the club paid big bucks for him and he is with us for two more seasons, they will persevere with him even though he is struggling at the moment. Your support of Gale is commendable, but quite clearly misguided.[/quote]

In your opinion but then again you thought Kellan Gordon was the best thing since sliced bread and look what happened there.

Neither player is tearing any trees up at the moment but at least Swan is being played in his best (loosely termed) position. That isn’t the case with Gale. Just because we paid big bucks for Swan doesn’t mean he should get preferential treatment and he clearly isn’t doing any better than Danny Johnson did in this setup. I think he would be sold if a decent bid came in.

If Gale goes out on loan, he will not come back but he clearly has the potential to make an excellent league 2 centre forward when he has more experience. He can shoot with both feet and puts plenty of effort and enthusiasm into his play. While we have a shortage of strikers, Gale should be played down the middle and given the game time he clearly needs. You can’t expect an unproven, inexperienced player to step in and perform like a seasoned warrior straight away. Think of him like your favourite Ali Smith who needed the game time to develop. You thought it a mistake to let him go but want to do the same with Gale who has even more potential and drive.

[Chrisuknottm]

I've just read the managers interview and all of a sudden the injuries have hit us again, Akins, DKD, Reed and Clarke all out now..... 4 first choice players.....and Macca feeling his injury again......why can't we keep the squad fit?

[Martin Shaw]

I've just read the managers interview and all of a sudden the injuries have hit us again, Akins, DKD, Reed and Clarke all out now..... 4 first choice players.....and Macca feeling his injury again......why can't we keep the squad fit?

DKD and Reed were just rested.

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

I've just read the managers interview and all of a sudden the injuries have hit us again, Akins, DKD, Reed and Clarke all out now..... 4 first choice players.....and Macca feeling his injury again......why can't we keep the squad fit?

DKD and Reed were just rested.

That’s not what Clough says at the bottom of this club article Martin. He clearly says that DKD will not be available on Saturday but doesn’t say what his injury is.

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2023 ... rophy-tie/

[victor A block]

Ironically whilst it was the defence that was our undoing last season, this year its going to be at the other end of the pitch.

Gale would struggle to hold a place down in the National League. He's not League 2 level for now. Needs to go out on loan.
Akins has been fantastic and is a big miss, but is not a 20 goal a season man.
Swan...I'm really scratching my head... looks a shadow of last season.
Oates is going to have a lot on his shoulders and it depends how much game time he actually gets with his injury record.

We are going to need someone in.

[Martin Shaw]

I've just read the managers interview and all of a sudden the injuries have hit us again, Akins, DKD, Reed and Clarke all out now..... 4 first choice players.....and Macca feeling his injury again......why can't we keep the squad fit?

DKD and Reed were just rested.

That’s not what Clough says at the bottom of this club article Martin. He clearly says that DKD will not be available on Saturday but doesn’t say what his injury is.

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2023 ... rophy-tie/

The article misrepresents what Clough said. I was there. DKD and Reed were rested and did not train on Monday either because they were exhausted.

Dean and I also asked Clough about the return of Quinn and O'Toole, and I'll include the details in my report.

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

I've just read the managers interview and all of a sudden the injuries have hit us again, Akins, DKD, Reed and Clarke all out now..... 4 first choice players.....and Macca feeling his injury again......why can't we keep the squad fit?

DKD and Reed were just rested.

That’s not what Clough says at the bottom of this club article Martin. He clearly says that DKD will not be available on Saturday but doesn’t say what his injury is.

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2023 ... rophy-tie/

The article misrepresents what Clough said. I was there. DKD and Reed were rested and did not train on Monday either because they were exhausted.

Dean and I also asked Clough about the return of Quinn and O'Toole, and I'll include the details in my report.

Well that’s certainly a relief Martin but you would have thought the club could get their own press release correct. Maybe it’s another attempt to confuse the opposition and it certainly confused me (yes, I know that’s not hard to do )

[oldweststander]

Getting back to Boateng, I thought he was extremely poor, did he break sweat, not sure he did.

Macca did ok but Cargill is certainly not a midfielder.

Star of the night, for me, was young Abdulla who didn't look out of place.

The two up front were working with scraps but Gale should be doing better and not giving the ball away so easily and regularly. Loan him out to play week in, week out in the National League it's sink or swim time for him I think?

[Bradders]

Ironically whilst it was the defence that was our undoing last season, this year its going to be at the other end of the pitch.

Gale would struggle to hold a place down in the National League. He's not League 2 level for now. Needs to go out on loan.
Akins has been fantastic and is a big miss, but is not a 20 goal a season man.
Swan...I'm really scratching my head... looks a shadow of last season.
Oates is going to have a lot on his shoulders and it depends how much game time he actually gets with his injury record.

We are going to need someone in.

Certainly Gale and Swan have now been given enough game time to be up to speed, and neither is showing signs of improvement.
Swan has just lost his form, and Gale still looks too basic.

Oates has been out for a long time but looks impressive straight away, so it's not that players need dozens of matches before we can judge.

Once Akins returns, I'm hoping that combining him with Oates and DKD will give us the lethal threat we need.

It will be disheartening for Gale to go on loan again, and it may be that the clubs agree that it's a loan with the prospect of a move at the end. But even more disheartening for him to be stuck in the reserves all season, just at the point when he expected to be enjoying regular competitive football.

Swan will have to accept that he'll be brought on for ten or fifteen minutes, and take it from there. The big advantage for a goalscoring forward is that he can prove his worth by knocking the ball into the net. Get goals off the bench and everyone knows that you're worth a place in the side. Easy.