Latest / Blood, Sweat & Gills / Incremental gains, but our first win remains elusive | Gillingham 1-1 Northampton Town

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Incremental gains, but our first win remains elusive | Gillingham 1-1 Northampton Town · Blood, Sweat & Gills

• Simon Head: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Blood Sweat and Jills. I'm Simon Head from Jills365. As usual, I have Matt from Jills in the Blood TV with me. It's a bank holiday. I won't call it a special because the performance on Saturday wasn't special, but it was another one that had some positivity to it. Matt, it feels like this is a bit of a rinse and repeat from the one that we did last week where there were elements of good stuff that we saw. But ultimately the end result wasn't quite what we ⁓ what we were hoping for, right? What were your immediate takeaways just as you were leaving the ground on Saturday? ⁓ probably a mixture of encouragement and frustration. ⁓ I think it was a fairly even split, I'm not gonna lie. ⁓ maybe leaning towards if you made me pick one, frustration a little bit more. I thought that first half hour, thirty five minutes, we were very, very good. I thought we got the ball down, we played some really good stuff. We were quick, we were incisive and everything we did. I thought we were getting the right players on the ball in the right areas, your Brofies, your Hales, your Goodwins, your Nick Freemans. Goal after seven minutes or whatever it was. ⁓ Sun was out, I think, at that point and we thought, Here we go. Maybe we've had lift off. But ⁓ such is the nature of being a Gillingham fan. even when we make a good defensive block it doesn't seem to help us at the moment. I thought their goal was really fortuitous, albeit it's a really good finish when it falls at the feet of Logan Briggs. But yeah, just thought that was again and I know you've used the the phrase, it it just felt like the pin in the balloon a little bit. And for ten minutes we just looked a little bit I don't want to say shaky 'cause I don't think we ever came under the kosh. Northampton certainly had more ball and probably played the game in our half for them ten minutes between the goal and the half time whistle. ⁓ But I don't think that first win's far away. I really don't. Yeah, for me, the way I'm I'm looking at this, and maybe I've got the rose tinted spectacles on or the Jills tinted spectacles on, but I'm looking at this compared to other seasons that we've had where we've maybe had a more established squad that have been together for a bit longer, and we've had pre season together by and large, and we've hit the ground running and we've won games and we've looked frighteningly competent early on, right? And then we know what happens after the clocks go back, right? It's like ⁓ it's like it's past midnight and Cinderella all of a sudden has ⁓ you know the carriage has turned into a pumpkin and it's all gone wrong, right? So this time round it feels it feels very different to that because this is this is a team that is still in the getting to know you stage and it feels like we're seeing incremental gains, if you like. small little improvements, little changes. It might be an individual performance. It might be someone playing in a different position or someone coming into the team. I feel like we're up like the the trajectory is upward, but the curve is quite flat, if that makes sense. So we're you know, if if you were to look at the graph, like we're not we're not, you know, we're not going to the moon sort of straight up. It's it's it's a very, very steady improvement. But I'm seeing I'm seeing positives there. The thing is when you go to the moon though, Simon, the only way is back down. So I'm I'm quite happy with how we're going along at the moment. Obviously I'd like us to win football matches, I get that. But yeah, there's only one direction you go from the moon and that is to plummet generally to seventeen. Yeah, I'd rather we were I'd rather we sort of continue trending upwards as the season went on. ⁓ I know everyone is probably thinking, let's hope that we still don't have a fall off when we get to October. you know, regardless of what's happening now. But I don't know, I just I just feel like this group of players is gonna be is g is gonna look better the further the season goes on. Obviously injuries and suspensions is gonna be a factor 'cause they always are. But I just feel like this team has got got a bit more about it to quality, terms of legs. I think that's something we missed badly in midfield last season. And I just think that there's there's a lot more positivity around the unit and and When we start to get some of these other players back as well, who knows? By the time some of you listen to this, we might already have another player or two in. We'll see what happens. But I just I don't know. I'm not saying, you know, everyone needs to stop worrying everything's gonna be fine and dandy, but I'm I'm I'm still quite optimistic, mate. I don't know am I am I being slightly deluded? Have I not had enough sleep last night? Well, I know I haven't had enough sleep last night, but i is it is it a case of We need to just suck it and see a little bit and just wait and really be patient and see how we are when we get to October, because by then you'd like to think we'll be more settled as a side. Absolutely. I mean, you've seen comments on social media, I've seen comments on social media. It's ludicrous to be sat here at the moment ⁓ and talking about the manager being under pressure. writing any player off. ⁓ we've seen questions of the the fitness team and the recruitment and the physios and all that because of injuries, but I think I've said it on a previous show and I've certainly said it on mine so you can't sit here as a fan base, which we've done, I've done, you've done, ninety nine percent of the supporters have done, and demand a complete overhaul of the playing squad and then after three games write it off. For me that's ridiculous. Look at the average age of that team on Saturday. I mean you take Gareth McCleary out of that and it drops even further. Gareth McCleary's bumped that up being thirty nine years of age, but you've got at the end of that game on the pitch, you've got twenty three year old goalkeeper. Your two centre backs are under twenty five. ⁓ your s y your front three is well take McCleary out like I say, but you've got a twenty year old centre forward, you've got an eighteen year old on loan, central midfield you had Waldock. who's a teenager. McManus started the games only twenty, twenty one. We're doing everything we can, I think, to rectify the issues that we've seen over the last few seasons. We've been accused of, you know, buying names and I put that in inverted commas, your Johnny Williams, your Sam Vokes, maybe your Macaulay Bonds even before that. Players that are players that are thirty plus that are maybe on the wrong side of the hill, so to speak, in terms of a career. So again, we can't moan about that and then expect all these youngsters to come in and hit the ground running and be absolutely spot on from the get go. And at the end of the day we're League Two. So players are not gonna be spot on all the time because we said it last week they wouldn't be playing for us and they wouldn't be in League Two. Question for everyone though three games in, we've got two points. We played three games last season against Accrington, Walsall and Trammere and we had five points. Were the performances better in them three games? Not for me. We went to Accrington, we were backs to the walls. We scored a fairly fortuitous equaliser direct from a corner. Warsaw was a horrible, bitty game. Bradley Dakic from the edge of the box. We went to Tramir and equalised in the ninety sixth minutes in a horrible game where we were probably second best. So aside from the the collapse against Walsall in the last fifteen minutes, I would say that the performances over the first three fixtures compared to this time last year have been fundamentally better in every single aspect aside from that quarter of an hour. And incidentally, our fourth fixture last season was Chesterfield. Albeit it was at home. Yeah, who who is who is booking Gillingham and Chesterfield to play each other on Tuesday night? It's happened a lot, I think, last few seasons. But yeah, crazy. The other thing I'll throw in there, just to add to what you're saying, is and I'm one of these people who doesn't care what we look like as a football team, as long as we're all sort of rowing in the same direction and we're effective, right? So I don't care if we're a long ball team or whether we're playing Tiki Tacker sort of short passing. I don't I don't care, right? I just want to see entertaining. For me, and winning football is entertaining football, right? I don't I don't there's many ways to skin a cat and I don't mind which which method we use. But for those that maybe, you know, for whom maybe it is more important that they see a bit more football, we are seeing a bit more football with this Gillingham side. Like last year we were an unashamedly long ball team. You know, that's that that's how we played. this year. That was it. That was literally all we had last year. Yeah. And it wasn't effective either. But that's by the by, but w that that that was our that was our MO. We, you know, we were hitting it long. We were now we're mixing things up a bit. Like the first the first 15 minutes on Saturday, we barely hit the ball longer than about fifteen, twenty yards. Everything was being passed around, we looked composed at the back, we were, you know, no one was rushing. And it was nice that the the crowd weren't getting on their backs either. I mean, it's very early in the game, so that's that helps. But we were using the ball well. We weren't wasting possession. We were we were making we were making Northampton run around. It was great. And then we started to mix some long balls into the in in into the play. And I thought it I thought we had a really nice balance to what we were doing. And you know, with the other the other thing I was encouraged by and will this leads me on to Connor McManus, who we'll talk about in a sec. We look like we have balance on both sides of the pitch. A lot of the time when you go back and look at some of our performances, particularly over the last year or so, we've tended to put all of our play down one side. And I don't know why that is. It's just been the way it has been. It's often been down our right hand side. and we've tended to be kind of a a a very lopsided team. And now we don't look like a lopsided team. Nick Freeman, who and I want to talk about him as well, ⁓ has been getting some strange criticism, I think. ⁓ I don't know whether it's just that he's he's been the one that people have chosen. I've heard that people have been giving him some stick which I find crazy. He's he's I think he's been very effective on that right hand side. You know, he isn't a right wing back by trade. He's a centre midfielder who's doing a job for us. But he's doing a good job out there. He's working his socks off and he's he's he's getting himself forward. Now a lot of players who When they're not playing in a natural position, don't get into the right positions, right? So if you've got a centre midfielder playing right wing back, you'll find that they're either too cautious and they sit back too far, or they they push forward too much and they get caught. He's actually doing a good job out there positionally. And then you've got Connor McManus who's come in on the left hand side and just looks like a natural fit there. Like he that to me looks like his his best position. Maybe left back, maybe left wing back. But he's he I thought he looked outstanding on his debut. So We've got balance as well. So to me, again, it goes into the whole narrative that I'm kind of talking about here is that it's positive signs. And the only thing missing is the end result and the three points. And I know everyone will say, ⁓ but that is kind of why we're all here. We want to win games. We can't say it's all positive and then be forty six games in and say it was positive, but we didn't win enough games. That's things will improve. I'm sure things will improve. And and this team We'll get more familiar with each other as we go along. But let me ask you about McManus, Matt, because he came in and had a I thought an outstanding debut. He got the goal, which was like the cherry on top of the cake. You wouldn't expect your left wing back to be our goal scorer. ⁓ un especially one who's making his his debut for us and possi I think he's probably senior debut full stop. What did you make of him overall? Like we've seen a couple of substitute appearances from him. What did you make of him? o across the full whatever it was, seventy, eighty minutes or so that he played. I think the fact that he went off with cramp is is testament to his performance and and number one that comes because of the fact that he's a youngster adjusting to League Two football and he's a youngster adjusting to senior football so that's going to happen. But for whatever it was seventy five minutes like you say, I thought he was absolutely outstanding. And I think we spoke last week and I said as much as it's a huge loss, Kadeem Harris now probably missing all of the season. I know Gareth's trying to add that positive spin, which we know he likes to do, but I'd be very surprised if Gadeem Harris plays again this season because that's that's nine months ⁓ c anterior cruciate ligament. So but I thought we looked more balanced. We just looked more naturally aside more comfortable in its own skin playing that three four one two or three four two one system depending on the personnel. It meant that When the ball went to McManus, the right back or the centre half of Northampton didn't automatically think, right, he's going to step inside and play with his right foot, which tends to happen with with Kadem, as good as he is. And I know Kadim's got on the outside a couple of times prior to the injury and put in good balls. But It just looked like we were moot more suited to that formation with Connor out there on the left hand side. And what I liked was clever as well. If if ever you saw that McManners was one side of the halfway line, Freeman would just have a look and go, right, I'll just drop in just in case. ⁓ and vice versa. And ⁓ yeah, that was a really, really good debut. Like I wanna make that on your point about the goal. And I think we said the same similarly to Zayn Albus in previous episodes, he's come in and he's looked like he's been in that team for donkeys years. Conor McManus comes in on debut, 18, 19, 20 years of age, whatever. He's probably thinking first 15 minutes, if I get the ball, I want to have a solid touch and I want to give it to someone else and I don't want to make a mistake. Absolutely not a bit of that. He's gone, right, that ball's coming my way. I'm going to get on the wrong side of the fullback and I'm going to make sure I'm in a position to get myself on the end of the cross. The finish is that of a centre forward. Like it's really, really good header. He's not panicked at all. Yeah, the cherry on the icing on the cake, like you said, just gutted for him and everyone else that we couldn't just quite get it over the line and win the football match. Yeah. I mean, I thought I I I used to be a left back way back, way, way, way back when I first started first started playing, I was a left back. So I always I always watched with a little bit more a little bit more of a vested interest the players playing left back. To me, he looks like the perfect the perfect left wing back for us. And you know what you were saying earlier about The profile of player that we sign now. We've got a much younger p profile now. And previously we signed a lot of older, more established players. The thing is, when you sign these older, more established players, they're more of a known quantity to you. But you also know where their ceiling is. We know what their limitations are. We don't know how good these youngsters are yet. We have no idea where their ceiling is. These guys may may be good League Two players as they develop, they might be much, much better than that. You just don't know. And it it is a gamble, but we're seeing quality already. I mean, obviously we had Sam Gale previously, who's gone on to to League One football, and Barnsley can't say enough nice things about him. And it might, you know, if he carries on putting in performances like that this time next year, that maybe it'll be them wishing that they could hang on to him a bit longer. But we'll see. ⁓ but Logan Dobbs has come in and looked like look far more competent and comfortable than anyone of his age should look being thrown in in the manner in which he has. You got McManus, you got Alborus, you got Harry Waldock who I wanted to ask you about as well. He came in and when when the team sheet came out, and the first thing that that leapt off the page to me, and I you know, we're on a group chat and I mentioned straight away, Alborus Injant question mark. ⁓ and my immediate worry was ⁓ my god, we haven't lost another one of our one of our new signings and arguably the best performing new signing we've got ⁓ to that point. ⁓ turned out it was it was ⁓ precautionary, thank goodness. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see him on Tuesday, but if not, I think we will see him next Saturday. But but for him to be missing I thought was a big loss for us. But Harry Waldock coming in, I thought was a a huge plus. A huge plus. So you can say the same, you know, you they aren't they aren't conflicting statements, right? Because they for a start they played in different positions. Harry Waldock played box to box on Saturday. Zane Albor Zayn Alborus played as a holding midfielder. That's what Robbie McKenzie did on Saturday. He kind of took on the Zane Albus role. And I thought Harry Waldock came in, he covered every blade of grass and was outstanding. And it immediately got me thinking, it's like Albus is twenty years old, I think. Harry Waldock's 19 years old. That could be the middle of our midfield for the next five, six years if we can keep them together. The question is, how long is it going to take before we eventually decide that they are our first choice centre midfield pairing? Because you can see the potential already. And the pair of them would actually dovetail quite well. But yeah, I mean, super impressed by Waldo. I've been impressed by Waldock. Pretty much every time I've seen him, but Saturday I thought was superb, the way he was bursting forward and you know. I just thought he looked ready made for the first team. What did you make of him? I thought he was our best player first half. I really did. I thought he ran the show in the middle of the park. I thought because I thought Mackenzie struggled again. And I I I like Robbie McKenzie, you know what you get with Robbie McKenzie. He's for me, he's a Rob Seal footballer, he does exactly what he says on the tin. don't think he's been quite at it this season, Robbie. I don't know whether he's carrying a knock. He came off limping, ⁓ he was limping at full time when the players did their applause and lap of honour if you want to call it that. ⁓ yeah I thought Waldock was superb. Like you say again, similar to what we said about Albus when he first came into the team, what we said about McManus gambling straight away. Waldock didn't look like a player that's only played half a dozen first team games. He looks like he's established and he's been in there forever. ⁓ And he was the one that took the game by the scruff of the neck in the middle of the park and and whether that was necessity because of Robbie getting a book in and then Robbie somewhat fortuitously, I think we'll all agree avoiding a second book in. Very fortuitously, I would say. I thought I thought Wooldock took the game by the scruff of the neck and said, Right, I'm gonna be the one that that makes things happens in here. Robbie had to play within himself, I understand that 'cause he couldn't make a tackle similar to Beckles after he got booked to pull in a shirt. ⁓ Really, really good. Faded a little bit second half, but so did we collectively. The conditions didn't help second period. It was that wind was absolutely horrendous. ⁓ but yeah, another encouraging one who if we go to Chesterfield Tuesday and you see his name on the team sheet, got no concerns at all. And ⁓ yeah, I've I I felt a little sorry for him 'cause there were comments I saw on social media about ⁓ we're weaker in midfield now. Were we? Don't think we were. No, I mean I think I think with with regards to Robbie McKenzie, Robbie McKenzie, as you said, like I I I agree with what you said. And I think those two tackles that that got penalised, one was a book in one of them probably should have been, they effectively completely changed the way he had to play the rest of the game because he knew he knew he was basically on his last warning, one more mistake, he was having an early bath. And I thought I thought he he he disciplined himself really well after that. ⁓ you know, there were times where there were probably tackles to be made and he had to kind of be a bit more bit more circumspect and sort of maybe, maybe back off a step, ⁓ which you wouldn't normally want, but when you're in that position you've got to do it. And I thought from from a from a team standpoint he he did incredibly well. Overall performance wise it definitely took something away from him. but I thought under the circumstances he he he did as well as as well as you could hope for someone who was treading a tightrope for the best part of eighty minutes. So but yeah, Harry Waldock. Very excited by Harry Waldock. We've talked about the young players a lot. I want to talk about Omar Beckles. ⁓ and Omar Beckles is one of these players who he arrived at the club last year and it felt like he didn't while while he came into the team it felt like he wasn't fully settled in his role and it took a little bit of time. Start of this season, he he came in and obviously was going to be partnering Liam Gordon. That all changed with Liam Gordon's injury. And I think Beckles has had to take a much even though he was brought in to take a senior role, I feel like that's had to be even more so now with with Liam Gordon out. ⁓ Gordon, of course, being selected as the club captain at the start of the season. I thought Beckles was outstanding on Saturday. I really do. And That to me was the le it was was the Omar Beckles that I think that the club was signing when they brought him to the club. And there are certain things that that the Omar Beckles sometimes struggles with and they tend to be when he gets turned and then he's going back towards his own goal. Or and I've noticed this, when he gets given lots of time in possession and then suddenly gets closed down. Sometimes his his decision making can be a little bit slow when he's on the ball. But Throw a ball in the air in his general direction. He'll go and win it. ⁓ and he loves a physical challenge. I thought he had his certainly the best game I I don't go to the away games 'cause I'm not able to, but of all the home games I've seen in him, that to me was his best performance in a Jill shirt. I mean, you've you've seen more of him. Where did that performance rate for you? I thought he was like you said and and we mentioned it last week because I criticised him after Warsaw because I didn't think we saw Omar Beckles do what a captain should do when we conceded that first goal. For two games on the bounce now though, he's been everything that you want in a senior centre half. That's having to cajole these two youngers younger lads next to him through games. ⁓ booking is probably a by product of what you just said about when he gets turned. Anyone who becomes handsy ⁓ you know he's in the wrong position and he just had a grab out. I think there was a couple of people in the ground that thought it was Robbie McKenzie at first because he was in the vicinity as well and there was a lot of sort of for a few seconds and then people realised it was our centre back because again we'd have been down to ten men with probably seventy minutes to play if it was Robbie, but thankfully it wasn't from that sense. But yeah, ⁓ I'm just looking I'm I've got my laptop in front of here. He won seven out of his eight aerial jewels. ⁓ he was a hundred percent tackle success rate. ⁓ five ball recoveries, defensive contributions, higher clearances, block shots and the block shot one of ⁓ was is really unlucky because it ends up being the most fortuitous assist for the equaliser, unfortunately. It literally smacks him in the jaw and then it sort of drops like a I dunno, like the ball's popped. You'd think if it did him at that force it might have bounced away to safety, but such is our luck it seems at the moment. No, it just fell back at the feet of Briggs. And a fair play to the lad, it's a great finish. From there. But yeah, in terms of his performance that's what you want in a centre back and that's what you want in a leader, and we're getting everything that we should do from Omar Beckles over the last two games. ⁓ just on your point quickly, where you said if you chuck a ball in the air, he looks like a Rolls Royce, I think. ⁓ for me, if the game was played in front of him all the time, he's probably in the top ten centre backs in the division. But not to be dramatic and I'm not saying this is an exact science, but if you put him up against a quick centre forward and you want him running back towards his own goal. There's a case to say he might probably might look like one of the worst centre backs in the division. So ⁓ but yeah, him with two younger players dovetailing on either side who are a bit quicker have got a slightly quicker turning circle, we call it as well, I think is working fairly well. And I think it's probably a reason we're playing a back five at the moment or a back three with the ball because I don't think Omar would be comfortable in a back four and if you took him out, we'd suddenly look very, very young as a defensive unit, wouldn't we? Because then you'd have to play Tabares when he's back and McManus you'd had two teenage full backs and then you'd have to play two centre backs that would be What's Smith? Twenty four. Dobbs is a teenager. The lad daily that's just come in is a teenager. Then suddenly we'd look very, very ⁓ youthful at the back. And it's not like you've got a Glenn Morris behind them either anymore. It's a twenty three year old goalkeeper as well. Yeah, yeah. No, I thought I thought that was a a a really good performance. And you mentioned the leadership thing. I th I noticed that very much so on Saturday. He was properly cajoling and he was making sure that that back three stayed as a three and no one was getting dragged out of position. and I thought I thought it was a really good performance from Omar Beckles who has taken a little bit of criticism at points since he's joined the Jills. I thought, you know, he deserves his he deserves his flowers after Saturday. Now we've got a choose we've got a Tuesday night game. We're at Chesterfield on Tuesday night. Chesterfield sounds like their fans are a little bit restless as well. Paul Cook under a little bit of fire, which to me is crazy. That man has done wonders for them over the years. But but looking at what what we've got and I mentioned like the incremental gains, if you like, like the small, the small wins that we're we're picking up within our development as a team, if you like. Yep. That hopefully will eventually lead to some results. What is that next that next step of improvement that hopefully we'll see on Tuesday night? Is it is it a particular player's performance? Is it someone getting off the mark? Is it is it a striker score and a goal? What what for you would be taking the actual end result out of it for a second, which sound is a crazy thing to say, but leave that to one side. What's the next step if you if you say, right, okay, keep everything from Saturday, but add this, what would that thing be that you would you would add just to make us that extra five percent better and maybe that'll get us the result on on Tuesday night? ⁓ Well, based on the last two games, I think defensively we've been absolutely fine. We're one lucky ricochet away from keeping two clean sheets on the spin. So I don't think there's an issue in that sense. probably have to look at the other end of the pitch then and and it's a it's a an old age problem isn't it over the last five years and that's be more clinical when them chances come along in front of goal. Ironically we scored our first goal Saturday and it was probably the least fluent we looked in an attacking sense in terms of certainly volume of chances. ⁓ I think second half was just the brophy effort that the keeper saved with his left hand over the bar. ⁓ first half obviously we scored the goal. There was a couple of shots blocked balls flashed across the box but I don't think a Ronan Hale's free kick as well wasn't there and I think there was another effort he scuffed with his left foot. But ⁓ yeah I think being more clinical and I think if you start being more clinical We obviously win more football matches because you take out that final fifteen minutes against Walsall again. And I know like you say, ⁓ we can sit here and talk about ⁓ it's all positive but we've not won a game. We have to talk about that fifteen minutes because it happened. But since then we've given up very, very little in a defensive sense. So if we can just start finding the back of the net even semi regularly compared to what we're doing, I think we win more football matches than we don't. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm I'm hopeful that maybe playing away from home will give us in in a in a strange sense a bit more room to do that. I think 'cause we're gonna come up against a team that's gonna be a bit more attack minded themselves. I thought Northampton Northampton didn't come at us with a with a great deal of ⁓ enterprise and enthusiasm on Saturday. I thought they were trying to stay compact. I think they were happy with a point. I thought they were delighted with a goal. The fans were delighted with a goal, they're reaction to the goal was hilario was hilarious. ⁓ but I think ⁓ I think a point was was was like a win for them on Saturday. That's not to big us up. That's just just just, you know, the run of results that they had. But I think on Saturday Chesterfield are going to be under pressure from their fans to really go for it. and that hopefully will open up some space. ⁓ if we can stay defensively sound and we can create some openings for our two front men maybe they're going to get a little bit more room than perhaps that they have had in the last couple of games and they can get off the mark. But yeah, I'm I'm I'm optimistic. And speaking of ⁓ speaking of Tuesday night, this is all playing out as the transfer window comes to an end as well. It's kind it's kind of crazy. I know they they asked Ainsworth about this yesterday or on Sun on Saturday, sorry, and he was fine with it. He he said they're technically giving us an extra day rather than rather than the other way around. But it does seem weird that You could have transfer business being conducted in one of the one of the executive boxes while there's an actual game playing out on the pitch in front of them. So that'll be that'll be an interesting one to see how that all pans out. I'm hoping that on Jills 365, we're gonna have a live blog running throughout the whole evening. We've got some new bells and whistles that I'm currently testing at the moment. ⁓ and if it works, I'll do I'll do like a a live blog which will cover any transfer deadline stuff. And we'll do some live text commentary of the game because we can stream that as well at the same time, ⁓ via via Sky. It's all all all the games are on Sky Tuesday. So I could be watching the game, keeping an eye on the transfer deadline stuff and try and bring some live live commentary on the site as we go through the evening. But it's gonna be a bit of a crazy one. What what would obviously we want three points on the road. How realistic are we in terms of or or you know what What are the expectations from you in terms of deadline day or today or deadline day? What else do we absolutely need? Are there non negotiable arrivals that we need to make before before this window closes at eleven o'clock on Tuesday? I think we need another left side now, now that Kadim's out for the season, I'm gonna say. I think anything else is a bonus. Now we treat him as as not gonna play this season, I think, is the the safest way to do it, and anything else would be a bonus. So I'd like another left sided winger, wing back, depending on the system. I'd like it to be an actual winger because if we want to play a four three three or a four four two, as I know some people in our WhatsApp chat are fond of that formation. Hi Nick. Hi Simon. Yeah me. ⁓ Yeah, so left sided player, probably someone who is a winger that can play wing back as well. I mean there's been talk of an experienced centre back, hasn't there? But we've bought in another one now, so that gives us four centre backs plus Mackenzie. And maybe that might be it in that area because the Liam Gordon injury wasn't as bad as we'd feared, albeit it's still gonna be two, three months, we think, at least. ⁓ Central midfield I keep looking at. But then if you get Tabares fit to play right side, then that means you get Nick Freeman in the middle, so that gives you an option in there. We've got Little to come back, Coleman to come back, Dat to come back. But will they come back? ⁓ if I had to pick two 'cause I think Gareth said before the Silla sign and he said he wanted three or four. So we've got two then. So I'm gonna say left sided winger slash wing back. And ⁓ Maybe another versatile. I don't know. I don't know. No, I'm not gonna commit, Simon. I'm not gonna commit. A left sider plus A N other. Yeah, I don't I I think I actually think and and I think we talked about this briefly on the first the first show we did, is that this looks like a much more flexible squad. You know, we've got and and You sort of ⁓ mentioned that I do like a four four two. I do like a four four two. Just from a a st a system standpoint, I like a four four two. What I will say, and it's me slightly backtracking, is that with the players we've got, I think the system we're playing suits our players better than a four four two does. ⁓ so you know, I d while from a system point of view, playing three at the back isn't my favourite, I actually think with the players we've got, and I'm excited to see what Tabarres looks like when he's fit. ⁓ the potential of having two proper wing backs playing. And that that's nothing against Nick Freeman, 'cause I think he's done well. But if you imagine you've got someone like Connor McManus on the left and you've got a Connor McManus clone on the right hand side, or someone who could play very similarly to that, you've got a really nice balance there. And I think Tabarres hopefully will will will do that. So But yeah, I think I think we've got good balance and and good flexibility within the side. ⁓ I think for me, if there is a need on the left, but I think if we're gonna bring anybody else in, I would argue they'd need to be better than what we've got. I don't think we need squad players. We've got players who can adapt and can move around. The aforementioned Freeman can play pretty much everywhere. ⁓ the thing is as well, Sai, we've we've signed two of the four that Gareth mentioned. Sorry to sort of interject there, but I will forget otherwise. ⁓ since the sales of Mr. Gale and Mr. Palmer Holden, we've not actually spent any money. So are we being overly optimistic, deluded, sleep deprived in your case, in thinking that maybe maybe if one comes in, it could be the marquee signing if we're putting a label on it. Well that would be interesting. And and then what position would you s would you throw your money at? Would be the obvious next question to that, because I don't know. I mean, if if for example, if if we decide we need another centre back, and numbers wise I'm not sure we do, but in terms of age and leadership, if if Omar Beckles goes down injured or suspended, ⁓ As you've mentioned, we've got a we've got a pretty young looking back line. We can play a three. We can certainly play a three. but that the combined age of that three is not going to be very high. So ⁓ No, unless you drop unless you drop a Robbie McKenzie into that back, sorry. Yeah. Yeah. So and you know, the lad we've just signed from from Middlesbrough, he's not come down to be a a squad player and sit on the bench. So he's gonna have to factor in at some stage somewhere. The question is who misses out. ⁓ and you know, it's it's it I always think this when we sign lone players, they don't sign people don't loan your pla lone players out to people to just sit on a bench. So we'll we'll we'll see. And i it's the same with Scylla as well, you know. ⁓ Hale and Goodwin are our first choice too, but there comes a point where at what point do you put Scylla in in front of one of ⁓ you know? So we'll have to see. But yeah If we're gonna throw money at someone, it's gonna have to be it's gonna have to be a marquee sign in, and I don't know where we would want that marquee sign in to play. I think once we've got our squad back, or most of our squad back, we are gonna look pretty strong. And maybe I'm drinking too much of the Gareth Ainsworth Kool-Aid here. I don't know, but I I I genuinely think we're gonna do okay this year. I'm not saying we're gonna rip up the league and we're gonna get promoted. But I said to you at the start of the season that top half would be a good would be a suitable response to last season. And I think this squad is capable of that. We just and it's like pushing a boulder up a hill at the moment. We're just we're in that early getting to know you sort of phase. Once we start rolling, I think we're gonna be okay. And the obviously the sooner we do that the better, hopefully Tuesday night against Chesterfield. But busy day coming up. We've got Chesterfield away, we've got transfer deadline day. ⁓ and we'll see how all of that shakes out. You can c follow the coverage of that on Jillstree six five dot news. And I'm sure that any new faces that come in, you'll be producing videos on that at some point. Probably not on the coach though, right? You go into the game on Tuesday, I'm a sh I assume you are. We are there, yeah. So yeah, busy week for myself as well, yeah. So ⁓ probably people who are listening to this the Jack Ducts Daily ⁓ video will now be out now. Obviously still people who've not had chance to take in the matchday review show as well, that's on on the channel. Match Day Live, Chesterfield Tuesday night. ⁓ then got to try and recall the preview ahead of Rochdale ⁓ for Wednesday upload. ⁓ so yeah, it might be that if any signings come in sort of late Monday or into Tuesday, then it'll be probably like a a round up video, probably Thursday. I should be able to squeeze it in Thursday evening. But we'll try. Depending on timings, if there's something that we can we can get out quicker, then we'll try and get it out quicker. Yeah. No, it's ⁓ yeah, you need some you need some sanity time as well. You need to at least have a have a bit of a break. I mean 'cause it's ⁓ Rochdale away Saturday as well. So that's that's a that's a long away trip as well up to Spotland. So but ⁓ but yeah, it's the season is starting to really kick in now. We've got the Tuesday Saturday games are coming. Transfer window closes, w then we know what we've got. Fingers crossed by the time by the time we all ⁓ we all get into our beds on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, possibly for those of you going to Chesterfield, we'll know exactly what we've got. We might have a couple more new signings in the building and hopefully another three points in the ⁓ in in in the bank for League Two this season. I called us League One last show. Did you realise that? I said I said we were in League One. I I missed it, I must admit. I I w I listened back and was like ⁓ we've not been in League One for years. Honestly, maybe a matter of th I should do an outtakes video 'cause there's more in my camera role of me messing stuff up. People it comes out and it it looks really nice, but the amount of takes I do is it's embarrassing for someone who's been doing it nine years, I'm not gonna lie. How's that for a segue? Right, we've got I'm gonna I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna let you all go. It is back holiday Monday. We're recording this nice and early. On a bank holiday morning. Hope you all have a good rest of the day if you're listening today. Enjoy the game on Tuesday. Check out the site for all our coverage. Sign up for a subscription if you so wish. Lots coming. Lots coming in the weeks and months ahead. We're gonna turn this thing into a monster over the next few months. So love for you to be a part of it. Enjoy the game on Tuesday. Fingers crossed we'll have some new names in. Thanks as always to Matt. Follow him on Jill's in the Blood TV on YouTube. We'll speak to you in a week's time. Take care.