How good are Exeter?

[Snoop Fog]

Ajose does his work in the box. That where he will come alive. As I've said elsewhere, call me old fashioned but give me a striker who does nothing but score twenty goals than one who is constantly working, putting a shift in but then only scores four or five. At that rate you might as well play in midfield and work hard in an area of the pitch where working hard is a must. There is little point chasing your tail all day then when the opportunity to do your job properly comes along you're to knackered to finish it off.

Ajose doesn't appear to do work anywhere on the pitch. If he only comes alive in the box then we cant afford a luxury like that and he'd actually have to run to get in the box which I'm not sure he's up for. Its apparent why he hasn't succeeded and settled at the majority of the clubs his played for.

 

[The Proper Chap]

I see dommers has been lurking a lot lately, I wonder what his take is on things.

 

[Hants_red]

We're still top of the table, so we must be doing something right!

I was a little worried after losing to Coventry away in the League Cup that maybe we didn't have the strength in depth which we will need to have a successful season. But with the changes in the starting line-up yesterday it seems that we can cope with changes, and also get the points.

Should we be excited? We've been here before and faltered, but it does feel a bit different this season. And I think we can play better.

 

[Jason H]

I must admit to having been rather pessimistic prior to the start of the season, probably more so after the Coventry EFL Cup defeat.

However, we seem to be beginning to purr, and long may it continue.

 

[StroudGrecian]

I must admit to having been rather pessimistic prior to the start of the season, probably more so after the Coventry EFL Cup defeat.

We didn't know then that Coventry were also going to be top of their league come September, i.e. currently one of the best in L1.

 

[antman]

The away games are more entertaining than the home games, but when you play a conservative game, which Paul Tisdale did as well, you tend to get more space to play in away from home. What I really like at the moment is that when Matt Taylor chooses different players to start he also makes appropriate adjustments not just to the system we play but also the style of play. This is also based on the opposition. Last night's approach was the most direct I've seen, but you can't play like this every week because it's easy to defend against, but it looked like it took Port Vale unawares. Also all the players want the ball all the time when we're on the ball. Sweeney, for example (whose form has gone from looking dodgy at the start of the season to consistently strong now), often has three or four options when surveying the field ahead of him on the right side. He switches from a ball down the line to a ball inside on the floor to a cross, never the same thing twice in a row. For me, this is why we're winning games at the moment, were difficult to play against. So while we don't look anything special except for the odd game, we have a team that loves to play to each other's strengths. Taylor has added pace and power to a team that lacked it under the previous manager, while keeping a principle of playing a passing game where possible. Newport away will be very interesting.

 

[grecian-near-hell]

We're still top of the table, so we must be doing something right!

I was a little worried after losing to Coventry away in the League Cup that maybe we didn't have the strength in depth which we will need to have a successful season. But with the changes in the starting line-up yesterday it seems that we can cope with changes, and also get the points.

Should we be excited? We've been here before and faltered, but it does feel a bit different this season. And I think we can play better.

Not only the sub bench but we are still waiting on Lee Holmes Nigel Atangana and for Nicky Ajose to show us what they have got

 

[Jason H]

We didn't know then that Coventry were also going to be top of their league come September, i.e. currently one of the best in L1.

There is that - IIRC their previous game saw them draw with Bolton's youth team.

 

[IndoMike]

The away games are more entertaining than the home games, but when you play a conservative game, which Paul Tisdale did as well, you tend to get more space to play in away from home. What I really like at the moment is that when Matt Taylor chooses different players to start he also makes appropriate adjustments not just to the system we play but also the style of play. This is also based on the opposition. Last night's approach was the most direct I've seen, but you can't play like this every week because it's easy to defend against, but it looked like it took Port Vale unawares. Also all the players want the ball all the time when we're on the ball. Sweeney, for example (whose form has gone from looking dodgy at the start of the season to consistently strong now), often has three or four options when surveying the field ahead of him on the right side. He switches from a ball down the line to a ball inside on the floor to a cross, never the same thing twice in a row. For me, this is why we're winning games at the moment, were difficult to play against. So while we don't look anything special except for the odd game, we have a team that loves to play to each other's strengths. Taylor has added pace and power to a team that lacked it under the previous manager, while keeping a principle of playing a passing game where possible. Newport away will be very interesting.

Newport fans seem a bit unhappy with their midfield. They'll give us a game, though. Bennet and Abrahams to play?

 

[Rosencrantz]

We have found a formation that plays to our strengths. Law is in the middle, we can play two up top, Sweenz and Deano are in positions that suit them more than as regular full backs. It has been allowed to work by the emergence of Sparkes as a left wing back and Randell adapting to right wing back as well as Richardson coming in. And we are still capable of switching formation as the game dictates with or without making subs.