There was a time - under previous Managers - when the best you could hope for in terms of a ''Plan B'' for BTFC when things were going wrong was a limp like-for-like substitution in something like the 85th minute.
Disappointing and frustrating day at the office for BTFC today, but the big positive I am taking from the game is the intelligent, aggressive, exciting substitutions made by Jason Bristow, BTFC Manager, who made a real attempt to turn the game around.
He brought on a creative midfielder and a forward in the 64th minute, then another forward for a defender in the 77th minute.
It didn't provide the goal(s) we all wanted, but OMG how refreshing to see with something like two playmakers and four forwards on the pitch come the final whistle.
BTFC are way better than today's result suggests and a play-off place is still very much on.
I agree - I thought JB was bold in his substitutions today and although I thought the final one was pretty risky (centre half for a centre forward), if we'd have scored, we'd have been calling him a genius!
My only thought is that I think the 3-5-2 works fine away from home but we seem to make it harder on ourselves at home - the 4-3-1-2 (I.e. With manny behind two forwards) is so much more positive and against lower teams like Stortford, seems to cause so many more problems.
Fingers crossed today was just a blip and we can get the 3 points next week.
Very much disagree. At maidenhead Jason made decent substitutions at the right time. Helped of course by the fact we were 3-0 upat the time, but could not argue with them. Yesterday we were crying out for changes at half time. The 1st 2 subs were decent if made a bit too late. The last sub was a complete waste. Playing smart & bird as part of a back 3 was ridiculous. They were our outlets wide & it just meant they had to defend rather than attack. Defending is not the strongest part of either of their games. Bignall contributed nothing when he came on which is similar to all his other performances except for the strange game at Staines at the end of last season. We still have a good chance to make the playoffs but can't afford any more poor performances at home. Hopefully we can turn it round & win on Saturday.
I guess it's all relative - as I recall Ernie Howe and Francis Vines seldom made substitutions until the game was virtually over, so for me it was a breath of fresh air.
We all watch the same game and yet we all see a different game.
I come down somewhere in the middle on this one. Not sure changes were needed at half-time and I, like Ian, appreciate the intent, but I'd agree that the balance of the team suffered in the end. Something I'll be discussing in tomorrow's analysis piece.