Tuesday night

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

If that is so it was useless. No use to those that had some ability and effort. January is a long way off and no certainty that the squad will improve.

If it proved that some players don’t have what DC wants or needs or are not worth keeping even as utility cover, it is not useless.

[Si Robin]

Ellis Chapman was far from the worst player last night, and that was in a position he's never played before (for us at least).

The real concern was the performance of players in their natural positions - Olayinka, Hammond and Adshead were shocking. As was Grant Horton and Josh Williams (though he seemed to just have one of those nights to be fair to him). I suspect those are the players Murray refers to.

Last night was an opportunity for those in the starting lineup to show they want to remain in Clarke's plans. I think Keena, Lloyd and Bradbury come out ok - the forwards were stranded and feeding off scraps, though Keena looked lively for a change, and Bradbury didn't do anything wrong. Malcolm was out of position, so it's hard to criticise him, and I'd say the same about Chapman (bear in mind my previous views on him). The rest failed massively.

[paperboy]

I'm not disagreeing with what's been said, but that Hammers team was very impressive, a step above other u 21s we've seen imo.

Good news that Wigan played last night-and won- so I'm clutching at straws and hoping they're massively fatigued!
It'll be tough but the team definitely need the fans to get behind them from the start.

[horlickfanclub]

I agree with Si, a good assessment. The set up with the two forwards split does not work and seems to be the Managers choice at the moment. Keena and Lloyd need to be allowed to interchange to get the best out of them ,but Keena was brighter last night as said.

[Fuller]

They are, and I believe only a miracle will see LDH play in a Cheltenham shirt again.

Is he injured or completely overlooked?

Back at Fulham according to JP

Why is he back at Fulham? Injured or loan ended?

[Ihearye]

Why did we play a forward with limited left foot ability at left wing back and Chapman out of position? It was 11 against 9 on the pitch.

I assume given the status of the game that DC was more concerned about giving certain players certain minutes - which meant playing some out of position.

For all we know DC may have said to Chapman “you are never going to play in centre mid so we will only keep you as a versatile back up for other positions…so show us if you can do that tonight.”

Last night’s selection was made purely with January and squad management for the L1 battle in mind, I would imagine.

Also strikes me that he could be experimenting to see who could be classed as a utility player. These days who you have on the bench is as much about covering multiple positions with a few select players, as having your best square pegs for square holes

[Fuller]

Why did we play a forward with limited left foot ability at left wing back and Chapman out of position? It was 11 against 9 on the pitch.

I assume given the status of the game that DC was more concerned about giving certain players certain minutes - which meant playing some out of position.

For all we know DC may have said to Chapman “you are never going to play in centre mid so we will only keep you as a versatile back up for other positions…so show us if you can do that tonight.”

Last night’s selection was made purely with January and squad management for the L1 battle in mind, I would imagine.

Also strikes me that he could be experimenting to see who could be classed as a utility player. These days who you have on the bench is as much about covering multiple positions with a few select players, as having your best square pegs for square holes

Ellis Chapman has previously played left back for us. I’ve always seen him as a utility player.

[Ihearye]

I assume given the status of the game that DC was more concerned about giving certain players certain minutes - which meant playing some out of position.

For all we know DC may have said to Chapman “you are never going to play in centre mid so we will only keep you as a versatile back up for other positions…so show us if you can do that tonight.”

Last night’s selection was made purely with January and squad management for the L1 battle in mind, I would imagine.

Also strikes me that he could be experimenting to see who could be classed as a utility player. These days who you have on the bench is as much about covering multiple positions with a few select players, as having your best square pegs for square holes

Ellis Chapman has previously played left back for us. I’ve always seen him as a utility player.

The basic requirement of a 'utility' player is that they can perform the roles to the standard required

[tunnelvision]

I assume given the status of the game that DC was more concerned about giving certain players certain minutes - which meant playing some out of position.

For all we know DC may have said to Chapman “you are never going to play in centre mid so we will only keep you as a versatile back up for other positions…so show us if you can do that tonight.”

Last night’s selection was made purely with January and squad management for the L1 battle in mind, I would imagine.

Also strikes me that he could be experimenting to see who could be classed as a utility player. These days who you have on the bench is as much about covering multiple positions with a few select players, as having your best square pegs for square holes

Ellis Chapman has previously played left back for us. I’ve always seen him as a utility player.

I'd prefer it if he was left back in the changing room!