Blinks!

[Macca]

What do you expect of him this season then people?
Tbh i reckon he will do exceptionally well for us! I mean last season he did well, he always ran his heart out maybe could of done better on the scoring front but everyone forgets its his first full season for a long time! He always come across to me that hes a hard grafter! I like that in a player!

[D-EZ]

Depends how I feel in the morning.

[Blackburn shrimp]

I think with a bit more support and chances he will do the buisness this season the lad is big hearted and just needs a decent run of games

[HALMA 1983]

I think he'll have a better time of it with the young scot coming into the side but also backed up by what looks to be a far stronger Midfield, to say i'm excited about all the new signings is an understatement,
Can't wait for the season to start now

[Macca]

yeh with the new signings the midfield looks stronger than last year! And now we will also have in my viewthe better option of playing two upfront! Never liked having a one man strike force! In my opinion its abit negative!

[Raeyes]

Sorry to be a kill joy (oh yes, I'm back), but I think Matty had a woeful season last year (sorry Jodie) and IMO really has to pull some goals out of the bag if he wants to remain a football league player. Strikers are paid to score goals, and although Matty offers other attributes to the team he is primarily judged on how many times he tucks it (the ball) into the net. Jon Newby scored as many goals as Blinks last term despite having severely less chances than the ex-tangerine and now amazingly find himself at part-time Burton Albion. Blinks overall goals to game ratio is poor at both Morecambe and at other clubs when playing in and against the football league and tougher opposition. Personally I would have kept Newby over Blinks, and perhaps had they both had the same length of time to run on their respective contracts, so would Sammy. Me, cynical, never!

We (the club) are looking to push on, of that I am in no doubt. If this were not the case then Sammy would have taken up Shrewsbury's offer for management of that I am sure. I'm not saying that we will be crusading for promotion this season (I doubt we currently have the squad to mount a serious challenge, though determination, bravery and other qualities are already there), but I get the distinct impression that the players who are signed on from this season forward are being done so to enhance the team and push the club upwards step by step (ala the conference years).

For many of the players that took us to his level the jury is still out (including Blinks) as to weather they can cut it at this level or not. As players contracts run down it will be interesting to see which ones are renewed and which ones are not. I gather that a fair few players will be out of contract at the end of the coming campaign, all the more reason to impress if they have not done so at all or only in small patches, since Morecambe FC became a football league club.

[The Red Knight]

I think Blinks gets a hard time on here and Newby is vastly over rated.

Raeyes, you say that "amazingly" Newby finds himself at part time Burton Albion but don't you think that says something about his ability to perform at this level that no one else has come in for him?

Also, the times that Newby got a chance in the team last year it was usually in a 442 formation where he got to play with a strike partner. How often was Blinkhorn given this opportunity? Not often and instead he had to battle for long balls from the back in a 451 formation against defenders that are much bigger than him with little support from midfield.

Once Blinks broke his duck at the end of December didn't he finish the season on 11 goals or something similar? That isn't a bad total for half a season in a team that wasn't exactly in great form.

Blinkhorn has more attributes to succeed in this league than Jon Newby does.

[Freez]

I think there was a significant age difference between Newbs and Blinks and Sam has made a concerted effort to keep and bring in young players since the signing of Adams and Sorvs in our promotion season.
Perhaps this is a factor?

PS. Thought Burton were full time? Perhaps not.

[campdave]

Difficult to score with your back to goal, which was usually how Blinkhorn was played last season.

[BHmfc]

My view on Blinkhorn and Newby is that they are 2 players of completely different styles and it is impossible to compare them like for like. I rate both players and it's a shame they weren't given more games together last season. After the Rotherham game i honestly thought we may have a pairing that compliment each other but for some reason Newby soon found himself back on the bench. I was surprised that SM released Newby this summer (along with 95% of the people i talk to) after all he was, i think, our top scorer in the league, not bad for someone with so few starts.

[The Fury]

I think Blinks gets a hard time on here and Newby is vastly over rated.

Raeyes, you say that "amazingly" Newby finds himself at part time Burton Albion but don't you think that says something about his ability to perform at this level that no one else has come in for him?

Also, the times that Newby got a chance in the team last year it was usually in a 442 formation where he got to play with a strike partner. How often was Blinkhorn given this opportunity? Not often and instead he had to battle for long balls from the back in a 451 formation against defenders that are much bigger than him with little support from midfield.

Once Blinks broke his duck at the end of December didn't he finish the season on 11 goals or something similar? That isn't a bad total for half a season in a team that wasn't exactly in great form.

Blinkhorn has more attributes to succeed in this league than Jon Newby does.

Will...not....bite....oh screw it; I can't resist. You, sir, are emitting noises from your rectal cavity.

Firstly, for pedantic reasons mainly, the majority of Newby's starts came in a 4-3-1-2 formation not, as you say, a 4-4-2. Whilst there may seem little difference between the two, as Carl Baker could be described as a floater (not particularly flattering, but hey), flitting between midfield and attack, I believe that there is a fundamental difference. You see it allowed us to play with, essentially, three central midfield players as opposed to two and, therefore, negates the need for wingers. The majority of the play, therefore, came through middle. It is a very different game from a 4-4-2 strategy which relied, perhaps, on Garry Thompson’s ability to get down the wing and whip balls in. Even in the 4-4-1-1 formation, Thompson’s crossing ability was tantamount to creativity – not the intricate passing through middle as the 4-3-1-2 demands - but Blinkhorn’s movement in the penalty area and his general intelligence on the field, was found out at this level.

It will not escape your attention that Newby occasionally partnered Blinkhorn also. Two of those games were away at Darlington and home against Rotherham. Newby scored a total of 4 goals in those two games whereas Blinkhorn scored one. Now I’m not saying Blinkhorn’s input wasn’t vital in those games (I think he and Newby worked extremely well together) but Newby’s goalscoring was, clearly, superior. I think he can justly feel hard done by (just as I think Michael Twiss can feel hard done by with regard to playing as a striker but, really, that is a different matter and I talk too much as it is) and, as Raeyes mentioned, perhaps the length of his contract was the defining factor as to why he wasn’t retained. That’s all speculation though; the hard facts, however, cannot be disputed and, in all competitions with the exception of the Lancashire Cup (because me having competitions between my most mouldy underwear attracts more viewers), they are:

Newby – 15 starts 10 goals
Blinkhorn – 41 starts 11 goals.

Please don’t assume that I am refusing to give Blinkhorn a chance this coming season, however. Shrimper raised some excellent points on the old board and, with the new signings and a year’s experience in the League under his belt he may well flourish. It is spurious, however, to say that, last season, Blinkhorn was undervalued and Newby was overrated, in my opinion anyway.

Anyway, back to searching for my invitation to a party hosted by the Blinkhorns. Must have got delayed in the post….

[dave wilky]

Difficult to score with your back to goal, which was usually how Blinkhorn was played last season.

Difficult Yes impossible no....
Matty is perfectly capable of scoring goals like THIS


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MdoM83zOHxc

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BoKsQ88J8C0

[HALMA 1983]

And he scored at Accy so he'll do for me!
Let's see what happens before writing off any of the players we have, Blinks will be a thorn in the side of many defenders once again this coming season and should find his scoring boots in the process

[Phoenix]

Practicing this season's speciality

DSC07806.jpg (23.33 KiB) Viewed 5192 times

[morecambe mick]

If the ball is that low wouldn't it be easier to kick the damn thing into the back of the net?

I think someone ought to point this out to him, maybe he'll score more this season

[red shrimp]

i think blinks could be vital this season, last season he was OK!! not great but he ran his socks off for the team , and i like to see a grafter. this season i rearly think were gonna see wat a great striker he rearly is, hes going to fire us to a play-off finish....
COME ON THE BLINKSTER..

MFC 4EVA