Yes, I agree. I like what I've seen of Willis so far. Lynch & De Bock both looked like a step up, until Lincoln. Still, they've had two out of three good games each. They weren't the only ones to play poorly on Saturday.Their next performances may give us a better idea of how good (or otherwise) they might be.
The point you make about pace, in particular, is spot on. I don't know what the precise arrangement is between Ross and Hill/Coton, but my impression is that the former gets what he's given. Quite how that issue wasn't addressed is strange, but it's been a problem with us for many years now. We've either had little or no pace in the team or on the odd occasion we've had pace, it's been of the headless chicken variety. That said, it's change of pace rather than pace per se that damages the opposition, especially if allied to intelligent change of direction. McGeady & Maguire can do that, to a lesser degree so can Gooch.
I'm moving closer to the notion that too many of our players can't handle the emotional/psychological aspect of playing for our team. Like it or not, all our games in League1 are "big games" both in terms of how we're perceived by our opponents (teams & fans alike) & in terms of playing before a large, expectant home crowd. Some players don't possess what you might call the "big game mentality" & without it, they're not going to succeed, for us (although they might well thrive elsewhere), and I'm not sure that any amount of coaching can put that right. I think it's something you either have or you don't.
