1 City’s dearth of natural wingers is being exposed

Steve Watson has previously alluded to the lopsided nature of his inherited squad with a disproportionate number of centre-backs in the building and another unimaginative display against Boston once more highlighted the lack of natural attacking width in the Minstermen’s current ranks. There is a little bit of a fallacy in football that the era of the winger has passed but, as England and Manchester City are proving at the top level of the game, whether you play 4-4-2 or the more fashionable 4-3-3, the players occupying positions closer to the flanks still need to possess the ability to go past players and deliver telling crosses.

Against Boston, Watson opted to field a 4-4-2 formation for the first time during his tenure but stationed a midfielder (Adriano Moke) and a striker (Macaulay Langstaff) on the wings. With the likes of forwards Alex Kempster and Jake Wright, as well as midfielder Alex Harris, having also been shoehorned into similar positions in 4-3-3 line-ups this term, the lack of potency down the sides has been equally illustrated.

Arguably, Wes York is the only City player that could be termed a winger on his CV, but even he has admitted in previous Press interviews that he would prefer to play through the middle and he tends to rely on pace rather than an unpredictable skill-set to beat opponents. Such a paucity of wide options meant that Alex Bray’s arrival in the autumn was initially greeted with excitement after he demonstrated a trick or two and a capacity for supposed “old-fashioned” wing play, before his loan spell was curtailed by a petulant red card at Darlington.

Against Boston, Moke struggled to penetrate through the back line and playing a forward out wide can also pose problems in a defensive sense, with Wright, Kempster and Langstaff not at their best tracking forward runners. Furthermore, just as Wright has a tendency to concede fouls when he plays there in more dangerous positions than would be the case if he was operating in his natural centre-forward role, Langstaff also lost the ball trying to beat an opponent close to the halfway line, resulting in the visitors breaking forward and grabbing their 78th-minute equaliser, ironically courtesy of an out-and-out winger in Max Wright.

Contrary to the argument that wingers are redundant in the modern game, Boston actually had three in their side with Wright, Nicky Walker and Jay Rollins – used as a lone striker on the afternoon due to striking absentees – all comfortable carrying the game to rival teams down the flanks. With City’s top league scorers – Jordan Burrow and Lansgtaff – having only hit the target six times apiece, excluding penalties, Watson will be looking at improving his team’s ability to create as well as convert chances from open play this summer.

York Press:

2 Jon Parkin might just be a better Plan A than Plan B

There was no bigger surprise on Saturday’s team sheet than 37-year-old veteran striker Parkin’s appearance among the City starting XI for the first time since September 1. His subsequent performance, though, suggested that the Minstermen might have been better served kicking off with him in the side rather than introducing him for second-half cameos.

Parkin’s impact from the bench has been largely unnoticeable during his last 11 goal-less substitute outings. His stats since returning to the club in November 2016 also suggest that he is more effective in the first XI than as one of five subs.

The former Championship campaigner has netted 42 times in 62 starts during that period and just twice (including a penalty) in 20 outings from the dugout. There is a certain logic that having Parkin in reserve might bring something different to the table in any finely-balanced contest but, when introduced into proceedings, he has struggled to adjust to the pace of games.

Starting like he did on Saturday, though, he was able to wield more of an influence and dictate the speed of the match better and was comfortably City’s biggest attacking threat and, for the first time in months, not just in the literal sense. It goes against football convention – starting a player who is, in all likelihood, not going to last the distance – but the game is peppered with “super-subs” who are deemed more effective being thrown into matches, so why shouldn’t players, similarly unable to make their presence felt over a full 90 minutes for whatever reason, be used from the start until their influence wanes.

Watson took that tact when knowing Parkin wouldn’t last much past the hour mark against Boston and was rewarded with a reminder of the ex-Stoke striker’s guile, touch and awareness. Whatever people’s thoughts on whether the Barnsley-born behemoth should be with the club next season and few would offer him a new deal on the strengths of his contributions this term, he did finish the last campaign with the league’s best scoring ratio and, even with his reputation for “summering well”, it is hard to imagine his decline would have been so steep over a matter of months.

While Parkin still has a responsibility to make himself as fit as possible for selection, there is a compelling argument, therefore, that he could have been used more during 2018/19, while still on the Bootham Crescent books.

York Press:

3 Teams are visiting Bootham Crescent with added caution

The run of four consecutive victories under Steve Watson have seen the last two teams – Altrincham and Boston – arrive at Bootham Crescent with a little more respect for the opposition than might have been the case previously. Both have been more conservative in their approach than perhaps expected, with free-scoring Alty not mustering a shot on target until the 60th minute and Boston dispensing with their tried-and-tested 4-4-2 formation for a more defensive 4-5-1 shape.

Frustratingly, though, the Minstermen have only managed to collect one point from both contests, again underlining the need for greater attacking invention to unlock deep-defending outfits.

York Press:

4 Steve Watson was right to decide against recruiting Ryan Cresswell – for now

It is no secret that City are continuing to keep tabs on the former Fleetwood Town and Northampton promotion-winning centre back, who trained with the club for a number of weeks earlier this year. On the evidence of Saturday, when the Rotherham-born 31-year-old visibly tired for visitors Boston in the second half and was left treading water following one forward raid by Jordan Burrow before being withdrawn, Watson was perhaps justified to hold fire until he regains full match fitness.

It will do no harm, given his past pedigree, to monitor Cresswell’s performances for improvement, though, during the remaining weeks of the season.

York Press: Nicky Wroe

5 Nicky Wroe remains an accomplished performer at sixth-tier level

Having initially shown his potential with ten goals in one season from midfield with the Minstermen in 2007/08 and gone on to establish himself as a consistent League One performer with the likes of Preston, Shrewsbury and Notts County, it came as somewhat of a surprise when Wroe dropped into the realms of semi-professional football at the age of 30. He subsequently became a key component in the Bradford Park Avenue side that has punched above their weight during the last two seasons.

Now 33 and having moved to Boston in January, he still imposed his quality on this game, demonstrating superior pass selection and composure on the ball to any of his midfield counterparts on the afternoon.