THIS time last week, I questioned whether the U’s might stick or twist with their team selection for the Salford game, especially in the attacking areas, as the lack of goals was becoming increasingly worrying.

Well in my view, we chose to stick and then got decidedly stuck in a pattern of play that was both inefficient and unproductive for me.

I thought that Crawley picked up an easy three points the other week, but Salford were almost handed them on a platter. If it wasn’t for Shamal George and his fingertips, the game would have been over at half-time.

The U’s are better than that. They have to prove it though. Doing it away from home is saving us at the moment just as they did so very well at Barrow, when everything was against them yet they battled hard and won the game.

Doing it at home is becoming an obstacle for the management and players and they have to do more than exchange strong words in the changing room after the game.

There are four more home games to play in October. That’s an incredible number and a huge opportunity to put things right for both themselves and also the suffering supporters, who want to be enjoying the 90 minutes of football to take their minds off other issues away from the pitch.

A great man said this week that your starting line-up must always contain your best players. Comparing Ronaldo to Brendan Wiredu and Tom Eastman may be pushing it a little too far, but in my humble opinion, these guys are two of our best players so if 100 per cent fit, then they must be there from the first whistle.

They put pressure on the ball when we are not in possession, which is something we did not have in the first half last Saturday.

My mind now takes me to how the U’s can start to create better chances and convert more of them in front of goal.

I could almost copy and paste that same problem from what has been written for the past couple of seasons, and I really do find it truly perplexing that for so long we have struggled to achieve what is the number one objective for playing the game.

For me, I would always play Freddie Sears as a centre-forward because he makes the runs and find space.

He is almost wasted being out wide and I seem to remember the same being said when he was here last time.

He is not a big target man though so he needs someone decent with him. Or do we try to play our football more on the “deck”, which I sometimes think is more suited to our current personnel?

The thing is that this cannot be about just one player and one position. If the U’s are stuck with what they have got, and to be fair they have invested heavily in these guys, so it is not as if we can ship in a load more loanees, then they all have to toe the line.

There are always the younger U’s to consider as options. Samson Tovide has been in the squad several times so may get a chance in attack soon. Tom Stagg and Jake Hutchinson must either be loaned out or injured as I have not seen their names for a while, which is a shame.

On a positive note to end, even though it is another painful trek for the fans, the U’s have an opportunity to continue their outstanding away form tonight at Tranmere.

It will be a massive ask for the lads to bring something back down the M6 under their arms but wouldn’t it be wonderful if they did?

Good luck U’s and a safe journey to every U’s fan taking another Friday off to support them.