Shakin' Stephens

When writing post-match blogs, I am consious that the vast majority of readers will have seen the game so I will keep this brief.

In short it was a very positive afternoon, but not necessarily in the way you might imagine.

The day began with a surprise with Elliot confirmed as keeper, and Hamer not even on the bench. It is hard to believe Powell wants three senior keepers, so something has to give.

We were actually pretty mediocre, playing a counter-attacking style (at home) and often resorting to long balls from defence.

Indeed if you played a neutral a video of the game, but removed the goals I suspect he would not believe it finished 3-0.

The game was won by that scoreline because two of those goals were terrific (even if the second was a 100/1 shot, quite literally), whilst we had better players than last season who had that extra gear when required because goals were needed. That gear change was almost tangible.

If the team can improve and bring better movement to Powell's apparent preference for a passing game, then we can be considerably better still. We will face tougher opposition than Bournemouth however.

Stephens in particular was a class act, with Hollands the ideal albeit less showy foil. Those who resented the exit of Semedo and Racon must have been shakin' their heads in acknowledgment of their mistake.

Credit to whoever uncovered Stephens and negotiated the deal, because he was comfortably the best player on the pitch. League One's answer to Frank Lampard, not least in the way he stroked home the opener.

I wasn't aware that Hollands had a long throw in his locker, and whilst it will no doubt create the odd goal, I doubt if this will offset the sheer number of times it simply gifts quality possession back to the opposition.

It works for Stoke because they have a massive physical presence (and a better throw).

The full backs looked solid though one worries about the degree to which their pace and intelligence can offset their tender physiques, especially away from home. Again Bournemouth were a small side who did not trouble either in this sense.

There were one or two communication problems in central defence, although Taylor and Morrison offer a real set-piece threat that should be good for a half-dozen goals at least.

The last of the new men (Hayes) had a couple of iffy first touches, but was pretty much as expected ie. rather lumbering, but offering a genuine escape ball option. Then again I thought that initially about Pawel Abbott.

The potential weak spot for me was the flanks, particularly Jackson offering little as an out-and-out wideman (almost by definition), yet not offering many passing options tucked inside either. It didn't help that Wiggins did not try to overlap.

So there we have it. Another opening day win, and the most emphatic home victory since Nov 2009.

I expect better however because we won't always get the roll of the dice; next week that fabulous Wagstaff effort will be in Row Z.

Powell has been given the resources and now he has to maximise their return. Notts County will seemingly already offer a tough(er) test.

If Parky can get 84 points with arguably a weaker squad, then we can afford to dream a little tonight.