WHEN Paul Benson scored the winning goal against Wigan in the FA Cup to move Town into the fourth round in 2012, not many would have predicted the tale of woe in the competition that was to follow.

Fourteen goals conceded and just one scored in four seasons is a pretty pathetic record for any side.

The line brought out every year if a club fails in cup competitions - ‘now we can concentrate on the league’ - is total nonsense.

It wouldn’t matter if we were sitting at the top of the league or joint bottom - the FA Cup is an important competition for every player and every club.

Failure again in the world’s most famous cup competition leaves a horrible taste in the mouth, that can’t be washed out until next November.

Once again this season, Town didn’t look organised and never looked like a threat. Jon Obika playing up front as a lone striker simply doesn’t work.

Since Nathan Byrne’s departure, Town have only found the net 13 times in 14 games - and that includes three goals against bottom side Crewe Alexandra.

It wasn’t just that Byrne was a huge goal threat - and we lost one of our best players - but it was the loss of the formation and style that made the club successful last season.

Instead of signing a player who could play both wing-back and a winger, chairman Lee Power opted to sign players like Henrik Ojamaa, who aren’t in the same league as Byrne, and were also too one-dimensional.

The huge amount of injuries and players like Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill struggling to fit into life in the Football League has also made an impact on the formation and style of play.

But with this current set-up failing miserably week after week, I would put my trust again in Brandon.

Play him on one side and James Brophy on the other, returning to three at the back, and playing two up front.

Thankfully, new manager Martin Ling has said publicly he would be taking the club back to playing with two up top in upcoming games.

Something that’s hopefully endorsed by Power. If it isn’t, I can’t see any change in formation for this weekend’s game against Scunthorpe.