OPINION: Goal-den start to Town boss Rosler's new reign

Statistics can often be misleading and can be manipulated for either negative or positive purposes depending on the point a journalist, manager, press officer, coach or player is trying to get across.
Fleetwood's David Ball shoots against ChesterfieldFleetwood's David Ball shoots against Chesterfield
Fleetwood's David Ball shoots against Chesterfield

But one stat from the start of Fleetwood’s campaign cannot be altered and is in fact striking a touch of fear into opposition teams.

Fleetwood have scored in every league game so far – yes, all 14 – and have only failed to hit the net once so far; their 2-0 defeat to Oldham in the Checkatrade Trophy.

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All of their striking line-up – bar on-loan Watford man Alex Jakubiak – have scored so far this season.

Top scorer David Ball has already equalled his tally from last term and is sitting pretty with five goals.

With Chris Long and Ball scoring eight times between them, Ash Hunter came off the bench once again on Saturday to score his fourth of the campaign.

All of Hunter’s goals have come from off the bench and it just shows the diversity of Town’s attack.

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But one of the best things under Uwe Rosler’s reign so far is that if the hitmen don’t fire, then they are starting to add goals from elsewhere.

Bobby Grant, Jack Sowerby, Eggert Jonsson, Victor Nirennold and Martyn Woolford have found the net with full-back Conor McLaughlin rifling in the winner at Chesterfield earlier this month.

However, Town are still shaking off one of last term’s Achilles heels; set-pieces.

In the dying embers of their defeat at Millwall with the score locked at 2-1 and Town camped in the Lions Den they won a set-piece and two corners but the best they could muster was a Jimmy Ryan drive that skimmed wide.

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Unlike Millwall who forced the issue and won two penalties Town rarely threatened from corners or free-kicks.

It is something that Rosler has clearly been working on on the training pitch with a number of short corners creating chances with McLaughlin and Grant going close.

Town are not making their set-pieces pay but when they are scoring in open play, no wonder Gillingham boss Justin Edinburgh pointed out Town’s firepower as something to extinguish in his post-match press conference.

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