Is it just me who thinks this lad could do a good job for us as attacking midfield. He always drives the team forward and is very skillful / dribbles well / gets stuck in & has a terrific shot on him. Yes he is a young inexperienced player but I would put him in because he is super confident & scares the he'll out defenders.

I would try him up front. Can't do any worse than Grey or Hamilton. As you say young enough to transform to a CAM or ST. Bale did it.
I would also try Crawford up front too, as an emergency striker.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Dodds play as a winger in 433 next season.

He has excellent attacking attributes, wasted playing in defence even though hes so quick, strong and good in the air.

If we go 433 we will need a couple of decent CBs, Because Sterry and Fergie stop very little going in.

Consensus on here is he shouldn’t have started in
Front of Murray on Saturday

I’ve been thinking about Dodds in midfield for a while…..glad I’m not alone.

Hes good.
But the problem is he cant carry the three quarters of our team who are well below par.
You know them lot who sign for Pools cos they are not wanted by other league clubs..The cheap n nasty option.
Major change for the better this Summer on the recruitment front or we in anutha relegation battle to avoid NLN.

too late in the season to start experimenting with the lad unless we go back to a back 4 with him playing on the right infront of it with sterry overlapping and switching roles during games.

I am not sure if you have been watching the games but Kemp, Cooke, Sylla and Umerah are all EFL quality players. They work well together.

Jennings holds his own but needs to be more clinical and we are weak at the back.

We do not need a full overhaul, we have a spine to build on, main area of concern should be easiest to fix - the defence.

Exactly this. We have scored the second most goals in the bottom half, going forward for the most part we are fine and score most games.
Only 4 teams in the entire league have conceded 50+ goals, we're "top" of that pile with 64.

my thoughts exactly - said this to the lads after the game... he could and should be playing on the right of a midfield 3....

too late to experiment with stuff like this and this is what pre season is all about but i dare say... if we went the safest option of 442 then he would do very nice down the right hand side

he has bags of energy - can beat a man and like we have seen has a finish on him that tops most attacking mids in this league

no matter where we are next season id really like to see him being further up the pitch for us - wouldnt go as far as a striker but the Gareth Bale attacking winger scenario switch could work with Dodds !

Certain Askey is well aware of this.

Surely when at Boro, they would have assessed him and concluded that full back or right sided CH were his best positions. Am I being daft? Could Boro have missed something? Would love to hear what others think, particularly those who have had involvement in coaching etc.

Yes indeed Boro missed something cas they let the lad go for free. He is in my opinion the best younun we have had since Don Hutchinson. I am certain he will get a move away to a big club within a couple of years and that could well be Boro. Looking back I wonder why Graham Lee overlooked him or maybe that tells you something about the lack of quality management in the Boro under 23s set up.

Cant disagree with anything you have said but wondering about how it was decided what his best position is? Does he just say what position he thinks he is best in and Boro just go along with it or did some coach or other tell Dodds what his best position was. How would they judge as a young player develops?

like most modern footballers and lads who have fell out of love with the game but possessed raw talent - its all about timing (and sometimes if the face fits) - but like shite players - there is also shite coaches and managers. Seen it plenty of times at Pools when the wrong kids where being released...

there is a heap of players who come to mind who suddenly turn a corner years after leaving big academies. But there is always that one little thing why they didnt make it as far as some of their peers. Who knows in this case we have stolen a gem right under the noses of our neighbours but i guarantee they will be keeping a close eye on his development and will have first refusal on him !

being a quality young player at pools or any div.2 club does not mean he is quality for a team with serious aspirations of premier league football next season. what we need to do is find the lads best position or his favoured one with decent others around him and not some type of utility player as he is too good for that.