So how much proper research does the club actually do?

You're over analysing a football match that could have gone either way, in my opinion. Its hard(er) to accurately scout a football side in preseason, don't you think?

First ten games you always get anomalies due to teams changing the way they play. It's rare that a team who is top at the end of those games stays there (Barnet were massively clawed back remember).

Stewart admitted on subs bench Northampton had been watched twice in pre season

Players like Cresswell are easy to deal with. Either stick Blissitt on him and let them fight it out, or use Taylor to run at him (knock the ball past him, he always cuts across and obstructs) if you complain to the ref eventually he'll get fed up and start giving free kicks.

Cresswell is also a shirt puller, when he pulls your shirt either go down and complain or go to your knees so that the shirt comes up over your shoulders, officials can only ignore that for so long as long as you aren't pulling as well.

So what does Clarke do? Plays 5'7'' Taylor on his shoulder. Clueless.

1/10 for that game Clarke.

Looking for a much better effort and a proper game plan this Saturday.

The old chestnut of allowing the team to gel eh. As the 82 showed last season, the better teams start and finish well. This is going to be a pretty hard season. I don't think DC even knows what his first 11 would be if everyone was for and available 

Sinclair should have been in the middle, not Clark

So in a game in which the general consensus seems to be that we lacked a physical presence you'd put Sinclair alongside Lines in the middle? In other words 2 attacking midfielders in the middle, neither of whom are particularly good at winning the ball in the middle of the park.  Sinclair is great going forward, harrassing the opposition and diving into the game with real energy.  In his own half though he borders on a liability at times - doesn't read the game well, doesn't break up the oppositions play and his defensive tackling is weak to non-existent.  There's a massive difference between a players ability to be physical and win eye catching tackles going forward when pressing with all the momentum in their favour and their ability to do the crucial donkey work of judging tackles and winning the ball in the midfield battles from a standing start or when the opposition player is running at them.  Sinclair is as good as any at the former and that's very valuable but I've seen no evidence he can do either of the latter very well.  So if the problem was physicality in middle then that wouldn't have helped much.  Neither would picking Clark who doesn't look good enough to me.  It's why I think Mansell and Monkhouse are big misses - you need to have that physical edge when play breaks down in the middle of the park which is the standard state of most League 2 games.  I don't think there's many managers who would put Lines and Sinclair together in the middle together unless choices were very limited.  It's all very well saying 'we need to dictate the game not be defensive' but that misses the point.  You need physical midfield players to make sure that your attacking players get the ball in promising positions the first place - it's what puts teams on the front foot.  I think if Clark is not seen as up to that job then DC needs to get him out and bring in someone who he does trust to cover that Mansell role because right now we don't seem to have anyone capable and that's a massive hole in a key position in which players inevitably get suspensions and injuries.

I've heard that they've sold out their allocation.