With us being 10 games into the National League season, i thought i would take a look at who has impressed me the most in our opening couple of months of the campaign. Sitting second in the league obviously there’s a lot of candidates for a mention, but i’ve boiled it down to who i think deserves the most credit for where we are right now.
Regan Linney
Let’s not beat around the bush, we all knew who the main name was going to be on this list. Regan Linney has made a simply sensational start to the season, notching 9 goals in his opening 10 matches for the Blues, including a hat trick against Braintree Town. We all had high hopes for him when he was first announced and he has met those expectations and then some.
Even in the games where he’s maybe quieter than usual, Linney always has it in his locker to make something out of nothing, showing on multiple occasions his capability to beat a man and find the net from close in and from range, with his goals against Boreham Wood, Truro and Altrincham being particular highlights for me.
His energy and work ethic is commendable too, combined with a tenacity to win and retain the ball, Linney has shown himself to be United’s talisman this season, and we’re all hoping he can continute banging the goals in for the Blues.
Jack Ellis
Jack Ellis is a name that has had somewhat of a resurgence in the past 6 months or so and i think he deserves immense praise for getting himself back in the fold and nailing down his place in the side. After being largely phased out by Mike Williamson, Mark Hughes brought Ellis back into the side last season and after some solid performances in his usual right back position, Ellis has been almost exclusively deployed as a central midfielder this season.
There were certainly question marks over Ellis’ capability to play this position especially from an attacking standpoint, but, despite a tough first couple of games, Ellis has grown into the role and it now feels like he’s one of the first names on the team sheet for United. Similarly to Linney his work ethic is fantastic and his defensive contributions have been very noticeable for Carlisle in the middle of the park.
He may not be the flashiest of players but after working hard to get himself back into the side and reinventing himself in a different role, i think he deserves a lot of praise for his role in our successes so far this campaign.
Luke Armstrong
Another man who has worked hard to get himself back into contention in the side is Luke Armstrong. Armstrong has endured a tough couple of seasons for Carlisle and has had a largely thankless task, competing on his own against some very tough centre back pairings in League One before cutting an extremely isolated figure last season under Williamson.
Especially after being loaned out to Motherwell towards the tail end of last season, it looked like Armstrong could potentially have been out the door this summer, but after openly admitting he wouldn’t have loaned Armstrong out, Mark Hughes has brought him back into the side and he looks a much more confident player.
Notching 4 goals and 2 assists in 9 appearances, including one apperance off the bench, he has made some good contributions to the side so far and he’s still proving how energetic he is, still giving 100% after 90+ minutes in some games he’s played in.
Him and Georgie Kelly will almost certainly continue to be in and out of the side as they compete for that striker position, but it’s great to see Armstrong looking more like the player we coveted a couple of seasons ago.
Gabe Breeze
Looking more at the defensive side of things now, and someone who has had both his fans and his doubters in the last 12 months is Gabe Breeze. Coming into the side after the struggles of Harry Lewis, Breeze really shone in his opening few appearances for United and has cemented his place in the side ever since.
Gabe has came under a bit of criticism for his inconsistent distribution and perhaps occasionally failing to properly command his area, however i think in these opening 10 games of the season, Breeze has really shown how capable he is. Conceding just 7 goals in those opening 10 games, some of Breeze’s saves have been vital for Carlisle picking up points.
He made crucial stops late on to seal the 3 points against Altrincham, and a couple of excellent saves with the score at 1-0 led to United picking up a very good 2-0 win against Aldershot recently as well. Not only that but Breeze has shown real confidence in coming and claiming corners and crosses which will give his defence a lot of confidence.
It’s worth remembering too that Breeze is only 21 years old and with the right coaching and experience, he will only grow as a keeper and will hopefully be a big figure for United in the coming years.
Bevis Mugabi
Another one i think deserves a mention is Bevis Mugabi. After joining in the summer window, Mugabi had to work himself to fitness and was initially a backup to the duo of Terrell Thomas and Aaron Hayden, since coming in for Hayden however, Mugabi has proven his ability and not only has he been a very solid force at the back for United, Thomas looks a lot more assured playing alongside him as well.
Vastly experienced and a hulking figure, he’s been immense in most of his aerial battles and has even popped up with a goal too, with an excellent finish against Aldershot. With Morgan Feeney coming back to fitness, Mugabi will definitely have his hands full keeping his place in the side, but from what we’ve seen so far, he’s also going to be hard to dislodge.
Like i said at the beginning, there are a good few other names that deserve a mention for Carlisle’s start to the season, such as Stephen Wearne, Archie Davies and the recent signing of Alex Gilliead, and it’s good to see plenty of good solid team performances so far this year. Let’s hope for plenty more to come as we continue our promotion push!
A Message From Paddock Perception
We are working alongside Liam and his YouTube channel Blue Army TV this season to make sure we bring you the best Carlisle United content we possibly can. You can subscribe to his channel and follow him on X, his handles are below:
X – @blue_army_tv
YouTube – @BlueArmyTVchannel
Another partnership Paddock Perception has is with Carlisle United YouTube channel CU04, they have amazing content on their channel and we are looking forward to working with them this season. You can follow them here:
X – @CU04_YOUTUBE
YouTube – @CU04
Thank you everyone for reading Paddock Perception, your support means everything! Please don’t forget you can follow Dan and Craig on X for more football content:
@dan_batemannn
@CraigWL1997
Paddock Perception 
Leave a comment