Joe Lolley shines in the No.10 role
One of the biggest puzzles of this Huddersfield Town side is finding a position which allows Chris Powell to both include Joe Lolley and to bring the very best out of him.
It is difficult to imagine Lolley will be able to usurp Sean Scannell, one of Powell's star pupils in 2014/15 on the right flank, where he enjoys cutting inside onto his favoured left foot.
And equally it is difficult to imagine Powell shifting last season's Player of the Year Jacob Butterfield and limit his talents elsewhere, but Lolley's talent feels too rare and precious to be consigned to the bench.
And against Grimsby, albeit in a 45-minute cameo, he gave credence to the idea that he may benefit from playing in a central role, where he constantly probed, slalomed past defenders and looked for telling passes.
There are still flaws in his game to be ironed and he will be desperately disappointed to have not applied a finishing touch after such a brilliant run, but Powell is sure to toy with the prospect of him in the central position once again, with scope for Butterfield to sit slightly deeper.
Whitehead could offer an added ingredient
Amidst an impressive opening-half performance which featured some crisp passing, clever positional play and blocking the hosts off in midfield, there was one noticeable aspect of Whitehead' play that stood out most, and that was his leadership qualities.
That's what Powell drafted him in for, after all, but when Nahki Wells' sloppily misplaced pass in the first half initiated a Grimsby counter, Whitehead showed that attribute in abundance.
His fury at a piece of play so slack was backed up by captain Mark Hudson from just behind him and underlined Powell's thoughts ahead of the game that the duo would be key in getting Town mentally prepared for the toughest pre-season assignment to date.
Town lacked an authoritative figure aside from Hudson last season and it often told at the heart of midfield, with Whitehead showing glimpses of what he can offer to improve this area of the team.
There are plenty of choices for Powell to make in midfield, but Whitehead looks set to provide him with his berating of Wells serving as an indicator that he expects only the very best from his teammates.
Powell stays flexible
Part of the reason why Town were able to field Lolley in the hole between midfield and attack was due to a subtle shift in formation from Powell once more, as he used a third different system in as many games.
Against Guiseley, he looked to increase defensive options by playing two full-backs and three central defenders in a 3-4-3 setup, while the Leyton Orient game saw Jordy Hiwula play just off Wells in a 4-4-1-1 shape.
He developed that again here by having Whitehead and Kyle Dempsey sit deep, with one doing the hassling and the other pulling the strings, with a three-pronged attacking line of Sean Scannell, Lolley and Adam Hammill proving that he can incorporate his number of talented wingers.
And, having been unimpressed with what he had seen in the opening 45, he made wholesale changes with the exception of Lloyd Allinson and lined up in the familiarly 'lop-sided' 3-5-2, with Tommy Smith offering the defensive balance on the right and Jake Charles the attacking thrust on the left.
Powell promised to be experimental with his formations in pre-season as he looks to identify the right formula for his players and that is showing no signs of abating as the opener at Hull City draws ever closer.
Some youngsters failed to seize their chance
Only four players that started against Leyton Orient on Town's pre-season camp in Marbella were afforded the same opportunity here, with Joe Wilkinson, Whitehead, Lolley and Wells taking their places in the XI.
And it was the name of Wilkinson which will have caught the eye of many Town fans, with Powell clearly keen to see whether he can offer Town security in the position behind Tommy Smith.
Having handed him his first-team debut from the start against Blackburn Rovers, it is clear Powell has faith in the 19-year-old, and two starts in succession should be a big boost to the young defender, but he was made to endure a difficult evening at Blundell Park.
His slack backpass led to a loose kick downfield from Lloyd Allinson and Nathan Arnold applying a finishing touch, with his performance never truly recovering in the remaining 30 minutes on the field.
Allinson will also have regrets, with the deflection off the wall for the second goal cruel, but he ought to have done better for Omar Bogle's second-half strike, which beat him at his near post, although there were positives to take from Jack Senior, William Boyle and Sondre Tronstad's displays.
The defence still needs fixing
It was apparent from the end of last season that Town required a bona fide Championship performer who could bolster the backline and offer experienced assistance to the likes of Mark Hudson and Joel Lynch.
And, put simply, that still remains the case, as neither defensive lineup in each half showed enough authority as a unit.
The presence of young players and the absence of left-back Jason Davidson was always going to ensure a difficult evening against a strike duo of Nathan Arnold and Omar Bogle whose movement as a pairing gave Town all sorts of problems.
But it still didn't forgive for some elementary errors defensively which saw a number of hashed clearances, half-hearted tackles and some questionable positional play.
The panic button won't be pressed just yet, particularly given the exertions of the Spanish training camp but Powell - who hopes to bring in free agent Martin Cranie - knows all too well the need to improve in that department in the next two weeks.
