I think you make a couple of excellent points Alan.
In regards to Phillips, I think he is very much a risk and reward player. He ballooned some daft passes that were never on, but also pulled out a seriously good pass that set us up for the only goal of the game. Whoscored gave him MOTM based on their ratings (which isn't the be all and end all), but I think the most important stat is the fact that was recorded making eight key passes last night, which is phenomenal.
https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/14869 ... mbe-BarrowTo a degree, you don't want to muzzle Phillips too much and stop him trying these passes as while a few go astray, he generally consistently produces assists and goals. On the flip side, I think he does need to learn to moderate better and pick his moments. It's a balancing act, a few stray passes can be forgiven as overall it's him trying to make things happen, but he also does need to learn when to play it a bit simpler. And with some of his short passing he needs to concentrate a bit more as a few easy passes get mislaid I notice.
He's not far from being comfortably one of the best midfielders in League Two in my opinion. He just needs to make sure to pick his moments better and make sure that when he's not pulling off match winning moments, he's still contributing in helping the team tick over.
In general, I think passing and possession play is a problem with our side. There are moments in the game when we put ourselves under more and more pressure by not keeping the ball very well. I like our style but there are times when we need to be better at keeping the ball and take the sting out of opposition momentum, and shift them back a bit towards their own goal.