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The lack of pressing on the keeper was pathetic, at 3-1 down at home to assist them in their efforts to ‘play for time’ by allowing the keeper to stand with the ball unchallenged is ridiculous.
There’s so much wrong with this team, the back three are so error prone that we could reduce errors at the back by 33% simply by switching to a two!
Part of their issue though is that they don’t have a reasonable passing option, Clunan makes himself available but is so lightweight that he gets bullied off the ball so they’re scared to give him it. Add to that the wing backs are so terrified to take on a player that the ball inevitably just comes back to the centre halves which puts them under pressure again. This is why we saw it go repeatedly (and mostly pointlessly) long on Saturday. All of that said Nicholson may well be the worst player I’ve ever seen at GP, he simply cannot pass the ball consistently and is an accident waiting to happen.
The midfield is also an ocean of nothingness that can be ran through at will, their first and third goals being prime examples (and Spennymoor’s 3rd regardless of the ref). We are cut apart by a couple of simple passes regularly and players are allowed to travel a long way without being challenged.
I think the biggest priorities are:
– Change to a back 4, let the full backs play at full back and drop Nicholson.
– Sign a midfielder with some physicality who can gain control of the middle and bully the opposition.
– Sign a left winger so we can play 451 or 4333 users thanked author for this post.
I tried the Iron Hour pod and it wasn’t for me, one person in particular just seemed to like the sound of his own voice a bit too much which was enough for me to turn off. I enjoy the Bru pod, probably because it’s less “bantz” and more serious football talk.
I sometimes watch Gareth’s videos for the alternative footage of the game but the pre/post match talking heads are a bit repetitive so I just skip past them. This is clearly a labour of love for him and I think it adds a bit of value to the overall experience for a quite a few fans so good on him for dedicating what I assume is a lot of time to it.
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Well done BarnardFoxtonBarker!
I’m kicking myself that I was on holiday and completely forgot to predict the Quarter Finals, I reckon I could’ve had ya!
Congrats
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Mixed bag there then. Think there’s enough evidence for us not to read too much into their end of season posts. Shame; genuinely wanted a scientific hypothesis!
I think you’re being a bit kind there Deerey, I was absolutely miles off!
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Word for Roj Rahman too, I don’t know him but he came across really well in that interview, particularly the way he deferred to Michelle Harness and spoke about the different directors having different areas of responsibility; I think that’s important, and shows that people are all pulling in the same direction.
The contrast to the last 2 owners, who both wanted to make it all about them, is incredible. Talking frankly, not hiding behind phrases like “I’ll be as honest with you as I can”, not looking to find excuses. Really positive stuff, despite all the problems which they are still facing.
I’d love to know how much the talents of people like Michelle were harnessed (pun intended) under Swann’s ownership. I certainly have my suspicions….
Completely agree about Roj, first time I’ve heard him speak but listening to him talk about what would be lost in terms of history and legacy if the club were to fold shows that he just ‘gets it’. Clearly sees the board as a custodians of a community asset and understands the responsibility that comes with that, really encouraging stuff.
Some might be underwhelmed but I think it’s another sensible and pragmatic decision by the board. Money is obviously tight so this appointment keeps some continuity and also means quick decisions can be made around which players we try to keep hold of and which are let go.
I also genuinely believe that 600+ games as a professional in the football league commands a lot of respect from players at this level, possibly more than that afforded to someone like Jimmy who’s spent most of his career much lower down.
Hopefully he’s also learnt a thing or two about winning football games, I guess time will tell.
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Yes, noticed those, particularly the ones that intimate a future with the club. Is that reading too much in to it though?
Absolutely, I may be way off. The differences in the wording is just the first thing that struck me that’s all.
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In terms of a player retained list it’s not an exact Science but you might be able to work a few out based on the player tweets that the club are reposting and the wording of them (or in the case of those leaving the lack of certain wording in them):
Staying?
Cal Roberts – “we’ll be back stronger and better for sure”
DSF – “Time to recover, regroup and refresh and go again next season”
Whitehall – “All we can do is go again”
Tom Pugh – “We rest up and (go) again next season”Going?
Scales – “Thankyou for all the support this season”
Denton – “Gutted, thank you for your continued support throughout”1 user thanked author for this post.
I think the quality of the shirts / training gear is pretty poor. I’ve watched a couple of the ‘question of the day’ videos on twitter and I’ve noticed some of the players are wearing training gear where the badges are coming off or have disappeared completely leaving just a faint outline.
So either the gear is poor or we have so little kit that it’s all threadbare
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The Management must grasp this chance to get back on the promotion track. A win with entertainment will motivate some previous stayaways to rekindle their enthusiasm which will boost revenue and give the board a bit more breathing space.
Players have to turn up 2moro.
I mean if the players aren’t up for it with 6000+ crowd including a large and presumably vocal away support then you have to question what they’re doing in the game at all. No disrespect but at their current level (and anything marginally higher in the future), this is about as big as it gets.
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I fear Clunan may be a poundshop Justin Walker
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From what I’ve seen recently some physicality and legs in the middle of the pitch is what we need most. We’re weak in the tackle and get cut through time and again, if you don’t control the middle of the pitch then you can’t control the game.
That makes no sense.
In previous seasons he’s had to play the same amount of games, at the same level, but in a side of less quality whilst holding down a second job. This season he can concentrate full time on training, preparation, rest and recovery but he’s ran out of steam?1 user thanked author for this post.
I find the midfield setup in general totally bizarre, considering we play a three the amount of empty space in the middle of the pitch is incredible. Earlier on in the year I remember a goal kick that bounced in the centre circle completely unchallenged!
The oddest thing though is that there doesn’t seem to be any positional discipline between whichever three are on the pitch, at one point on Saturday Clunan was sat just in front of the back four, Scales just to his right, Butterfield at right back and Ogle was hugging the touchline on the wing. It’s no wonder the lone striker always looks so isolated.
We really lack physicality in the middle of the pitch too and need someone more imposing in there who just gets through the dirty work, wins the ball and breaks things up (a Jim Goodwin type). Unfortunately from what I’ve seen I don’t think we have such a player in the squad.2 users thanked author for this post.
I also thought Evans was one of the few to come out with any credit last night, won an awful lot in the air and got in front of his man to win the ball repeatedly. He also looked up for the physical battle which it was always going to be.
Fitz made a few saves and his distribution was outstanding.
I can’t think of any other positives.
We never looked like winning and against a technically limited side who were well drilled, well prepared, motivated and managed the game like a team who just know how to grind out results.
People say Jimmy hasn’t gat a plan B but I honestly couldn’t tell you what plan A is right now. We’re just so slow and ponderous once we get the ball 10 yards past the half way line, it gives teams time to get set and we then can’t pass through them so we just knock it side ways until someone ultimately miss controls it or plays a poor pass and we lose posession.
We also look so lightweight in the middle of the pitch.3 users thanked author for this post.
In fairness to Eric Dier he spent 10 years between the ages of 7 and 17 living in Portugal so I think his accent has always been a little bit unusual.
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I must say it was a strange one, we arrived at the ground about an hour before kick off and the rain was steady but not torrential, it looked a lot worse than it was because the wind made it horizontal but the actual amount of rain coming down wasn’t too bad.
The way the stadium is laid out you enter the away end on one side of the ground near the corner flag and the seating is on the other side of the pitch so we walked almost half way round the pitch via the away end and no part of it was waterlogged and there were no signs of standing water. Players were warming up across the entire pitch (our keeper even occupying the supposed problematic centre circle for kicking practice with Fitz), the Darlo players were doing some pass and move drills down in front of us and the pitch looked fine, it was cutting up a bit but the ball was travelling without any issue, our players were doing the same in the opposite corner.
To be honest at no point did we or anyone around us have any inkling that the game was in doubt so when someone said it was off I actually thought they were joking, by this time the rain had stopped, the skies were clear of cloud and the forecast was getting better.
I’m no expert and I’m not saying there wasn’t water somewhere on the pitch but based on what we saw it must have been confined to a pretty small area of the pitch which perhaps could’ve been dealt with especially with no more rain coming down?
Anyway it can’t be helped and I’m sure the decision was taken in good faith but I’ve never experienced anything quite like it.1 user thanked author for this post.
