13 corners and no end product is another stat that needs closer scrutiny. We have to mix it up a bit and make more of these opportunities.
Sounds crazy but that tie would not have attracted more than 4k down The Banks. The League Cup just does not have that appeal anymore.
We played Cystal Palace a few years back in Round 2 and it was sub 4k.
1 Like
it’s 4K we won’t be getting though …
1 Like
First of all, not negative at all about the performance in terms of fight and application.
However, I felt we were lacking some dynamic play from the 4 across the middle (not including Sinclair who sat behind).
There was an obvious gap between the forwards and midfield which meant link up was difficult. This is an area that Sinclair does well to make up ground in but was limited by a deeper role. Bates is/was very good on the ball but didn’t look like a natural attacking midfielder. We possibly could have benefitted more from him and Sinclair swapping around (although I understand it was probably the experience of sincs that lead to Clakes initial choice)
This leads me to the wing backs. Neither were aggressive forward thinking wing backs. I think CCM is a fantastic prospect but as proven in the second half he is a LB and not a WB. Norman on the other hand I think is the weak link. Does not have anything to offer one on one, often commits himself out of position and was at fault for the third goal. His bread and butter should have been stopping that cross.
This gap created between the midfield left the strikers isolated and often closed and pressed into errors by their midfield as they were first to 2nd balls.
Defensively, Clarke and Sadler were solid. Jules was positionally awful but his pace got him out of a hole. He was missing for the first goal. Scarr would have handled 9 a lot better.
No 9 was useful (bit of a lump) but it was 10 that caused all the problems with excellent movement. Definitely a player I would like us to sign. Morais is a good player still and they broke effectively a few times.
Clarke is not afraid to ring the changes and although hardy comes on as a wide man, he filled the gap behind the strikers very well. He has such good feet and is great to watch. McDonald impressed me too as he is a very willing ball carrier.
That brings me onto Lavery. His mind is at least a league above what we already have. Seems the kind of striker that will lose most of the crowd, let alone his defender, and then appear on the end of something. Think this guy will bring the goals.
All in all, not disappointed, but I think there are some areas highlighted from tonight’s game.
5 Likes
I went tonight; on the final table finish prediction I chose mid-table and I stand by my decision. Stating the obvious, 46 matches is such a long time. I thought the atmosphere tonight was so flat at the beginning of the game and for much of the rest. I said to my Son before they scored their first this atmosphere will suit the visitors not us.
I don’t have the heart to describe how I viewed the performance tonight and I was amazed the team were applauded at the end. I personally didn’t, however, I’m not for one second suggesting they should have been booed but for me hard graft and effort of which there was plenty for the last 30 minutes should be a default position for any football team trying to get back into a game, especially at home.
To try and cheer myself up and my Son as I drove him home I tried to imagine our future front 2 of Lavery and Rory Gafney which would make us so much more of a threat. I hope there is some truth in the Gafney rumour.
I will be at Crewe with my Son, hoping this is a one off performance.
6 Likes
For the first 65 minutes it looked like DK all over again. Talk about deja vu! At least we showed some effort in the last quarter of the game, and did come close to taking it to penalties.
I’m hoping for a better experience at Crewe.
Christ almighty, I must have been at a different game, you’d think we were battered 4-0.
1st loss of the season, in the tin pot cup, where we played a couple of kids, a second choice centra half, hit the bar, had enough chances to draw and the team still gave 110. If you didn’t clap that, or worse booed it, then league two football isn’t for you.
6 Likes
I didn’t boo.
Tin pot cup? Tin pot performance.
1 Like
I didn’t say you did? There was at half time though.
As for it being a tin pot performance, well, like I said, must have got a different score line to the one I saw.
Not talking about the scoreline. Talking about the first 65 - 70 minutes. We deserved a draw in the last quarter.
I am. And about the performance
Perhaps it’s a case of the emperor’s new clothes. Seeing them live for the first time this season, I thought the defence was shocking…
I’m still going to Crewe.
We lost. Get over it.
What do folks not understand about the phrase “work in progress”. We are going to lose games, we are going to have bad days and poor performances, we did the last time we were in this league when we finished top. We have 15 new players at varying degrees of experience, pre-season physical fitness, and obviously it takes time to build understanding at any level with that number of “strangers”. That’s not to say folks can’t be critical, pay your money and have your say. However, looking at some of the comments on here I’m assuming this evening there have been mass suicides in the likes of Barnsley, Bradford, oh and Mansfield!!! If this team is top ten going into the new year I think we’ll have a decent shout at going up looking at DC’s methodology, anything better will be a bonus. Lets just see what unfolds in a reasonable amount of time during which we all need to be pulling in the same direction, not in some kind of guff-headed happy clapping way, but simply because we are a football club to some extent trying to re-discover itself with a new regime, a really decent manager, and a bunch of players that seem deserving of some old fashioned support while they get to grips with their new surroundings.
17 Likes
I am? I’m the one saying people are overreacting to one loss 
1 Like
Did you go?
Yeah.
Well, at least I’ve seen this season’s Carabao cup run, and Lavery’s first goal - of many, I would think.
I can go back to riot-torn HK a happy man. (Unless the PLA have taken over.)
Wow talk about over reacting!! It was clear before the game that Clarke had zero interest in this cup/game.
His selection then compounded that, Bates selected ahead of Hardy when Hardy was crying out for minutes , Scarr and Pring who have been stand out players rested. Also add to that Guthrie and Liddle not selected.
For me that was basically us conceding the game, facts are in the we SHOULD be sat on 6 points in the league without conceding a goal… expect a completely different team and performance at Crewe.
Oh and all you have to do is look at some of last nights results to realise it wasn’t just us who took it lightly. I mean FGR winning at Charlton?? Who would of believed that after watching them Saturday!