First Team
I was not surprised we lost. 1-0 seems a credible result. It was the way we lost that was poor.
But praise first, we only got that result thanks to the splemdid efforts by our back four. They all deserve the highest marks for their non-stop efforts. They were virtually constantly under pressure, expecially in the second half. They worked their socks off and did not deserve to be on a losing side. Well done the four of you.
So to our midfield. What midfield????? Cooper gifted Rovers goal with a lazy, slack pass. With the natural talent that he has why does he put in so many inept displays? verdict Lazy,lazy and even more lazy. Ainley just could not get into the game, and then unfortunately got injured. Kirk made very little impact, but then 15 minutes from the end suddenly came to life and was making things happen. When are our young graduates going to realise they are supposed to graft for the whole game. Pickering to his credit tried really hard and is not afraid to mix it, but unfortunately he got swamped. I will leave the last one nameless. Wish I could say he had a good game. But in truth he was the worst player on the pitch by a country mile. Constantly passing the ball to Rover players. Frequently getting easily dispossessed, and when he made a pass to one of our players it was mostly a bad choice that put our player under unnecessary pressure. Sorry, but he was awful. None of these players were poor because of the superiority of our opponents. They managed it all on their own.
And so to our forwards. My heart goes out to them. To work really hard for virtually most of the game without even a glimmer of support or any form of service. Must be so maddening.
Now to the worrying bit. Before the game DA said on RS that he was going to field his strongest side. Well if his strongest side is one that has no midfield we really are in the shot. With that team it is so hard to see where we can get another win, and lets face it he is not going to change it now. Lost all confidence in him.
One scary thing I noticed in the second half. Our midfield was playing far too deep and it was allowing Rovers to totally dominate the game. At one point KL at one end of the technical area was urgently telling the players to move out. At the other end of the technical area DA was urging the players to get further back, which was the completely wrong decision.
I am very worried and concerned.
Hall Of Fame
I agree with every single word you've written. The scariest thing for me is that Dave was sat a couple of seats away from me but we saw the game very differently.
If he thinks that was a decent performance we really are in trouble. Lowery was kept on for 90 minutes whilst our best passer, Walker, sat on the bench. For the first time I am losing faith in DA, and he needs to turn it around very quickly.
Hall Of Fame
Must win game against Crawley, otherwise for the first time this season, I will start to fear the worst.
First Team
In the Sentinel today DA states that he saw a lot of positives from the game. Good positives that we can build on. Oh my goodness what planet is he on? That is telling us that the team is going to be the same on Saturday.
It really is the time for him to go.
Hall Of Fame
Many seem to agree with you right now, ruocul. However, where do we go once Artell (and presumably, Lunt) have departed? This is the big question, I would think.Originally Posted by ruocul
Hall Of Fame
Artell has just been given a 12 month contract and so is going nowhere and we must presume that must include the possibility of non league football next year. Is that the action of a Board that knows what it is doin
g? o..
I'm giving up on this site as its impossible to read or write anything with its intrusive adverts and pages jumping all over the place egen
First Team
Well Mike I think the answer to that is a simple one. If he goes (and he should) then I am convinced Kenny Lunt will take over.
But on the other side of the coin, you know how good our Directors are at not making decisions, and their superior like silence.
The most important thing is we have to somehow avoid relegation, and we are not going to do that with the team we put out against Blackburn. You cannot play a game of football without a midfield and expect to win. We have done that all season and currently we are in the exact position we deserve to be. Mike that is a correct statement, "we have no midfield". How any manager can allow this to happen is beyond me.
Hall Of Fame
Only thing I can say to that is, if you were at Cheltenham, you'd know why.
Moderator
Interesting (not really, just symptomatic of our inconsistency), but the victorious team yesterday was the same, apart from Bowery replacing Porter, as the defeated side on Wednesday.
It would have been tough, but there is a distinct possibility that if the team had played to the same standard on Wednesday we'd still be in the FA Cup - just my opinion. So where does the blame lie for this continuing rollercoaster of inconsistency?
Hall Of Fame
Honestly? I just think (and forgive me for nicking one of your words) it is symptomatic of League 2 footballers, otherwise they wouldn't be in League 2.
I'm not sure you can blame DA for this - unless you attribute the chopping and changing of the starting 11.
You can see why he does it, he's searching for the best combo, but we also need continuity.
Hoping we remain unchanged for Swindon.
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