⚽Match Thread vs. Sutton United FC 27.02.24 [EFL L2]

[1955pie]

Yet again we've conceded in the first fif**** minutes, five this time.
The manager will carry the can but Warners short back pass and Crowleys idiotic penalty tackle really hung Maynard out to dry. For the third the keeper has made a double save and still the defence couldn't clear it.
That squad of players have had loads of praise but they're underperforming and it's not all down to tactics and formations, in fact most of it isn't, it's catastrophic mistakes and a midfield and defence that are collectively lightweight.

The awful back pass was from that idiot Baldwin.

[MancMagpie]

Seen a few posts about players not playing for SM....yeah, I think that's true. What do we do? Get different players that will play for him or get rid of SM and hope the players respond to a more experienced manager?
Difficult.
Crowley went from hero to zero. His 2 goals were world class...then he didn't even look that arsed when he gave away the pen.
Was it deliberate? Are they trying to get SM out?

[Chicken Balti Pie]

I will concede that Cameron had a reasonable game but Nemane was his hopeless unproductive self. Five first half crosses, only one reached a Notts player and that was one of two he wildly overhit which Jones fashioned something from. He has 2 assists in 34 games, he is garbage but unfathomably he keeps being selected.

Cameron had an awful game, where was he for the first and third goals?

[jackal2]

I don’t think there is a player at the club who was more aggressive than the whole Sutton 11. That is 9 goals conceded against a club that will be in the National League next season. They are ****. They are a big side and we couldn’t lay a glove on them.

Harry Smith is arguably the biggest prick in football (apart from Baldwin) and we made him look like a 6ft 7in Pele.

That's pretty much the size of it.

Our 'defending' tonight was absolutely abysmal. We're a bunch of wimps. As you say, lacking in in any desire or aggression. Time and time again we allowed crosses into our box, time and again we missed crucial tackles and headers, and our three (note THREE) so-called centre halves were completely bullied into submission by a bog standard lower league battering ram centre-forward.

The first conclusion is that the wing-back system should be declared officially over, because we don't have wing-backs. We have two wingers who can't and don't want to defend. Every opponent has now worked out that if we play 3-5-2 against them, it's open house for crosses into our box.

The second conclusion is that our so-called centre halves just aren't up to the job at this level. Their first and most important job is to kick it, head it, tackle anything that moves and defend our box with their lives, but they clearly lack the determination and ability to do either.

The goalkeeper wasn't any great shakes either, but having tried three so far, it makes you wonder whether any goalkeeper would look uncertain of themselves in this shooting gallery. They've got no protection from their defence.

Defensive midfield looked more solid and less fussy until Jim O'Brien left the pitch, but Bostock is a liability there. He simply doesn't know how to defend or tackle consistently, and again he doesn't really want to. If he has a future it's going head-to-head with Crowley for a single central attacking midfield position further up the pitch. And Crowley beats him hands down for that anyway.

Every game we're dominating possession, but the fact that tonight's opponents have been able to slam nine goals past us in two games this season, having had only 34% possession in each of the games, tells you what a pathetic team we are on the defensive side of the ball, at this level. There are too many players in this team who simply don't enjoy or want to defend, and that's where the problem lies. Even last season our inability to keep clean sheets was a warning sign, but this season against better, more aggressive and more physical opposition, it looks like men against boys.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

Seen a few posts about players not playing for SM....yeah, I think that's true. What do we do? Get different players that will play for him or get rid of SM and hope the players respond to a more experienced manager?
Difficult.
Crowley went from hero to zero. His 2 goals were world class...then he didn't even look that arsed when he gave away the pen.
Was it deliberate? Are they trying to get SM out?

Crowley had a pop at the kop after his goal as well. Wondering if he's having some issues

[DaveSmithRules]

Sounds like half our whole team had an argument with the Kop at the end.

[jackal2]

Sounds like half our whole team had an argument with the Kop at the end.

Cameron had argument with some fans near the dugout. It was most aggression shown by any of our centre-halves all night!

[Notts78]

It looked like he tried to smash it back into the hoardings but it hit the concrete bit and flew into the kop, I don’t think it was meant to go where it did.

Then raise a hand to acknowledge that… not say ‘**** off’.

Just to compound things, he was wasting time when WE were losing.

[MancMagpie]

There needs to be some open chats and heart to hearts going on now. We're going nowhere until somebody stands up and says what the fluff is going on. Ideally, this would be the manager's job, but that's not going to happen.
Warnock would had this lot on toast by now.

[MancMagpie]

That's pretty much the size of it.

Our 'defending' tonight was absolutely abysmal. We're a bunch of wimps. As you say, lacking in in any desire or aggression. Time and time again we allowed crosses into our box, time and again we missed crucial tackles and headers, and our three (note THREE) so-called centre halves were completely bullied into submission by a bog standard lower league battering ram centre-forward.

The first conclusion is that the wing-back system should be declared officially over, because we don't have wing-backs. We have two wingers who can't and don't want to defend. Every opponent has now worked out that if we play 3-5-2 against them, it's open house for crosses into our box.

The second conclusion is that our so-called centre halves just aren't up to the job at this level. Their first and most important job is to kick it, head it, tackle anything that moves and defend our box with their lives, but they clearly lack the determination and ability to do either.

The goalkeeper wasn't any great shakes either, but having tried three so far, it makes you wonder whether any goalkeeper would look uncertain of themselves in this shooting gallery. They've got no protection from their defence.

Defensive midfield looked more solid and less fussy until Jim O'Brien left the pitch, but Bostock is a liability there. He simply doesn't know how to defend or tackle consistently, and again he doesn't really want to. If he has a future it's going head-to-head with Crowley for a single central attacking midfield position further up the pitch. And Crowley beats him hands down for that anyway.

Every game we're dominating possession, but the fact that tonight's opponents have been able to slam nine goals past us in two games this season, having had only 34% possession in each of the games, tells you what a pathetic team we are on the defensive side of the ball, at this level. There are too many players in this team who simply don't enjoy or want to defend, and that's where the problem lies. Even last season our inability to keep clean sheets was a warning sign, but this season against better, more aggressive and more physical opposition, it looks like men against boys.

Can't really argue with much (if any) of that.