Stevenage

[gazan]

We never really got going yesterday until about the hour mark. The were some little signs of getting together until Daggers got everybody worked up. Then we lost an outfield player and they lost a goalkeeper- result = we completely lost shape.
I must admit, every time I see Stevenage, I remember how much I dislike them. From their staged injury/water break in the 17th minute to their ability to fall down whenever the referee was looking and the number of times they followed through after the ball had gone and while everyone's attention had moved away. They've always been the same from when they first arrived on the scene with Steve Evans.

In terms of the Alex, although they lost, there are a number of things that are consistently better than with the previous regime. The chasing down and forcing the opposition backwards or into errors is really working (and clearly appreciated by the crowd). The biggest change for me is the numbers we are getting forward. This was always my criticism of SD as we never had more than 2 bursting into the box and the rest were timidly waiting for the ball to come back towards as it inevitably did when our one or two forwards lost it. The biggest beneficiary of this has been Daggers who no longer only chases lost causes but can now get onto balls that are placed into the box while supporting bodies offer further options. Unfortunately we'll be without him now and Udoh is elsewhere (and has also been sent off!)
Anyway we lost but there was no hopeless resignation as had been the case under SD. We are clearly not the finished product and our defence is still totally breachable but now we can see that there is effort and a bit of pride.

[AstonAlex]

Good post, gazan, except it was Graham Westley who first brought them into the League rather than the equally odious Evans.

[crewebacca]

[QUOTE=gazan;38448739]We never really got going yesterday until about the hour mark. The were some little signs of getting together until Daggers got everybody worked up.........

Thanks for the report.

[TJC1976]

Totally agree with the report above. We played ok and I thought good value for a leveller until the sending off, after which we lost our shape a little. Second period the intensity increased and they were forced to defend for large parts of the half. That said they showed why they are up there as they defended very well in my opinion.
As mentioned as well, the work rate has been increased tenfold, the graft the are putting in is appreciated by the paying punters, hence why many stayed behind a clamped the lads off. No one is hiding out there and I have started to enjoy attending again. The lads seem a close knot group all happy to work for each other, with no players with hidden agenda (RL) or players blaming others whilst being happy to hide (HD). They will make errors, that's for sure, but I enjoy watching this group of players and the fact that its virtually the same lads under the previous regime, speaks volumes. That said, Tuesday now becomes a massive game as I don't think anyone expects us to get anything from Pompey.