⚽ Match Thread vs. Doncaster Rovers FC 03.05.25 [EFL L2]

[Glad2BeAPie]

We signed to many inexperienced players in January and worse we're playing them all at the same time.instead of blooding them in, they've been thrown in at the deep end and its showing.

[Elite_Pie]

Unfortunately, our obsession with playing slow-paced possession football makes us look like a team playing a pre-season friendly every week. People complain about a lack of atmosphere and fans expressing frustration, but what are we supposed to cheer when we constantly pass backwards and sideways and there's never so much as a crunching tackle to get the juices flowing. It's just passionless, insipid stuff and frankly not worth paying money to watch.

That sums up our support perfectly today. The scarf waving worked really well, the early noise from the Kop (and much of the main stand) was as loud as it's been all season. It was the perfect stage for the players to respond with with a passionate, full blooded performance. Instead we got the opposite. We got uninspired, tame and insipid yet again and the support dropped off dramatically. It was sickening to hear 2,000 make more noise than 13,000 in the second half, but it was understandable give the non-performance.

[i961pie]

Jattas getting sticking, I feel sorry for him, he is up there marked by 2/3 defenders with no one there to help him out yet he's still our top scorer. Yes his form as dipped since his international call up but he's a much better player with Didzy in the team.
Doncaster attacked with 4/5 players we have one or two at the most, no through balls for Jatta to run onto no creavitivity or goals from midfield apart from Abbott.
It was dire today with to much lightweight in the side, Whittaker and Grant have the odd good game, McDonald has only one foot his left but plays on the right. Jones is not the same player has last seaxon.
Crowley is sorely missed.
If we fail in the play offs then Maynard must go our home displays are boring and pathetic, backward and sideways passing and getting nowhere. Another bumper crowd and a rubbish display.

[LincsPie]

The ten biggest home gates since returning to tier 4.......

1. Sat 14/Oct/2023 16,638 v Mansfield Town
2. Sat 28/Oct/2023 16,083 v Wrexham
3. Sat 3/May/2025 15,427 v Doncaster Rovers
4. Sat 15/Mar/2025 13,229 v Chesterfield
5. Sat 12/Aug/2023 12,950 v Grimsby Town
6. Tue 26/Dec/2023 12,785 v Doncaster Rovers
7. Wed 1/Jan/2025 12,610 v Walsall
8. Sat 5/Oct/2024 11,974 v Port Vale
9. Sat 18/Nov/2023 11,909 v Bradford City
10. Tue 16/Apr/2024 11,656 v Stockport County

All of the top 4 gates saw us lose. 7 of these 10 were lost overall.

Reading that is so depressing.....

So many opportunities wasted to get more fans regularly attending for the bread and butter league games rather than just the 'big' occasions.

[upthemaggies]

Four years ago, NL runners-up Torquay United finished 12 points above Wrexham having done the double over them (they also took 4 pts off Stockport and were unbeaten in 3 games against Notts). They missed out on a place back in the EFL in a penalty shoot out.

This afternoon they have been condemned to another season in tier 6 South. They could be facing AFC Totton next season if Totton beat Gloucester in the Southern League Premier South play off final.

Grim.

[bule1]

Jattas getting sticking, I feel sorry for him, he is up there marked by 2/3 defenders with no one there to help him out yet he's still our top scorer. Yes his form as dipped since his international call up but he's a much better player with Didzy in the team.
Doncaster attacked with 4/5 players we have one or two at the most, no through balls for Jatta to run onto no creavitivity or goals from midfield apart from Abbott.
It was dire today with to much lightweight in the side, Whittaker and Grant have the odd good game, McDonald has only one foot his left but plays on the right. Jones is not the same player has last seaxon.
Crowley is sorely missed.
If we fail in the play offs then Maynard must go our home displays are boring and pathetic, backward and sideways passing and getting nowhere. Another bumper crowd and a rubbish display.

Am I wrong in thinking Jatta's form in particular has dipped since DC left? He was the one we failed to replace but was there a replacement available and within budget?

[BigFatPie]

Ah fair, I thought you were just referring to those listed in the previous post.

Of the players that pre-date Maynard, and that have featured regularly, Id say:

Macari has always been Macari. Solid with the odd mistake in possession in him. Not much change.

Palmer, in my opinion, has got some unfair stick this season and the NL season is being looked back on with some rose-tinted shade with regards his overall output.

Jones has not hit the heights he did pre-Maynard and has had obvious injury issues this season. A definite drop off.

McGoldrick has clearly a better season than last.

Sam Austin is similar to Macari; you know what youre going to get. Was hitting a bit of form before his injury.

Robertson pre-dates Maynard by about an hour of the 5-5 at Grimsby.

Thinking about it, you could go through the entire side and try to work out who has improved since signing for us. It was easy under Williams.

Not so much now.

[the_anticlough]

I'm sick of reading that we can't beat Wimbledon....

Is it because of our sickly record of W20 D12 L14 compared to their really impressive W20 D13 L13?
I guess our D12 L14 was pathetic whereas their D13 L13 was a great heroic effort. Their end-of season form in terms of points was about as bad as ours too, but I guess that doesn't stop them being a truly fantastic, superior team, whose fans are so delighted with them, right?

The truth is they're as crap as us and all we might need to get past them is to be a little less crap than a couple of games. Not a big ask.

[legs77]

I'm sick of reading that we can't beat Wimbledon....

Is it because of our sickly record of W20 D12 L14 compared to their really impressive W20 D13 L13?
I guess our D12 L14 was pathetic whereas their D13 L13 was a great heroic effort. Their end-of season form in terms of points was about as bad as ours too, but I guess that doesn't stop them being a truly fantastic, superior team, whose fans are so delighted with them, right?

The truth is they're as crap as us and all we might need to get past them is to be a little less crap than a couple of games. Not a big ask.

We can beat any of them in the play offs as the points total over the season shows there is a few points between all four teams so over 46 games not much in it.

It?s not our record against top sides that I?m interested it makes no odds to me the season is ow finished league table wise, I think out of all the teams these are the hardest in terms of set up and style for us to play against and this is perhaps why some fans are downbeat.

In saying the above it?s only an opinion of fans it doesn?t matter really it?s what the players do next week that counts and people will start to feel more optimistic towards the end of next week.

[macse15]

I'm sick of reading that we can't beat Wimbledon....

Is it because of our sickly record of W20 D12 L14 compared to their really impressive W20 D13 L13?
I guess our D12 L14 was pathetic whereas their D13 L13 was a great heroic effort. Their end-of season form in terms of points was about as bad as ours too, but I guess that doesn't stop them being a truly fantastic, superior team, whose fans are so delighted with them, right?

The truth is they're as crap as us and all we might need to get past them is to be a little less crap than a couple of games. Not a big ask.

True but Wimbledon fans don?t act like they think they?re too good for L2 so probably don?t think their season has been utter crap and the manager should be sacked