Match Thread vs. Chesterfield 21.11.20 [NL]

[sidders]

The main difference is that on Tuesday it was all Ardleys fault but today it was down to luck. COYP

One trusts that 'Sir' is being ironic!

[ancientpie]

One trusts that 'Sir' is being ironic!

Sir certainly is unfortunately others are being serious. COYP

[drillerpie]

Only listened to the match, I've lost my Magpie mojo in the last few weeks so have stopped paying for the streams, but from what I heard there was something for everyone on Saturday.

Swale and a couple of others kept the faith and were rewarded with a couple of injury time goals - that's always a good feeling.

Others have pointed out that there are still systemic issues with team selection, playing style and individual performances that don't fill you with confidence for the next game.

The most interesting thing for me was in Ardley's interview after the game when he said that at 2-1 down at the end of the game he told the players to push on and put the ball in the box as often as possible.

Nothing revolutionary about that in itself, but for Ardley that is a huge shift. I clearly remember him in the past talking about players losing faith in the patterns of play when chasing the game, and him being annoyed when they were tempted to go more direct.

Could Ardley's tactics be evolving to become more pragmatic? If yes I think that can only be a good thing.