Fan's View - Rochdale away

[Paul B]

Fan's View - Rochdale away

 

[Manorlounger]

Thanks Paul, nice to know that there were some redeeming features!
Still, a very sobering report and an almost resigned to doom attitude?

 

[WALLY OX]

Fan's View - Rochdale away

Good read as usual.
For a long time I have been telling people we do have some top players at this level; Eastwood, Nelson, Henry, Brannigan and Whyte, but we are a poor team that is extremely fragile. Glad to read that you think the same.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Don’t think we’re down by a long chalk. Conditions dictated. Thought Kashi was terrible. Slow and weak. Long is short of L1 quality. Brannigan anonymous

On the plus side Henry had a decent game, Mackie appeared well up for the battle and Nelson was, as the writer said, majestic.

Curates egg of performance - like our season.

Still feel there are 4 or 5 worse teams in L1 though.

 

[Sarge]

cheers @Paul B .... top report as usual ... spot on about (quailty/standard of) coaching , specialist defensive and attacking coaches especially , are and have been lacking all season IMO

 

[DannyW]

Some good players poor team is spot on description of us this year. Curtis Nelson has been a perfect example of a professional, I have lost count of the times this year I have muttered to myself and those around me. "God were going to miss him when he's gone"

 

[Paul Cannell]

In fine (to drag Henry James kicking and screaming onto the forum) - while I agree with master

Still feel there are 4 or 5 worse teams in L1 though.

the Fan's view has it "if we can’t beat a team like Rochdale who are below us it’s a pretty poor old show". A season that promised us the golden bowl looks like being the awkward age; I predict next season in the other house and the season ending with the outcry. I can't see how the acting manager can endue the confidence that we will take the wings of the dove. The story of the year, a tragedy of error; a most extraordinary case with the [last*] turn of the screw at Luton leaving us on the bench of desolation.


* The last turn of the screw is, from memory, the final chapter of William Gaddis' 'The Recognitions', a book about fraud, better than anything James did, IMO.

 

[Paul B]

Don’t think we’re down by a long chalk. Conditions dictated. Thought Kashi was terrible. Slow and weak. Long is short of L1 quality. Brannigan anonymous

On the plus side Henry had a decent game, Mackie appeared well up for the battle and Nelson was, as the writer said, majestic.

Curates egg of performance - like our season.

Still feel there are 4 or 5 worse teams in L1 though.

We see things different regarding Kashi & Long.

Kashi I thought was instrumental in getting us playing at a faster pace. First time passing to Whyte was excellent. I thought he did fade though.
I can't see what Long did wrong. He has played the last four games in a defence that has let in just two goals in that time and the one at home to Scunthorpe should never have counted because he'd been fouled. Against Rochdale he produced a great bit of skill by beating an opponent with a drag back just in front of us and it was him (I think) who played the ball to Sinclair when he got that shot away.
Brannagan's legs had gone long before the end and should probably have been replaced.

The more I think about it the better I realise Henry was. Perhaps overlooked because of Nelson's performance.

You might be right but who are the 4 or 5 worse teams? Form comes and goes. Wycombe have picked up 3 points from the last 24 available and Southend 4 from 27. Those two obviously have worse current form than us.

See you on Saturday for more unbearable tension. UTM

 

[NottsYellow]

Thanks Paul, watching on IFollow, it seemed to be a game full of throw-ins, whether when being at a game I don't notice it as much but watching it on computer it struck me how many throw-ins there were, how long it took to take them and how many yards Rochdale nicked at each one.

 

[North Wales Yellow]

I also went to the Baum pre-match. Cracking pub with a great choice of ales. The marshmallow porter was spot on.

Agree with most of your write up also. I do think that Sinclair is much more of a threat than Mackie and needs to start.

 

[LowerSouth]

Good read as usual.
For a long time I have been telling people we do have some top players at this level; Eastwood, Nelson, Henry, Brannigan and Whyte, but we are a poor team that is extremely fragile. Glad to read that you think the same.

Thanks Paul, watching on IFollow, it seemed to be a game full of throw-ins, whether when being at a game I don't notice it as much but watching it on computer it struck me how many throw-ins there were, how long it took to take them and how many yards Rochdale nicked at each one.

You surely also noticed that we lose possession from 90% of all the throw-ins we take.
Something else that isn’t rehearsed on the training ground.

 

[Paul B]

You surely also noticed that we lose possession from 90% of all the throw-ins we take.
Something else that isn’t rehearsed on the training ground.

This is something I've been banging on about for ages. Plus it always seems very easy for the opposition to retain possession when it is them throwing the ball in. Does my head in. If it's all about fine margins we don't do ourselves any favours.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

This 'fine margins' stuff is B*****s. It just means 'we don't do things as well as we should'!

 

[werthersoriginal]

I’ve said this before but look at how many games our forwards and defence have played in their current positions. Apart from Eastwood and Nelson it’s very few. The wingers are all rookies and Mackie wasn’t always a centre forward, plus Ruffels is a midfielder. The midfield is experienced and that’s maybe why we are good in this area but vulnerable at each end. I think Robinson has managed and coached reasonably well but our recruitment over the last eighteen months has been appalling.

 

[Bigfella72]

This 'fine margins' stuff is B*****s. It just means 'we don't do things as well as we should'!

Exactly, fine margins ?

 

[Bigfella72]

You surely also noticed that we lose possession from 90% of all the throw-ins we take.
Something else that isn’t rehearsed on the training ground.

Back in the manor days I’m sure throw ins were much bettter? These days it just seems to be let’s see how far up the pitch we can throw it ?

 

[Cass63]

I’ve said this before but look at how many games our forwards and defence have played in their current positions. Apart from Eastwood and Nelson it’s very few. The wingers are all rookies and Mackie wasn’t always a centre forward, plus Ruffels is a midfielder. The midfield is experienced and that’s maybe why we are good in this area but vulnerable at each end. I think Robinson has managed and coached reasonably well but our recruitment over the last eighteen months has been appalling.

Do you really think Robinson has coached and managed reasonably well? To be honest I think apart from a striker, the recruitment has been pretty good.its the coaching and management that’s been shambolic.

 

[Paul Cannell]

Brave statement when we have no full backs.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Exactly, fine margins ?

What I meant was - you can't use 'fine margins' as some sort of reason (or excuse) for underperforming. Just saying 'Well we lost, but it was only fine margins that made the difference' - is exactly the same as saying 'Well we lost, but only because the other team did the important things better'! It is an admission of failure.

 

[Millman]

Do you really think Robinson has coached and managed reasonably well? To be honest I think apart from a striker, the recruitment has been pretty good.its the coaching and management that’s been shambolic.

I would say the recruitment has been the opposite. 2 rights backs signed both no longer playing for us. 1 left back signed can't get into the team. Holmes, Carruthers, Shearer signed barely played. Hanson sign for big money also can't get in the team. Mackie, and Smith signed no real goal return (Smith now left the club). That's a heck of a failure rate.

Then add to that the timing of the recruitment all last minute (cost us massively in the first few games). The fitness of those that joined us again time wasted getting people fit.

Then consider the squad balance. Defense has no cover (at times we have been playing midfielders there). The strike force is woefully thin on quality and goals.

We have had a couple of disastrous windows in terms of recruitment and this term we have relied heavily on those players already at the club to form the back line and parts of midfield (bar loans they remain our best owned players). Without these players we would be even worse than we are.

In summary no I don't think we have done well in recruitment on the whole and when you add in the coaching and tactics that is why a top 8 budget club is fighting a relegation battle all season.