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Post by gazz on Sept 28, 2019 17:54:00 GMT
I just think we have been found out at this level and last year's guys aren't good enough. Sad to say. Agreed, so now it's time for the board to step up and give Jim the backing he needs to sort it. He's tried to save the club money by doing it on the cheap and giving the current players the chance to prove themselves, but it hasn't worked. The least they can do now is help him get the players he needs to dig us out of this slump. I won't be holding my breath.
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Post by forzablue on Sept 28, 2019 18:19:10 GMT
We are going to have to be careful. Players are only human.
Festus, whilst doing well was definitely not MOM today. Good in the air but naive on the floor and no pace. Protect him and he'll develop well. Make him feel like a world beater now and when the bad form arrives, he may not cope.
Dan Cowan. Really, really feel sorry for the lad. Doing his best on his wrong side. When JG switched Cowan to the right at half time both Keane and Jackson were found out several times down the left so JG switched him back again and put Keane on the right. I think he doesn't get enough cover considering his right foot/left back situation. Keane doesn't cover around and Leesley doesn't track back. Doing his confidence the world of good (not).
Keane. Good defender, better midfielder. No pace. Needs to return to add strength and height in midfield. These defeats aren't helping his confidence.
Sam Minihan - as I've said before, good going forward but lacking defensively. Lets stick with what he's good at, push him forward and Cowan at RB and eek out a few 0-0 draws to get the confidence back. My son was listening to the radio commentary but it didn't correspond to my take on the game. Apparently Sam was amazing again today. What?
Leesley. Body language not good. No real pace. Added absolutely nothing since arriving. Poor signing.
Jackson - a left sided Minihan. Can't defend.
JG has indicated a cull of those who cannot produce the goods. Will that include his ineffective signings of Jackson and Leesley? As I have mentioned before, JG is a past master at attributing blame, but I have yet to see him hold his hands up and say " It was my fault" or " I take the blame - it was my team selection" etc. Why can't he ever take the pressure off his players by accepting some responsibility when things go pear shaped?
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Post by hermannsays on Sept 28, 2019 18:51:06 GMT
Having watched academy games against some really naive opponents where we run out 15-0 winners, today our men's team managed to make itself look like one of those academy opponents.
Due to Torquay being ruthless, slick and 'on point' when they got into decent positions - seemingly executing most chances/half-chances they got in the 1st half - it was instantly comparable to when Woking turned up at EP a few seasons back and seemed to score every chance they had (I think it was 4 out of 5 efforts in that one). However, that's where the comparison to that FA Cup loss ends because, truth be told, we were incredibly poor today in how we set about the game and there was zero chance of even a point as a result.
From the start, we seemed to favour a hyper-aggressive shape, which was often running into the realms of 3 horizontal lines in a 4-2-4, with the two wide attackers being narrow. We looked like an Evostik side on acid, on a collective 'trip' where we were chasing a goal in the final minutes of a play-off final: "we might as well lose 2-0 than 1-0!"
The only explanation for it I can pluck out is that we might have tried something to alter Torquay's set-up, make them change or doubt their own system? I am pulling at straws though and even that makes little sense because, when our game plan was troubling us more than them, we till pursued it even with a line-up that could have altered to a back 3 or a diamond midfield quite easily to cure some of the systemic issues.
To make matters worse, the knock-on effect of the front 4's positioning was that the impetus fell on Osborne to be the dynamic midfielder bridging defence and attack - but he was often collecting the ball from the CBs. Yup, you can count the midfield left on... one finger.
The first goal came from us conceding a FK (new man Hammill was guilty of two early concessions in this regard about 25-yards out). The ball was lofted in deep and the referee gave a foul against Mulhern, who was struggling to effectively mark one of their two large CBs from the off - the 5-inch height disadvantage was a worry from the very first corner.
The second goal saw them slide in their attacker on the left side of our defence with our CBs looking flat-footed and calling for offside. Fans also called for offside - and then blamed the linesman for not raising his flag - but just how easy it was to break on us, to be unpressured in finding telling passes due to our lack of midfield (and having one tackling player in midfield) meant the linesman raising a flag would surely only be delaying our second concession rather than anything else.
Like the second goal, the third was an OG trying to stop the cross from our left coming across our 6-yard box. And the 4th summed Ledley's showing up quite aptly as he lost possession doing nothing of worth and they ran on through our non-existent midfield to score from range.
As is almost always the case, the 2nd half seemed ok but this was a combination of us changing shape so we had a midfield, more accurate passing (Dimaio especially) and Torquay easing off and just staying professional - that said, even in the 'warm-down mode' they still created chances!
When it's a difficult time, we do need those coming in to be part of a cure and not a new problem. Maybe I'm being harsh (probably not though as I'm clearly AN EXPERT), Leesley seems to have entered with the arrogance of Danny Lloyd while providing 2.5% of his workrate and input. We have a very capable person in Turnbull captaining us and I think Leesley would do well to get his head down and make his own performance stand out before waving his arms about at others.
To be quite frank, Jackson never impressed me even at NLN level for Darlo and just looks like a cheap option to fill in a squad number. Seeing him bickering with JG is embarrassing when coming on as a sub. Regardless of what was in his head, it was pretty obvious to any onlooker that he needed to be pressing their right side, which they were distributing though, and then allow a team-mate to cover 'his' man - not stand 15 yards off the man with the ball and 'his' man. No-one will ever shout at you for pressing, but pointless positioning and standing still is going to irk even placid managers, nevermind one who really will rocket you on the side! And if he cuts back onto his right one more time, rather than open his body on receiving a pass from CB and take it forward on his favoured left, I think I will explode. It's cost goals already and he did it again today. You have to learn and learn quick. You're left footed and fast. Run with purpose and get us up the pitch. Simple.
Hammill has obvious ability but then so does Dimaio, and it was the later who played the best defence-splitting ball of the day in the 2nd half. It's to be seen if the former's arrival can help us 'find a way' as a team, or whether his contribution is more about doing a 'Danny Lloyd' and winning points with an act of individual brilliance.
For me, getting a left-sided LB, capable at this level, is essential now. It will improve two things: 1) that we can carry the ball forward quicker from LB, especially important if the left attacker is going to be narrow and 2) that we can have better competition on the right. Minihan was one of the better performers today, Thomas being pretty weak for any effort he gave. Minihan ahead of Cowan and other versions of the three is better than losing that option due to having no natural left back.
A close second is to add a gritty and mobile CM who is comfortable taking on an 8 role or sitting deeper. Unlike the NLN where midfield is often bypassed, in this league teams pass it more - and at pace. While Osborne comes to the fore with the ball at his feet, it's incredibly easy for the opposition to play through him as a non-tackling, non-aggressive midfielder who is too often on the wrong side defensively. It matters less if he's in the #10 role, but he has to double up more effectively off the ball to command a position deeper and that was obvious even in the NLN - a bit like when we kept with Ball as a #4. The likes of Turnbull and Walker have all the grit in the world but much less mobility. Keane could move, of course, but I do fear the positioning he had which was less caught out at NLN level would be highlighted by better players and that he's naturally a clear #4 type rather than someone who will add mobility through the phases of play. I think he could well be a FL-standard CB within the next two years if he can hold that position, though he needs to be able to cope through this difficult period mentally - he looked quite 'shot' in confidence today. Finally, I think we need to establish if our #9 position (Bell or Mulhern) is non-functioning due to their performance levels or due to the way we are getting the ball to them. If it's the former, then someone more established at the type of role JG uses is likely going to be beneficial.
Anyway, even though we need to be making additions to the squad to give us a better chance of stabilising within the league, today felt like a pretty reckless gifting away of points. I was pleased Arthur got MotM from the sponsors and that he was applauded - just think how difficult it must be for him to play in such a poor streak at a level that's brand new to him.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2019 19:12:01 GMT
How bizarre. Hinchliffe barely has a save to make and we get beat 0-4. Not sure I share the general gloom, doom and despondency just yet as I thought we played decently at times but we still lack something up front. Maybe it's me because I'm not a huge fan of playing one up top as I think it requires certain skills that neither Mulhearn or Bell have and I do wonder what Dimaio has to do to get a prolonged run out but we need to do something sharpish to arrest this before the players confidence disappears.
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Post by hermannsays on Sept 28, 2019 20:20:19 GMT
And without Minihan's work to stop a goal chance in the box, and later Cowan's on a different occasion, it could have been 6-0 at HT with Hinchliffe having made 1(?) save - the one before they went 3 nil up. It was certainly bizarre in that respect.
I do apologise if my post is doom and gloom (sincerely so) because it's just how I saw it. As I walked home, the positives for me were only that JG is still here and that with some good additions we should be able to keep ourselves out of trouble.
With the prices going up and the board stating it was to ensure we would be competitive, I'm 'happy' to err somewhat on the negative side though because they do have a duty to keep to that. Fans did keep the faith and did put up the money, as they continue to do. Very few are thinking about the FL, but I don't think we want to look at the opposition and think 'wow, they look a level above'.
Ultimately this is just the first year in a new series of seasons when it's about adjusting, stabilising and building towards something better. But JG does need that help to be genuine and not leaving him looking like he's trying to pull something off to overcome the deficit.
Anyways, we'll win the next one 4-0 and all will be forgotten!
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Post by another_ruined_saturday on Sept 28, 2019 23:48:13 GMT
the weather forecast was dismal and looked like it would involve driving through the rain, walking through the rain, and driving home through the rain. plus liverpool were the early kick off, and i intended to do some work after that game finished. i somewhat guiltily jibbed. and then it was mostly sunny in leeds. the despair was pinging through on the texts, which eventually fell ominously silent (angrily silent i suspect) and i watched some athletics and did no work. better for my blood pressure.
from that distance, and understanding that we're badly underperforming, i would say we need to stop this dreadful run as soon as possible, and not collectively sh*t ourselves. we entered the season weaker than we finished last. sad as it is, we do need to feel our way out at this level. there are a couple of recruitments to be made, particularly at left back, which we've been saying most of the season. with a couple of adjustments, it doesn't have to be doom and gloom.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2019 2:15:53 GMT
And without Minihan's work to stop a goal chance in the box, and later Cowan's on a different occasion, it could have been 6-0 at HT with Hinchliffe having made 1(?) save - the one before they went 3 nil up. It was certainly bizarre in that respect. I do apologise if my post is doom and gloom (sincerely so) because it's just how I saw it. As I walked home, the positives for me were only that JG is still here and that with some good additions we should be able to keep ourselves out of trouble. With the prices going up and the board stating it was to ensure we would be competitive, I'm 'happy' to err somewhat on the negative side though because they do have a duty to keep to that. Fans did keep the faith and did put up the money, as they continue to do. Very few are thinking about the FL, but I don't think we want to look at the opposition and think 'wow, they look a level above'. Ultimately this is just the first year in a new series of seasons when it's about adjusting, stabilising and building towards something better. But JG does need that help to be genuine and not leaving him looking like he's trying to pull something off to overcome the deficit. Anyways, we'll win the next one 4-0 and all will be forgotten! No need to apologise mate. The point that I was trying (badly, the bizarre comment wasn't aimed at your comment but the fact that the keeper had nothing to do except pick the ball out of the net) to make was that each of their goals came from individual errors rather than anything Torquay did. For example, we pull everyone back for a free kick and yet the whole thing is undone by the marker allowing Reid to get goalside and then compounding the error by dragging him back for the pen. A basic schoolboy error. The fourth goal is conceded after Leesley, who in my opinion had a nightmare, gets caught in possession on the halfway line in another unforced error and we're suddenly exposed with no-one in a position to get back and cover. All four goals could be ascribed to the same kind of thing, basic errors you wouldn't expect players at this level to make. We've now got 3 loan players and, on albeit fairly limited evidence, not one of them is any better than we've already got so I think that the idea that the board are somehow leaving JG high and dry is not right, particularly when you consider that 2 of those player's are from League clubs (3 out of 4 if you include Piggot) and therefore one assumes, on decent wages. In addition, we've just signed a young lad from Buxton who didn't even make the bench as well as another recently acquired young player who is currently out on loan when the problem appears to be rather more immediate.
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Post by Epworth Hatter on Sept 29, 2019 7:10:22 GMT
May the force be with him... NARRATOR: It wasn’t
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Post by hermannsays on Sept 29, 2019 8:07:31 GMT
And he got kicked on the head for good measure and couldn't believe he wasn't awarded more fouls... welcome to non-league!
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Sept 29, 2019 10:59:35 GMT
@northyorks: who have we signed from Buxton, mate? I had heard talk of a young left-back there who might be brought in, but was unsure as to whether he was actually with us yet (and if he was, we could have done with him yesterday!).
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2019 11:37:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2019 11:39:15 GMT
@northyorks: who have we signed from Buxton, mate? I had heard talk of a young left-back there who might be brought in, but was unsure as to whether he was actually with us yet (and if he was, we could have done with him yesterday!). You're right, looks like I jumped the gun with that assumption. The point remains however that the board cannot be accused of not supporting the Manager when in fact, they have with players from league clubs. I 'm also assuming that JG would not have gone public after the Solihull game if he knew he was not able to replace the players he's identified as not up to it this level for whatever reason.
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