Certainly not for the purist

if you are after eye catching football with good passing technique and attacking football then the game yesterday was certainly not for you and not only that but with the ultra defensive approach it seems organisation has gone out of the window but as a result based game a second draw on the road within a few days was not the end of the world some were predicting and whilst two points out of six has not lifted us far from the relegation zone it has given us a base to now approach Mondays game with a bit of optimism and if we can beat the in form Portsmouth team then things will look a lot better and the two draws will be good results.

For me the problem with this set up is that in many ways it seems it absolves the defenders in the team of actually marking their players and any real organisation is lost as we have numerous players around our own penalty area and our defenders in zones rather than picking up their direct opponent and because of that our opponents can get players forward in numbers and aided by our ridiculous "all back for corners" we struggle to actually get out of our half as clearances produce another wave of attacks. Yesterday it allowed a thankfully generous and very ordinary Oldham side to have far more possession than their talent deserved. This was two poor teams who presented each other with the ball far too easily and although Oldham may have had 23 shots most were abysmal efforts and from long range, as regards quality chances I would say it was a very even game where either side could have won the game and having taken a lead we certainly should have sewn the game up in the 15 minute spell after the goal.


It was back to the old DC special as regards changes but with a 3 games in such a short time fixture list it was probably good management of resources and we can fully expect the same number of changes for the game against Pompey.


Smith m o m 8 Another top display for a keeper under fire from some quarters. At least three outstanding saves and several other good ones made him the only real choice for Man of the Match for the second time in a few days.


Bola 6.5  The only defender who actually looked in control of the situation even when not completely close to his opponent and who had the skill to get out of awkward situations and get stuck in. Unfortunately it was him who needlessly gave away a penalty right near the corner of the Penalty area where there was no real danger and although it looked another questionable decision by the referee I can fully understand why it was given.
Lockyer 5.5  A mixed display by the skipper who generally reads the game well but far too often is not tight enough to get to the ball first and with so many colleagues around it becomes far too easy to say that man is somebody else's and we definitely looked stretched far too often.
Sweeney 5 Same as Lockyer with the added "How on earth did he manage to miss what looked like a far easier to score than miss header  in the six yard box that would have put us two nil up and almost certainly sealed a victory. He did at least set Bodin up for his goal with a power header that went over the Oldham defence and was expertly chipped by our top scorer.
Brown 4  Didn't seem to have a clue who he was supposed to be marking and ended up spending much of the game giving opponents so much room that he had little chance of getting a tackle in. there will those who will say that he was let down by the failure of the left sided midfielder helping him but I would call it as the opposite as by constantly leaving his player it never became obvious who he was supposed to be marking and far too many dangerous runs into our area came from his side.


Partington 6.5  The pick of the midfield for me as he prompted and generally cleared up well and always was available. 
O. Clarke 5  Gave the ball away far too often but at least fought to get it back. In truth we looked all over the place and disorganised for long periods of this game with no real creative spark and Ollie's form is a long way from the player that seemed to be evolving last season.
Sinclair 5  Typical Sincs performance where you cannot fault his effort and commitment to the cause but it is very restrictive in the creativity aspect and leaves gaps all over the place as he covers every blade of grass and those around him struggle to do anywhere near the same and as a unit we really end up with an extra row of defenders that IMO confuses each other as to who should be marking who and so we end up when in possession with a back eight where the spare players are our back four and they are far too wasteful when they are given the ball and have few options.


Bodin 6.5  Teams know now that he is our only real dangerman and double up on him and he ends up far too often over doing things but nothing said can take away the sublime finish that put us into the lead and why it is essential that we hang on to Billy as he provides what limited attacking quality we do have in the side. 
Harrison 6.5  You have to feel sorry for a player who is putting in so much effort but is having to cover far too much to provide aerial strength at the back at every set piece but then is expected to be the one man up front and holding the ball up. Sorry DC but that is one thing you didn't learn from John Ward and whilst it is a little prettier than the game plan of his "mentor" it is a close call because there is little organisation to see and we are far from composed. Ellis should really have scored early on but lashed at the ball and sent it over the bar where a controlled "Bodinesque" finish was required.
Sercombe 6  Similar performance to Walsall where for long periods he looks  lost but is capable of runs that take opponents out of the game and will create at least one opportunity for himself per game but for the second game in succession he failed to finish what looked like a well within his capabilities to finish chance.
Subs: Nichols 4  Usual contribution. DC when will you realise that you signed a good player but failed to sign the ingredients to make the most of him ie wingers to get in dangerous crosses to an out and out big man target for Nicholls to pick up the scraps. far too often he looks totally out of it both outnumbered and in terms of physical strength and size.
Gaffney 6

Crowd 6 Reasonable turn out (350 odd)on a cold day up North and certainly made more noise than the home fans who were very quiet however the performances are not exactly great entertainment although the result could be looked upon as satisfactory after so many fruitless journeys this season.
Ref 5  another fussy ref who seemed to give far more "decisions" to the home side and I expect he came from not far away and I am sure that the "North versus South" philosophy comes into the way referees perform when we play North of Birmingham!!
Oldham 5.5 I could only describe them as about the same as us except they do have a couple of wingers but as regards possession they like us, gave the ball away far to often but although it was a game we should have sown up after taking the lead they  deserved a draw for at least having some attacking intentions although the 23 to 9 strikes on goal in their favour does not show a fair reflection of the game as it was always an even battle in terms of actual possession and both sides were as wayward and wasteful as the other.

So we move on to a game that we must win if we are to make it a reasonable return from the festive period. If we should lose then 2 points from 12 really is relegation form but with a win - 1 win, 2 draws and i defeat will put us in a position where, with reinforcements we could yet turn this season around to at least a comfortable mid table position. The worrying thing from my point of view is that DC's after match talks are no longer so convincing and i sense almost a man who is thinking over his future in his mind. It will take 4 or 5 players with a few exiting to turn this season around and at the moment I am unsure after the summer dealings whether DC has either the resources or the charisma to get the sort of players we need. UTG