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Post by stevek192 on Jan 14, 2018 12:17:37 GMT
After a week which finally ended with a signing it was back on the road for the long journey to freezing cold Blackpool and certainly not a day where you love to be at the Seaside. To be honest as I made my way to the Ground it was hard to believe that a football match was to be played as there was just no atmosphere around the ground whatsoever and Blackpool , other than Gas , seemed deserted. It certainly made you realise that Weston Super Mare bar the Sea isn't as bad after all. when the teamsheet came out it showed another four changes with probably the only surprise being Bola preferred to Lee Brown. There was no room in the team for our new signing but as he only met the team yesterday that was probably not surprising although plenty of Managers do put a new signing straight in. As it turned out after a bright start that saw the ball in the Blackpool net inside the first minute only to be disallowed for offside it was to be a match as bleak as the weather and certainly not a game to warm up supporters who despite being 200 plus miles away from home formed a third of the crowd. Our problems are not so much the opposition but rather our own brand of football that is so slow in build up that the opposition have plenty of time to reform and in all honesty it takes so long to turn defence to attack as the ball gets stuck in a midfield that is ultra defensive other than if Lines decides to burst forward. There was far too many poor decisions made in possession to build up attacks and far too many moves ended with an overhit pass. Looking at the individual performances
Smith 6 Didn't have much to do but other than one poor kick and a misunderstanding in the first half that saw him yards off his line he was competent.
Partington 6.5 Didn't do a lot wrong,should probably have scored when Lumley saved from him twice but kept us pretty tight at the back and looked composed most of the time. Lockyer 8.5 MOM Excellent throughout including the brilliant throw at the player in a two against one situation that ensured we returned with a point. If this is what signing a contract does for you then lets see a few more sign one! Sweeney 7 One awful mistake that nearly gifted Blackpool a winner but that apart he was generally sound Bola 6.5 Similar to Partington kept it pretty tight defensively which is what the first task of a full back should be. Lacks the accuracy of Brown's crossing but did get forward quite well. DC needs to make his mind up on this position because whilst he may be trying to keep both players happy the key to a sound defence is consistency and that means a settled team
O. Clarke 6 The pick of the midfield for me although I would say midfield was our problem area yesterday with too many misplaced passes and slowing the game down too much. Another booking picked up but had a better first half than second . He played deeper than usual which enabled Lines to get forward more and made some useful tackles and interceptions. Lines 5.5 Did Ok in a more advanced role than last time out for him but how I wish he would sometimes have a crack at goal rather than a Hollywood pass. Really needs to be running at players more and will be far more useful in the team if we do actually start playing with more width. Sercombe 5.5 Clear to see that he is wasted on the left hand side and with him being lost for most of the game goes that bit of attacking zest and goalscoring threat. Sinclair 5.5 A battling game but too often he was the only player closing opponents down in the midfield and as a unit we looked off the pace for a lot of the game and gave Blackpool too much room in the middle of the pitch. Shjame he couldn't have got a shot away with a mazy run in the penalty area in the second half.
Gaffney 6.5 Had the ball in the net inside the first minute but not for the first time was caught offside. For me it was a very mixed game from Gaffs with some strong running and a battling performance but there seems to be little understanding between him and Ellis. He did well to get past Lumley and was unlucky from a tight angle not to put us ahead as his shot went across the open goal but probably should have done better with a rushed opportunity late on that he blasted wide. Harrison 6 Not his best game, Worked hard but little came off for him and for a striker he had little goalmouth activity and his decision making in possession was not completely at the races yesterday. I am not convinced that him and Gaffney is the ideal partnership up front but the problem is that at present there are no other options as Nicholls/Telford do not look like the answer. Our strikers are not helped by the slow build up and always having to come out of a defensive shell.
Subs: Nichols 5 Nice touches but for £300,000 you expect a lot more and when he is up front we look short of physicality. Telford 5 Not really on long enough to do anything and has the look of a player who wants to do well but overdoes it because his chances are so few and far between
Crowd 9 On a cold day and 7 hour round journey it was another excellent turnout of about 1200 gasheads and looking around the Stadium it really made you realise how lucky we are to have the support we do because without us there would be more noise in a graveyard! Ref 4 Usual clown
Blackpool 4 Thankfully Punchless
Overall I think a draw was a fair result based on possession but a game we should have won based on goalscoring opportunities as other than the two against one incident I can't really recall our goal being really threatened.
DC Seems to have overcome our defensive problems but in doing so has very much restricted our attacking prowess . Again it seemed very much a case of fitting players into the team rather than being in their best position and I very much hope that our new signing is not going to be another player who warms the bench more than supporters heart. i can understand why he didn't start after only meeting team mates on the Friday but for an attacking player I would have thought the last ten minutes with us having the majority of possession and attacking and the chance to being an immediate hero would have been an ideal time to unleash him. It will be interesting to see who DC now signs and how he introduces them into the team. Half the problem is that most signings at this club seem to take place on a Thursday so it looks like another week at least will go by without seeing a new signing on the pitch in the starting eleven. Six points out of 12 is a satisfactory return and the three away draws will be brilliant results if we can beat Bradford next Saturday.
i cannot finish this report without a mention of the ninth minute at Ashton Gate where the crowd gave a magnificent one minutes applause for the young gashead who lost his battle with Cancer recently. With Society as it is these days it is this sort of thing that goes without a mention but there are times where red and blue will not divide and life itself takes over. Great respect and RIP Bailey Cooper.
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Post by tommym9 on Jan 14, 2018 12:32:04 GMT
Thanks for the write-up Steve
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Post by gasincider on Jan 14, 2018 13:47:33 GMT
Fair comments, although I would have thought the summation of the match could be quicker than that. It was bloody awful, and if we had even tried to win it we probably would have.
What was the point in bringing Telford on 4 minutes from time? As you say, no harm would have been done in bringing Mensa on. Now he has another nervous week in front of him.
Still say playing Lines is like playing with 10 men. He offers nothing. As for tactics or match plan? Non existent. Be braver DC. If we played like this at home, our crowds would soon look like Blackpools.
Nice to see Locks putting in a shift. Funny to see him lie down in front of the only threat Blackpool offered all game to rectify Sweeneys cock up near the end. But when you don't try to win a game it only takes one cock up.
Good reception for Lumley at the end of the game. Shame he couldn't have his first bad game in front of the faithful.
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Post by trevorgas on Jan 14, 2018 14:09:54 GMT
Fair comments, although I would have thought the summation of the match could be quicker than that. It was bloody awful, and if we had even tried to win it we probably would have. What was the point in bringing Telford on 4 minutes from time? As you say, no harm would have been done in bringing Mensa on. Now he has another nervous week in front of him. Still say playing Lines is like playing with 10 men. He offers nothing. As for tactics or match plan? Non existent. Be braver DC. If we played like this at home, our crowds would soon look like Blackpools. Nice to see Locks putting in a shift. Funny to see him lie down in front of the only threat Blackpool offered all game to rectify Sweeneys cock up near the end. But when you don't try to win a game it only takes one cock up. Good reception for Lumley at the end of the game. Shame he couldn't have his first bad game in front of the faithful. From what I saw I thought we had a match plan which was to be narrow and compact, keep it tight and then up the pressure in the last quarter which to be fair to DC if it wasn't for Lumley would have worked a treat. It's not pretty but I would rather see us grind out a point, when we've been expansive in the first half of the season we've been dicked.
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Post by peterhooper57 on Jan 14, 2018 14:22:31 GMT
Balanced write up. Awful game. The match high-lighted why D.C. needs to bring in at least three quality players during the window. We now have an industrial side with no players with any vision, creativity or the skill to beat a defender, play in a player and score a goal. Shame Bernie did not get at least 15 minutes, l am hoping he starts against Bradford. On a positive, a point in each of our last three away fixtures is a great return, a win at home next week is now a must.
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Post by Midsomer Murderer on Jan 14, 2018 15:03:37 GMT
Cheers Steve ~ I read about the tribute at the city game which was nice to see.
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Post by markczgas on Jan 14, 2018 15:25:13 GMT
Balanced write up. Awful game. The match high-lighted why D.C. needs to bring in at least three quality players during the window. We now have an industrial side with no players with any vision, creativity or the skill to beat a defender, play in a player and score a goal. Shame Bernie did not get at least 15 minutes, l am hoping he starts against Bradford. On a positive, a point in each of our last three away fixtures is a great return, a win at home next week is now a must. draws at Walsall, Oldham and Blackpool are great results ! that made me chuckle but I know what you mean.
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Post by socrates on Jan 14, 2018 15:40:28 GMT
I think we picked up 6 points away in the first half of the season and we’ve already picked up 3 away in the second half of the season. Much improved thank god. My mid table early season prediction is looking likely but I think with a couple of good wide attacking players we can top last seasons finish. There’s a hell of a lot of football to be played yet.
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Post by Gastafari on Jan 14, 2018 16:04:22 GMT
Be braver DC. If we played like this at home, our crowds would soon look like Blackpools. That's not true, though is it? We have played far worse than that at home many times over the last 20 or so years. The Graydon, Atkins, Buckle, Mcghee and Ward(Mark 2) years were terrible. Only once in the 2006/2007 season(Which is strange since we ended up getting promoted) did our crowds dip below the 6,000 mark.
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Post by chilly1883 on Jan 14, 2018 18:40:36 GMT
After a week which finally ended with a signing it was back on the road for the long journey to freezing cold Blackpool and certainly not a day where you love to be at the Seaside. To be honest as I made my way to the Ground it was hard to believe that a football match was to be played as there was just no atmosphere around the ground whatsoever and Blackpool , other than Gas , seemed deserted. It certainly made you realise that Weston Super Mare bar the Sea isn't as bad after all. when the teamsheet came out it showed another four changes with probably the only surprise being Bola preferred to Lee Brown. There was no room in the team for our new signing but as he only met the team yesterday that was probably not surprising although plenty of Managers do put a new signing straight in. As it turned out after a bright start that saw the ball in the Blackpool net inside the first minute only to be disallowed for offside it was to be a match as bleak as the weather and certainly not a game to warm up supporters who despite being 200 plus miles away from home formed a third of the crowd. Our problems are not so much the opposition but rather our own brand of football that is so slow in build up that the opposition have plenty of time to reform and in all honesty it takes so long to turn defence to attack as the ball gets stuck in a midfield that is ultra defensive other than if Lines decides to burst forward. There was far too many poor decisions made in possession to build up attacks and far too many moves ended with an overhit pass. Looking at the individual performances Smith 6 Didn't have much to do but other than one poor kick and a misunderstanding in the first half that saw him yards off his line he was competent. Partington 6.5 Didn't do a lot wrong,should probably have scored when Lumley saved from him twice but kept us pretty tight at the back and looked composed most of the time. Lockyer 8.5 MOM Excellent throughout including the brilliant throw at the player in a two against one situation that ensured we returned with a point. If this is what signing a contract does for you then lets see a few more sign one! Sweeney 7 One awful mistake that nearly gifted Blackpool a winner but that apart he was generally sound Bola 6.5 Similar to Partington kept it pretty tight defensively which is what the first task of a full back should be. Lacks the accuracy of Brown's crossing but did get forward quite well. DC needs to make his mind up on this position because whilst he may be trying to keep both players happy the key to a sound defence is consistency and that means a settled team O. Clarke 6 The pick of the midfield for me although I would say midfield was our problem area yesterday with too many misplaced passes and slowing the game down too much. Another booking picked up but had a better first half than second . He played deeper than usual which enabled Lines to get forward more and made some useful tackles and interceptions. Lines 5.5 Did Ok in a more advanced role than last time out for him but how I wish he would sometimes have a crack at goal rather than a Hollywood pass. Really needs to be running at players more and will be far more useful in the team if we do actually start playing with more width. Sercombe 5.5 Clear to see that he is wasted on the left hand side and with him being lost for most of the game goes that bit of attacking zest and goalscoring threat. Sinclair 5.5 A battling game but too often he was the only player closing opponents down in the midfield and as a unit we looked off the pace for a lot of the game and gave Blackpool too much room in the middle of the pitch. Shjame he couldn't have got a shot away with a mazy run in the penalty area in the second half. Gaffney 6.5 Had the ball in the net inside the first minute but not for the first time was caught offside. For me it was a very mixed game from Gaffs with some strong running and a battling performance but there seems to be little understanding between him and Ellis. He did well to get past Lumley and was unlucky from a tight angle not to put us ahead as his shot went across the open goal but probably should have done better with a rushed opportunity late on that he blasted wide. Harrison 6 Not his best game, Worked hard but little came off for him and for a striker he had little goalmouth activity and his decision making in possession was not completely at the races yesterday. I am not convinced that him and Gaffney is the ideal partnership up front but the problem is that at present there are no other options as Nicholls/Telford do not look like the answer. Our strikers are not helped by the slow build up and always having to come out of a defensive shell. Subs: Nichols 5 Nice touches but for £300,000 you expect a lot more and when he is up front we look short of physicality. Telford 5 Not really on long enough to do anything and has the look of a player who wants to do well but overdoes it because his chances are so few and far between Crowd 9 On a cold day and 7 hour round journey it was another excellent turnout of about 1200 gasheads and looking around the Stadium it really made you realise how lucky we are to have the support we do because without us there would be more noise in a graveyard! Ref 4 Usual clown Blackpool 4 Thankfully Punchless Overall I think a draw was a fair result based on possession but a game we should have won based on goalscoring opportunities as other than the two against one incident I can't really recall our goal being really threatened. DC Seems to have overcome our defensive problems but in doing so has very much restricted our attacking prowess . Again it seemed very much a case of fitting players into the team rather than being in their best position and I very much hope that our new signing is not going to be another player who warms the bench more than supporters heart. i can understand why he didn't start after only meeting team mates on the Friday but for an attacking player I would have thought the last ten minutes with us having the majority of possession and attacking and the chance to being an immediate hero would have been an ideal time to unleash him. It will be interesting to see who DC now signs and how he introduces them into the team. Half the problem is that most signings at this club seem to take place on a Thursday so it looks like another week at least will go by without seeing a new signing on the pitch in the starting eleven. Six points out of 12 is a satisfactory return and the three away draws will be brilliant results if we can beat Bradford next Saturday. i cannot finish this report without a mention of the ninth minute at Ashton Gate where the crowd gave a magnificent one minutes applause for the young gashead who lost his battle with Cancer recently. With Society as it is these days it is this sort of thing that goes without a mention but there are times where red and blue will not divide and life itself takes over. Great respect and RIP Bailey Cooper. cheers Steve, thanks for the report 👍
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Post by oldtoteender on Jan 14, 2018 18:59:50 GMT
Thanks for the match report Steve, really appreciate your effort and thanks to all those over at Ashton for their respect for the very sad news for the poor young lad who lost his battle my thoughts go out to the family. UTG !
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2018 0:59:29 GMT
I think critics of the fairly negative tactics are ignoring the hammerings we took in several away games and lacking an understanding of how a narrow cluttered midfield might just be helpful right now. With bernard mensah he probably had a stressful week missed some training and the club havnt had a chance to assess his fitness as well as working with him tactically. Bernard will get his chance soon enough,he can play wide in midfield 4,wide in a front 3 or even off a big striker so plenty of options with how we use him.
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Post by Jomo on Jan 15, 2018 7:22:36 GMT
Thanks for the match report as always Steve and lovely touching sentiment at the end there, completely agree.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2018 7:22:47 GMT
I think critics of the fairly negative tactics are ignoring the hammerings we took in several away games and lacking an understanding of how a narrow cluttered midfield might just be helpful right now. With bernard mensah he probably had a stressful week missed some training and the club havnt had a chance to assess his fitness as well as working with him tactically. Bernard will get his chance soon enough,he can play wide in midfield 4,wide in a front 3 or even off a big striker so plenty of options with how we use him. So why make him travel all that way and have him on the bench then? BBB made the Preston team and so did a lot of others make their debuts for different teams after signing a day or two before. Over one thousand fans made the journey and all were pleading for DC too give him a run out. well done BCFC great tribute RIP little one good night Irene
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Post by madgas on Jan 15, 2018 7:38:50 GMT
I think critics of the fairly negative tactics are ignoring the hammerings we took in several away games and lacking an understanding of how a narrow cluttered midfield might just be helpful right now. With bernard mensah he probably had a stressful week missed some training and the club havnt had a chance to assess his fitness as well as working with him tactically. Bernard will get his chance soon enough,he can play wide in midfield 4,wide in a front 3 or even off a big striker so plenty of options with how we use him. So why make him travel all that way and have him on the bench then? BBB made the Preston team and so did a lot of others make their debuts for different teams after signing a day or two before. Over one thousand fans made the journey and all were pleading for DC too give him a run out. well done BCFC great tribute RIP little one good night Irene I don’t think DC should be second guessing what the fans want. He needs to make up his own mind. You take him to include him. If we’re two nil up- give him minuets. If we’re 2 down- give him minuets. If we’re in a edgy 0-0, albeit slightly dominating away from home- that’s a BIG call. It was neither right or wrong- to curb mensahs debut- but it’s not a clear as day error. The side that was played came quite close to stealing a 1-nothing.
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Post by Gas Go Marching In on Jan 15, 2018 7:50:13 GMT
I think critics of the fairly negative tactics are ignoring the hammerings we took in several away games and lacking an understanding of how a narrow cluttered midfield might just be helpful right now. With bernard mensah he probably had a stressful week missed some training and the club havnt had a chance to assess his fitness as well as working with him tactically. Bernard will get his chance soon enough,he can play wide in midfield 4,wide in a front 3 or even off a big striker so plenty of options with how we use him. So why make him travel all that way and have him on the bench then?BBB made the Preston team and so did a lot of others make their debuts for different teams after signing a day or two before. Over one thousand fans made the journey and all were pleading for DC too give him a run out. well done BCFC great tribute RIP little one good night Irene The same reason Slocombe, Brown, Broadbent and Moore were there. They are all part of a squad and are used as and when DC thinks they are needed. Yes we would have all loved to have seen Mensah make his debut but let's not forget he has made a big jump going up 2 leagues. Saturday's game was very physical and he's only had 1 training session before hand. DC probably felt it would be chucking him at the deep end. You say about BB (Only 2 B's in Billy Bodin). Well he was subbed off at HT after a "disappointing half" according to Preston fans. Bristol City brought on new loan signing Ryan Kent for his debut and according to City fans he was at fault for the goal (didn't track his runner).
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2018 8:04:56 GMT
Another bench warmer I'm afraid ggmi another Telford another Nichols another Blissit just hope I'm wrong again.
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Post by Gas Go Marching In on Jan 15, 2018 8:13:30 GMT
Another bench warmer I'm afraid ggmi another Telford another Nichols another Blissit just hope I'm wrong again. Based on?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2018 8:16:49 GMT
Another bench warmer I'm afraid ggmi another Telford another Nichols another Blissit just hope I'm wrong again. Based on? DC'S history likes too warm the bench.
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Post by Gastafari on Jan 15, 2018 8:17:30 GMT
I think critics of the fairly negative tactics are ignoring the hammerings we took in several away games and lacking an understanding of how a narrow cluttered midfield might just be helpful right now. With bernard mensah he probably had a stressful week missed some training and the club havnt had a chance to assess his fitness as well as working with him tactically. Bernard will get his chance soon enough,he can play wide in midfield 4,wide in a front 3 or even off a big striker so plenty of options with how we use him. So why make him travel all that way and have him on the bench then? BBB made the Preston team and so did a lot of others make their debuts for different teams after signing a day or two before. Over one thousand fans made the journey and all were pleading for DC too give him a run out. well done BCFC great tribute RIP little one good night Irene To blend him into the squad and to properly meet his new team mates, I think they also had some training sessions in Preston. He's jumped up 2 divisions, and DC hasn't had a proper chance to blend him in. Like others have said, if we're 2-0 up or 2-0 down then i'm sure DC would of threw him on, but in a physical 0-0 draw, DC probably thought it wasn't the time to be chucking him in. I'm sure he'll play a part on Saturday.
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