Post by stevek192 on Oct 3, 2018 10:25:49 GMT
So another long trip on the road up North but another chance to pick up an away win although based on past visits a very tough place to come and get a result. I can only remember maybe a couple of draws and the rest have been pretty dull defeats so although I fancied us to not get beat it was more in hope than anything else- my heart said a very narrow win but my head said a 2-0 defeat. To be honest as usual the team selection surprised with five changes only one, Tom Lockyer, being enforced on Mr tinker. I know we didn't win Saturday but did we really need to make many changes- I would have said three at the most. It looked straight away like it was back to a formation that has not really served us particularly well either this season or last with a sort of 4-4-1-1 with Payne back to lead the attack with Bennett playing in the hole and the midfield selected to fit the four players in that DC sees at present to be his best midfield. Although Kelly was tested on Saturday against a very good player I could see no real sense in playing Craig in what has proved to be his least effective position due to his lack of pace and playing Broadbent alongside an inexperienced at centre half in James Clarke. If any player was going to struggle to play two games in a couple of days I would have said it would be Partington as only recently back from a long lay off but he began at right back. The midfield was set up with Sercombe and Sinclair as the two wide players and Ollie Clarke and Lines in the middle. It was a chilly October night but without any harshness in the weather and a good playing surface so there could really be no excuses.
We started off the better side but it was really an end to end game with both sides better in possession than without. In all honesty I thought we played some good football but equally we looked all over the place when Rochdale were in possession and our chasing down was really another case of players individually closing down rather than closing down as a pack. I feel sorry for players when this occurs because IMO they waste a lot of energy for little reward although we did nearly score when Payne was gifted the ball by Rochdale's over playing at the back. I would say that we gave Rochdales too much room all over the pitch by running about at times like headless chickens or playing far too deep but in all honesty we edged the game and should have gone in at half time with at least two goals. All I would say about the second half was that if anything it looked like we had the ten players rather than Rochdale after changing to a more attacking formation with Reilly replacing Sinclair.
Bonham 8 MOM As reliable as ever with superb handling, quick off his line , two or three good saves and one brilliant one that was only bettered by the second half save by the home keeper from Sercombes stunning drive. If we could sign him he could be our number 1 for years!
Partington 6.5 Looked a bit tired but stuck to his task well. One beautiful low cross which skidded across the face of the goal would have been finished off by a potent attack force but not for the first time this season there was no one anywhere near.
J. Clarke 6 Gave his all as ever and did a good job throughout. yes he made mistakes but no more than Lockyer has this season and he covered both Partington and Broadbent well.
Broadbent 4 I'm sorry but just not good enough . His ability on the ball does not make up for his frailities in marking a player and looked slow on the turn although did win some headers. he could easily have been the cause of two goals conceded with his seeming to "turn off". if we had a better alternative I would say he needed a loan out to a League 2 club for a season. I would really like him to succeed because he does have ability in bringing out the ball from the back but even this was totally unnecessary last night as we had Lines playing so deep for most of the game and what really is the point of Broadbent bringing the ball o9ut and Lines ending up behind him? That is not Toms fault but the Managers and our passing across the back four more often than not ends up with us in trouble.
Craig 5 His days of playing left back are over. He just doesn't have the pace to be effective either in marking or attacking but did a good job in covering for Broadbent until he was replaced in the second half by Martin- a natural left back who if you were going to replace Kelly should have been first choice allowing Craig to play alongside James Clarke.
Sinclair 4 Ran about but this was not to be his night as it seemed strange that he was also closing players down as an individual neither forward pressing or defensively pressing. If he is going to be used in that position then he needs to be in the hole behind a front two to form a barrier of three to close down opponents. His main use is for closing down as a pack.
O. Clarke 6 Too many passes went astray but worked hard although his decision making let him down last night too often. Should have scored in the first half with a good chance where both him and Sercombe left it for one another and allowed the keeper to come out and block his shot.
Lines 6 Involved a lot in the game but mostly from a very deep position where he slowed the game up too much. Far too many Hollywood passes when a simple pass and move was on but in truth he didn't move a lot from his defensive position which at times left him behind Broadbent. I saw little understanding between him and Ollie Clarke and it resulted in possession either being lost with the long balls or defenders receiving the ball from him and our attacking was mainly a ponderous affair.
Sercombe 6 Looked rusty but still our most dangerous player - why he hesitated and left a glorious chance to Ollie Clarke in the first half I don't know but he deserved a goal again in the second with a great long range drive that forced a brilliant save from the keeper.
Bennett 5.5 Floated in and out of the game and the better moves involved him but just doesn't get involved enough. Has yet to find last seasons form but being changed position all the time is not helping him.
Payne 6 Worked very hard on his return and so unlucky not to score when he received the ball,turned his marker and from twenty five yards hit the underside of the cross bar with the keeper nowhere near it. Also was very brave when he was taken out by the keeper a yard outside the penalty area which rightly resulted in the keeper sent off. All I would say is that he is no replacement for Ellis in the lone attacker role which doesn't seem to suit him but for those who have criticised his commitment he tried throughout until substituted which didn't really work out.
Subs:
Reilly 5 Ineffective. he looks to be crying out for either crosses into the box or creative through balls but all he got were 30 yard passes from Lines as we struggled to make the Man advantage count.
Jakubiak 5.5 A couple of tricks and looked Ok but I fear we are going to lose his enthusiasm and effort if we don't give him an extended run soon. if he isn't going to be used in the striker position thgen surely he could do a better job wide right where he could use his speed and creativity.
Martin nole Did Ok in the short time he was on and looked a better option to Craig at left back.
Crowd 9 Not a huge turnout with just over 150 but did their club proud and the home fans in a sparse crowd did their best to create some atmosphere. Two nil- nil draws is hardly inspiring for fans travelling so far but it is hard to see where the goals are going to come from although we now have as many away points as we got up to Christmas last year so there is hope yet especially if we can improve the home record.
Ref 5 First season League ref and it showed. Compared to a few we have had this season he was OK but not good. He allowed Rochdale to get away with too many nasty fouls.
Rochdale 6.5 Considering they had 10 men for a large part of the game they performed very well but are quite an organised nasty team with constant fouling when ever in any danger. they were quite a good passing side but that was as much down to us allowing them to do it as them being good. I see them struggling and with goals being a rare commodity I think we will struggle too.
DC For me I think players are finding it difficult to get any consistency in the level of their performance with the constant changing and the search for effective partnerships all over the pitch. None of our strikers have excelled but that is as much down to the poor service they receive or the formation set up. Why we changed from the two up front on Saturday I don't know and the same could be said for why did he make five changes. If the aim of his projects is not to get beat then he is starting to succeed but if his aim is tro play good attacking football then we have a long,long way to go and it is going to be tough to even get a mid table position. There are times we look a reasonable side and we could easily have come away from the last two games with maximum points but the problem is we could just as easily have come back with no points in both games. It often looks like we miss chances and the first opportunity our opponents get it will be in our net. The truth is that thankfully plenty of teams in this division are no better than us but the gap between the better teams and us is huge. I just hope that the new players we have can get used to the Managers style because I am sure it is different than what they are used to as players are not always rewarded for a good performance with a place in the side as they are removed from the side to change the formation. its ok when the projects are going well but this season I feel that the squad are not taken to the Managers "tinkering" and we look a totally disjointed unit with little power or pace. Dc has sorted out the defensive problems with a deep lying midfield but has failed to build a squad with the pace and power to move from this defensive framework to get players in the box and we look very laborious in everything we do.
So we move on again to what is a very important home game against Walsall. it is important not only because we only have ten points this season but more the fact that we have always built our success on a great home record but with one win in 5 at the Mem this really is relegation form. For me a win Saturday is essential to maintain confidence built by being unbeaten in three but even more important because at present I don't see us picking up more than a point in away games whoever we play. UTG
We started off the better side but it was really an end to end game with both sides better in possession than without. In all honesty I thought we played some good football but equally we looked all over the place when Rochdale were in possession and our chasing down was really another case of players individually closing down rather than closing down as a pack. I feel sorry for players when this occurs because IMO they waste a lot of energy for little reward although we did nearly score when Payne was gifted the ball by Rochdale's over playing at the back. I would say that we gave Rochdales too much room all over the pitch by running about at times like headless chickens or playing far too deep but in all honesty we edged the game and should have gone in at half time with at least two goals. All I would say about the second half was that if anything it looked like we had the ten players rather than Rochdale after changing to a more attacking formation with Reilly replacing Sinclair.
Bonham 8 MOM As reliable as ever with superb handling, quick off his line , two or three good saves and one brilliant one that was only bettered by the second half save by the home keeper from Sercombes stunning drive. If we could sign him he could be our number 1 for years!
Partington 6.5 Looked a bit tired but stuck to his task well. One beautiful low cross which skidded across the face of the goal would have been finished off by a potent attack force but not for the first time this season there was no one anywhere near.
J. Clarke 6 Gave his all as ever and did a good job throughout. yes he made mistakes but no more than Lockyer has this season and he covered both Partington and Broadbent well.
Broadbent 4 I'm sorry but just not good enough . His ability on the ball does not make up for his frailities in marking a player and looked slow on the turn although did win some headers. he could easily have been the cause of two goals conceded with his seeming to "turn off". if we had a better alternative I would say he needed a loan out to a League 2 club for a season. I would really like him to succeed because he does have ability in bringing out the ball from the back but even this was totally unnecessary last night as we had Lines playing so deep for most of the game and what really is the point of Broadbent bringing the ball o9ut and Lines ending up behind him? That is not Toms fault but the Managers and our passing across the back four more often than not ends up with us in trouble.
Craig 5 His days of playing left back are over. He just doesn't have the pace to be effective either in marking or attacking but did a good job in covering for Broadbent until he was replaced in the second half by Martin- a natural left back who if you were going to replace Kelly should have been first choice allowing Craig to play alongside James Clarke.
Sinclair 4 Ran about but this was not to be his night as it seemed strange that he was also closing players down as an individual neither forward pressing or defensively pressing. If he is going to be used in that position then he needs to be in the hole behind a front two to form a barrier of three to close down opponents. His main use is for closing down as a pack.
O. Clarke 6 Too many passes went astray but worked hard although his decision making let him down last night too often. Should have scored in the first half with a good chance where both him and Sercombe left it for one another and allowed the keeper to come out and block his shot.
Lines 6 Involved a lot in the game but mostly from a very deep position where he slowed the game up too much. Far too many Hollywood passes when a simple pass and move was on but in truth he didn't move a lot from his defensive position which at times left him behind Broadbent. I saw little understanding between him and Ollie Clarke and it resulted in possession either being lost with the long balls or defenders receiving the ball from him and our attacking was mainly a ponderous affair.
Sercombe 6 Looked rusty but still our most dangerous player - why he hesitated and left a glorious chance to Ollie Clarke in the first half I don't know but he deserved a goal again in the second with a great long range drive that forced a brilliant save from the keeper.
Bennett 5.5 Floated in and out of the game and the better moves involved him but just doesn't get involved enough. Has yet to find last seasons form but being changed position all the time is not helping him.
Payne 6 Worked very hard on his return and so unlucky not to score when he received the ball,turned his marker and from twenty five yards hit the underside of the cross bar with the keeper nowhere near it. Also was very brave when he was taken out by the keeper a yard outside the penalty area which rightly resulted in the keeper sent off. All I would say is that he is no replacement for Ellis in the lone attacker role which doesn't seem to suit him but for those who have criticised his commitment he tried throughout until substituted which didn't really work out.
Subs:
Reilly 5 Ineffective. he looks to be crying out for either crosses into the box or creative through balls but all he got were 30 yard passes from Lines as we struggled to make the Man advantage count.
Jakubiak 5.5 A couple of tricks and looked Ok but I fear we are going to lose his enthusiasm and effort if we don't give him an extended run soon. if he isn't going to be used in the striker position thgen surely he could do a better job wide right where he could use his speed and creativity.
Martin nole Did Ok in the short time he was on and looked a better option to Craig at left back.
Crowd 9 Not a huge turnout with just over 150 but did their club proud and the home fans in a sparse crowd did their best to create some atmosphere. Two nil- nil draws is hardly inspiring for fans travelling so far but it is hard to see where the goals are going to come from although we now have as many away points as we got up to Christmas last year so there is hope yet especially if we can improve the home record.
Ref 5 First season League ref and it showed. Compared to a few we have had this season he was OK but not good. He allowed Rochdale to get away with too many nasty fouls.
Rochdale 6.5 Considering they had 10 men for a large part of the game they performed very well but are quite an organised nasty team with constant fouling when ever in any danger. they were quite a good passing side but that was as much down to us allowing them to do it as them being good. I see them struggling and with goals being a rare commodity I think we will struggle too.
DC For me I think players are finding it difficult to get any consistency in the level of their performance with the constant changing and the search for effective partnerships all over the pitch. None of our strikers have excelled but that is as much down to the poor service they receive or the formation set up. Why we changed from the two up front on Saturday I don't know and the same could be said for why did he make five changes. If the aim of his projects is not to get beat then he is starting to succeed but if his aim is tro play good attacking football then we have a long,long way to go and it is going to be tough to even get a mid table position. There are times we look a reasonable side and we could easily have come away from the last two games with maximum points but the problem is we could just as easily have come back with no points in both games. It often looks like we miss chances and the first opportunity our opponents get it will be in our net. The truth is that thankfully plenty of teams in this division are no better than us but the gap between the better teams and us is huge. I just hope that the new players we have can get used to the Managers style because I am sure it is different than what they are used to as players are not always rewarded for a good performance with a place in the side as they are removed from the side to change the formation. its ok when the projects are going well but this season I feel that the squad are not taken to the Managers "tinkering" and we look a totally disjointed unit with little power or pace. Dc has sorted out the defensive problems with a deep lying midfield but has failed to build a squad with the pace and power to move from this defensive framework to get players in the box and we look very laborious in everything we do.
So we move on again to what is a very important home game against Walsall. it is important not only because we only have ten points this season but more the fact that we have always built our success on a great home record but with one win in 5 at the Mem this really is relegation form. For me a win Saturday is essential to maintain confidence built by being unbeaten in three but even more important because at present I don't see us picking up more than a point in away games whoever we play. UTG
