Pressure

2 matches since GA awarded Manager of the Month - 2 losses.

The 'curse' is tongue-in-cheek but proving very much real.

 

GiVe iT a rEsT

 

You love it!

 

I don't think it's as simple as saying we "bottled it", that term gets used too easily these days as soon as a team loses a game. There was certainly pressure going into the Salford game, even more so when we were losing with 10 minutes left.

For me this division is very equal and it's why we are so many up and down results across every team. Only 2 of the current top 6 have lost less than 2 games in the last 5. Mentality and understanding the situation will be just as key as anything else. After the delay in the 2nd half I felt we looked like we trying to force things when there was still at least 20 minutes left. Even with about 8 or 9 minutes left we rushed a free kick passing it back to Walker, putting him under pressure and he didn't get clean contact.

 

Talking of pressure. Colchester find themselves in the play off spots for the first time after a long unbeaten run and are indeed only 5 points off automatics.

Now they find themselves in this position coming from nowhere, will they now start to feel the pressure, hopefully they do next weekend

 

We did not bottle it. We were very poor but simply cannot cope with the loss of Sarc and Pattison. Add Pointon to that and we are really screwed.
With Sarc, Smallwood and Pattison in midfield we walk this league. As it stands, we become very run of the mill and rely on very fine margins. Sloppiness at the back and a poor refereeing decision gives them a 1-0 win. On the other hand, if Lapslie or Walker convert their 1st half chances, it could have been us with the 1-0 despite a poor display.
Unfortunately, we can only hope we get the lads back ASAP and are able to scramble some points in the meantime to keep us up there

 

Don't panic.

 

I love the regular “Saturday night over reaction” threads

 

Would this be a bad time to bring up the 53/4 season, when right after winning 9 in a row we went 0-5-5 to finish the season? Let's hope history doesn't repeat!

I still think somewhere around 83-84 points will get auto-promotion, thus 6 wins from our remaining 9. That's a bit tougher than 6 from 11... I wasn't expecting us to lose this one, but as said above, most of our best midfield was missing. At least it's still in our hands.

RCB

 

Especially by the toddlers

 

Watching football over many years has taught me that results like yesterday are too be expected, hold on it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
This is the best thing about football, on the day it’s so unpredictable

 

Don't think it's entirely the pressure. It's a long season and with our injuries over the last two games we've looked lethargic and disjointed.
Hopefully, another week without a mid week game can help us get back on track next Saturday and maybe have one of the current injured back to help.
However, some are not taking advantage of their opportunities which is disappointing. Mellon looks out of sorts and Leigh needs to show he wants to be here.

 

I want Leigh to play behind the striker. Mellon and Kav or Walker up front then Leigh behind them. A plan to keep switching positions so the opposition cannot play the same way.

 

Leigh is an excellent technical footballer but at the moment just isn't impacting games. It's certainly a conundrum as he's got a great touch, a decent shot and can head a ball but for some reason, despite all that, just doesn't contribute enough.

 

Remember the promotion to the Premier league in 1998/99. Towards the end we messed up badly by losing at home to Huddersfield and drawing at home to almost relegated Oxford. We then had two great away wins at QPR and Wolves. Hopefully we can make up for yesterday by beating Port Vale and Doncaster away. Pressure will get to all the promotion contenders as recent results have shown. However we need our creative players back or it’s play offs at best.

 

I actually don’t think he is a striker. I would ask him where he wants to play given his skill level. Play him there, and my view is he plays as a number 10. If he still doesn’t perform then he will need a break, but we don’t have a lot of options. He certainly doesn’t want to be on his own up front, there is only Cook who does that well. I think GA needs to be more fluid in his thinking. I also think we need to play two up top, with creative players behind.

 

Couldn't agree more. It feels like we've just squeezed him in there because of his height.

 

Or we have tired of Kav and Mellon?