Match Thread Home v Oldham Athletic 3pm Saturday 20th March

We Dust ourselves down and go again..........
Onwards & upwards

 

Not even in a game like yesterday where anyone watching was screaming for a change or two late into the second half, the longer the game went on the more I thought there would only be one winner, we had little creativity yesterday.

 

It’s more to do with form of players than systems

 

During the early start of their reign we were recording high numbers of shots compared to the McCall reign. We’ve now reverted to having very few shots again. Has the commitment to get forward changed to a more negative or safety first approach? I’d say so and therefore a change to the tried and tested system that saw us attacking with purpose.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09bc12r have a listen if you didn't hear it after the game.

 

If you read the thread instead of just rolling out your usual pro club agenda you'd know that people are suggesting a change in system because of injuries to key personnel and not because of "a couple of bad games".

 

But it's not just 'a couple of bad games' though, is it? We haven't played well since the Cheltenham match - eight games ago. We scraped one one goal wins against Orient, Walsall and Mansfield largely through a combination of opposition defensive errors and our own defensive solidity.
Since Cooke has been out we have looked inept going forward - very little vision or movement, a plethora of misplaced passes and very few chances created. Rowe looks lost up front on his own and isn't quick or industrious enough to play the Cooke role. The wide players are creating next to nothing. The XG stats predicted we would run out of luck, and we have.
We are suffering from failing to recruit another creative CM in January. Without Cooke the 4231 system keeps us solid but creates little going forward. I'm not one of those on here who is wedded to 442, but it seems to me that we have to find a way to get Rowe and Cooke up front together, either in a 442 or 433 with either Crankshaw or Vernam on one side. Otherwise the season is just going to peter out.

 

Good luck debating that with Park.

 

This is bang on. The wise among us knew that Rowe couldn't do Cookes role despite te clamouring on here and elsewhere for it. With no real replacement for Cooke its imperative we look at other formations for the time being other wise its a dozen games left with little to get excited about. If we can adapt theres still something there to play for.

 

This constant rotation of Rowe and Cook in terms of starts and substitutions is having a detrimental effect. It must be unsettling to the players and, ultimately, the team. If Trueman thinks it's a way of keeping both happy, he's badly mistaken. Rowe's body language hasn't been great since he joined us but, as each game passes, he reminds me very much of Doyle's demeanour when we played him as a target man. It won't be the first time we've signed a player, without much thought as to where they are going to fit in. The management duo have a decision to make and, if they don't want to play Cook and Rowe together, I guess Rowe will make that decision for them.

 

Of course we won because of our defensive solidity that’s the idea we lost at Newport despite being dominant for most of the match and despite being under pressure took a point from Bolton who not many are doing. Yes the last two matches have been poor but that’s because of below par performances from certain players not systems

 

Strikes me the signing of Rowe is starting to look less thought out by the week. Cant play a lone striker role, can't play a target man role, isn't a number ten and hasn't done well played in a two with a target man?

Where do we play him ?

That seems to leave him only fitting into a 433 and surely in this day and age we are past the point where we have to change formation to fit one or two players.

Of the three main strikers we have, Novak is by far the most effective.

 

Disagree. Its because our 4231 has been sussed and because the one player who makes that effective is injured.

 

He has played well in a 2. He was very effective when he came on at Carlisle and it helped us create a number of chances with Rowe floating about and Cook as the focal point.

Imo, that's exactly what we need to see more of.

 

Only way to find out is try it. I have my thoughts on it but with us looking unlikely to score at the moment we have little to lose.

 

Tell us your thoughts Rog.

It's nearly bedtime so they'll be nice to drift off to m9.

 

U Ok Hun? DMs open for you.

 

Alex gilliaed or Ollie Crankshaw ,in your team on tuesday

 

I was always concerned after the transfer window, when we came out of it with two wide midfielders (Crankshaw & Vernam) and no central midfield workhouse. It was if T&S thought that we're going to be weak in the middle, so lets sign players who are attacking and can take the game wider. Cooke, in my opinion, has suprised them with his form, and now he's crocked, they haven't got anyone for this "new" system they have adopted around him. Hindsight is a good thing, but i don't think we'd be having the problems we've got now, if we'd have signed back up for Cooke.

Danny Rowe - unless we find a system he can play in, and the rest of the team are comfortable are with it - is just going to be a luxury impact sub, and I'm not sure he's going to be happy doing that. I can see him getting mentally deflated the way Vaughan and Doyle did. Shame, as he looks a player, but at the same time, perhaps it's becoming apparent why he's never progressed up the leagues.

Tactically challenging for the managers on Tuesday! Now they know they are in a job for real.