The Voice - Match preview Carlisle United vs Bradford City Saturday 26th January 2022 @ 3:00pm

It is incredible really that he hasn’t been taken off corners. Surely someone can cross the ball within our staring 11.

 

The point is he hasn't been replaced. East is supposed to be that style of player but he's clearly inferior to Watt otherwise he'd have been playing. Possession football doesn't work without a deep playmaker who can dictate the tempo of the game yet this has been neglected in our squad which is absolutely crazy to me.

 

Of the team that played today the full total of goals scored by our back four and our five midfield players this season is the grand total of 6. Three of those were scored by Wright so it rather highlights our problems. Even making changes like putting in Sutton, East or Pieriera makes little or no difference to our goal output. Maybe Jamie Walker would improve the goal output but we just don’t get any goals from the rest of the team apart from Cook who I notice some want to axe now. We could have replaced Cook for Oliver today but then we’d have gone into the game where the full total of goals by the whole team would be 7.

 

Andy Cook should certainly have had two goals to his name and nobody will be more aware of than Cooky himself. The crazy thing is that then we would have a very undeserved 3 points.

 

We can't knock Cook as during his time at Valley Parade he's been the leading scorer every season he's been here, they were poor misses today for a striker who thrives on those sort of chances in the box, I honestly believe because other players are not helping out with regards goal scoring it is having a negative effect on Cook IE if he doesn't score we don't win or in todays case get a point although I agree we hardly deserved anything from the game, enjoy your heady position in the table and your massive attendance today of 8,296 (helped by our 1800 traveling fans) I believe the co-commentators were saying as we'll still finish above you in the league.
Happy New Year

 

This one " but I can't see where the competition comes from with regards keeping Cook out of the side" because its true.

 

It is isn't it. Oliver has looked awful and hasn't justified a start I know.

 

I think Walker would be a better option but unfortunately he's been out most of the season, and as I posted the way we started the season we thought Platt, Wright or Pereira would be good replacements for Paudie and Vernam.

 

I wish Oliver had shown something when he's had the chance, it might have given Hughes more formation options if we had 2 strikers putting the ball in the back of the net.

 

The annoying thing is they were exactly the sort of bread and butter chances Cook usually puts away .

 

Gripes at the minute:

1) Smallwood's set pieces are the drizzling shits. He even ran over to take (Tyreik, I think) off one, then delivered a cold shart of a cross to the near post that achieved nothing.
2) Smallwood is a serious disappointment full stop.
3) Cook missing sitters... dear oh dear, that was a poor performance from Cooky today.
4) Very poor through balls - I counted 5 or 6 times today where we tried through balls to a more advanced forward, and not one was even close to coming off. Just dreadful.
5) Our technique and touch in the final third - just not good enough.
6) Chapman's finishing is diabolically bad - but his crossing and switch-balls are excellent.

We are losing games with that midfield trio.

Smallwood/Gilliead/Chapman isn't good enough, and if they are individually good enough, they certainly aren't working as a group.

Eisa has had no impact since returning, and Wright/Banks are looking less impressive than I originally thought.

Platt isn't good enough, but at least looks okay alongside Crichlow. We can generally get away with a few errors when it's Crich/Platt at the back.

The two full backs have zero impact going forward.

 

No matter how bad things were today and over the last 4 games, we have to head into the Harrogate game with the full backing of the crowd. I suspect that the first misplaced pass or slow build up play will have the “home” crowd baying for blood, thus handing the initiative to the opponents. We’re in a sticky patch of the managers doing, let’s not get on the backs of the players or we’ll repeat the cycle of the last 4 seasons. I’m not a happy clapper by a long shot but the only way out of this Is together.

 

5-3-1 at home says it all and that’s why they are poor and why they looked poor , just slightly less poor than we were on the day.

Too many of ours had a stinker yesterday and I said in the first 15 minutes it looked as we had just had two months off.

We really are scraping the barrel if we see Sutton being brought on…did he touch the ball? In fairness, other than Lewis, Crichlow, the entire team looked leggy, so no matter who came on it wouldn’t have changed much. If your main goal scorer couldn’t hit a massive great hole with any level of accuracy then we are going to struggle. Yes it would have masked a lousy performance, but he was poor.

I really wonder if there has been illness in the camp, because I haven’t seen so many, off the bench or on the pitch , looking so lethargic?

 

possession football works if you can actually keep hold if possession.......... we can’t as soon as a high press comes in then we are screwed so seriously what’s the point of it ??? Teams that actually can play that way actually want team to force the high press so they can get around it ........... we can’t as soon as Lewis rolls it out you can be 95% sure that it will either go out of play or we will lose it ............ I cannot fathom why he continues to play that way when it clearly isn’t working

 

he looks awful in a system that doesn’t suit him ......... so why sign him ????? On a three year deal ........ the lad thrives on crosses he probably causes Centre backs more issues with long balls into him but we do neither to me it’s just a waste of a signing ........... and each person pulling certain players out need to have a word ........... the players ain’t the issue it’s the arrogant Twit whose forcing them to play that way ............ you actually let them go out and play they way they want to then I could see this lot turning there season around easily ............ I mean Smallwood played the majority of the season at Championship level yet he’s deemed poor at this level ........ Oliver played at a higher level last term and got plenty of goals yet they somehow can’t do it at this level .............. sorry but one man is causing this mess ............ ins and outs in January won’t make a difference if we continue down this boring negative route

 

I don’t think actually mind the odd misplaced pass in the right areas it’s when it’s happening in areas that we shouldn’t be messing around with it I know what your saying though they need our backing but sadly one man is causing this tension now and if he cannot see it then I hope he does one for the sake of our season

 

I see the old blame the home crowd has been dusted off , city have been dreadful most of the season at home , people do not clap utter shite .