Match Thread Most liked posts in thread: Away V Carlisle Saturday 13th March 3.00pm

Hadrian Wall Huggers!!!!!! Cheeky buggers, well at least we're proper Northerners, not Midlanders like you lot, LOL
Will be interesting today, we were absolutely bloody awful on Tuesday and if we play like we did then, then the points will be heading down sarf, game was rescued by a 93rd minute equalizer which we barley deserved, hopefully that goal will turn our season.
Your right about Kayode and Devine, although Devine wouldn't have probably started anyway, however Kayode will be a big miss.
Control our midfield (which wont be hard to do) then you've won the game.
Its a bit windy up here today (and sunny), but not too bad and it shouldn't affect the match too much.

 

No excuses today we have been well beaten and what makes it worse is the manner in which we have lost this game.
No effort at all,worst performance of the season.

 

Its a tough one tonight (as was the Newport game) but for different reasons - Tuesday we should have closed the game out and today we didnt do the basics as well as we have been doing when we have been grinding out results.
I am not as down as some on here simply because I can remember where we were 4 months back, I said in the 'where will we finish' poll top 10 would be a great result from where we were, and most importantly T&S still have much to learn.

I worried when posters were saying 'we are going up now, just you watch' because I honestly felt it was a step (or 2) too far - and some of the postings appear to have lost a bit of perspective. There is still a lot of work to do on this team, and not just the back up squad, we have to be better in the first eleven we put out. But as I said, we are doing as well as I hoped when T&S came in so not too down tonight. We could still make a push for the play offs but the key is finishing the season well and then getting it right this summer.

To those who are already having a dig at some of the new players - you are the same ones who said it was 'our best transfer window for ages' You cant have it both ways! What I want to see now is do we have some leaders at the club who will not accept the drop off - the likes of Canavan come to mind. This week has probably been a reality check for everyone at the club who have experienced nothing but praise (on the whole) since November - time to ensure the roots are being put firmly in place and not just in some flimsy top soil

 

I agree that you can learn more from a defeat than a string of victories:

I don't think there's any need to throw the baby out with the bath water here. Whilst the first half was a total snoozefest on Tuesday night, in the second half against Newport we looked totally in control. So there's no need for wholesale changes.

That said, we need to stop giving away stupid fouls around our own box. This has been going on for weeks and Tuesday night was the first time a team with a decent dead ball specialist exposed this.

We also need to look to kill games off. Narrow 1-0 leads are okay but we bossed the game for 30 mins in the second half (after our goal) without anything to show from it.

And finally, we need to keep calm when we concede. We saw again on Tuesday night, that it gives the other team a lift (like it did against Walsall) and we allow them to dictate the pace of the game. Up until the first Newport goal, we'd set the pace but after we started haring around the pitch chasing shadows.

 

We've missed you Fordy but that one was right out of the top draw for an over reaction to a defeat.
Doom mongers take note: this is how you do it

 

Is the correct answer. First real poor performance in 17 games and as usual people lose their shit. If the beginning of the season had stsrted when Trueman/Sellars took we'd be top three. Probably victims of their own success in a way, over achieving has lead to an unrealistic response from some.

 

Let’s stop blaming Evans. He isn’t the reason we are 2 down.

 

Worrying performance in many ways. The back 4 were due an off day, but those in front haven't been good enough for a little while. If T&S take the plaudits for good form, they need to cop the flak for poor form too.

This has been coming.

We're clearly still a work in progress, but the biggest take away for me, is that we need to play on the front foot much more, and we clearly still need 4 or 5 changes to be good enough. We need more physicality in midfield, and more attacking quality. Rowe, Crankshaw and Vernham all landed well, but have all flattered to deceive of late. When T&S took the job, they implemented a rigid system with a low block of 6. Fair enough. But they've persisted with it and we're not imposing ourselves on games now that we apparently have a better squad.

Not good enough, by a long way.

T&S have earned their chance, but lets not pretend that there aren't still big questions for them to answer.

 

Spot on.

The over reaction of some is nothing short of outrageous and embarrassing. We were poor yesterday and deservedly lost. Guess what, wasn’t the first nor will be the last. Get over it, next game please.

 

The first eleven picks itself, after that this squad is still painfully weak. If we'd changed the team as you suggest we'd have lost more games than we have.

 

T&S have alluded to the fact that because of the run of Tue/Sat games, training has been more about recovery than anything else. Hopefully with a free week next week, they will get a chance to really work with the players and make sure they get that 'click'.

 

Playing Crankshaw and Vernom in midfield is a joke, neither is hardly good enough for the team, Maybe one of them as an outright winger out wide but never ever in a midfield 3,

 

Let’s be fair

Very very cluless today.

 

Play off spot was never on in my opinion. It was crazy for fans to think that we could sustain the unbeaten run until end of the season, which is what it would have taken.

Trueman & Sellars mission accomplished for this season, guiding us to safety. Big test and pressure for them comes next season when they should be aiming for automatic promotion.

 

Wasn't windy for the Carlisle players

 

The weather has an effect on every game. But its not the reason we lost.

 

Far too much over reaction today to T&S, amongst a minority. It's a defeat amongst a run of 3 without a win.

Questioning method, tactics et al is fine. But doubting them for a promotion push next season based on the last week is massively over reactive and fickle.

Plenty of positives about these guys. Mistakes will happen. Bumps in the road and all that. But with one window, a steep learning curve and 10 wins from 17, totally keep my confidence.

 

The wind comment from Trueman is a funny one. It sounds like what McCall said after we lost at Barrow. Both managers blaming the wind yet did nothing but hoof the ball for 90 minutes in both games.

 

That is a good point Park, it is easy to forget just how far back we have come from - if we had just 2 more wins from our disastrous first 3 months we would be right in the mix.
Encouragingly a couple of scouts I know have both indicated they think our target list this summer will probably be the same whichever division we are in (well I'm taking that as a positive!) This means irrespective of where we finish this season Turnbull is hopefully already working on the incomings we need

 

It's the final third that just ain't clicking, so I have my concern.

I'm hoping that we approach the game with a winning mentality from the off (I keep saying we are slow into games) to take the game to Carlisle, who are on a poor run of form, especially if Cooke is back in the fold but it needs to click in that final third. If we retain the ball better, push up them extra yards, to not leave Cook/Rowe somewhat isolated and give up possession, we can win this game.

But I just feel we are looking not to the lose the game first and foremost, so for that reason, a draw.