Match Thread Away V Exeter City Saturday 6th February 1.00pm (with Poll)

Not too downbeat after the game. To lose 4 fairly influential players is always going to affect the team.

Crankshaw showed some good touches.

Stevens looks off the pace to me and isn't tracking back to protect FCD who was exposed today and had a mare in all honesty. Can see AOC at RB next game with Canavan coming into the middle

We missed the threat of Rowe.

Not in it at all second half, cannot recall us having a shot? Not the right result today but plenty for us to look forward to.

 

Well we were off it today. Exeter were much the better team we struggled to control possession, didn't close them down enough, resorted to long ball to a lone striker and looked sluggish. Unfortunately FCD got skinned today and he knew it. He got caught out with that ball over the top at least 4 times learning points for him.

Cooke played well though and Vernham/Crankshaw look very useful players.

 

Rowe had cold symptoms and had a covid test which came back negative lets hope he can make Tuesday night if its on.

 

I dont think stevens would have started today without the last minute dropouts. I cant see him being any more than an impact player unless he makes better decisions on the ball. I also think FCD struggled badly because he had stevens in front of him, who gives him nowhere near as much protection as someone like clarke. I think when we have those guys back we need to start one from them and one from crankshaw/vernam out wide. Let Rowe/Novak/Cook compete for the centre forward spot, as anyone dropping deeper means moving cooke, who is playing out of skin and running games for us at the moment.

 

Grimsby lost again, even with an incredible 74% possession. That keeps a nice at worst, 10 point cushion from the relegation places. Get something from our 2 games in hand and it could be as much as 16 points.

 

If you score 2 away from home the minimum you should get is a point imo.
The front 3 did a job today on a difficult pitch. Maybe 4 if you include Cooke. Yeah Stevens wasn’t amazing but he had an awful side of the pitch to contend with in the first half.

the defence let us down today. If we are serious about promotion next season Cousin-Dawson ain’t ready and we need Canavan in with POC for me.
Also would it be the end of the world if Wood left. I don’t get it. Is he that good? Not for me. Exposed with height and generally the more I see us the more seems to come down that wing

 

Barrow were by far the better team last week and we got away with it.
This week Exeter were by far the better team and we didn't get away with it.
A reminder to everyone, players and management that we need to up our game again and not get complacent at a time when there's a lot of positivity that surrounds the club.

 

Were they?

I thought it looked like two off form teams, both making mistakes.

I thought Barrow looked good enough to get a point, no question, but they lacked the ball in the final third and ultimately it doesn't matter how well you play if you can't score. I thought Exeter looked fine in possession, had some good spells, but thought that's the sort of side we'd been beating lately. We just didn't perform to our best.

 

A very good report.

 

Sometimes I think I watch a different match to others, maybe I take the same happy pills as park and should learn to be more glass half empty!
A point would have been fair today, even their commentators were praising Cooke who absolutely dominated midfield in the first half. I also disagree with the FCD comments. Until the enforced change half way through the first half when Page went off, Willmott absolutely smoked Wood, was eating him alive, he’s a great player to have at this level, had he not swapped flanks FCD wouldn’t have been put under such pressure. Add to that Steven’s appeared incapable of doubling up or helping out, and Sutton was off par today leaving FCD hung out to dry. For me three basic things did us today.
1) no one capable of holding the ball up on the pitch but we kept on hitting it long
2) playing one up top encourages the opposition to push their fullbacks up which means it’s essential for our wide midfielders to check back
3) Steven’s has showed nothing to show either offensively or defensively that he warrants a start

 

I think "very poor" is a harsh analysis considering we scored 2 goals against a side with a very healthy GD and on the back of a very disruptive preparation notably losing Rowe last minute.

It was at worst an average performance against a good side.

We defended poorly so we need to tighten up there and we should be more than fine this season. Agree FCD was exposed and just had one of "those" games. Hopefully he will watch the game back and learn.

 

That meant our mids had no one where they could pass to feet. Yes FCD got caught out today, he is 18 and an 18 yr old in any profession will have days like that. He had no help and even though he is playing out of position, he has played his part admirably in the past few games. We need to get behind him and encourage one of ours rather than destroy him.

 

Couldn’t agree more. Good summary.

I’m not too down beat. We weren’t terrible and some players had an off game which gives T&S food for thought to give those on the bench a potential chance.

We still scored twice, albeit soft goals from Exeter POV, which I can remember not too long ago preying to see us even hit a shot on goal.

Exeter looked very decent at times and we had 4-5 influential players out. For me, it’s a positive that we had enough depth in the squad not to be completely walked over today.

 

I think you need to add our central defenders - were not covered in glory. Losing the oppostion forwards in your box to give free headers and communication between the keeper and defenders was not perfect.
An area that needs addressing currently and with recruitment in the next transfer window.

 

Think that covers the lead up to their winner perfectly. They played some good stuff but that was just a hopeful punt and our defending was every bit as bad as theirs with our second.

 

I didn’t see the game today but it sounds like it’s now time for Canavan start to strengthen us at the back, 3 poor goals conceded.

 

A few of us pointed out Finn's weaknesses as a right back on a number of occasions in recent weeks. We also said that the opposition would pick up on them and target him. That's precisely what happened today when he was exposed by the ball chipped over him, as has happened several times recently, and was found wanting for pace and positioning on more than one occasion. He isn't a right back and well as he's tried he's become a real weak link in the defence. He needs to be taken out of the firing line now.
Having said that Wood also had a poor game on the other flank, and the combination of the two gave Exeter real traction which put the central defenders under a lot of pressure.
In addition both Sutton and Watt, especially the latter, just weren't on their game today. Both looked increasingly tired as the game went on and decisively lost the midfield battle. Elsewhere, Stevens seemed to contribute nothing, Cooke was excellent before the midfield was overwhelmed, Vernam looks a real talent and Crankshaw showed promise. But ultimately, the influx of new bodies and an enforced reconfiguration of a previously successful system due to a lack of a target man cost us the game. So, a valiant effort but a bridge too far on this occasion.

 

Think your points on the midfield are correct. Unfortunately the experience of Watt and Sutton is something they are going to have to gain as they play even more games.
The recruitment of a deep central midfielder with leadership and experience would have made the last transfer window perfect and would have helped today in a counter attacking set up. Presumably the budget would not allow or the right individual was not available in the last window.

 

I think the main problem today was the fact that we tried to play a fast counter attacking game based on the pace of Stevens, Vernam and Crankshaw, which was reasonable enough in the circumstances. But the emphasis on a quick breakaway led our wide players to linger upfield instead of tracking back and this left our fullbacks very exposed. Hopefully we can instil in the likes of Vernam and Crankshaw the absolute necessity to do this or we'll be left with the defensive stability of Clarke and Evans, with no pace, or the exciting attacking possibilities of Vernam and Crankshaw with defensive fragility down the flanks.

 

We were getting battered before our goal against the run of play and we just didn’t win the battles today did we. Ifollow put the stats up at HT and it seemed we were second best.

It all stems from the enforced chances for me. Rowe holds the ball up better and Clarke and Evans give the side a more solid look.

What we learned from today IMO is that it will have to be Evans or Clarke with Crankshaw or Vernam (either side of Cooke).

I also think it will be Rowe or Cook. Not both - lets keep with the 4-2-3-1 as we controlled games before without enforced changes.

We are starting to develop problems at the back, though. We are carrying both full backs and we can no longer carry both. Wood needs to commit to a new deal or we should just give up on him and start Foulds or Staunton. He’s been well below his best this season.

FCD is the weakest link, though, so hoping Hosannah is back soon.

Canavan has to start over AOC now, too.