The Voice - Match preview Colchester United vs Bradford City Tuesday 16 August @ 7:45pm

Mate you could aim the same argument at the likes of Accrington............. what the Fook is it with this club surly have that amount of support should count for something but time and time again we are let down by yet another manager who tries to complicate things play your most inform players and a formation they are happy with is that so fooking hard to grasp

 

You will get over it. Losing a football match is normality after 62 years of watching City.

 

Looking forward to the Hartlepool game the question I ask is this.

Will Mark Hughes look at the Colchester game and identify and issues and change them?

I think he will, he think when he looks back at the game he will probably setup at Hartlepool with either Cook or Harratt up front from the off and tweak the front 3 to get at Hartlepool. I do not expect him to send out the same team in the same formation hoping that it will come good like Adams used to do.

So at this point I'm not going to panic. I think the goalkeeper, defence and midfield duo of Smallwood and Gilliead picks itself at the moment. The other 4 positions on the pitch are up for grabs with only Cook and Banks making any kind of claim for them at present.

 

It's clear that Angol isn't playing well at the moment. But there's an obvious difference between playing back to goal in the centre - where his game is all about close control, layoffs, tight turns and flicks round the corner - and facing forward out wide, where he has to cover far more ground up and back and is expected to directly run at defenders.

Angol was signed by Adams because, when playing for Orient, he destroyed Morecambe from the wide left position, cutting in and beating defenders for fun. He just isn't doing that now. He seems scared to take on his man. Whether he has lost the pace he had, or is scared to use it for fear of pinging his hamstrings again, I'm not sure. But he certainly isn't working as a wide attacker. He looks to drift inside with the ball every chance he gets, which suggests he's much more comfortable there than out wide.

TBH I think Chapman looks almost as uncomfortable in the centre as Angol does out wide. I'd be tempted to swap them until Walker is back - play Angol as a ten, where his link play would create chances for others and move Chapman wide where his pace is more dangerous.

 

Chapman is playing in the Walker position.

Angol doesn't have the skill set to play there.

 

Agree...!!

 

Id have Walker in the Walker position and Chapman wide left of the three. He showed what he could do there against Newport. Angol isn’t a 10. Young was given the chance after his reasonably brief cameo sub roles. He failed it badly last night. I wonder if something was wrong as he was a different player altogether.
Note
Both Colchester’s full backs were pretty cute and quick with it, less so in the second half!

 

Bizarre that people are worried, causing concerns or identifying issues, have you all forgotten that our manager is MARK HUGHES from MAN UNITED and the PREMIER LEAGUE???!!!

We're as good as champions already.

 

The style of play needs freshening up by all means play possession when suitable but when it’s clearly not effective principles have to be sacrificed in return for results we need to play in the opponents half more rather than our own

 

I like the playing out from the back rather than long ball hoof but once the ball reaches over half way it shouldn’t then be passed back.
The midfield should then work the openings and create chances for our front men.
We were 2-0 up at home on Saturday yet showed no desire to keep foot on gas against 10 men.
Yes it was a hot day and the game was won but what’s the excuse last night

 

From where I'm looking, Chapman doesn't have the skill set for ten. What he does have is pace, which would be far more dangerous out wide.
Angol is a decent passer. He has good awareness of where other players are. He keeps the ball well. He is good in congested central areas.
What skills as a number ten do you think he lacks?

 

Well the Walker position won't be resolved anytime soon with Walker, he was out and about on crutches at the back of the main stand on Saturday. So with either play a different way whilst he is out or we stick with the Walker role but don't shoot ourselves in the foot by having someone who would be far better on the wing playing there meaning two positions are weakened off the back of one injury.

 

Everything! He just isn't a 10.

Lacks game intelligence to play there
Passing quickly short.
Passing long
Tackling
Tracking back.
Getting into space.

He isn't a 10.

 

Followed by an incredible save by the keeper we deemed not good enough that cost us a point

 

We'll have to agree to differ on several of those.

 

I'd pick Walker, complete with crutches, before either of these two in the No.10 role!

 

They also have a good manager who reportedly we were interested in appointing till Hughes applied,

 

They were more effective at achieving their end goal …winning, by completely stifling us and hoping for a weak referee and a well planned set piece. That they achieved. .

 

Our performances and points total so far is too small a sample size to worry too much. Specifically on Lewis, I've already seen enough to be confident that he's a much better keeper than Hornby though.

As for the other elements of our performances, I expected us to start slowly. If we're making the same mistakes and lacking the same cutting edge 10 games in, I'll start to get more nervous. There's plenty of time and potential for us to improve, I think.

 

Does beg the question on making him this years marquee striker signing and giving him a 3 year contact! Early days but I think our long suffering fans are entitled to ask a few questions