Home V Cheltenham 28.01.20

It would certainly have been a good guide if Devitt hadn't been sent off, with their away record which is the best in the league, they certainly enjoyed possession but we looked a threat going forward, second half was backs to the wall although they were nearly caught out a couple of times, Oteh's good run which the referee deemed no foul and Connolly nearly caught the keeper out.

 

We only had 30 percent possession before the sending off and 20 percent after.

 

Since you're a man based on results.

Are you happy with 4 points from 15?

 

I think that's a fair assessment overall, we have to be going for maximum points as you say in the next three games (heres where I do my Bowyer impression) but we cant take Oldham lightly they arsed Mansfield last night who arsed us last Saturday.

 

A fictional figure of 12,731 were recorded as to being there last night.

 

You don't watch much football do you pal, your down to 10 men against a team that had the best away record in the league and you want to play possession football .

 

Ok positives for me last night:

NO JAKE REEVES!

As a team we play better without him.

Cooke and Devitt is the way forward. Both look up and want to pass it forward.

Taylor did well when he came on..

As @Park bantam is saying Donaldson was a big plus last night and yes I agree with him with have missed him.

Negatives : we were still poor.

Not having this 10 men we should be backs to the wall rubbish.

We urgently need a win though. Our form is so bad at the minute that's it's not acceptable! We won't finish top 7 on this form.

 

It's pointless trying, he only sees everything through claret and amber specs. Their keeper had no real save to make in the first half bar one effort. I'm not trying to knock them here, I thought the second half was nearly a masterclass in defending a one goal lead with 10 men, Parkinson was good it. But to make it out we were somehow the better side in the first half is just stupidity.

 

We allowed them as much of the ball as they wanted it was working yet some of our fans still want us to chase a possession based side with 10 men. I sometimes wonder the intelligence of football fans.

 

I agree. The way we just booted the ball instead of trying to find gaps to use Connelly's pace was awful. How many times we could have broke but chose to lump it was criminal.
Also they showed more desire to score than we did to defend their goal.

 

That will never happen. I think we will lose saturday

 

I don't think hes saying that. Our clearances/hoofs in the 2nd half weren't very clever, we kept giving the ball straight back, instead of playing in to donaldson so he could win a foul or in the channel so Oteh could chase it. Instead we just aimlessly booted the ball straight at them or out of play, which would've been punished if cheltenham could cross or shoot.

 

Bowyer has come in for plenty of criticism and rightly so up to a point, but after going down to 10 men any manager in their right mind would have set up as we did 9 men behind the ball with the one lone ranger, and it nearly came off certainly Connolly frightened their keep to death when he though he had time to piss about.

 

There were very few times we had the ball and an outlet they were making sure we were pinned in our final third, and it nearly worked for all their pressure.

 

Cheltenham knock it about well so its no surprise they bossed any possession stats. As soon as the red card was dished out it was backs to the wall stuff. We almost held on.

The players - who we questioned - were up for the fight and were tough to break down.

Doyle and Vaughan can both feck off. We gave it our best last night without them, dispelling the theory (which I also believed) GB may have lost the dressing room.

We need to cash in on the soft run now but dropping Reeves and Taylor made us a much better side.

 

Last night showed we are a team totally devoid of any nouse or professionalism with no sign of leadership in the team . Two terrible teams on that dos'nt know how to create chances and another one who attacked for 51 minutes against ten mend and could only manage one scrambled goal.

 

Thought Ben Tozer looked a decent player for them last night.

Thought the effort was there, the desire and work rate which is what we've been asking for. Devitt sheer stupidity and he let the team/manager down. Backs to the wall, poor subs, not sure 2 subs with such a long time of the 2nd half to go was needed but we battled on which was good to see. Crowd stuck with them too. Its still not great but the players showed desire and that's a start.

 

I used to rate Tozer when he played at Northampton

 

Looked a decent player, know the name but don't remember him.

 

Another massive stroke of luck last night. Clear dive for another penalty. Can't see how Bowyer will just change his whole philosophy and let the creative players express themselves. Bowyer Ball will mean that we have to hope for pens or free kicks as he doesn't know how to create chances for the team. Seeing names like Grigg etc.... banded around. What's the point under the current regime? Big bucks for big named strikers just to be used incorrectly would be a waste of money in my opinion.