Home V Morecambe 01.01.2020

And breathe .

 

Wow, okay, so let's break down your two points here:

1) Reeves looked capable of doing something

2) Instead, we hoofed from the back

Now call me daft, but isn't the entire problem that the midfield, with Reeves being the offender-in-chief, continually choose to give the ball to a centre back instead of doing something?

Our midfield three, throughout the entire first sixty minutes or so, steadfastly refused to pass forward, instead opting for a sideways ball to to a midfielder, a wingback, or, much more often, lay it off to one of our back three, who had NO OPTION but to launch it forward.

Do you remember Reeves passing to Vaughan or Connolly once?

Reeves stank Valley Parade out with his 'performance', in my honest opinion, and the reason it stunk so badly was because he has far more ability than any Morecambe midfielder.

Reeves spent more time stood statue still with the ball at his feet or pointing to a centre back to receive a pass than he did actually moving. Lazy, tepid performance when there was invariably space for him to run into could he bothered to actually carry the ball. He couldn't, he didn't, he was piss poor.

 

That's the part that most worries me.

If/when results dry up and we start to slip down the league will he be brave enough to change things or still play the same pragmatic style of football? I think I know the answer and if I'm right it won't take long for the fans to turn completely.

 

I suggest you stop being fooled by a busy player and look at what the player is doing.

Reeves makes us more negative. He runs gets the ball off the defender to just pass it sideways then runs and passes it side ways.

He has ability but yesterday he was poor! He wasn't dreadful in fact.

 

Bowyer isn't the answer to this football club.

Can only hope results don't dry up and we get into the top 3 soon.

 

Correction. Bowyer isnt the answer long term. I think hes looked at the injuries illness etc and thought. Shut up shop. 2 goals in 7 games. All you need is some luck or individual skill and you win. I don't like it but needs must. Devitt and Donaldson back will make a difference

 

No need to shut up shop and boring everyone in league 2. The division lacks quality.

Devitt and Donaldson didn't make much excitement when they were fit under Bowyer.

 

I would consider that is what most supporters are concerned about, NM.
Most can handle schitt performances when the results keep turning up ......... But negative results through negative tactics have never gone down well, or survived.

Edit: I think Januarys fixtures and GB's tactics will tell us a great deal, how this season will pan out.

 

Talk of we are winning so what does it matter. If we had played 4-4-2 from the off and attacked Morecambe we also would have won the damn game. If we had won a pen in the first half we would have stuck with the anti football till the end, we didn't so it was changed to how it should have been from the get go.

Doyle is better off staying at Swindon, he won't get a goal in this team.

 

Only you can call out our manager, and mention the top 3 positions in the same post.

If Bowyer isn't the answer, then why are the autos a distinct possibility?

Yes, the performances of late haven't been good enough, but we are very much in the Auto mix. Every club has a blip throughout the season, and i believe that this is currently ours. Yet, we are still turning the points over, and never look like being beaten convincingly. I actually don't recall any of our defeats this season being by more than 1 goal.

Bowyer has made us very difficult to beat, with a solid defense. This is the recipe for success in the lower leagues, and complete contrast to last season. For that i applaud Bowyer for turning that around, with the shower of a squad he inherited.

He stated before the end of last season that it would take atleast 2 transfer windows for him to turn the squad around, so how about we allow him that? There are obvious holes that need filling in, in which to play a fluid style of football, with the current squad, and players available. But lets be fair to Bowyer, he has had just 1 transfer window.

From where we were last season, with the gutless, and completely inept performances and results, i think the turnaround has been better than most expected at this stage. Most would have taken our league position at this stage, at the start of the season. We were never going to smash this division given the player turnover that was required closed season, and to expect that is plain silly.

Some of our fans really have delusions of grandeur, which really do not help the club, and heightens peoples expectations to being unrealistic.

Do i expect better performances, yes. Can the performances improve, for sure. But if you're asking me if Bowyer is the right man, absolutely he is, and we are heading in the right direction, which is more than i can say about the club before he took over. Before he came in we were on a one way trip to non league.

 

It's ok for you in the hot sun you don't have to watch this dire in the Yorkshire cold.

Look, I don't believe he is the right man to take the club forward but should get us into automatic spots and we should go up this season but mainly because this league is so weak.

 

Some actually being very few. What you will find is the vast majority of fans don't want to see the crap served up for 70 minutes yesterday before Bowyer actually comes to his senses, there really was no need or justification for that line up against a team second from bottom, it strangles the life out of players like Vaughan and Reeves. By all means set up for a dour draw and possibly sneak a win in games like the upcoming one against Swindon. But please, not when we are playing teams struggling near the bottom at home.

 

NO we were NOT on "a one way trip to non league".

It was a 'NEW' start for ANY Manager to take hold of......... And many could have done - more positively.

Other than that, your post holds some valid points.

 

And breathe, ah punctuation sadly in decline.
An epic example.

 

You're referring to one game (performance), or maybe a handful of games/performances over a whole season. Yes, it was bad yesterday, but take a step back and see the bigger picture.

 

I'm referring the last 8 games or so. Yes, we get it, the bigger picture is promotion. But is just a teeny weeny bit of goal mouth action just too much to ask in 45 minutes of football?

 

You can only beat what's infront of you.

I watch religiously on i follow every week from my back garden in the sun, but i must admit that yesterday was a struggle. But the season isn't defined by a couple of poor performances (where we picked up the points).

And how is he not the right man, but still get us promoted this season? Surely that's the only aim after last seasons debacle?

 

SO GLAD to read your post ........

REMEMBER Colin Todd ?
He was already hamstrung, yet THEN had to lose our only two 'assets' in JJ and DW ..... He was sacked shortly after, and City replaced him with rookie Dave Weatherall in the 'seat' - who later stopped himself playing, as both roles together were so demanding. THAT went SOOOOOOO well !!

My point ? Simple ..... Do the best you can, with what you have.
TODD was doing just THAT, in his time, whereas Bowyer is playing the same, with more 'available' to him ..... Just pointing that out, like.
THAT is the 'Bigger Picture'

 

Its strange, we are well placed in the table but for 60 odd minutes i'd rather have been any where else than a football match at Valley Parade, my young un was showing us you tube clips prior to the substitutions, they were far more entertaining. Honestly, the last eight to ten games have sucked the life out of me in a footballing sense despite the results, and yet i should be over the moon at our league position. I truly hope Bowyer takes us up because in all truth i wouldn't sign up to another season of this.

 

It would've been nice to see a few goals, at home, over Christmas to give the supporters and more importantly the players a boost. Imagine scoring 4 or 5 across both games and having Devitt and Donaldson to come back in.

We got the points but not the performance, and as frustrating and infuriating that may be, we're still in the mix. How many times over the last season and a half would we have lost that game when bottom teams came to town?

Bowyer is getting a lot right when you look at the stats. Interestingly I was speaking to a Blackburn fan yesterday and he said it was exactly the same there, safety first although most were surprised he got sacked. Let's hope he's learnt from experience. No point bringing in attack minded players if you plan to continually set up defensively. I did wonder which 2 from 4 centre halves he would pick, but maybe the plan was to go 3 at the back all along. If so, I don't see much changing in the near future.