Most liked posts in thread: Home vs Forest Green

Totally agree. In this League we should be aiming to win all our home games. The week after is Crewe away who are currently top, that's where we may have to settle for a point not at home.

 

Never mind draws.Lets keep winning !

 

A completely self inflicted loss. EVERY home game we play this season we should be on the front foot, pressing high and taking the game to the opposition. And if its 433 then its should be 433, not 451.

Bollockless stuff today.

 

Pacesetters end up dropping away. Let's be the juggernaut that cannot be stopped!

 

Scannell is far from being our best player, playing from a reputation of five years ago.

 

Despite the optimism on here the season is still in the balance for me. We've put in 3 lacklustre performances against Cambridge, Grimsby and Stevenage and a poor first half display against Oldham who failed to take advantage. I'd be amazed if we went up playing the way we are.

The defence looks rock solid but the midfield looks toothless and is failing to supply a potentially dangerous front 2. Early days but I think we're a couple of quality midfield additions away from becoming promotion candidates, which hopefully we can sort out this week.

If not we look a mid table side.

 

Absolutely appalled at this. Massively blown up in Bowyers face! Changed a winning formula needlessly, to a formation that has bore no fruit whatsoever of the back of 2 wins, and hes also signed 2 quality players that are better than what we had but hes decided to start Akpan who's been absolutely dreadful all season and Gibson who's devoid of ideas when he gets to the final 3rd! I'm sorry GB but the blame for this one lays fully at your door. Didnt expect anything when I saw the line up and formation and guess what, we got nothing. A wasted opportunity and absolutely ludicrous decisions from the off.

 

If it's a case that Bowyer picked his fittest players, then there's a case to argue that - but there are some things that simply shouldn't have been adjusted.

Vaughan & Donaldson front two WAS working - even if we switched to a diamond, it would have beaten seeing Donaldson struggling (in the same way Scannell would have struggled) to deal with a more demanding role despite his age.

I don't see any reason whatsoever that Akpan should have played, and his mediocre at best - I'd actually have preferred to see Paudie step in at CB and AOC moved further forward, although to be fair, AOC & MRE have been impressive. Alternatively, put one of those three out left for a game, and keep Wood in a midfield role. Even if that means a 'round peg in a square hole' regarding a full back, FGR clearly weren't very good on the wings - so so what?

But I feel there are a few excuses here, and that Bowyer set up to try and be 'clever' against a side that simply weren't better than us, and didn't deserve the level of respect we gave them.

 

We want a win.

I want to see us win a league title as that's never happened in my lifetime and this season may be the best opportunity. Let's just keep the momentum going, points racking up and see where we end.

 

I'm in the posh seats for this one....youngest's 12 birthday so going in hospitality for a meal before the game and a comfy padded seat!! Hopefully should be better than a year ago when we did the same for the Wycombe game, padded cell for that one...best thing about that game was Michelle Keegan in the lounge....optimistic, can see us winning again.

 

Not good enough. The ref will get some stick and yes he was shit, but we did that to ourselves.

 

Well i did warn people last week about ejaculating too early. We’re now in flaccid semi on mode. I’m not sure even 4-4-2 would have made a difference today, FGR set ot to do a number on us and we looked clueless from start to finish. Shithouse tactics for 90 minutes and our manager over compicating things coupled with a referee who was completely to blame for never having any control of the game and dinner is served.
A straight to the bin after the first mouthful 90 minutes of league 2 football.
Today we looked just like we did on Tuesday night, a very average league 2 outfit.

 

The minute I saw Akpan's name on the team sheet I knew it was not going to be a good day at the office but shifting Wood to left back was the biggest mistake of all for me. I presumed Bowyer does his homework and watches videos of our opponents before we play them but after the way we set up yesterday, I'm starting to wonder. If he'd watched FG's mid week game against Port Vale, he'd have seen that they really struggled with crosses into the box. So what does he do? Moves the player who has provided us with the best crosses into the box so far this season to left back. I get that Henley picked up a knock and wasn't fit to start but how about playing the player we signed as a left back in that actual position instead of not even having him in the match day squad? It's truly baffling, unless I've missed something and he's injured but I haven't heard his name mentioned when we've had injury updates.

 

Can't grumble about our points return and the fight from the team was miles better than anything last season.

However I'd like to see our ball retention improve. Last night in the final 25 mins we were too hurried in getting rid of the ball, I don't think we made 3 or more passes successfully while in possesion.

 

O Donnel

Mellor
BRE
AOC
Wood

JD
Palmer
Cooke

Scannel
Vaughan
Donaldson

 

All wrong from Bowyer for me, poor management, we've set up to neutralise them and cost ourselves dear.

Poor Bowyer.

 

This is on Gary Bowyer. Setting up defensively at home, playing the wrong formation and keeping Scannell arguably our best player on the bench.

 

When a goalkeeper can dribble to near the halfway line without anyone closing him down because the manager tells them not to from the touchline that is poor tactics. I like Bowyer but today his tactics and 4-3-3 formation cost us dear hopefully never to be repeated.

 

Lets not kid ourselves we were sucker punched by a pub team today. The Parrot FC were shockingly bad . They could barely string a pass together first half and constantly gave away the ball to us. The goalkeeper was literally bricking it in front of the mass rank of the Kop. A wall of noise the like of which hes never heard in Vegansville.

But and its a big BUT we were never going to be savvy enough to win out in this match. Bowyers decision to go with a midfield three of Akpan, Devine and Palmer put paid to that. Why would you go with two defensive midfielders at home to a pub team ? It left The Don out wide and Gibson rarely getting beyond the defender. Leaving Vaughan labouring away up top with little service.

Against a team with a ditheringly slow defence and a dodgy keeper. We should have been stretching the game and whipping balls into The Don and Vaughny. For cripes sake thats where these two are most dangerous. But no we persist with this ineffective 4-3-3.

Eventually he throws on Scannell and Devitt with the clock ticking down and neither were really able to get into the game. Cooke looked capable in his short cameo late on, so that was promising for us.

But really we have to do better than this. To lose one at Home already is disappointing. But to lose to such a poor football team is harder to take. We have to respond at Crewe next week. Its not the end of the World and the team is still coming together but there cannot be more than the odd one or two days like this before it starts to become a long hard road ahead.

 

I think time is now for Bowyer to choose a system (442,433,diamond) and stick with it, whatever it is. The time to figure this out was pre season really but thats gone and we need to start getting to see continuity in the side. All successful sides play the same system and pretty much same XI every week, they all know what they're doing and know how to cover for each other. This constant chopping and changing in formations and personnel is not conducive to building relationships on the field. Gary needs to think about Bradford City and stop worrying about stifling the opposition.