Home vs Port Vale 22nd October

How far away are injured lot?

Donaldson - few months?
Palmer - few months?
Connolly/Pritchard - back any time soon?

 

Akpan given MOTM

 

Genuinely can't remember a good run of games he's put together since he's been here.

 

Very underwhelming first half, bordering on poor. Much better second half, only one team in it. Didn’t deserve that result but that’s the lesson if you can’t capitalise on the pressure you’re mounting.

Thought Cooke and Akpan were very decent. Also credit to Devine, I’ve often doubted him but that’s the best I’ve seen him play. A second winger means that game is much more stretched and think we would have eventually created enough to have got when we needed. We didn’t and a poor defending cost us a point.

Don’t dwell. Learn from it and move onto Saturday. Hopefully Connelly and/or Pritchard back on Saturday and we go back to a better suited formation.

 

Poor game of football, which was actually improved from absolutely appalling in the first half. Didn’t deserve to lose, but masters of our own downfall.
Oh and Mellor couldn’t pass water, and again left his man free for the first goal.

 

Has Boring Gary made a sub yet?

 

Come on @Fordy117 we controled the second half and so unlucky with that effort by Akpan, there defence got every break going, we need the likes of Pritchard, Connelly back asap, bad day at the office but we didn't get the result we deserved IMO.

 

No he's talking to @Bronco about what he did at Blackpool as he can take how boring he is..

 

We need a new RB!

We need Donaldson back.

 

GB didnt sound hopeful for Connolly or Pritchard being back any time soon.

 

No doubt you want him sacked tonight @Fordy117

 

Was a major mistake playing him and dropping Henley who has been playing really well and has the pace to defend but support the attack, Playing Mellor starved Ismail of any support in the first half and his lack of pace in the second was played on by Vale as they attacked down his side seeing the vulnerability of his game,
A major error by Bowyer, The formation was awful with Oteh first so deep it left Vaughan by himself virtually against 3 defenders at home!!, Vale must have been laughing there bollocks off at our formation,
Having said that we committed huge mistakes to lose the game, First Wood with a cross field pass to a vale player in an unforced error and we were lucky to escape that one only for Cooke to do exactly the same as they swept the ball to Mellors side and the rest followed with the game lost, The players were held back by poor managerial decisions and poor tactics from a stubborn manger who must see what we see but refuses to change.
The change to Mellor from Henley the most puzzling

 

No just to make a bloody sub.

 

then we are screwed

 

I was a little suprised when he brought Mellor in for Henley.
Without a doubt we saw tonight Donaldson was missed big time, as you say we need bodies back asap.

 

The lenghty injury list finally caught up with us tonight.

Port Vale controlled the first half and we were very fortunate to go in level.

Second half we were better, but Vale defended so well, we barely look like scoring to be honest.

Sucker punch at the end after what looked like some ropey defending

Paudie has to come back next week, how he can leave our best central defender out is beyond me

I have defended Mellor on here this season, but that was a truly awful performance from him tonight

Too many key players out, such as Donaldson, Pritchard and Connelly to sustain our good run

 

Is Vaughan told to spend 99% of his game going looking for the ball no where near the box? All a bit Doyle esk, who, shock, scored AGAIN tonight.

 

HAD the team selection been MY choice, I would have placed A O'C as the MF anchor man (leave Devine on the Bench), and played P O'C alongside BRE, secondly, I would have replaced Oteh with with McCartan on the hour. With that, City could have won the game, let alone draw. But still, we lost .......... We go again ......

 

Adding Mellor to a side already lacking pave without Connolly or Pritchard was odd. He did nothing to support Ismail, and played poorly. Henley isn't the best, but mobility would have been useful.

We were static at times.

To be fair, every player had their good moments today - and every player had bad moments.

Such a shame the two catastrophic moments came from Wood and Cooke, both desperate to do well.

But what we saw tonight in Cooke is he is not a good creative outlet - he is excellent at recycling the ball and getting us out of jams, but much better when the ball is recycled to Pritchard instead of Devine or Akpan. His absence combined with Oteh replacing Connolly was too much of a weakness.

 

There must be some issue with Chris Taylor signing. Again not on the bench when crying out for an experienced midfielder.