Match Thread Most liked posts in thread: Swindon Town (H) @ 15:00 5th March

Can't add much to that, sums up the game I watched.

 

Was a good entertaining performance today and we did not deserve to lose, We played good football but it will take time to settle players after the Adams rubbish, Plenty of hope even with a defence hardly worth the name. Am sure we will get better and the points will come, Was good to see the crowd applaud the team at the end

 

No. We played pretty well and were unlucky to lose.

 

Paudie lost the ball countless times Jon and add to that a couple of times where he got lucky.

You know I'm not his biggest fan anyway but he's OK at kicking and heading it. The problems arose because all of a sudden he thinks he's evolved into Dean Richards.

If Hughes wants to play that way we need at least two, mobile centre halves that can actually pass a ball otherwise we'll be caught out time and time again.

 

He's got a bit of history apparently - goading fans (both away and home) and bigging it up on social media. But at the end of the day, he's 24 and that's how they are these days. Seeing his comments and love for Chelsea, I don't think he's the most loyal of Swindon players, and will definitely jump at the chance of playing higher, which I'm sure he can do. Probably will have a good career if a manager does a "Fergie" on him and gets rid of some of the attitude. He pretty much ran the show each time he got the ball - coming very deep and then playing very direct. No wonder Foulds looked so bad.

Anyway - same old story. Fans walking away saying we looked better and deserved not to lose. Unfortunately we did. Like the new Leeds manager strangely said yesterday, "its not about the points but the performance"......but at the end of the day, I'm sure we'd all prefer a bad performance and three points. You get relegated due to lack of points, nothing more nothing less.

 

I think you took his post the wrong way. I thought it was very fair.

 

It's quite funny really but had we been taking our chances this season we wouldn't now have Mark Hughes as manager but would have stuck with "Derek, you won't get better than me Adams". Whereas if the club backs this new management team we may well get success AND get entertaining football at the same time.

 

Bradford is no different to most towns and cities in this country now, dump of a centre with some nice suburbs a bit away. We are nothing special in the shithole department, the song Bradford’s a shithole I want to go home gets sung by fans up and down the country about most places. It’s a childish attempt at banter and if that makes the lad a character then football truly is dead, he’s a good player at this level but putting something I’d expect from a teenage virgin on Instagram doesn’t make him have a personality. As for putting something about Roman Abramavich all things considered, it just shows him to be like those Chelsea fans their own manager condemned yesterday a nob.

 

Some of us see it differently. Lots criticised him for the second goal against Mansfield, when he quite rightly left it for three defenders to clear. Hardly his fault, if one of his defenders decides to go back to his under 12's years as a striker and do a bit of goal hanging isn't!! Paudie's positioning was terrible - look at the video, what was he doing? Bass, who is then partially unsighted by Paudie, let's in what looks a soft goal.

You have to take into account then disruptions to the defence in front of him, i.e. their erratic play will have a unsettling effect on any keeper. ROD would just shout at them every two minutes, arguably making them worse.

I also think it's myopic not to remember what the other two were like.

Of course he'll have made errors. But I wonder if some of us are a bit harsh about keepers, someone on here said they thought Doyle was rubbish!!. Every keeper I've seen at this level, has made major errors at some time - it was part of the reason the duties were shared between Duke and McLaughlin and that remember was in a successful team.

In the 13/14 season, virtually every fan I know was delighted that McLaughlin went. Shows what we knew!! He's gone on to have a very good career.

So that's why I don't believe swapping back would have any positive effect and why Bass is worth defending.


I actually don't believe in throwing any of the defence under the bus. Whilst, it's fair to point out errors when others are getting blamed, we have to remember it's not their fault that Ridehalgh is injured and Adams decided to wind up his captain on the last day of the transfer window.

As the T&A's headline states it's "no blame game" for me. Unless Ridehalgh is back, we keep the same back five as it is quite correctly important to put an 'arm around the shoulder' at the moment as lots of them simply lack confidence at the crucial times (for instance Cook would have had three in the last two matches - if he was his earlier season best)

Dropping Bass does nothing, except satisfy the bloodlust some fans have when things are going wrong. The performance on Saturday was good, but if we're going to be super critical then those who wasted those very good chances, were far more at fault than Bass. However, that's what happens when you've had our last three months.

 

Fully agree regarding Vernhams finishing being shocking, but tbf if he could finish he would be top end L1 and not here. If MH can get some confidence into him when he returns he is definitely one of the very few we have capable of being good enough for a L2 squad pushing for promotion.

 

Gutted by that, to be honest.

The midfield diamond was a treat to watch at times, Callum Cooke, Gareth Evans and Alex Gilliead were impressive.

Andy Cook struggled to get into the game, but Caolan Lavery looked full of energy.

The defence, though, is an obvious weakness. Songo'o MOTM seemed a strange call, but you can't deny he at least looked improved and better understood his duties. Paudie cleared off the line a couple of times.

Foulds and Hendrie don't really do it for me, but Hendrie is at least steady - an upgrade on Threlkeld.

With the exception of Robinson, even the subs were decent. Poor Theo. He's very much in the Clayton-stage of his career, even though he's younger than Donaldson.

Bass made a wonderful save from a header, then threw it all down the drain with the most idiotic challenge I can remember in quite some time. Why, Bass, why?!

 

NO to Thelkeld, not a chance.

 

Yes unfortunately after 30, or so games even if what he was saying was true he's the man who had to change things, it was wearing a bit thin towards the latter end, todays performance without a positive end result was far more pleasing to the eye.

 

Difference for me is we had alot of clear cut chances today that we should have scored and the football was alot more enjoyable to watch. Under Adams the chances were half chances and poor football. With a better strike force we'd have rolled them over today. What ever Hughes has them doing its better and I'd be optimistic for us going forward.

 

Bass reminds me of when Pickford was on loan with us, he always seemed to have a mistake in him too.

 

Gillead is one of the most frustrating players ever as Hughes says he is technically very good have a great work rate goes non great runs but he creates and scores nothing. He doesn’t get in the box and shoot or to the byline and get good crosses in. As I say frustrating

 

Loads of people have criticised Foulds and assuming you're aware he was playing in defence then my quote of " the defence was a disaster zone" also includes him.

Bass also gets the criticism because despite a couple of very good saves he had a rush of blood and ultimately cost us the game.

Hendrie? He's better than Threlkeld. That's about the kindest compliment I could give but right back is certainly an area we need an accomplished signing in during the summer.

 

He played 7 times most of the bench with 2 assists and 1 goal the same as Gillead who has played nearly every game Crankshaw will have a decent career

 

Just a little warning. Watching City is addictive so your lad might prefer to be amongst proper fans