Carl Isle v Steve Nage

[shoddycollins]

Looking forward to this one, always a fan of a Tuesday night match and it'll be great to play again so soon after a good away performance.

Stevenage have had a good start to the season though I notice their all their wins have been against teams in the bottom half of the table. We're in the bottom half but if we think we can be in the top half then we should see this as a winnable game. The best thing about playing on Tuesday is that we won't draw a big expectant crowd that the players can wilt in front of like they have a habit of doing. The atmosphere is the closest you get to an away crowd atmosphere when playing at home.

Although I'd like to see us start with the same team as we did against Crewe I wouldn't be surprised if Hill drops to the bench, although there is a possibility he won't have to train as much as the other players to keep him fresh. He was definitely a big factor in the difference in performance between Barnet and Crewe, and all the players around him seemed much calmer and more organised for his presence.

Kennedy missed out yesterday as Curle didn't think he was quite 100% fit and might come back onto the bench on Tuesday. I'd be clamouring for him to start but I don't want any of the players who started yesterday to be dropped. Maybe we'll also see Nabi on the bench again, yesterday at 3-0 up would have been a perfect chance to give him a run out but he wasn't in the squad, presumably because Curle expected we'd have to dig in much more than we eventually did.

 

[jolua]

We made hard work of beating a poor Morecambe side yesterday and never seem to do very well at yours. Having said that I am feeling confident that we can get something, ever the optimist.

We have been short of a couple of our 'top' players, one should return on Tuesday.

I predict a draw.

 

[cufc17]

This'll be the first home league game I've missed in a few years due to work, so we'll probably put in another top performance! I'm thinking this'll be another score draw, though hopefully we'll go on a little run now.

 

[hellogregory]

Well after an excellent team performance, our best of 2017 by far, expectations are now high.

This will be a tough game, but winnable. It would be typical of CUFC2017 to go and lose a home game 3 days after a 5-0 away win, so I'm not getting too carried away, we'll hav to be on our game again to get a result. Any win would do, just a 1-0 or 2-1 would be fine, I'm not greedy.

I hope Hill stays in the team, I don't think fitness is an issue, he looked 29 not 39 on Saturday, considering his first competitive start of the season he looked like he could do another 90 minutes straight after! He should be able to play again, especially that position where there's least running to do.

The only change I'd be tempted by is either Devitt or Kennedy for Etuhu. Etuhu played very well on Saturday but he was in to do a man marking job on what we ID'd as their main threat. Dev or JK would give us more going forward which may be useful at home.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Wadsworth, Day or Simpson would never have changed a side after that performance, bar injury/suspension.

Think reason Curle gets no where is an insistance to change things up weekly

 

[hellogregory]

Unchanged

Hardly a surprise.

Reasonably confident

 

[hellogregory]

Honestly, we're fucking toothless. Not gonna score if we play all night like this. Such a contrast from Saturday.

I'd bring Devitt on for Etuhu.

 

[hellogregory]

Absolutely shite. Waste of time. Fed up of the same old shite every home game.

Luckily I'm away the next 2 home games. I won't miss much that's for sure.

Saturday was a flash in the pan, we are conference north standard in every department

 

[jolua]

Honestly, we're fucking toothless. Not gonna score if we play all night like this. Such a contrast from Saturday.

85 mins and Fryer has not had a save to make.

 

[shoddycollins]

85 mins and Fryer has not had a save to make.

neither has Shamal George

 

[shoddycollins]

That Stevenage physio has covered more of the pitch than some of the players.

 

[hellogregory]

85 mins and Fryer has not had a save to make.

Yeah that's what toothless means

 

[hellogregory]

No wonder more than half of our home crowds have deserted the club over the past 4 or 5 years.

Season after season of constant shit served up at Brunton Park. I dont blame anyone for giving up to he honest and I can only see crowds continuining to fall. The club will be in non league, playing in front of crowds of 1000 people and then bust, if things continue. They can't expect people to fork out for season tickets every year when the product on show is consistently of a poor standard.

 

[jolua]

neither has Shamal George

Yep, he just drops it instead.

 

[hellogregory]

Fuck off

 

[jolua]

First time we've won at Brunton Park in the league and first time since 2005 which was in the conference.

 

[jolua]

Fuck off

Very grown up, well done.

 

[hellogregory]

Very grown up, well done.

What are you talking about? Praising my growing up? This is about football.

 

[hellogregory]

Following up a 5-0 away win with THAT shower of c*** discharge, speaks volumes about where we are.

Any team no matter how low in quality they are after winning a game 5-0, comes out bouncing with confidence for a home game 3 days later. Nope not us, not this bunch of no hopers, they can't even muster a meaningful effort on goal.

That is extremely worrying. There's a mental fucktardness about this group of players which isn't helped by a distinct lack of ability in our of strikers.

 

[jolua]

Jog on

You're funny

 

[hellogregory]

You're funny

Thanks. You're not.

 

[cufc17]

Thank god I missed that shite, so typical after a great away performance. Crawley away has to be 3 points, but we're just gonna plod along this season.

 

[Carver]

WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK WAS THAT TONIGHT??

Thing really are bad when we are getting beat off a team who only bring 34 fans with them, for fucks sake like and even fucking Newport are doing far better than us after 10 games, sorry but our manager has to go now, his time is up.

We are a fucking joke and im sick of it.

 

[shoddycollins]

Well I don't think we were especially terrible. For the first ten-fifteen minutes it looked as though we were picking up where we left off with Saturday's performance. Stevenage were much more well-drilled than Crewe and for most of the game after that it was just two well-drilled sides cancelling each other out, there really wasn't much action and while we created better opportunities we didn't have the clinical finishing of the weekend.

Second half and still without really creating anything Stevenage go 2-0 up entirely thanks to Shamal George. On both occasions, definitely the second but I think also the first, the goal came after George had two hands on the ball. From that point on Stevenage could afford to have all men behind the ball at all times and it was over as a contest. We weren't exactly incisive but it's always going to be a tall order when your opponents' only priority is to deaden your attacks.

 

[hellogregory]

Have to disagree Shoddy. We created nothing first half, we had a few ballooned over efforts from outside the box that's it. Not what I'd call better opportunities. Stevenage on the other hand whilst not being great, did put some well worked moves together first half, I recall them getting into our box, cutting the ball back for a player to then have his goal bound shot blocked by one of our players. That was better than anything we mustered up all night.

I thought it was an awful performance which sums up our season so far. Zero creativity and no threat in the final third, while costly individual calamities at the back seal a defeat.

The goalie won't have a night like that again, so that's not too much of a worry. Clint Hill makes us more solid defensively. Without doubt the thing that needs addressed is our fucking useless Forward line. Bennett isn't going to hack it in League 2, we need to cut our losses in January and try to recoup some of the money we outlaid for him. Maybe Barrow will take him back at a cut price of what we paid for him. Hope and Miller do something now and then but are not a constant threat. We won't get out of this bottom third of the league unless we adresss this big problem

 

[Carver]

Our attack and creativity is non existent.

Can we EVER be a consistently good team?