Cheltenham v Carlisle (Stoppable Force v Movable Object)

[shoddycollins]

Could this be the season's first six pointer. Neither team was expected to do well this season, both have had worrying summers and both have started the season poorly.

Cheltenham yet to score in the league, come up against a defence that has conceded 10 goals in 3 games.

I can honestly see this being a pretty dour encounter, mostly consisting of Cheltenham trying to score while we launch occasional counter-attacks or long balls. Probably finish 1-1.

 

[hellogregory]

Having seen the way we defend, I can’t see any team failing to score past us, even if they have been struggling for goals. It’s simply too easy.

So of course we go into the game pretty much 2-0 down, as it’s a given that we’ll concede 2 or more.

Can we score the minimum requirement of 3 goals to win this match? Not so sure.

2-1 defeat.

 

[Optipez]

Would you like Brisley back? He's had a nightmare start to the season after being rock solid not of last.

 

[hellogregory]

Would you like Brisley back? He's had a nightmare start to the season after being rock solid not of last.

No thanks. He was shit for us.

 

[Chris FGR]

If Cheltenham lose this quite a few will start turning on Johnson I reckon.

 

[shoddycollins]

No thanks. He was shit for us.

Probably still improve us, but oh what I would give to have Clint Hill back. Not just a fantastic defender but lifts the performances of the defenders around him.

Come back Clint, you're not ready to retire yet and you certainly don't want to play second fiddle to that twat Barton at a tinpot outfit. Bring Ashley Nadesan with you if you don't mind too.

 

[shoddycollins]

I don't think we're going to be getting that defender that Sheridan says he still wants to bring in sadly. Jones is out injured and Shezza feels his priority is to replace him.

Just can't catch a fucking break.

As for Cheltenham, hard to say how we're going to line up, as Sheridan is yet to settle on his best side. It might be a good one for Gerrard, if Cheltenham aren't blessed with quick forwards then I think we saw against Blackburn that his defending is pretty decent. I'd honestly put Liddle at right back if Gerrard and Parkes started at centre back. If not Gerrard, if he's not fit enough even to cope with Cheltenham then Gillesphey.

 

[FGR Stroud]

If Cheltenham lose this quite a few will start turning on Johnson I reckon.

They already have - big time.
Pracitically an orchestrated campaign to get rid of him.
Very unpleasant.

 

[CTFCfan99]

I don't think we're going to be getting that defender that Sheridan says he still wants to bring in sadly. Jones is out injured and Shezza feels his priority is to replace him.

Just can't catch a fucking break.

As for Cheltenham, hard to say how we're going to line up, as Sheridan is yet to settle on his best side. It might be a good one for Gerrard, if Cheltenham aren't blessed with quick forwards then I think we saw against Blackburn that his defending is pretty decent. I'd honestly put Liddle at right back if Gerrard and Parkes started at centre back. If not Gerrard, if he's not fit enough even to cope with Cheltenham then Gillesphey.

Unfortunately for you, quick forwards is one of the few things we are blessed with!

Much better performance in the cup against Colchester and I wouldn't expect us to make too many changes. Jordon Forster and Conor Thomas were excellent at RB and CM so hopefully they'll keep their places, and we have two young, raw and exciting forwards in Kalala and Addai who I hope will start together again. Going for an optimistic 2-1 win.

 

[Si Robin]

They already have - big time.
Pracitically an orchestrated campaign to get rid of him.
Very unpleasant.

Orchestrated campaign? Have a day off.

Fans are, rightly, pissed off with the fact that Johnson has not learnt from the past two seasons. He got us promoted from the Conference and is practically a legend because of it - but his record for us in the Football League is appalling.

No-one is saying we should be right at the top end of the league, but when teams are promoted, they tend to do well in this league and, if anything, we appear to have gone backwards. Our last two seasons have seen two of our four lowest finishes in the Football League, three of which have come under Johnson. He's let our highest scorer ever in a football league season go without being replaced, concentrating on a player that the club secretary said last week we weren't even close to signing. He consistently plays players out of position and he's led the team 1 win in 12 League games.

No Cheltenham fan, and I do mean not a single one, wants to see Johnson fail this season. If he can turn it around then he'll be right up there with John Ward and nearly as high as Steve Cotterill, but the evidence so far is that he won't.

As for this week's game against Carlisle, I wasn't at the Col U game, but it sounded like we played much, much better. If that team can perform against Carlisle then we could, and possibly should, get our first 3 points of the season. If we don't, then the calls for Johnson's head will get more vociferous.

 

[shoddycollins]

We've resigned Ashley Nadesan from Fleetwood on a half-season loan.

Pretty happy with that, expect him to figure in this match.

 

[hellogregory]

Nadesan is a welcome addition. A bit of pace, movement and a decent finisher. Everything that Richie Bennett isn’t.

Still doesn’t help our woeful defence, but at least it might give us a better chance of scoring the required 2-3 goals minimum per game that we need to get something from a game while we have this shambolic back 4.

 

[shoddycollins]

Looks like we might be setting up as follows:

__________________Fryer__________________
Liddle____Gerrard____Parkes___Grainger
Yates_____Etuhu____ Devitt_______Hope
__________Nadesan__Bennett____________

Difficult to call really though. There are four possible strikers in that group. I'm just assuming that we'll play two of them as strikers and the other two as wingers. Hope will most likely continue in the position he's done well in as a winger.

Bench: Collin, Miller, Glendon, Gillesphey, Slater, Campbell, Adewusi

 

[hellogregory]

4 up front? Like that, gives us a better chance of scoring the many goals we’ll need to compensate for our sieve of a defence.

 

[shoddycollins]

Away from home, on a slow pitch and with faster, cleverer players around him, I wouldn't actually be surprised if Bennett bags one today.

 

[shoddycollins]

You can see (or in my case, hear) why Cheltenham have struggled up front this season. They're getting in behind our defence with regularity but every single time, the final ball just isn't there. The phrase I keep hearing from our commentators is 'Carlisle could be in trouble here, the home side are coming at them, it's opened up and... ooooh, terrible pass from Atangana'.

We have cleared a couple of the line though, danger signs are there. It's pretty much as the thread title suggests. They've put Ben Tozer up front as well in the second half.

Gerrard sounds knackered, I thought Etuhu wouldn't last as well after an early head injury combined with being on a final warning. We need to make changes. We don't have options from the bench too much, but Sheridan is playing a dangerous game by leaving them on the pitch.

 

[shoddycollins]

Cheltenham sounded desperate to see Etuhu sent off, surrounding the referee after every foul he committed. Our commentators felt the one that incensed the Cheltenham fans the most was a bit of a dive though.

 

[hellogregory]

Yeah it’s sounding like our defence is buckling regularly (as it always does) but Cheltenham so far are failing to capitalise.

If Cheltenham can’t score past what I believe to be the weakest and slowest defence in the football league then they might as well give up.

 

[shoddycollins]

Yeah it’s sounding like our defence is buckling regularly (as it always does) but Cheltenham so far are failing to capitalise.

If Cheltenham can’t score past what I believe to be the weakest and slowest defence in the football league then they might as well give up.

We definitely need another goal, but I think that should be enough, I'm not sure Cheltenham have more than one goal in them. Either way, can't see Johnson lasting much longer, he's completely lost the plot. Some strange decisions by him today. Sounds like he's just shuffling players all over the pitch.

 

[hellogregory]

And Hope should have made it 2 by the sound of it.

 

[shoddycollins]

Fuck sake, we really should have put it to bed there.

 

[shoddycollins]

And Hope should have made it 2 by the sound of it.

We've had a few chances, the one just now from Yates then Bennett though sounds like it was a good save and good defensive clearance, Hope just before half time. We had a few in the first half when we had our tails up and I thought we were going to get a goal or two.

 

[shoddycollins]

This game sounds totally fucking mental.

 

[shoddycollins]

Well good news for Port Vale, that game sounds like it took a lot out of our players.

 

[hellogregory]

I don’t care if it took a lot out of them. We needed a win, and a clean sheet is a huge bonus for a defence whose confidence must have been absolutely rock bottom after conceding 10 in 3.

 

[shoddycollins]

I don’t care if it took a lot out of them. We needed a win, and a clean sheet is a huge bonus for a defence whose confidence must have been absolutely rock bottom after conceding 10 in 3.

I apologise for my negativity there.

 

[Carver]

oh

did we win?

yay

 

[shoddycollins]

Sounds like Johnson is about to be sacked. He's been summoned to a meeting with the Cheltenham board.

 

[hellogregory]

Not surprised. If your team can’t score against us then there’s no hope.

 

[shoddycollins]

He's still in a job.