Saturday 12th December

[The Globule]

Routine 1-0 win for us. Should have been more. Harrogate good but no real threat in front of goal.

hellogregory said
"Christ that was easy. I don’t even think our defenders got their kilts dirty."

Blimey, I know you're in Scotland but do they wear sporrans and everything?

 

[shoddycollins]

Forest Green drop out of the automatic places with a 2-0 win.

 

[Monkey Tennis]

I think k you're being a tad harsh on the manager here.

There is definetly a step up and some good players don't seem to be able to make it.

Dig in, survive and get a good recruitment system going. You really ain't that far away from a "decent " league two side.

We have decent forwards. We can score against anyone really. 4 against Tranmere, 3 against Mansfield etc so cut your defence a little slack today. Tactics wise thought Quigly played too deep and when you went ahead you seemed to get a nose bleed but honestly, you ain't that far away from it.

Good luck for the rest of the season.


Did I say you ain't to far away too many times?

Casey

I'm probably still in the camp that thinks giving the manager time is the best option - though if there was an obvious manager available that could change things then I'd probably advocate his sacking.

But as Matty says, we can't go a full season with everyone telling us we're not a bad side or not a million miles away.

 

[Chris FGR]

Forest Green drop out of the automatic places with a 2-0 win.

Cooper out.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Great from us, really impressed with how the same 11 who started at Cheltenham played today. A great pressing game, with some great finishes (and a dodgy penalty).
Tranmere weren't that bad either, certainly compared to Colchester, though it was clear they missed Vaughan especially with Woolery looking like he picked up a few knocks there. I guess when the opposition makes 4 changes at half time you know they've lost the plot.

On to Harrogate, I hope they let us have the ball in the same way on Tuesday. Some how I doubt it.

 

[Back in the DHSS]

Great from us, really impressed with how the same 11 who started at Cheltenham played today. A great pressing game, with some great finishes (and a dodgy penalty).
Tranmere weren't that bad either, certainly compared to Colchester, though it was clear they missed Vaughan especially with Woolery looking like he picked up a few knocks there. I guess when the opposition makes 4 changes at half time you know they've lost the plot.

On to Harrogate, I hope they let us have the ball in the same way on Tuesday. Some how I doubt it.

Agree with you on how good Exeter were.
Disagree on Tranmere. It’s easy to say in hindsight but we got totally overrun in the middle of the park and should of changed shape way before half time. We just never got off the bus for the 2nd game in a row.

 

[BlackHaddock]

A poor performance from Mansfield today, with a point probably about right, Grimsby were also poor to be honest.

Terrible game between two very poor sides, one or two of our lads had stinkers; thought more than a one or two of your lot had stinkers too.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Agree with you on how good Exeter were.
Disagree on Tranmere. It’s easy to say in hindsight but we got totally overrun in the middle of the park and should of changed shape way before half time. We just never got off the bus for the 2nd game in a row.

Ok fine, but you didnt see how bad Colchester were.

 

[chipmunx]

The only good thing that came out of today's result was that I backed over 4.5 goals when we went 2-1 up then with 3 mins to go i put the returns on over 5.5 - so turned £5 into £40... but I'm on night tonight so unfortunately can't go out and get drunk....

 

[Conker]

Terrible game between two very poor sides, one or two of our lads had stinkers; thought more than a one or two of your lot had stinkers too.

Definitely, hard to believe we’ve just turned over FGR and Cambridge away in the league after that one.

That was not our best eleven, Maynard, Cook, O’Keefe minimum should have been playing, but to be fair to Clough it’s hard to change the team when they have been performing well in the previous two games.

At least we played bad and got somert, the only other time we’ve really been poor under Clough was Harrogate, and that’s our only defeat under him too. Not bad going all considered.

 

[Essex2Wessex]

Of all the teams we've played so far this season, I've got to say that Barrow and Mansfield were the two teams who appeared to be very (even very very) much better than their league position suggested. Bolton too, for that matter, but they seem to have finally got a grip. No of course they won't be promoted.

Southend have relegation nailed on, Oldham are doing better than I'd have foreseen at the start of the season, and Scunthorpe are not great, but still better than Stevenage, who barely seem to be offering much more than they were last season.

Wanna see Barrow get their act together and stay up, fairly sure they will, too, but some inspired and intelligent signings in January might be the thing that seals it. Even given the usual difficulties that newly promoted (or as here re-promoted) teams face, they looked like having quite a bit more than a basic level of competence and skill And they seem to have had an extraordinary amount of either bad luck (goals against them at the very ends of numerous games) or a failure to hold out until the final whistle.

As for today's game against Cambridge, I think that might be the best all round FGR performance, across the whole team, that I can recall for ages. We took time to get off the ground, a lot of the first half was classic Mark Cooper "lots of possession but no shots on target that turn into goals" approach, albeit a lot of it in the attacking half, but devoid of any major or obvious mistakes, but eventually what was evident did come through. I really expected more of Cambridge - they've had a really good run. That's a great away kit, even if is half Oxford blue.

 

[FGR Stroud]

Still haven't forgiven Gary Johnson for his shocking tactics in that game at Whaddon Road, and then saying afterwards that he hoped FGR stayed up.

That has been the most memorable game in FGR's time in the EFL.
Cheltenham fans were creaming themselves prophesizing that they would be the team to send FGR back down to Conference but ended up losing to 'goal of season' that ensured FGR's safety that season.

 

[FGR Stroud]

Why are Cambridge so defensive, this has been very one sided.

Long periods of the game there were 21 players in Cambridge's half of the field.
It was only after conceding that they upped their game.

 

[FGR Stroud]

Forest Green drop out of the automatic places with a 2-0 win.

Yep, true and place taken over by Carlisle who visit TNL next Saturday.
FGR and Carlisle could then swap back or even perhaps both drop out of autos.

 

[Chris FGR]

Yep, true and place taken over by Carlisle who visit TNL next Saturday.
FGR and Carlisle could then swap back or even perhaps both drop out of autos.

Carlisle easily beat us when they're supposedly shit, god knows what they'll do now they're good.

 

[shoddycollins]

Carlisle easily beat us when they're supposedly shit, god knows what they'll do now they're good.

Lose of course. So far we haven't done well against the teams currently in the promotion mix so would be nice to change that.

 

[shoddycollins]

I feel like we're toying with Bradford since the week after we put them into the relegation zone, we lift them up out of it on goal difference despite them losing.

 

[Super_horns]

Max Watters has had a great start to his career..

One for the future or just on a good run?

 

[FGR Stroud]

Carlisle easily beat us when they're supposedly shit, god knows what they'll do now they're good.

From memory Carlisle always seem to do well v FGR and we don't have an overly impressive home record. They will be confident.

 

[CTFCfan99]

Looks like we shat all over Salford but failed to take any of our chances, which has frustratingly been the story of most games we've drawn/lost this season.

 

[saddler78]

Is Evatt always such a sore loser? he sounds like this seasons Graham Westley i thought it was even at half time and we where much the better side in the second half i think that club need to realise they arent walking out of this league and are in it due to being a financial basket case for the last few years.

 

[E10rifle]

In the past 2 games, Bradford away and Stevenage at home, we haven’t faced a single shot on target.

They’re the two worst attacking sides I’ve seen this season by a country mile. One of them will join the Mudrats in non-league next year. Probably Bradford.

 

[E10rifle]

Poor first half from us; lucky that Newport didn’t capitalise more than the one goal they got. But Hurricane Jobi arrived in the second half and the Exiles had no answer to him (or the rest of them who pulled their respective fingers out). If we could play with that tempo and that attitude in every game, we’d be dangerous.

Newport were decent enough, but seemed happy to stop playing football and start kicking us all over the shop as soon as they scored. Out of the promotion candidates I was much more impressed with FGM, Cheltenham, Colchester and particularly Exeter.

 

[kieran_vale]

Our complete lack of ruthlessness when in control against an opponent is going to cost us making the top 7 I feel. Seen enough this season to know what this team is and what it isn't now. On the positive side we are playing some good football now and creating openings which we weren't doing earlier on.

The issue is we are just so wasteful and even when we have a lead its not a coincidence teams are often pegging us back not long after, points to something mentally with many of our team which makes them switch off. No idea why that would be as we have some very experienced pros through the spine of the team and at a loss how to resolve that. Definite 2 points lost, a promotion team would have put them to the sword today given that amount of dominance and we kept them in the game and cost ourselves a win through it.

 

[valefan16]

Our complete lack of ruthlessness when in control against an opponent is going to cost us making the top 7 I feel. Seen enough this season to know what this team is and what it isn't now. On the positive side we are playing some good football now and creating openings which we weren't doing earlier on.

The issue is we are just so wasteful and even when we have a lead its not a coincidence teams are often pegging us back not long after, points to something mentally with many of our team which makes them switch off. No idea why that would be as we have some very experienced pros through the spine of the team and at a loss how to resolve that. Definite 2 points lost, a promotion team would have put them to the sword today given that amount of dominance and we kept them in the game and cost ourselves a win through it.

It is going to cost us certainly, we’ve started to look excellent with some of our build up playing and passing and movement but are getting punished for every mistake and are so wasteful, even though we’ve scored 9 in 3 we had the chances to score more than that which would have given us more to show than 4 points.

Orient second half we hammered on the door and that cost us, yesterday we had chance after chance for the majority of the game, even at Bolton we had enough good chances beyond the six we scored.

Rodney is starting to look a very good player though now he’s been moved in the middle, only issue is he keeps pulling wide or as yesterday is 40 yards from goal when he picks the ball up to run and score. When we are crossing so many times we need the striker in the box! If Pope was on first half we’d have been out of sight as he’d have been lurking in the box for those headers.

It’s one of them we might give some teams a real hiding like last week if we play this way but frustrate other weeks but last three games the amount of crosses and shots we’ve had is a positive at least after some real poor huff and puff efforts in the weeks before.

Big praise for skipper Leggey too, captained and played the full 90 with a solid performance days after a seizure. I expected him to miss a couple of weeks!

In between both boxes there probably aren’t many better sides than us at this level to sum it up, but whilst defensively we’ve been ok in the main over the season we are having the lapses, possibly missing Gibbons to be honest who is a big loss, and up front we are too forgiving.

Should have six points and cup progress in the past week but if you’d offered me 4 points and cup progress at 2:59 last Saturday on the back of 5 league defeats I’d have taken it.

If we keep the levels up of the past 2 and a half league games we will win games, not sure if we will win enough though unless we start scoring the goals.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Nice to see Flynn whinging like a baby today. He doesn't like it when things go against him, does he.

 

[Carver]

Barrow really need to sack that useless excuse of a manager they have ASAP and whoever comes in next needs to sort out their weak as piss defence.

You can't keep relying on us to beat the teams around you.

 

[shoddycollins]

They’re the two worst attacking sides I’ve seen this season by a country mile. One of them will join the Mudrats in non-league next year. Probably Bradford.

Stevenage had an expected goals of zero yesterday. First time I ever saw a team get that. They took one pot shot early on but wasn't even good enough for their xG to round up to 0.1.

Based on yesterday I'd tell Southend fans we've found a team worse than you. Stevenage haven't really put their reprieve to good use, they were putting together a conference team following their apparent relegation and haven't adjusted to try and compete in L2. Makes it all seem a bit pointless really, the fight their owners put up to avoid relegation just to delay it for a year. They'd have been better off just accepting relegation.

 

[Luke Imp]

First time I've looked at the L2 table for a while.

Harrogate I could've sworn were up there but they're absolutely bombing at the minute. Did Cambridge overachieve at the beginning of the season and are now settling down?

Orient finally got rid of some of their NL players and rebuilt the squad? McCall out at Bradford, surely?!

Barrow's issue an inexperienced manager or a not changing their squad up enough after promotion? Or a bit of both?

 

[BarraMatt]

First time I've looked at the L2 table for a while.

Harrogate I could've sworn were up there but they're absolutely bombing at the minute. Did Cambridge overachieve at the beginning of the season and are now settling down?

Orient finally got rid of some of their NL players and rebuilt the squad? McCall out at Bradford, surely?!

Barrow's issue an inexperienced manager or a not changing their squad up enough after promotion? Or a bit of both?

A manager that didn't/doesn't inspire confidence and poor recruitment.