Saturday 5th October

[spireite]

Yep, fair result the draw at our place this afternoon. As spireite rightly says, Walsall a big powerful well organised outfit who will definitely be in an around the promotion picture this year. We dominated much of the ball for the majority without managing to do too much with it, and then part way through the second half the change of shape worked well and they couldn’t live with us for about 10/15 minutes or so when we got the equaliser.

Personally think Cook got the XI wrong today. For me, you have to have at least one player that wants to make runs off the ball to get in behind, but all 4 of our front 4 were coming to feet all first half. That allowed Walsall to suffocate us a bit and stop our best players from getting the ball in the right areas. The game changed as soon as we had Berry & Colclough running in behind and at least one of them should be starting every game IMO. Also, there is no way that Thompson is better than Boot… straight back into the XI for him next week IMO. He did some decent things, but looked far too shaky for my liking, and looked pretty uncomfortable with the ball at his feet… not good for the way we play.

All in all, 5 points out of a week that included away trips to Doncaster, Bromley (serious bogey side at their place) & then a home game against high flying Walsall is a good return in my opinion.

Onto the next…. Notts (H), the game we’ve been waiting for ever since that day at Wembley, cannot wait.

Completely agree, they were happy with it in front of them, it needed pace and runners, commit them and get in behind. Wrong selection to begin

 

[kieran_vale]

I would expect Notts fans will be puzzled how they lost that and to be fair I’d be the same. Was it a scintillating Vale performance? Absolutely not. Am I really pleased the team changed the habit of a lifetime and maintained defensive discipline? Definitely. Any Notts fans who come on and say we looked utter dogshit I won’t blame them but results are the name of the game so will take it regardless.

Biggest worry for me was Kyle John looking pretty hurt at the end. Really don’t need to be losing him.

 

[dedwardp]

Two points dropped today based on a ridiculous starting eleven, to play a five at the back featuring two right backs, a left back and a centre forward. Tom Hopper at left back? Mental.

The first half was a subsequent non-event with no shape, no pressing and no real opportunities. Tovide pulled our best effort wide and Macey made a decent save at the other end.

Two subs at half-time to revert back to a more logical line-up and the second half was then improved. Not at the levels set in previous home games this season but we certainly got on top of the game after the break and came closest to scoring - Lewis pulled off a couple of good reaction saves. Just feels frustrating that we totally wasted the first half of the game with a baffling line up.

 

[RavenBish]

I don’t think Vale were bad at all, we missed chances and it looks like their goal was offside but still looked dangerous on the break and definitely made us ‘play in the wrong areas’ and limited us largely to just aimless crosses to Jatta (which nearly worked).

Very similar to Gillingham, drag us into a battle, spoil the game and take your chance when you get it (again, it was offside I would like to add). No complaints.

 

[Soz]

Will we win? Maybe. Will Jatta score? Yes.

Phew thank god jatta didn't play.

 

[womble76]

We even scored today but sadly the linesman and ref didn't agree but footage shows it was over the line. Anyway hopeful rebound at home to carlisle next week.

 

[Si Robin]

Carlisle/Swindon/Accy /Morecambe 4 way relegation battle

Definitely missing one team there...

 

[joethegill]

Well played Crewe, sounds like you had the better of the chances and were clinical when they came. No complaints at all, but a poor couple of results for us which makes Accrington at home next weekend a must win to keep pace at the top where all of a sudden it's really tightened up. We've had a tough run of fixtures lately and come unstuck a couple of times, which happens - of our 10 games so far we've played 7 of the top 11 and sit 2nd, so we're doing well. Of our next 4 fixtures, the highest placed is currently 14th in Bradford, so fingers crossed we can get back to winning ways and don't let our good start become a distant memory.

 

[Limerick Mariner]

Absolutely wank from start to finish that. Donny were very good so credit to them but that second half was as close to a pre-season friendly as you're ever gonna get at the start of October. I'm sort of glad we were 2/3-0 for pretty much the entire match as it meant all those ridiculous ref/lino decisions weren't of any significance. Even at 2-0 and with 80mins on the clock, it didn't feel like we were ever in it. Going 3-0 down and down to 10 men completely and utterly killed any semblance of this being a contest off though.

Chalk that off as a result of two long trips in the last 7 days and a fair amount of injuries and take it for the reality check that it is.

Felt like DA got carried away with his own just like AC Milan rhetoric. Donny have pace and width and we had defensive liabilities out wide. The Carlisle game shape could have been better allowing the 3rd CB to drift across as extra cover wide.

Like Notts, no complaints about the result but utterly shocking officiating again. For the first Gibson looked yards offside, the disallowed goal in the second half was ridiculous with the Donny defender holding the ball on the floor. Rodger’s dissent was stupid but the ref could have walked away and diffused the situation after the first yellow.

At the moment, I’d say we’d do best with a team of Evan Khouris, he was splendid again…

 

[Grimsby Road]

Well played Crewe, sounds like you had the better of the chances and were clinical when they came. No complaints at all, but a poor couple of results for us which makes Accrington at home next weekend a must win to keep pace at the top where all of a sudden it's really tightened up. We've had a tough run of fixtures lately and come unstuck a couple of times, which happens - of our 10 games so far we've played 7 of the top 11 and sit 2nd, so we're doing well. Of our next 4 fixtures, the highest placed is currently 14th in Bradford, so fingers crossed we can get back to winning ways and don't let our good start become a distant memory.

In the next 10 we have 9/10 of the bottom 8 we are bound to tuck that up and will be back down there

 

[Grimsby Road]

Definitely missing one team there...

Not Town ,January George Lyoyd loan

 

[Grimsby Road]

Felt like DA got carried away with his own just like AC Milan rhetoric. Donny have pace and width and we had defensive liabilities out wide. The Carlisle game shape could have been better allowing the 3rd CB to drift across as extra cover wide.

Like Notts, no complaints about the result but utterly shocking officiating again. For the first Gibson looked yards offside, the disallowed goal in the second half was ridiculous with the Donny defender holding the ball on the floor. Rodger’s dissent was stupid but the ref could have walked away and diffused the situation after the first yellow.

At the moment, I’d say we’d do best with a team of Evan Khouri’s he was splendid again…

The refs are just crap for everyone though aren't they?

it's not like it's just 1 team or anything they just f*ck up badly , like when they sent the Chesterfield guy off against us it was daft .

 

[OneDecentLester]

This league is stupidly tight, there’s genuinely nothing in it at the moment. We’ve battered a couple of sides on the day in Crewe & Doncaster, but yet both of those sides are currently sat above so have clearly done well elsewhere in games. As soon as some sides start to find some consistency somewhere they’re going to start to pull clear, but right now it’s looking an unbelievably tough division to call.

 

[leedsvaliant]

We missed 5 chances from 6 yards out

I would say perhaps only one of those you should have scored.

I thought it was the perfect away performance. Let you have loads of the ball, sideways, and take our chances when they came.

First half was all Notts really but second half was more even I thought. Notts could have got back in it but equally we could have scored a couple more. We never really looked like conceding second half and it felt like Notts had run out of ideas a but.

Really unexpected result to be honest and after the first 20 minutes I feared the worst, especially with the team we put out. But our squad has more depth this year and bringing on Stockley and Richards offered us a bit more in attack.

Close game though, that could have gone either way. I think Notts will be right up there come May but I suspect Jones offers that point of difference that they were missing today.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I would expect Notts fans will be puzzled how they lost that and to be fair I’d be the same. Was it a scintillating Vale performance? Absolutely not. Am I really pleased the team changed the habit of a lifetime and maintained defensive discipline? Definitely. Any Notts fans who come on and say we looked utter dogshit I won’t blame them but results are the name of the game so will take it regardless.

Biggest worry for me was Kyle John looking pretty hurt at the end. Really don’t need to be losing him.

Not that puzzled. Passing car too slow and safe. Crowley too deep. Jatta missed a very good chance in first half and another one saved saved in second but again was in the right place to miss.
Poor from Gordon on goal.

You didn't look utter dogshit. Looked organised but limited. Not quite your classic away smash and grab but not too far off. Was different to the Gills home defeat by the same scoreline. Quality a lot less..

First 20 we were as expected in total control but after the goal any retaliation was in fits and starts at best. When we finally did manage to hit the target the keeper did his job.

Missed L2 best player and/or Didzy to open you up but that's our problem to solve when opposition turn up and play in that manner with plenty of men behind the ball and to condense play and prevent anything through the middle. Out wide men didn't do enough.

Missed opportunity today and very disappointing performance but not a surprise

Oh and love Phil and Phil.

 

[Si Robin]

Not Town ,January George Lyoyd loan

I meant Cheltenham.

We have no creativity whatsoever and we're incapable of keeping a clean sheet.

 

[valefan16]

Considering the players missing it’s a fantastic result really, Chislett didn’t get on, BBB out, Byers out, a kid at full back and Stockley took a knock so couldn’t start.

Sat in, frustrated and in the end we looked relatively comfortable, Notts ran out of ideas and didn’t have the technicians to unlock us down the middle so ended up working it wide to try and hit Jatta (who was dreadful today). Had one chance second half that Ripley made a great stop but that’s his only save that I recall.

I never felt overly worried second half and there was never a point it felt like we were clinging on or sustained pressure on our goal itself. Jessie was a beast today.

Not sure on the offside call for our goal? The ball was a cut back wasn’t it from where I was but haven’t seen it back yet great ball by Curtis.

Should have scored more once Stockley came on which saw us far more of a threat. He was outstanding winning his duels and you’d expect him to put that chance at the end away. Notts defence would be a concern as the times we did get forward they looked poor, should scored first half when we got past the keeper and had 3 or 4 v 2 lining up to have a go and massively over played it and they didn’t seem to make much effort to get back and help.

It’s a big result, losing John at the end is a blow though and adds to the frustration of that goal late on Tuesday as we’d be top now! But 7 unbeaten away at a side that’s been going well with some big players missing. Can’t grumble at that really and should boost confidence going into MK next week.

 

[RavenBish]

Phew thank god jatta didn't play.

Should have scored but he was the only Notts player that managed to get anywhere near the ball and win it in your box. I don’t think he was the problem today, our other attackers being Sam Austin and Cedwyn Scott were.

No point having Jatta, Didzy and Jones when you’re replacing them with those two whenever there’s an injury. Both dreadful players at this level.

Also think we miss Conor Grant massively - Crowley, Palmer, Abbott and Robertson all dropping too deep - Grant’s the one player we have that can play between the lines and wants to receive the ball higher up the pitch

 

[jacobncfc]

My patience with Maynard is running low now. He just can’t win a game unless it’s against a team he has obviously better players than, which is not the sign of a great manager. God knows why we’re playing nine defensive players at home, why our one creative outlet is basically part of the back three, or indeed why we’re throwing on a centre back as a sub when we need a goal with five minutes to go and there’s still a striker available.

Vale were honking with the ball and had very little quality, but they were organised and defended well so can’t really begrudge them the win.

 

[womble76]

This league is stupidly tight, there’s genuinely nothing in it at the moment. We’ve battered a couple of sides on the day in Crewe & Doncaster, but yet both of those sides are currently sat above so have clearly done well elsewhere in games. As soon as some sides start to find some consistency somewhere they’re going to start to pull clear, but right now it’s looking an unbelievably tough division to call.

I know. I said this the other day. Imo it's great. People can say it's poor as they do every year. However the entertainment is gonna be up amd down all season. Every sat a random set of unexpected results,.it's great

 

[Grimsby Road]

I meant Cheltenham.

We have no creativity whatsoever and we're incapable of keeping a clean sheet.

I meant Cheltenham Town mate lol. You didn't even look that bad against us tbh . Proper old school setup though with flat cap Gary Johnson running it ?

 

[leedsvaliant]

My patience with Maynard is running low now. He just can’t win a game unless it’s against a team he has obviously better players than, which is not the sign of a great manager. God knows why we’re playing nine defensive players at home, why our one creative outlet is basically part of the back three, or indeed why we’re throwing on a centre back as a sub when we need a goal with five minutes to go and there’s still a striker available.

Vale were honking with the ball and had very little quality, but they were organised and defended well so can’t really begrudge them the win.

Yep, we were poor with the ball. We missed Byers who is brilliant at retaining the ball, plus you're a possession based side, so after a lot of chasing we struggled to do much with it.

Today was a classic example however of how possession is a meaningless statistic. Felt like there was a lot of sideways passing and once you realised the forward routes were blocked off you just lumped it to Jatta, who was really poor on the day. I actually felt the 3 best chances fell to us.

As you said, it needed someone to knit together the midfield and forwards. Was surprised at how deep Crowley was, considering his ability on the ball.

I think your manager got outfoxed a bit today.

 

[Grimsby Road]

Yep, we were poor with the ball. We missed Byers who is brilliant at retaining the ball, plus you're a possession based side, so after a lot of chasing we struggled to do much with it.

Today was a classic example however of how possession is a meaningless statistic. Felt like there was a lot of sideways passing and once you realised the forward routes were blocked off you just lumped it to Jatta, who was really poor on the day. I actually felt the 3 best chances fell to us.

As you said, it needed someone to knit together the midfield and forwards. Was surprised at how deep Crowley was, considering his ability on the ball.

I think your manager got outfoxed a bit today.

It seems so far that anyone barring the bottom 4 can beat each other on their day - Didn't Harrogate beat Donny badly , Donny smashed us today , Vale beat Notts today , we beat Gills . It's all dead random isn't it?

 

[OneDecentLester]

I know. I said this the other day. Imo it's great. People can say it's poor as they do every year. However the entertainment is gonna be up amd down all season. Every sat a random set of unexpected results,.it's great

I agree with you, it is great.

 

[OneDecentLester]

My patience with Maynard is running low now. He just can’t win a game unless it’s against a team he has obviously better players than, which is not the sign of a great manager. God knows why we’re playing nine defensive players at home, why our one creative outlet is basically part of the back three, or indeed why we’re throwing on a centre back as a sub when we need a goal with five minutes to go and there’s still a striker available.

Vale were honking with the ball and had very little quality, but they were organised and defended well so can’t really begrudge them the win.

Oh hello… it begins!

 

[valefan16]

Yep, we were poor with the ball. We missed Byers who is brilliant at retaining the ball, plus you're a possession based side, so after a lot of chasing we struggled to do much with it.

Today was a classic example however of how possession is a meaningless statistic. Felt like there was a lot of sideways passing and once you realised the forward routes were blocked off you just lumped it to Jatta, who was really poor on the day. I actually felt the 3 best chances fell to us.

As you said, it needed someone to knit together the midfield and forwards. Was surprised at how deep Crowley was, considering his ability on the ball.

I think your manager got outfoxed a bit today.

That’s what pleases me the most. We have been that possession side dominant in play but today by design we left our technicians out and found a way to win ugly which we’ve lacked in the past, possession is pointless when it’s on the half way line or side to side, we got relegated being great in possession under Crosby last season.

The fact we have shown we can win like this if we have to is a big positive from our point of view.

That said we managed to do what took County 20-30 passes to do in 1 or 2 passes, that ball from Tolaj which Curtis should be slotting away was delicious.

As you say for all the dominance in possession we’ve had the same amount of shots on target, 3 clear cut chances to their 2 and probably should of scored 3 or 4 ourselves with the chances we had when they did come.

Slated Moore at 2pm, I am sorry Darren I was wrong he got it spot on today.

Decent atmosphere in the away end as well I have to say.

As I’ve said before if I could pick one side I’d love to go up with its Notts County though, see them as the closest club to us in terms of similarities and they’ve suffered as much rubbish as we have down the years and wish them well.

 

[Optipez]

I would expect Notts fans will be puzzled how they lost that and to be fair I’d be the same. Was it a scintillating Vale performance? Absolutely not. Am I really pleased the team changed the habit of a lifetime and maintained defensive discipline? Definitely. Any Notts fans who come on and say we looked utter dogshit I won’t blame them but results are the name of the game so will take it regardless.

Biggest worry for me was Kyle John looking pretty hurt at the end. Really don’t need to be losing him.

Thought you were good value for the win.
We're the home team and your keeper had to make one good save. You should have scored a second in the first half.
We were timid, one up front when we should have played two and in the end we had a lot of players out of position and huffed and puffed but didn't really look like scoring.
4pts from the last 12, lost the last two home games which were tests, Gills and Vale and have 4 from 12 at home.
Football isn't great either, we're not turning teams around, slow build up and look laboured.
Maynard will get sacked by Christmas if this carries on.

 

[Optipez]

Oh hello… it begins!

It's never been far away.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

We've not been creating chances (see today, Carlisle, Morecambe) but have been clinical. Today we weren't.

It was a poor quality game, which the Gills defeat was anything but.

October looks a very tough month on paper and this looked one of the easier games.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Thought you were good value for the win.
We're the home team and your keeper had to make one good save. You should have scored a second in the first half.
We were timid, one up front when we should have played two and in the end we had a lot of players out of position and huffed and puffed but didn't really look like scoring.
4pts from the last 12, lost the last two home games which were tests, Gills and Vale and have 4 from 12 at home.
Football isn't great either, we're not turning teams around, slow build up and look laboured.
Maynard will get sacked by Christmas if this carries on.

Who's the two you front you want Jatta and who.... Scott?