Swindon vs Crewe (1st Vs 3rd)

[JJ1532]

Yeah, was just looking at that and thinking there wasn't a lot there to call on if you need to make any changes.

 

[JJ1532]

Dominate possession, get in plenty of promising positions, but create very little. Frustrating. All the crosses have been straight at the keeper, execution has been poor on the whole.

Midfield is struggling, Green aside. Ainley has barely been in the game and Lowery keeps losing the ball. Can't legislate for conceding a goal like that though, a harmless shot takes a massive deflection and the wind probably helps carry it in. Pure fluke.

Need to up it in the 2nd half, all else a winnable game is going to slip away.

 

[Crewelad87]

Very frustrating 1st half. We look by far the better team in general play, just not quite creating that chance. Then they score a fluke from nowhere.

 

[Crewelad87]

Injuries at centre back are killing us off. Hunt going off at 1-1 and having to play without a centre back wasn't ideal. I'm not sure why Artell is taking so long to sort something, he's known since boxing day that we are short there and have been having to play our best midfield player there. So frustrating, but we never do well at Swindon so I'm glad that games out of the way now, probably need two loans in before next weekend.

 

[Indian Dan]

What a result! Absolute tremendous shift put in. Crewe looked very good on the ball, but we really, really wanted that.

Haven’t been so chuffed with a result for a long time.

And, btw, Bradford with Doyle - laughing my cock off.

 

[dannyc5]

To be fair, we could have had Van Dijk at CH and we would have got beat today. Yes the defence is a major issue due to the injuries and needs sorting, but today we were absolutely horrendous all over the pitch. Some of the passing was embarrassing. It was like they all had lead in their boots, the amount of times they just whacked it out. No composure. Apart from Kirk, who was very good. 1st time this season I have been angry after a game.

BTW, I think it is time to discuss our goalkeeper.

 

[Indian Dan]

That’s a bit tough. Thought you looked very decent.

 

[dannyc5]

What a result! Absolute tremendous shift put in. Crewe looked very good on the ball, but we really, really wanted that.

Haven’t been so chuffed with a result for a long time.

And, btw, Bradford with Doyle - laughing my cock off.

Did you honestly think we looked good on the ball?

 

[Indian Dan]

Yeah. First half especially.

 

[JJ1532]

Sigh. A step too far for the team. Thought they were fortunate to the the equaliser, but our defence folded once Hunt went off. Can't use that as an excuse, Swindon had big issues of their own. We just didn't perform. Didn't perform to the conditions, didn't perform to a man.

The defence held up as well as can be expected, but aside from Green, I thought the front 5 were awful. Yeah, Kirk and Anene combined for the equaliser, but both were pretty poor aside from that. Powell was anonymous and was bullied all afternoon and as for Ainley and Lowery. Atrocious from both.

We are suffering from Artell botching the summer transfer window and signing Lancashire over literally anyone else. Had we signed anyone else, we'd be a lot better off right now. But he got it terribly wrong on that one and now he's trying to apply short term fixes to a mess he created. Yes, he can't legislate for losing Nolan, Lancashire and Hunt, but when 2nd is injury prone and that means you have to rely on the latter, who is 36, you are going to have problems.

A run at the top 3 is still very much in our grasp and I'm hoping a couple of duds in the last 2 has put some interested teams off. Get a CB in on loan(yes, if it has to be Ray, so be it) and we can get into the autos. Fail to do so and we'll be lucky to stay in the top 7.

 

[Big Bird]

Very pleased to get the win today with that patchwork quilt of a defence. Hopefully we get a couple of bodies in or back from injury before Newport.

 

[Pennywise]

I wonder if people will stop spouting this absolute myth of Swindon not being able to function without Eoin Doyle now? If anything, his departure will see a greater contribution from Jerry Yates now he’s playing centrally again.

 

[JJ1532]

BTW, I think it is time to discuss our goalkeeper.

In what sense? First and second goals weren't on him. 3rd he maybe could have judged better but how often does he deal with shots on goal from those sorts of angles.

Yeah, he flapped at a few crosses and didnt look that secure, but overall, I though he was fine. Dont think there is any major issue there.

 

[Big Bird]

I wonder if people will stop spouting this absolute myth of Swindon not being able to function without Eoin Doyle now? If anything, his departure will see a greater contribution from Jerry Yates now he’s playing centrally again.

Seems a basic concept to grasp but a lot of people seem convinced we'll now tumble down the league. Fact is Doyle or any other striker doesn't score without the rest of the team creating chances. Yates is more than adequate and Doyle will be replaced at some point before the window closes.

 

[dannyc5]

In what sense? First and second goals weren't on him. 3rd he maybe could have judged better but how often does he deal with shots on goal from those sorts of angles.

Yeah, he flapped at a few crosses and didnt look that secure, but overall, I though he was fine. Dont think there is any major issue there.

Like Garrett, he doesn't command. He can't seem to judge when to come off his line. Sometimes he is sharp off his line, other times he is rooted to it. If you watch closely, this inconsistency frustrates the defence and midfield. You will notice them question his decision making. It happens every match. And it has led to goals in the past. Northampton away being one example. I don't think they have much confidence in him defensively. The cross he should have come for in the 1st half when Yates should have scored is a perfect example. And there was an occasion in the 2nd half when he should have come and picked the ball up in the area, and both Kirk and Hunt looked at him completely puzzled.

It's not like he was particularly poor yesterday, but it was just another game when he was completely bang average. Whilst he is excellent with the ball at his feet and contributes to the way we play, his number 1 job is to make saves. How many time this season have we gone 'wow, great save?' You could probably count on one hand. Whereas with Garrett, even though he was poor last season, he was still pulling off regular wonder saves that would actually effect games.

And finally, just compare his performance to Swindon's keeper, who was superb. His distribution was excellent (like Will's) but unlike Will, his was in complete command of his 16 yard box. He came for everything, held onto everything despite the terrible conditions, and you could tell Swindon's makeshift defence had complete confidence in him.

I'm not completely writing Will off. We are 4th in the table and having an excellent season, so that would be crazy. However, he does not convince me at all, and this has been slowly building for a while.

 

[dannyc5]

Seems a basic concept to grasp but a lot of people seem convinced we'll now tumble down the league. Fact is Doyle or any other striker doesn't score without the rest of the team creating chances. Yates is more than adequate and Doyle will be replaced at some point before the window closes.

Yates looked as strong as an ox, and can clearly finish. Looked excellent at CF.

 

[Chris FGR]

Swindon's keeper is on loan too, from Swansea I think?

Maybe he'll be recalled along with Yates who i hear might be going back to Rotherham? Would be interesting to see how Swindon cope without Doyle, Yates or Benda.

 

[Indian Dan]

Stop fishing! Both are here for the season.

As you well know.

 

[Agombar stool]

And finally, just compare his performance to Swindon's keeper, who was superb. His distribution was excellent (like Will's) but unlike Will, his was in complete command of his 16 yard box. He came for everything, held onto everything despite the terrible conditions, and you could tell Swindon's makeshift defence had complete confidence in him.

Spot on Danny. I thought your keeper looked a little shaky yesterday whereas Benda, as you rightly say, was excellent in appalling conditions. He didn’t shank or miskick one ball yesterday and commanded his box. Clearly I don’t think your keeper could have done anything about the goals but his dealing with the balls into the box in general wouldn’t have filled me with confidence if I was playing at the back.

As for the game itself I thought Crewe were excellent first 25 minutes and absolutely toyed with us. We clearly got lucky with our goal as with the wind the tactic of pot shots paid off (Doughty also had a goal bound fizzer blocked) and can count ourselves fortunate to be 1 up at the break.

Second half was all about playing to the conditions, Crewe weren’t as good with keeping the ball and we were able to use the ball holding up in the wind to get the ball forward into channels were I thought we looked stronger and with more desire. Crewe equalised with a decent move which we could have defended better but we kept going and Yates’ thunderbastard of a strike followed by a good finish by Rose after DJ decided to shoot from a ludicrous angle which came off bar and post and rebounded favourably. Crewe didn’t really do anything after that and poor Ng got a bit rattled bless him.

Delighted with a good win against a top side.

 

[dannyc5]

Spot on Danny. I thought your keeper looked a little shaky yesterday whereas Benda, as you rightly say, was excellent in appalling conditions. He didn’t shank or miskick one ball yesterday and commanded his box. Clearly I don’t think your keeper could have done anything about the goals but his dealing with the balls into the box in general wouldn’t have filled me with confidence if I was playing at the back.

As for the game itself I thought Crewe were excellent first 25 minutes and absolutely toyed with us. We clearly got lucky with our goal as with the wind the tactic of pot shots paid off (Doughty also had a goal bound fizzer blocked) and can count ourselves fortunate to be 1 up at the break.

Second half was all about playing to the conditions, Crewe weren’t as good with keeping the ball and we were able to use the ball holding up in the wind to get the ball forward into channels were I thought we looked stronger and with more desire. Crewe equalised with a decent move which we could have defended better but we kept going and Yates’ thunderbastard of a strike followed by a good finish by Rose after DJ decided to shoot from a ludicrous angle which came off bar and post and rebounded favourably. Crewe didn’t really do anything after that and poor Ng got a bit rattled bless him.

Delighted with a good win against a top side.

Just noticed I called the area the '16 yard box'. Unless it has shrunk, I think I may have got that one wrong.

Spot on analysis. We were very good until you scored. Then we stopped playing, and were poor for the remainder. Lowery (my favourite player) was shocking. Reminded me of his performance away at notts county 2 or 3 years ago. Hopefully his confidence won't be shot, like it was after that game, because he is a superb player. We need to hold our hands up, admit we were poor and got beat by the better team, and then forget about it and go again against Cheltenham.

 

[JJ1532]

Like Garrett, he doesn't command. He can't seem to judge when to come off his line. Sometimes he is sharp off his line, other times he is rooted to it. If you watch closely, this inconsistency frustrates the defence and midfield. You will notice them question his decision making. It happens every match. And it has led to goals in the past. Northampton away being one example. I don't think they have much confidence in him defensively. The cross he should have come for in the 1st half when Yates should have scored is a perfect example. And there was an occasion in the 2nd half when he should have come and picked the ball up in the area, and both Kirk and Hunt looked at him completely puzzled.

It's not like he was particularly poor yesterday, but it was just another game when he was completely bang average. Whilst he is excellent with the ball at his feet and contributes to the way we play, his number 1 job is to make saves. How many time this season have we gone 'wow, great save?' You could probably count on one hand. Whereas with Garrett, even though he was poor last season, he was still pulling off regular wonder saves that would actually effect games.

And finally, just compare his performance to Swindon's keeper, who was superb. His distribution was excellent (like Will's) but unlike Will, his was in complete command of his 16 yard box. He came for everything, held onto everything despite the terrible conditions, and you could tell Swindon's makeshift defence had complete confidence in him.

I'm not completely writing Will off. We are 4th in the table and having an excellent season, so that would be crazy. However, he does not convince me at all, and this has been slowly building for a while.

The difference between him and Garratt is, Garratt was making the same mistakes 5 years into his pro career. He never learned and developed. Will has played 31 professional games. He's got plenty of time to improve.

I do agree with our criticisms, I too find him a bit suspect in his command of the box. But for me, this is the hardest skill to master as a goalie. They can train to stop shots for hours every game, but they can't practise getting pushed and pulled by big CBs/CFs as an inswinging corner comes in, not in a game time intensity. They can't judge crosses and come into traffic to get them. It's hard for young keepers to hit the ground running and for him to be average at this stage of his career is something I'll gladly take, given there were numerous question marks over his ability in the summer.

You criticise him for not making enough 'wow' saves, which to me feels odd. If a keeper has to make wow saves, it suggests the defence is giving up hatfuls of great chances against and he's having to bail them out. Hence why Garratt had to make so many during his time here.

Will benefits from the fact he barely has to face any shots. Most weeks he's facing 2/3, maybe 4/5, and the majority are easy shots. So he doesn't need to make any crazy saves. To me, I judge a keeper on the goals he concedes and whether he could do any better on them. There are only a handful of the 32 we've let in so far in the league I would pin directly on Will. He's been steady. If some call that average, fine. But average is good enough. Yes, there are of course other factors to judge a goalie on, but they are very subjective.

Yes, Benda looked excellent yesterday. But then, he was plucked from Germany as a high riser by Swansea, so clearly has something about him. He's been raised in strong academies where the goalies probably get high standards of coaching.

Jaaskelainen probably got as long as he did at Bolton partially down to being the son of a former legend. But the fact is, he was cut loose and nobody wanted him until we picked him up. We signed him, polished him up a bit and he is now coping ok in our first team. If he was an academy graduate who we spent years and lots of money developing, I'd want more from him. But he was a free agent signing, is probably earning a meager salary. It's a no lose situation for me. If he does develop and improve in the next 12 months, we'll have a good asset on our hands. And if he doesn't prove good enough, we can cut our losses in 18 months time and move on.

As for him this season, I can deal with the issues he's presenting because of his age and lack of experience. He has no mentor figure and who knows how good Barber actually is at coaching. Yes, the coming for crosses thing is an issue, but it doesn't seem to be having a huge week in week out effect on the defence. Plus, given how in flux the CBs have been all season, I don't blame Will for being a bit unsure at times.

 

[JJ1532]

Like Garrett, he doesn't command. He can't seem to judge when to come off his line. Sometimes he is sharp off his line, other times he is rooted to it. If you watch closely, this inconsistency frustrates the defence and midfield. You will notice them question his decision making. It happens every match. And it has led to goals in the past. Northampton away being one example. I don't think they have much confidence in him defensively. The cross he should have come for in the 1st half when Yates should have scored is a perfect example. And there was an occasion in the 2nd half when he should have come and picked the ball up in the area, and both Kirk and Hunt looked at him completely puzzled.

It's not like he was particularly poor yesterday, but it was just another game when he was completely bang average. Whilst he is excellent with the ball at his feet and contributes to the way we play, his number 1 job is to make saves. How many time this season have we gone 'wow, great save?' You could probably count on one hand. Whereas with Garrett, even though he was poor last season, he was still pulling off regular wonder saves that would actually effect games.

And finally, just compare his performance to Swindon's keeper, who was superb. His distribution was excellent (like Will's) but unlike Will, his was in complete command of his 16 yard box. He came for everything, held onto everything despite the terrible conditions, and you could tell Swindon's makeshift defence had complete confidence in him.

I'm not completely writing Will off. We are 4th in the table and having an excellent season, so that would be crazy. However, he does not convince me at all, and this has been slowly building for a while.

The difference between him and Garratt is, Garratt was making the same mistakes 5 years into his pro career. He never learned and developed. Will has played 31 professional games. He's got plenty of time to improve.

I do agree with our criticisms, I too find him a bit suspect in his command of the box. But for me, this is the hardest skill to master as a goalie. They can train to stop shots for hours every game, but they can't practise getting pushed and pulled by big CBs/CFs as an inswinging corner comes in, not in a game time intensity. They can't judge crosses and come into traffic to get them. It's hard for young keepers to hit the ground running and for him to be average at this stage of his career is something I'll gladly take, given there were numerous question marks over his ability in the summer.

You criticise him for not making enough 'wow' saves, which to me feels odd. If a keeper has to make wow saves, it suggests the defence is giving up hatfuls of great chances against and he's having to bail them out. Hence why Garratt had to make so many during his time here.

Will benefits from the fact he barely has to face any shots. Most weeks he's facing 2/3, maybe 4/5, and the majority are easy shots. So he doesn't need to make any crazy saves. To me, I judge a keeper on the goals he concedes and whether he could do any better on them. There are only a handful of the 32 we've let in so far in the league I would pin directly on Will. He's been steady. If some call that average, fine. But average is good enough. Yes, there are of course other factors to judge a goalie on, but they are very subjective.

Yes, Benda looked excellent yesterday. But then, he was plucked from Germany as a high riser by Swansea, so clearly has something about him. He's been raised in strong academies where the goalies probably get high standards of coaching.

Jaaskelainen probably got as long as he did at Bolton partially down to being the son of a former legend. But the fact is, he was cut loose and nobody wanted him until we picked him up. We signed him, polished him up a bit and he is now coping ok in our first team. If he was an academy graduate who we spent years and lots of money developing, I'd want more from him. But he was a free agent signing, is probably earning a meager salary. It's a no lose situation for me. If he does develop and improve in the next 12 months, we'll have a good asset on our hands. And if he doesn't prove good enough, we can cut our losses in 18 months time and move on.

As for him this season, I can deal with the issues he's presenting because of his age and lack of experience. He has no mentor figure and who knows how good Barber actually is at coaching. Yes, the coming for crosses thing is an issue, but it doesn't seem to be having a huge week in week out effect on the defence. Plus, given how in flux the CBs have been all season, I don't blame Will for being a bit unsure at times.

 

[dannyc5]

To be fair, I did say I am not writing Will off, and you have echoed many of my criticisms of him.

 

[Agombar stool]

What do Crewe fans think of Ng? I’ve been impressed by him in both games this season (he loves a nutmeg!) but yesterday he lost his rag a bit and I thought he went down a bit too easy, which in a tough game showed a level of weakness. Don’t get me wrong, he is clearly a talented boy but possibly a bit naive to move up a level yet?

 

[E10rifle]

Seems a basic concept to grasp but a lot of people seem convinced we'll now tumble down the league.

F-I-R-T-H-Y is a basic bitch, to be fair.

 

[Big Bird]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1216313874997284864

What a goal that is by the way.

 

[Crewelad87]

Brilliant finish but you can tell Wintle isn't centre back. A natural centre back is in the right position and just heads that clear.

 

[Big Bird]

Brilliant finish but you can tell Wintle isn't centre back. A natural centre back is in the right position and just heads that clear.

Yeah agreed. He's got caught out by not having a defenders instinct to drop a few yards before the ball is played.

 

[dannyc5]

Hmmm I'm not convinced. I think it was heading straight to him, then the wind took it away. And he probs would have expected it to hold up in the wind but it never did.