Just back

An entertaining and enjoyable game despite the result.

Today was a season defining game for me,having had ten games to gel and at home against one of the frontrunners.Think we look a mid table side to be honest and still a work in progress.Too good to go down but not good enough to challenge for the top spots.

If you are a team on a bit of a wobble,like Wrexham,then a good place to visit and ge back on track is Blundell Park because we are bound to give you a goal at least and today was no different.Free header from a corner.He didn't even make a good contact and it looped over a stranded goalie.

We get ourselves back in the game with an excellent finish from Hearn but never pushed on from there despite having some good spells of pressure.

Came out second half and really took the game to them but failed to make a breakthrough.They then started to knock the ball around in midfield and pulling us all over the place,which eventually led to their second from some good possession.At 1-2,Disley had a great chance to equalise but hesitated when he should have shot and within minutes we were 1-3 down and chasing shadows.

Their midfield was a notch above ours,especially the wide men.Our wide men just don't cut the mustard for me and neither has any end product.The only player getting any good crosses in was Hearn,who was MOM by a country mile and gets better with every game.

We are a way off challenging at the top but some good signs are there.

Two key points for me which changed the game,

half time...we were on top at that point and looking comfortable , their manager did the business at half time ours didnt

Disley through on goal at 1-2..dallied..chance gone and very shortly after they hit the third


disappointed in the management today as it was clear after half time they had upped it and had the better hand but they did not react until the third went in.

Aint going to beat about the bush, we did not deserve to lose 3 -1, and for those morons who boo 'If yer dont facking like it, dont come'  
UTMM

As much as I like eagle for his quality that he has and serge for effort and blind enthusiasm I can't help thinking that they will never be players that really pose a threat to teams and create goals on a consistent basis . Wingers make goals in any successful team . The sooner we find out and out wingers who can consistently beat a man and put in a decent cross we won't do fack all !

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

As much as I like eagle for his quality that he has and serge for effort and blind enthusiasm I can't help thinking that they will never be players that really pose a threat to teams and create goals on a consistent basis . Wingers make goals in any successful team . The sooner we find out and out wingers who can consistently beat a man and put in a decent cross we won't do fack all !

Agreed.They just don't get enough crosses in.

Agree with ginnywings.

First half we edged it but they upped their game after that. Their central three were quality that you dont normally see at this level. Keates, Fowler and Harris are all on the small side but can really play. Technically better than anything we have got. Created and scored two excellent 2nd half goals.

We lack creativity and I was very dissapointed with Coulson when he came on. His body language had 'can't be arsed' written all over it which isnt something i could have directed at him previously.

Quoted from Kris Mustampa

Agree with ginnywings.

First half we edged it but they upped their game after that. Their central three were quality that you dont normally see at this level. Keates, Fowler and Harris are all on the small side but can really play. Technically better than anything we have got. Created and scored two excellent 2nd half goals.

We lack creativity and I was very dissapointed with Coulson when he came on. His body language had 'can't be arsed' written all over it which isnt something i could have directed at him previously.

Much like Elding.

Just a quick analysis, Eagle on the ball wasn't brilliant, but his delivery from set pieces was worth having him on the pitch for! We looked dangerous at every free-kick and corner. Elding is an absolute weak link up front (although Fluffy Duffy aint much better) he doesn't win the ball, and doesn't worry strikers, and the shot he had from 25 yards when he had free men just summed him up. Hearn was spot on and Disley looks to be a class act in the middle, I didn't think Church showed much today and Serge just couldn't keep the ball anywhere near him!!! That said, we played some great football in the first 60 minutes, and its hard to believe we actually lost the match! But we WILL beat the lesser teams by playing like this, hope we can build on it and get a nice run going!

I'm moving to Spain on Wednesday so that's my last town match for the foreseeable future, Real Racing Club de Santander my new local team drew 0-0 with Real Madrid on Wednesday night, I just hope I can come back and still appreciate the Mighty Mariners in the future after seeing the Spanish style of football!

UTM

Can you blame coulson probably thinking what he has to do to get in the team despite scoring the other night

Mckeown - Looked a bit flappy at the ball at times, could've done a lot better with the first and that seemed to knock his confidence a bit. 6/10

Ridley - Green is a much better player, I like Ridley but he's too bloody slow. Looked slow even today against opponents who didn't look quick in the slightest. 6/10

Kempson - Did a good job and I dont believe that it's his or Pearsons fault that we are ran at so easily. The partnershiip at the back is looking stronger, but pace is a real issue. 7/10

Pearson - Few misplaced clearances but got his head everywhere and did pretty well. Again he is far too slow and not too great with his feet. 6/10

Wood - Had a good game, consistantly won the ball and did well at getting it away from danger, something he has struggled with recently. 7/10

Makofo - I'm going to be kind to him and say he was absoloutely diabolical. The guy has no brain and gets away with it in games because he'll do a few decent runs and get the odd cross in. Today he failed to do either, so many times he lost the ball. He NEVER seems to make the right decison, really does have the brain of a fish. 5/10

Church - I do like him, but i'm afraid its him or Disley, they cant both play together. Artus offers something much different which we need. Also, Church was billed as a tough tackling player, well im yet to see that!? He did alright today and did the right thing most of the time, but him and Disley left us so so exposed. 6/10

Disley - Missed a glorious chance for 2-2 and that was it, end of game. He too left us too exposed but attacked quite well, he plays better with Artus and I think people dont realise how much Artus gets about the pitch in comparison. 6/10

Eagle - Feel for him, he played okay but why the hell are we playing one of the most left footed players i've ever seen, on the right!? Scott and Hurst doing stupid experiments again, the lob sided midfield fiasco was one thing but this just defys stupidity?! Coulson is 10x better on the right than Eagle will ever be, he still cant cross but he has his work cut out when he's played in a daft position. 6/10

Elding - First half I actually thought he looked alright but second half, by god he was bad. He cant jump or seem to get into decent positions, so frustrating but he does seem to run about a bit. Thing is, he isn't a patch on Duffy and yet again the managers are making selection mistakes which means we are starting a game with our better players sat on the bench! I just knew as soon as he scored on Tuesday, despite having a good game, that he'd be playing today. Duffy came on and showed why Elding shouldn't be playing! 5/10

Hearn - Thrilled he got a goal and he was yet again everywhere today, Elding let him down badly at times and Disley ruined the chance that he laid onto him. Our best player by a flipping mile. 8/10

Subs;

Coulson - No time to make an impact and should've started

Artus Shouldve buried a chance late on, looks a classy player but always starts off slow. Again, should've started.

Duffy Obviously logical that our top scorer and best winner of the ball up top is sat on the bench until your 3-1 down with 7 minutes to go...Outrageous decison by Penn and Teller.

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

As much as I like eagle for his quality that he has and serge for effort and blind enthusiasm I can't help thinking that they will never be players that really pose a threat to teams and create goals on a consistent basis . Wingers make goals in any successful team . The sooner we find out and out wingers who can consistently beat a man and put in a decent cross we won't do fack all !

I realy think your right`IMHO  thee team looked better but why play eagle and why was our best player left on the bench riddle for me should have his name on the bench for good or given the booth how we missed Green Disney was like a headless chicken we will be lucky to stay in the top half.

Quoted from Codswede

Just a quick analysis, Eagle on the ball wasn't brilliant, but his delivery from set pieces was worth having him on the pitch for! We looked dangerous at every free-kick and corner. Elding is an absolute weak link up front (although Fluffy Duffy aint much better) he doesn't win the ball, and doesn't worry strikers, and the shot he had from 25 yards when he had free men just summed him up. Hearn was spot on and Disley looks to be a class act in the middle, I didn't think Church showed much today and Serge just couldn't keep the ball anywhere near him!!! That said, we played some great football in the first 60 minutes, and its hard to believe we actually lost the match! But we WILL beat the lesser teams by playing like this, hope we can build on it and get a nice run going!

I'm moving to Spain on Wednesday so that's my last town match for the foreseeable future, Real Racing Club de Santander my new local team drew 0-0 with Real Madrid on Wednesday night, I just hope I can come back and still appreciate the Mighty Mariners in the future after seeing the Spanish style of football!

UTM

Adios amigo.

I'm sure watching Spanish top flight footy in the sunshine will be a lot harder than watching our beloved Mariners.

We need to close down opponents far quicker when we lose possession. Decision making in and around the final third needs improving. Makofo beat their defender hands down all game then nothing with the ball when a killer pass was on several times. Were not far off being a decent team, however we need an outlet wide right who can get round defenders. Hearn needs a strike partner ASAP that he can feed off!

Quoted from Codswede

Just a quick analysis, Eagle on the ball wasn't brilliant, but his delivery from set pieces was worth having him on the pitch for! We looked dangerous at every free-kick and corner. Elding is an absolute weak link up front (although Fluffy Duffy aint much better) he doesn't win the ball, and doesn't worry strikers, and the shot he had from 25 yards when he had free men just summed him up. Hearn was spot on and Disley looks to be a class act in the middle, I didn't think Church showed much today and Serge just couldn't keep the ball anywhere near him!!! That said, we played some great football in the first 60 minutes, and its hard to believe we actually lost the match! But we WILL beat the lesser teams by playing like this, hope we can build on it and get a nice run going!

I'm moving to Spain on Wednesday so that's my last town match for the foreseeable future, Real Racing Club de Santander my new local team drew 0-0 with Real Madrid on Wednesday night, I just hope I can come back and still appreciate the Mighty Mariners in the future after seeing the Spanish style of football!

UTM

Really? i thought our midfield duo both played well! And i've just realized who you are! The wingers were both poor today, they're both one footed and playing on the wrong wing means when they cut in they get crowded out. We matched them until they scored the second, then we gave them too much space. why do people boo and cheer subs sarcastically, it doesn't help when you're chasing the game!

i sat in N79 in the mainstand, 1st half we looked good i thought. 1st goal good corner nobody jumped at all and the person on the line didnt make much attempt to stop the ball from entering the net, elding was onside in my opionon, 2nd goal a good pass by disley to find him and a good finish with the outsdie of his boot, i dont think connell would of scored that, their 2nd goal, wood could of done better, so could of disley to hit it out, and when the player who scored went forward nobody went too him, their 3rd goal was just a catalouge of errors, kempson pearson wood church disley and ridley just stood there all in a great big bundle and he just hit in, and how the intercourse didnt we score in that scramble? instead of blasting in the shot church just tapped it, and makofo couldnt control a player on fifa let alone the football. who agrees?

i thought we were excrement today bar one or two ten minute periods..

everytime wrexham went forward i felt they were going to score..

the abuse elding got was totally out of order i didnt hear anyone giving rob eagle abuse and he had a far worse game..

the club is a mess from top to serge makofo..

Quoted from aaron rattray

i sat in N79 in the mainstand, 1st half we looked good i thought. 1st goal good corner nobody jumped at all and the person on the line didnt make much attempt to stop the ball from entering the net, elding was onside in my opionon, 2nd goal a good pass by disley to find him and a good finish with the outsdie of his boot, i dont think connell would of scored that, their 2nd goal, wood could of done better, so could of disley to hit it out, and when the player who scored went forward nobody went too him, their 3rd goal was just a catalouge of errors, kempson pearson wood church disley and ridley just stood there all in a great big bundle and he just hit in, and how the intercourse didnt we score in that scramble? instead of blasting in the shot church just tapped it, and makofo couldnt control a player on fifa let alone the football. who agrees?

I've just clicked on your facebook, your real, my god....

Brad woods 5th yellow card, does he miss kiddy game?

Quoted from bradzmilne

Brad woods 5th yellow card, does he miss kiddy game?

Yep.

Wasn't a foul or a yellow IMO

[quote=799]An entertaining and enjoyable game despite the result.

Today was a season defining game for me,having had ten games to gel and at home against one of the frontrunners.Think we look a mid table side to be honest and still a work in progress.Too good to go down but not good enough to challenge for the top spots.

If you are a team on a bit of a wobble,like Wrexham,then a good place to visit and ge back on track is Blundell Park because we are bound to give you a goal at least and today was no different.Free header from a corner.He didn't even make a good contact and it looped over a stranded goalie.

We get ourselves back in the game with an excellent finish from Hearn but never pushed on from there despite having some good spells of pressure.

Came out second half and really took the game to them but failed to make a breakthrough.They then started to knock the ball around in midfield and pulling us all over the place,which eventually led to their second from some good possession.At 1-2,Disley had a great chance to equalise but hesitated when he should have shot and within minutes we were 1-3 down and chasing shadows.

Their midfield was a notch above ours,especially the wide men.Our wide men just don't cut the mustard for me and neither has any end product.The only player getting any good crosses in was Hearn,who was MOM by a country mile and gets better with every game.

We are a way off challenging at the top but some good signs are there.[/quote


Thanks ginny, for some one like me who can not get to most home games, I value your comments.

Quoted from ginnywings

Yep.

Wasn't a foul or a yellow IMO

Referee probably considered it as "excessive force" i think is the phrase, used to be called a hard tackle !!

We always seem to lose when we get a few more through the gate...

Anyway, we didn't deserve to lose 3-1. I'm sick of saying things like that when we lose but we were the better side for the majority of the game. Wrexham didn't have many chances when you take away the goals we scored. If you keep leaking goals though, it doesn't matter how well you've played. Disley was very good in midfield, and Church did exactly what he was signed for. Hearn did well up front and I'm really chuffed for him to get his first goal.

I definitely agree about the comments people are making about the wingers though. All three of them have certain qualities on the pitch but they're just not that good in their roles. Makofo was frustrating today, he's got so much ability when it comes to running with the ball but once he gets into the right positions, he doesn't do enough. Eagle's a clever player but doesn't really have too many winger qualities. I'd like to see him a bit more centrally.

Not sure what to think really, a bit unlucky ?

Wrexham looked a completely different side 2nd half !
Credit to them.

Not knocking individuals but don't think the defence looks secure - it certainly didn't vs Kettering.
3rd goal summed it up for me - we drop way deep, they play it into feet and the runner punishes us.
That said, thought Churchy was excellent today.

Think Hurst is right we played well and need to be more ruthless - Wrexham looked poor 1st half ! Unlucky not to be 2-1 up.

A bit suprised we went 4-4-2 against 4-3-3 - there's no doubt Serge put defences on the back foot, but lord, talk about no end product, think he's got to be super-sub material from now on.

Thought Eagle, Hearn, Wood all did well.

Disley too but why didn't he hit his chance first time ?  

Think the managers were a bit slow to remove Serge and Elding.

Noticed Coulo came on and looked like he's fit in the hole but was told to go left ?
I don't see the point in that at all.

Anyway, disappoiting result and a fair performance with some good football but I just get the impression any half decent side will tear our defence to shreds.

Is the season over ?
Seen enough not to write us off yet but said all year we need to start winning convincigly away to achieve any kind of surge.

theres the proof, i am real

Mckeown - 6/10

Ridley - 6/10

Kempson -  7/10

Pearson -  6/10

Wood - 6/10

Makofo - 4/10

Church - . 6/10

Disley - 7/10

Eagle - 6/10

Elding - 3/10

Hearn -  8/10

My first game of the season thought we should have had a draw but we were at fault for our own downfall by not stopping the 2 second half attacks they had.  They were obviously a better technical team  than us and never let us settle on the ball unlike they way we stood off.  Was disappointed in Makofo after all the hype appalling in the first half average in the second half, all running no end result. As for Elding I really hoped the games he's getting would mean I would see a good game out of him,he was one of the worst I have seen at Blundell Park.  Overall on the two I can see why Fenty said Makofo was a disaster signing and why the fans dislike Elding.

Quoted from 1600

Not sure what to think really, a bit unlucky ?

Wrexham looked a completely different side 2nd half !
Credit to them.

Not knocking individuals but don't think the defence looks secure - it certainly didn't vs Kettering.
3rd goal summed it up for me - we drop way deep, they play it into feet and the runner punishes us.
That said, thought Churchy was excellent today.

Think Hurst is right we played well and need to be more ruthless - Wrexham looked poor 1st half ! Unlucky not to be 2-1 up.

A bit suprised we went 4-4-2 against 4-3-3 - there's no doubt Serge put defences on the back foot, but lord, talk about no end product, think he's got to be super-sub material from now on.

Thought Eagle, Hearn, Wood all did well.

Disley too but why didn't he hit his chance first time ?  

Think the managers were a bit slow to remove Serge and Elding.

Noticed Coulo came on and looked like he's fit in the hole but was told to go left ?
I don't see the point in that at all.

Anyway, disappoiting result and a fair performance with some good football but I just get the impression any half decent side will tear our defence to shreds.

Is the season over ?
Seen enough not to write us off yet but said all year we need to start winning convincigly away to achieve any kind of surge.

Wrexham did tear our defence to bits.We had many situations like the ones they scored from and made the wrong choices every time.

Quoted from grimsby pete

[quote=799]An entertaining and enjoyable game despite the result.

Today was a season defining game for me,having had ten games to gel and at home against one of the frontrunners.Think we look a mid table side to be honest and still a work in progress.Too good to go down but not good enough to challenge for the top spots.

If you are a team on a bit of a wobble,like Wrexham,then a good place to visit and ge back on track is Blundell Park because we are bound to give you a goal at least and today was no different.Free header from a corner.He didn't even make a good contact and it looped over a stranded goalie.

We get ourselves back in the game with an excellent finish from Hearn but never pushed on from there despite having some good spells of pressure.

Came out second half and really took the game to them but failed to make a breakthrough.They then started to knock the ball around in midfield and pulling us all over the place,which eventually led to their second from some good possession.At 1-2,Disley had a great chance to equalise but hesitated when he should have shot and within minutes we were 1-3 down and chasing shadows.

Their midfield was a notch above ours,especially the wide men.Our wide men just don't cut the mustard for me and neither has any end product.The only player getting any good crosses in was Hearn,who was MOM by a country mile and gets better with every game.

We are a way off challenging at the top but some good signs are there.[/quote


Thanks ginny, for some one like me who can not get to most home games, I value your comments.

Thanks for the thanks.

As an exile, I would love to read something more positive.

From what I've heard & read, it's pretty clear that the managers are about as much cop as the ex-chairman.

Quoted from ginnywings

Wrexham did tear our defence to bits.

I know, that was my point - they looked half decent in the 2nd half.

Anyone have a good view of our disallowed goal because it look onside from where I was?

I thought eagle was the only one today who looked to link the midfield with the attack and defence today as he is often available to feet and regularly looks towards the strikers feet, his put plenty of crosses into good areas we just had no one attacking them.

I think town are very long ball and were undone by another better team today, they kept the ball nice and took the goals well, we cant defend and we have no plan b after the hoof doesn't work. You cant fault town for effort but they are just not good enough and lacking in any real quality, i find it hard to see us troubling the top half of the table this season and i feel like we have taken a backwards step from last season.

Quoted from aaron rattray

i sat in N79 in the mainstand, 1st half we looked good i thought. 1st goal good corner nobody jumped at all and the person on the line didnt make much attempt to stop the ball from entering the net, elding was onside in my opionon, 2nd goal a good pass by disley to find him and a good finish with the outsdie of his boot, i dont think connell would of scored that, their 2nd goal, wood could of done better, so could of disley to hit it out, and when the player who scored went forward nobody went too him, their 3rd goal was just a catalouge of errors, kempson pearson wood church disley and ridley just stood there all in a great big bundle and he just hit in, and how the intercourse didnt we score in that scramble? instead of blasting in the shot church just tapped it, and makofo couldnt control a player on fifa let alone the football. who agrees?

I do.

Quoted from Codswede

Just a quick analysis, Eagle on the ball wasn't brilliant, but his delivery from set pieces was worth having him on the pitch for! We looked dangerous at every free-kick and corner. Elding is an absolute weak link up front (although Fluffy Duffy aint much better) he doesn't win the ball, and doesn't worry strikers, and the shot he had from 25 yards when he had free men just summed him up. Hearn was spot on and Disley looks to be a class act in the middle, I didn't think Church showed much today and Serge just couldn't keep the ball anywhere near him!!! That said, we played some great football in the first 60 minutes, and its hard to believe we actually lost the match! But we WILL beat the lesser teams by playing like this, hope we can build on it and get a nice run going!

Totally agree with you except for Church - worked his socks off !
Ok he's not creative but he did the basics well enough and I dread to think where we might have been without him.

I also think Eagle is getting some slightly harsh treatment - played 1 or 2 intelligent good passes and think Headingly is right.

Crosses weren't too bad today(got the feeling Eagle was told to make sure he got them in hence slightly overhitting them) but trouble can still often be we just sling it in there without actually picking out a man.

Quoted from pontoonlew

Church - I do like him, but i'm afraid its him or Disley, they cant both play together. Artus offers something much different which we need. Also, Church was billed as a tough tackling player, well im yet to see that!? He did alright today and did the right thing most of the time, but him and Disley left us so so exposed. 6/10

Disley - Missed a glorious chance for 2-2 and that was it, end of game. He too left us too exposed but attacked quite well, he plays better with Artus and I think people dont realise how much Artus gets about the pitch in comparison. 6/10

Generally, a superb analysis IMO - large chunks spot on.

Intrigued to know why you think it's a case of Church or Disley.
If you think Artus would have solved the problem Wrexham caused us in midfield today, I fear you're mistaken.
I think the real problem is a flat 4-4-2 that leaves big gaps.  

Quoted from pontoonlew

Eagle - Feel for him, he played okay but why the hell are we playing one of the most left footed players i've ever seen, on the right!?

A fair point but what's the alternative ? Coulson on the right ?!!
As I said, innefective wide players in a 4-4-2 is the problem against better passing teams - they get far too much time and space in the middle even WITH Church & Disley.

If you want to solve it, then 4-3-3 is the way (especially if teams like Wrexham are playing 4-3-3 and dominating the middle)

Quoted from pontoonlew

Artus Shouldve buried a chance late on, looks a classy player but always starts off slow. Again, should've started.

Thought he looked poor personally - fits into the "poser" category a bit like Elding for me.

Think Andy's comments are spot on.

Headingly the tactic seems to be hit it long(which tbf can put them under pressure when they're not defending in numbers) and then play in the final 3rd ?

Entertaining game for a "neutral", but I'm not that so it was very frustrating.  At 1-1 could only see us going on to win well, but as soon as the second half kicked off we seemed to drop 20 yards deeper, giving them space to play and stretching our midfield too much.  Was this a tactic?, or did they push us back?

Quoted from lee65

Entertaining game for a "neutral", but I'm not that so it was very frustrating.  At 1-1 could only see us going on to win well, but as soon as the second half kicked off we seemed to drop 20 yards deeper, giving them space to play and stretching our midfield too much.  Was this a tactic?, or did they push us back?

Not a tactic.They were just better than us and better sides push you back.

Quoted from we will return

Anyone have a good view of our disallowed goal because it look onside from where I was?

I sit at the osmond end of the main stand.

It was offside.

Were doing what we have done for the last ten years .............letting in cheap cheap goals and until this stops we will stay were we are forever!!!!

Quoted from MuddyWaters

As an exile, I would love to read something more positive.

From what I've heard & read, it's pretty clear that the managers are about as much cop as the ex-chairman.

I'm guessing after Ron Scotts outburst a couple of weeks ago they wanted to sign better players than they were able to , hence the signing of the likes of elding and Spencer .

Pity Robs no faking money .     If he had he could solve your defensive problems by signing a SPEEDY young central defender with passing ability  named Ward playing for Boston U  .    Was very despontent when Pearson left never thought our managers would manage to unearth a better player as they have done.

I am starting to wonder how u kept bloody 3000 clean sheets on the trot whatever it was bostonion i must admit

Quoted from bostonian

Pity Robs no faking money .     If he had he could solve your defensive problems by signing a SPEEDY young central defender with passing ability  named Ward playing for Boston U  .    Was very despontent when Pearson left never thought our managers would manage to unearth a better player as they have done.

The reports of Pearsons greatness by several of your brethren must mean that the standards in your league are considerably worse than this one and that's not saying much,cos this league is gash.

He's okay but a bit slow and limited IMO.

Quoted from moosey_club

Two key points for me which changed the game,

half time...we were on top at that point and looking comfortable , their manager did the business at half time ours didnt

Disley through on goal at 1-2..dallied..chance gone and very shortly after they hit the third


disappointed in the management today as it was clear after half time they had upped it and had the better hand but they did not react until the third went in.

What a very good point! Duffy won two headers in the first three minutes he was on the field which eclipsed Elding's zilch in 82 minutes comfortably. If the managers want to play the long ball then could we please have someone who can at least get off the ground?

Disley's WAS a game changing miss. He had at least two opportunities to bury a shot but nothing.

Who was it who decided to try to side foot the ball before the melee in the last minute of stoppage time? If ever a ball needed hammering it was that one.

Sums us up really. Everytime we have a choice of two or more options we appear to take the wrong one.

I cannot for the life of me understand the praise being heaped on our central midfielders. They were made to look distinctly average by Wrexham's small trio who simply passed the ball round them. The only mystery is how a club that seemingly only survived pre-season by having a whip round amongst fans can have kept hold of any of them.

Makofo continues to flatter to deceive. The one where he got a free kick after clearly kicking the ball too far in front of him was almost comical.

As Ginny says-the team has a distinctly mid-table feel about it.

Quoted from barralad

What a very good point! Duffy won two headers in the first three minutes he was on the field which eclipsed Elding's zilch in 82 minutes comfortably. If the managers want to play the long ball then could we please have someone who can at least get off the ground?

Disley's WAS a game changing miss. He had at least two opportunities to bury a shot but nothing.

Who was it who decided to try to side foot the ball before the melee in the last minute of stoppage time? If ever a ball needed hammering it was that one.

Sums us up really. Everytime we have a choice of two or more options we appear to take the wrong one.

I cannot for the life of me understand the praise being heaped on our central midfielders. They were made to look distinctly average by Wrexham's small trio who simply passed the ball round them. The only mystery is how a club that seemingly only survived pre-season by having a whip round amongst fans can have kept hold of any of them.

Makofo continues to flatter to deceive. The one where he got a free kick after clearly kicking the ball too far in front of him was almost comical.

As Ginny says-the team has a distinctly mid-table feel about it.

Not according to ratface and we know he is very knowledgeable about all things football...  

Anyway, the radio said it was Church and agreed with you...

Quoted from ginnywings

Agreed.They just don't get enough crosses in.

mmm, and us with big old fashioned centre forwards that thrive on decent quality crosses,im suprised someone hasn't mentioned this before(not). i sometimes wonder if weve got a gameplan.

Quoted from voice of reason

Not according to ratface and we know he is very knowledgeable about all things football...  

Anyway, the radio said it was Church and agreed with you...

no hang on, i said why did he tap it when he could of blasted it read my post again!

Quoted from barralad

What a very good point! Duffy won two headers in the first three minutes he was on the field which eclipsed Elding's zilch in 82 minutes comfortably. If the managers want to play the long ball then could we please have someone who can at least get off the ground?

Disley's WAS a game changing miss. He had at least two opportunities to bury a shot but nothing.

Who was it who decided to try to side foot the ball before the melee in the last minute of stoppage time? If ever a ball needed hammering it was that one.

Sums us up really. Everytime we have a choice of two or more options we appear to take the wrong one.

I cannot for the life of me understand the praise being heaped on our central midfielders. They were made to look distinctly average by Wrexham's small trio who simply passed the ball round them. The only mystery is how a club that seemingly only survived pre-season by having a whip round amongst fans can have kept hold of any of them.

Makofo continues to flatter to deceive. The one where he got a free kick after clearly kicking the ball too far in front of him was almost comical.

As Ginny says-the team has a distinctly mid-table feel about it.

Pretty much a spot on summary Barra.

That Church effort was pathetic.I said to my brother,that in mine or his playing days,either of us presented with that chance,would have hammered it with everything we had.Had we not scored someone would have got floored by the ball at least.

I said after Tuesday night that we lack decisiveness in both boxes and today summed it up just perfectly.What was Disley thinking of?A first time snap shot would have almost certainly brought the equaliser and much needed momentum.May have even gone on and won.

Nice jumper you had on today by the way.

Quoted from aaron rattray

no hang on, i said why did he tap it when he could of blasted it read my post again!

So you did ratface... My apologies...

Quoted from voice of reason

So you did ratface... My apologies...

its allright mate

Quoted from bladerunnner

mmm, and us with big old fashioned centre forwards that thrive on decent quality crosses,im suprised someone hasn't mentioned this before(not). i sometimes wonder if weve got a gameplan.

Our 3 "wingers" were inherited by Hinge and Bracket,so maybe that tied their hands a bit but i have been saying since the friendlies that we need at least one out and out winger who can get to the byline and put in good crosses with regularity.

I've never been impressed with Makofo since day one and nothing has changed my mind yet.Eagle has some good qualities but is neither fast enough or strong enough to get past the full back.Coulson has something about him but seems off the pace.It's another argument whether he is playing badly because he's not getting a regular game,or not getting a regular game because he's playing badly.

Quoted from bostonian

If he had he could solve your defensive problems by signing a SPEEDY young central defender with passing ability  named Ward playing for Boston U  .

We've already got one - Charlie I'Anson.

Quoted from barralad

I cannot for the life of me understand the praise being heaped on our central midfielders. They were made to look distinctly average by Wrexham

You've just answered your own question !  

PS Good post.

Just a thought on the general consensus here that Town are playing 'long ball'.

I don't think that is necessarily the plan but all teams at this level prepare and it has been noticeable for a while that teams are happy for Darren Kempson to be on the ball in our defence rather that the other centre half or our full backs. Kempson has many admirable centre half qualities but is not overly comfortable on the ball and is unlikely to want to play a 10 to 15 yard ball into the middle when it may get popped back to him. Therefore, he is likely to hit the channels and play 'safe' which is understandable.

Onto the season so far.

Interesting times to be a Town fan that is for sure! Barring a miraculous run of results it is hard to see Town mounting a creditable play-off challenge this season. I love the optimism that many fans have on this site but the facts are we concede too many and don't score enough. We are generally beating the teams in the lower half of the league and losing to the teams in the top half. We average 1.5 points per home game and less than 1 point away.

I feel the next 18 months will not be decided so much by the players as by the management. By that I mean that it would appear funding could be a real issue next season - to the point where GTFC going part time must be considered a strong possibility. If so, where do the managers stand? They are young and ambitious. Have they left Boston only to find themselves in the same position 18 months on?

As ever, only an opinion, but to the likes of Newfootballer, Rokerite etc please tell me what you are seeing that I am not which gives you the confidence that the ship is turning. I am not advocating a change in management as we need stability but I am concerned we will finish this season nearer the bottom than the top.  

The match has been well summed up above.  We continue to squander chances.  Wrexham were very clinical with their last 2 (good) goals. Wrexham upped their game and were better - but beatable.  We will play worse and win.

We need to make more of our player resources. We did not start with our best team. Again, the managers were slow to make substitutions.  Elding and Makeko should have been off earlier.

Another Wrexham move we did not counter - some 12 away fans and a drummer were trying to get into the main entrance between the Findus and Pontoon at the end of the match.  They looked friendly enough but not sure what they were trying to do.  Not very wise.  No plods or stewards around.  Anyone else see them?  Most were wearing red shirts.

I agree with what Liam Hearn said on RH today - we can beat anyone in this league (at home IMO) and today could have gone either way.

But I think you're right, we do concede too many.  
Pace in the defence is a definite issue but it's not like we're getting punished for long balls over the top.
We still defend too deep for me and we can look brittle - tbh we defended very poorly at times vs Kettering and got away with it !

Hope is going forward because we're creating more and more (when we've got the ball) and think Hearn is a top player but we need to find a consistent team that can support him and still don't think we've found the right formula yet -

Just think it's got to include Coulson somewhere(either midfield, behind the front 2 or up front) and for me that means doing away with 4-4-2.
The fact he looks cheesed off speaks volumes about what's wrong !
So does Eagle on the right....

Felt we were unfortunate to get nothing from the game and also felt we were the better side.

Having said that, we concede too many goals. We are weak in central defence IMO, didnt replace Atkinson with anyone of comparable quality and Garner still injured. We are always going to concede with Kempson at the back.

Quoted from 1600

I agree with what Liam Hearn said on RH today - we can beat anyone in this league (at home IMO) and today could have gone either way..

But the facts don't back you or Liam up 80s. When he said today 'we proved we can beat any one in this league' he was wrong. We lost.

We have played the top 4 - and not got a single point.

In fact, the league gives you a very strong guide as to how we will fare against any opposition. The highest team we have beaten is Cambridge Utd in 9th. The lowest we have lost to is Stockport in 14th.

Elding showed a total lack of skill and talent today and it showed, particularly in the second half.He should have been subbed for Duffy long before he actually was.

I'm amazed that anyone thought Town were better than Wrexham today, their attacking quality was superior to anything we could come up with, we had the home advantage, but still looked weaker

I think the game was pretty even, up until their second goal, which seemed to knock the stuffing out of us.  Heads visibly dropped when the third went in and there was never any danger of us getting anything out of the game.  

I've tried to be supportive of Elding, but today he was absolutely shite!  How must Duffy be feeling at the moment?  He won more in 8 minutes than Elding did in 80 ffs!  

Quoted from ginnywings

Not a tactic.They were just better than us and better sides push you back.

I disagree with you here. They certainly started the second half more brightly but, for me, it was less of a case of them pushing us back and more the fact that we weren't working hard enough. They may have passed the ball around well enough before their second goal, but we had 3 or 4 players nearby and not a single one of them was trying to close down or block the shot. We dominated their diminutive midfield during much of the first half by dint of plenty of running and hard work and just didn't continue this effort in the second half. In fact, the second goal was a good shot, but the defending for the third was, frankly, pathetic. The defenders themselves weren't too much at fault, but the midfield didn't bother to follow their runners, something that has been all too common this season.

I agree with most that the turning-point of the match was Disley's miss. Well, I say 'miss', but to miss you actually have to shoot in the first place. He was clean through, yet dithered ridiculously and failed to get close to having a shot with just the keeper to beat. An unforgivable 'miss' for an experienced player who is club captain.

Poor old Serge had one of those games where he could have played all day without doing much right. He fared a little better in the second half (after he had changed into sensible boots), but I'd like to know why he (and most of his teammates) never seem to put a proper bloody cross in even when they are past the last defender! Must have had a dozen occasions today where we failed to cross the ball when in a good position.

Elding did OK in the first half (looked offside for his 'goal' to me), but disappeared in the second. Disley did OK up until his 'miss', but fell to pieces after that. Hearn looks a threat but needs more support and is is frustrating that he has to keep moving out wide to pick up the ball.

Not wanting to be controversial, but McKeown seems to be considered a good keeper by most. However, though his kicking is good and he generally deals with crosses reasonably well, how many saves do you actually see him make? Their first goal may have been a free header, but the ball still looped (quite slowly) over McKeown's head and he was only stood about a yard off the line! Similarly, their second goal went in quite easily. Not sure if he had a chance with that one, however. He just seemed slow getting down towards the shot.

The big problem as I see it is that the team is completely lacking in 'leaders' - players who can lift their teammates when things are going badly. Other than a few shouters in defence, the midfield are as quiet as dormice. Disley is just not captain material for me. Unfortunately, neither are any of our other players, as far as I can tell. A distinct lack of balls on show today.

For me, Wrexham were OK, nothing much more. Their forwards weren't up to much, yet we still conceded three goals. Their defence looked very shaky, yet we only scored once. Reasonable players in midfield but they showed they could be bullied (as we did in the first half).

Just goes to show you don't need to be that good to do well in this division. You just need to be competent and consistent.

Quoted from Maringer

I disagree with you here. They certainly started the second half more brightly but, for me, it was less of a case of them pushing us back and more the fact that we weren't working hard enough. They may have passed the ball around well enough before their second goal, but we had 3 or 4 players nearby and not a single one of them was trying to close down or block the shot. We dominated their diminutive midfield during much of the first half by dint of plenty of running and hard work and just didn't continue this effort in the second half. In fact, the second goal was a good shot, but the defending for the third was, frankly, pathetic. The defenders themselves weren't too much at fault, but the midfield didn't bother to follow their runners, something that has been all too common this season.

I agree with most that the turning-point of the match was Disley's miss. Well, I say 'miss', but to miss you actually have to shoot in the first place. He was clean through, yet dithered ridiculously and failed to get close to having a shot with just the keeper to beat. An unforgivable 'miss' for an experienced player who is club captain.

Poor old Serge had one of those games where he could have played all day without doing much right. He fared a little better in the second half (after he had changed into sensible boots), but I'd like to know why he (and most of his teammates) never seem to put a proper bloody cross in even when they are past the last defender! Must have had a dozen occasions today where we failed to cross the ball when in a good position.

Elding did OK in the first half (looked offside for his 'goal' to me), but disappeared in the second. Disley did OK up until his 'miss', but fell to pieces after that. Hearn looks a threat but needs more support and is is frustrating that he has to keep moving out wide to pick up the ball.

Not wanting to be controversial, but McKeown seems to be considered a good keeper by most. However, though his kicking is good and he generally deals with crosses reasonably well, how many saves do you actually see him make? Their first goal may have been a free header, but the ball still looped (quite slowly) over McKeown's head and he was only stood about a yard off the line! Similarly, their second goal went in quite easily. Not sure if he had a chance with that one, however. He just seemed slow getting down towards the shot.

The big problem as I see it is that the team is completely lacking in 'leaders' - players who can lift their teammates when things are going badly. Other than a few shouters in defence, the midfield are as quiet as dormice. Disley is just not captain material for me. Unfortunately, neither are any of our other players, as far as I can tell. A distinct lack of balls on show today.

For me, Wrexham were OK, nothing much more. Their forwards weren't up to much, yet we still conceded three goals. Their defence looked very shaky, yet we only scored once. Reasonable players in midfield but they showed they could be bullied (as we did in the first half).

Just goes to show you don't need to be that good to do well in this division. You just need to be competent and consistent.

Your entitled to your opinion but i thought Wrexham were better than us in all departments.The league table shows that if my argument fails to.

Don't think they started the second half brightly at all myself and Town had a really good spell from 45 to 60 mins,but failed to trouble their keeper in that spell.They then started to pull us all over the place with some excellent midfield play and worked 2 very good goals.They just made us look like we weren't working hard enough because we were mostly chasing shadows from minute 60 to 90.

All about opinions i suppose.

Yeah, you're right about opinions - I didn't think we played that well between 45 and 60 minutes!

Their second goal was a good shot - well-hit and well-placed, but nobody was closing them down at the time as we'd conceded the initiative by this point. Their third goal was just dreadful defending from our team. Nobody followed the runners.

As so typical for much of this season, we had enough chances to comfortably score a few goals but only scored once. They, on the other hand, scored from practically every good chance they had.

Makofo - I'm going to be kind to him and say he was absoloutely diabolical. The guy has no brain and gets away with it in games because he'll do a few decent runs and get the odd cross in. Today he failed to do either, so many times he lost the ball. He NEVER seems to make the right decison, really does have the brain of a fish. 5/10

I loved that!!  

Quoted from gtfc71

But the facts don't back you or Liam up 80s. When he said today 'we proved we can beat any one in this league' he was wrong. We lost.

We have played the top 4 - and not got a single point.

In fact, the league gives you a very strong guide as to how we will fare against any opposition. The highest team we have beaten is Cambridge Utd in 9th. The lowest we have lost to is Stockport in 14th.

When have facts, league tables or statistics ever been any gauge for the future with GTFC ?
Fact said we beat Crawley 1-0 and Luton 2-0 but we still ended up miles behind them !  
Statistics are so misleading that to fit any theories around them is pure and utter folly IMO.

Personally, I feel S&H are slowly building something of potential here (hopefully they will have time).
So far I have no reason to think they won't eventually get it right - recently I've seen a lot more to fel encouraged about than not.
That's a hell of a lot more than I could say about Woods after 4 points from 6 ! (as I pointed to at the time)

It's about performances and improvement, not results.

Quoted from somersetmariner

Makofo - I'm going to be kind to him and say he was absoloutely diabolical. The guy has no brain and gets away with it in games because he'll do a few decent runs and get the odd cross in. Today he failed to do either, so many times he lost the ball. He NEVER seems to make the right decison, really does have the brain of a fish. 5/10

I loved that!!  

If I was a betting man, I would say he was related to Atko Akpro, lots of heart and flair but no end product  

I thought we were much better than Wrexham in most departments but they had something we didn't - killer instinct. I can only remember them having 4 chances in the game and they scored with 3. We had loads more chances but with Church side-footing it from a yard out, Disley deciding not to shoot with a goal gaping in front of him and the keeper being allowed to make a couple of good saves, we ended up losing a game we often dominated.
Though their no 7 was very good. the kind of player we haven't had for years. Energetic, positive, skilful and made good decisions. I'm not a football anorak so can't be bothered to look up his name.

Perhaps if Eagle or Coulson were ever allowed to play in their natural positions they may create a little more.

Quoted from Havelock the Dane

Though their no 7 was very good. the kind of player we haven't had for years. Energetic, positive, skilful and made good decisions. I'm not a football anorak so can't be bothered to look up his name.

I think he had some sort of eastern European-sounding name. Can't be bothered to look it up, either.  

He was kept pretty quiet by Ridley in the first half but, second half, he started dropping deeper and moving inside to pick up the ball and made a right nuisance of himself.

first time i have been to the park in a while, must say i was pleased until their 2nd, although we wasnt the better side i had a feeling we could have come away with something, but after they scored the 2nd we seemed to drop off, heads went down etc, and they just passed us of the park..

we lack in every department, and on yesterdays evidence no-way will we make the play offs. Makofo?????????????? whats that all about, great play one second urine poor the next, he lost the ball when he should have kept it, and kept it when he should have lost it, very frustrating player. there are a few who need a good kick up the bottom, abit like the last 4-5 seasons, but there are slight signs of improvment from some of the players, but we may not have enough time to re-build properly, it should have happened last season instead of "going all out" for promotion.

came away disappointed with the performance but not the result... Mr bet fred gave me 20/1 for a 3-1 away win

Tentative MOM for me: Bradley Wood.  Got stuck in as always, didn't think the booking should have been a booking, and have noticed (Tuesday as well as yesterday) that he is getting more balls to his team-mates, which is always a bonus.  The Hurst interview has put some doubts in my mind about Brad's defensive performance, however.   Hurst said that Ridley was not to blame for any of the goals, as none of them came down his side.  Whether Bradley is implicated by this, I'm not sure.  Anyway, if our players are allowed to be tentative in front of goal, then I'm allowed to be tentative about my MOM.

Serge was frightening their players early on, resulting in one of them getting booked.  He was doing all right.  But, as Hursty said, Serge didn't capitalise and make the most of his opponent's  booking.  I did think I saw him diving several times, or trying to make a meal out of what were petty little fouls.  Didn't like to see it and it didn't work, if getting the other player sent off was the intention.

I don't think Church and Disley in midfield are too bad - we've certainly had worse.  I'd like to see them be a little more dominant, but there's potential for improvement, if the situation with the club gives them time for that.

My friend always has kittens about James McKeown's positioning, thinking that he stands too far forward for much of the game.  The worry is that if the opposition gains possession unexpectedly it would be an easy matter to loop it over his head.  Doesn't really bother me, though.  (I like to live dangerously   )

Don't like Eagle on the right.  He had a great opportunity for a shot on Tuesday night, but fluffed it horribly with his right foot and he just doesn't look comfortable there.  

Individually (with one or two exceptions) I don't think the players are too bad, but I don't yet have confidence in them as a team.  They do have spells when they seem to be battling and working together, but at other times they just look fragile and a bit disjointed.  There is potential for improvement, but we had that last season and it was thrown away and a whole new clearout was deemed necessary - for me, that was very damaging, and I agree with Headingley when he says we're slightly worse now as a result.  But anyway, onwards and hopefully upwards - we've just got to stick with it and hope that we still have a club at the end of the season.

Quoted from ponnyfan

Elding showed a total lack of skill and talent today and it showed, particularly in the second half.He should have been subbed for Duffy long before he actually was.

That my friend was obvious to every man and his dog, apart from the managers,  too little too late

Quoted from ginnywings

Adios amigo.

I'm sure watching Spanish top flight footy in the sunshine will be a lot harder than watching our beloved Mariners.

From what I found out from trips to that area it won't be much different in the winter on the north facing Biscay coast to what we endure in GY on the east facing
North Sea coast. It can be pretty cold in the winter so I wouldn't think you can expect too much weather wise

On the footballing front it might be a different matter with Santander but who knows, Town could surprise us all because it is still only September after all and there are some signs that the team are starting to play as a unit and not just a bunch of individuals (apart from Serge of course    )

If we're still 17th in say February I'll reconsider but for now there's a long way to go before this league gets in to some sort of order....Braintree and Gateshead still being close to the top for example. I don't think that will last for the whole season

Anyway hasta la vista Matty....

Quoted from Maringer

I disagree with you here. They certainly started the second half more brightly but, for me, it was less of a case of them pushing us back and more the fact that we weren't working hard enough. They may have passed the ball around well enough before their second goal, but we had 3 or 4 players nearby and not a single one of them was trying to close down or block the shot. We dominated their diminutive midfield during much of the first half by dint of plenty of running and hard work and just didn't continue this effort in the second half. In fact, the second goal was a good shot, but the defending for the third was, frankly, pathetic. The defenders themselves weren't too much at fault, but the midfield didn't bother to follow their runners, something that has been all too common this season.

I agree with most that the turning-point of the match was Disley's miss. Well, I say 'miss', but to miss you actually have to shoot in the first place. He was clean through, yet dithered ridiculously and failed to get close to having a shot with just the keeper to beat. An unforgivable 'miss' for an experienced player who is club captain.

Poor old Serge had one of those games where he could have played all day without doing much right. He fared a little better in the second half (after he had changed into sensible boots), but I'd like to know why he (and most of his teammates) never seem to put a proper bloody cross in even when they are past the last defender! Must have had a dozen occasions today where we failed to cross the ball when in a good position.

Elding did OK in the first half (looked offside for his 'goal' to me), but disappeared in the second. Disley did OK up until his 'miss', but fell to pieces after that. Hearn looks a threat but needs more support and is is frustrating that he has to keep moving out wide to pick up the ball.

Not wanting to be controversial, but McKeown seems to be considered a good keeper by most. However, though his kicking is good and he generally deals with crosses reasonably well, how many saves do you actually see him make? Their first goal may have been a free header, but the ball still looped (quite slowly) over McKeown's head and he was only stood about a yard off the line! Similarly, their second goal went in quite easily. Not sure if he had a chance with that one, however. He just seemed slow getting down towards the shot.

The big problem as I see it is that the team is completely lacking in 'leaders' - players who can lift their teammates when things are going badly. Other than a few shouters in defence, the midfield are as quiet as dormice. Disley is just not captain material for me. Unfortunately, neither are any of our other players, as far as I can tell. A distinct lack of balls on show today.

For me, Wrexham were OK, nothing much more. Their forwards weren't up to much, yet we still conceded three goals. Their defence looked very shaky, yet we only scored once. Reasonable players in midfield but they showed they could be bullied (as we did in the first half).

Just goes to show you don't need to be that good to do well in this division. You just need to be competent and consistent.

I don't get this sympathy for Makofo. The guy is absolute dunnage . He doesn't have a footballing brain ,never looks up for support ,can't cross and thinks he can run through defenders. I lost count the number of times yesterday when he had the option of playing a square ball to a supporting mid-fielder and running into space but chose to try to beat three defenders and inevitably lost the ball. He maybe usefull as an impact player later in the game ( although I doubt it ) but for me I would never ever have him in the starting line-up . The fact that he was made available for transfer at the end of last season and nobody came for him in the summer sums up his ability to me.

He wins a lot of free kicks though, which should lead to more if we had any invention, or decent dead ball takers (this doesn't mean I disagree with most of the above)

Connell takes a mean free kick and corner, shame

Quoted from rancido

I don't get this sympathy for Makofo. The guy is absolute dunnage . He doesn't have a footballing brain ,never looks up for support ,can't cross and thinks he can run through defenders. I lost count the number of times yesterday when he had the option of playing a square ball to a supporting mid-fielder and running into space but chose to try to beat three defenders and inevitably lost the ball. He maybe usefull as an impact player later in the game ( although I doubt it ) but for me I would never ever have him in the starting line-up . The fact that he was made available for transfer at the end of last season and nobody came for him in the summer sums up his ability to me.

The fact that he gives his all is probably a bonus for me as we've had too many players in recent years who can't be arsed to put the effort in. As others have mentioned, he wins lots of free-kicks and corners through his efforts and he does offer some much-needed pace to our generally slow team. Just a pity we never do anything with the set pieces!

During the first half-dozen or so games of the season, Makofo was one of our best players (not saying much, perhaps) but he was, indeed, hopeless yesterday. I just wish the managers would tell him to cross the ball whenever he beats his full-back. It's all very well trying to play the ball inside but crosses stretch defences and give you the opportunity to pick up the clearances. At this level, you are going to score more goals from forcing the opposition into mistakes rather than good football - Disley's wasted opportunity a case in point yesterday as our pressure on the ball forced an error to give him the chance which was pathetically fluffed.

I'm undecided whether or not Serge should be used as a 'super' sub. Eagle certainly seems to have been playing decently since coming back into the team but Coulson's form this season has been garbage, honestly, so I'm not sure dropping Makofo out of the team will be an improvement. This assumes he plays rather better than he did yesterday, of course, as this was his worst performance for us by a mile!

Quoted from Super Clive

Connell takes a mean free kick and corner, shame

There was a couple of times yesterday when we won kicks within shooting range I was actually fondly remembering Darren Barnard!

Quoted from Maringer

The fact that he gives his all is probably a bonus for me as we've had too many players in recent years who can't be arsed to put the effort in. As others have mentioned, he wins lots of free-kicks and corners through his efforts and he does offer some much-needed pace to our generally slow team. Just a pity we never do anything with the set pieces!

During the first half-dozen or so games of the season, Makofo was one of our best players (not saying much, perhaps) but he was, indeed, hopeless yesterday. I just wish the managers would tell him to cross the ball whenever he beats his full-back. It's all very well trying to play the ball inside but crosses stretch defences and give you the opportunity to pick up the clearances. At this level, you are going to score more goals from forcing the opposition into mistakes rather than good football - Disley's wasted opportunity a case in point yesterday as our pressure on the ball forced an error to give him the chance which was pathetically fluffed.

I'm undecided whether or not Serge should be used as a 'super' sub. Eagle certainly seems to have been playing decently since coming back into the team but Coulson's form this season has been garbage, honestly, so I'm not sure dropping Makofo out of the team will be an improvement. This assumes he plays rather better than he did yesterday, of course, as this was his worst performance for us by a mile!

They probably do - they surely see what we do BUT getting Makofo to listen is perhaps a different matter ! The facts are that maybe Makofo does stretch defenders but he never capitalises on this which , to me anyway , questions his ability to think like a footballer.

Just back - lost to the better team and we looked a long way short of a playoff team

Thought Hearn was excellent again and very pleased he is off the mark other than that it was 5 and 6 out 10s all round.

Bit late posting on this so apologies if I'm saying what's already been said.

I thought first half we were the better side and deserved to go in at half time ahead. A big factor in this was Church IMO. He was quicker to push out to their midfielders and close them down than any central midfielder we've had in the last 4/5 years since Bolland. He picked up a lot of loose balls and was first to more 2nd balls than any of our current midfielders are capable of getting to.

I thought most if not all of our good play and chances created came from Eagle down the right, normally feeding Hearn. Thought Disley did well in the first half too and showed several flashes of his class.

I've not heard the post match interviews but was interested to read on this thread about H or S saying Makofo didn't take advantage of his marker being on a yellow card from quite early in the game. This is spot on. That right back was absolute junk as well. Makofo just had to keep getting the ball and running at him. The problem is, as we all know, Makofo has no football brain whatsoever and you can tell he has no idea what he's going to do with the ball as he runs up towards the full back. Serge did nothing today, a few runs that looked positive but no end product to any of them, or anything he did. Shouldn't start the next match.

Sloppy goal to concede but great finish by Hearn to get us deservedly level.

Second half - I said to my mate after 5 minutes of the 2nd half that you could tell Wrexham had stepped it up a bit. The three lads in the middle for Wrexham started to get hold of the ball and pass it. And one of their goals (the 3rd I think) was a top class team goal with the passing and movement.

We were still well in the game until they got the third goal which killed us off really. That said, Disley should have scored after Hearn put him through - should have hit it first time. And Church should have done better with his 'pass' from ten yards into the bodies on the line - should have toe-poked it if he was confident swinging the left foot at it.

We can take a few things from the game though. First half we were very good. Hearn off the mark with a cracking finish. Church's first half performance will stretch to 90minute performances as he gets match fitness up over the next few weeks.

Going forward - I'd start Eagle and Coulson on the flanks on Tuesday. Church and Disley to carry on in the middle. Bring Duffy back in to partner Hearn up front. Elding doesn't have any confidence at the minute and isn't having the best time. Although I wish people wouldn't give him so much stick, look at his goalscoring record in this league and the one above you fools he can score plenty of goals. Don't crucify him for not settling into a new team in the first 2 months.

Quoted from Tommy

Bit late posting on this so apologies if I'm saying what's already been said.

I thought first half we were the better side and deserved to go in at half time ahead. A big factor in this was Church IMO. He was quicker to push out to their midfielders and close them down than any central midfielder we've had in the last 4/5 years since Bolland. He picked up a lot of loose balls and was first to more 2nd balls than any of our current midfielders are capable of getting to.

I thought most if not all of our good play and chances created came from Eagle down the right, normally feeding Hearn. Thought Disley did well in the first half too and showed several flashes of his class.

I've not heard the post match interviews but was interested to read on this thread about H or S saying Makofo didn't take advantage of his marker being on a yellow card from quite early in the game. This is spot on. That right back was absolute junk as well. Makofo just had to keep getting the ball and running at him. The problem is, as we all know, Makofo has no football brain whatsoever and you can tell he has no idea what he's going to do with the ball as he runs up towards the full back. Serge did nothing today, a few runs that looked positive but no end product to any of them, or anything he did. Shouldn't start the next match.

Sloppy goal to concede but great finish by Hearn to get us deservedly level.

Second half - I said to my mate after 5 minutes of the 2nd half that you could tell Wrexham had stepped it up a bit. The three lads in the middle for Wrexham started to get hold of the ball and pass it. And one of their goals (the 3rd I think) was a top class team goal with the passing and movement.

We were still well in the game until they got the third goal which killed us off really. That said, Disley should have scored after Hearn put him through - should have hit it first time. And Church should have done better with his 'pass' from ten yards into the bodies on the line - should have toe-poked it if he was confident swinging the left foot at it.

We can take a few things from the game though. First half we were very good. Hearn off the mark with a cracking finish. Church's first half performance will stretch to 90minute performances as he gets match fitness up over the next few weeks.

Going forward - I'd start Eagle and Coulson on the flanks on Tuesday. Church and Disley to carry on in the middle. Bring Duffy back in to partner Hearn up front. Elding doesn't have any confidence at the minute and isn't having the best time. Although I wish people wouldn't give him so much stick, look at his goalscoring record in this league and the one above you fools he can score plenty of goals. Don't crucify him for not settling into a new team in the first 2 months.

Agree completely with you

Me too - another superb post !

Quoted from Tommy

Church's first half performance will stretch to 90minute performances as he gets match fitness up over the next few weeks.

Yeah I did wonder after so much work if he was tiring a bit 2nd half - like you think he did a great job and gave 110%.
I just hope he can do the same game in game out cos he will make a big difference.

Quoted from Tommy

Thought Disley did well in the first half too and showed several flashes of his class.

Know what you mean.
Only criticism 2nd half Disley seemed to dither a bit on the ball a bit too much for me. (not just his chance)

Despite that great saving tackle he did, he can look so dangerous playing these through balls that I'd like to see him pushing forward than sitting too deep.

Quoted from ginnywings

An entertaining and enjoyable game despite the result.

Today was a season defining game for me,having had ten games to gel and at home against one of the frontrunners.Think we look a mid table side to be honest and still a work in progress.Too good to go down but not good enough to challenge for the top spots.

If you are a team on a bit of a wobble,like Wrexham,then a good place to visit and ge back on track is Blundell Park because we are bound to give you a goal at least and today was no different.Free header from a corner.He didn't even make a good contact and it looped over a stranded goalie.

We get ourselves back in the game with an excellent finish from Hearn but never pushed on from there despite having some good spells of pressure.

Came out second half and really took the game to them but failed to make a breakthrough.They then started to knock the ball around in midfield and pulling us all over the place,which eventually led to their second from some good possession.At 1-2,Disley had a great chance to equalise but hesitated when he should have shot and within minutes we were 1-3 down and chasing shadows.

Their midfield was a notch above ours,especially the wide men.Our wide men just don't cut the mustard for me and neither has any end product.The only player getting any good crosses in was Hearn,who was MOM by a country mile and gets better with every game.

We are a way off challenging at the top but some good signs are there.

Pretty much my assessment of the afternoon. I thought we could have changed our set up to compete better with their 3 man central midfield, they outnumbered us in that department and it led to their 2 second half goals when thay passed it round us and had space to play/shoot in