Just back

We brought back everyone to defend a set piece which was cleared to an unmarked man on the edge of the box, who then passed to a wide man without Davies being tight to him and he then crossed to a player who got in front of his marker and flicked in a header. It was a good finish actually, the type our forwards never do.

Quoted from ginnywings

We brought back everyone to defend a set piece which was cleared to an unmarked man on the edge of the box, who then passed to a wide man without Davies being tight to him and he then crossed to a player who got in front of his marker and flicked in a header. It was a good finish actually, the type our forwards never do.

The type that hit the net  

Quoted from arryarryarry

Were you in the bog when they scored?

Wasnt their man. Must have been you who missed it!

I didn't go but by what I've read it's a slight improvement. It's funny isn't it. Because how bad we've been playing lately and how poor everything it is not accepted. Yet if this was a few games ago and we tried to play well and lost 1 0, although we would be disappointed we'd accept that you win some and lose some.

Quoted from Hagrid

Wasnt their man. Must have been you who missed it!

Erm, free header in the  middle of the 6 yard box with Collins stood right behind him.

Looks like it was rose's man too me and he let him go. Watch the highlights

Quoted from Hagrid

Looks like it was rose's man too me and he let him go. Watch the highlights

Rose was dreadful today, particularly 2nd half.

What are highlights ?

I didn't think Carlisle were bad at all. Not brilliant by any means but they passed it around better than us, had better central midfielders and more threatening strikers. Despite this, we still had more opportunities to score so their defence obviously wasn't great. Just a pity their keeper played well.

Keeping all the players back for set pieces is an idiotic choice, regardless of the fact we may have been conceding goals from set pieces.

It might reduce the number conceded by one or two over the season, but it pretty much negates any chance of us scoring many goals on the counter. At the very least, have somebody (Dembele, perhaps?) standing ten yards outside the area so they can stop an opponent easily picking up the ball at the edge of our box and give us a slight chance of a break. I say Dembele because of his height, not because he's quick, because he's just not. Nippy over a few yards but caught over a longer distance relatively easily. Unfortunately, we don't have anybody with real pace since Bolarinwa was sent out on loan, not that he was getting in the squad in any case.

Today, as so often this season, the problem was that not enough players were performing consistently well. If a winger beats a man the cross or following pass is invariably poor. If we get in a good cross which finds our player, the shot is then poor or weak. If a player takes a difficult ball down well, their next touch is often poor. Too often, a good pass is followed by a terrible first touch by the teammate. Worst of all is the decision making when in attack is generally terrible. It would be interesting to see just how many of our nascent attacks are ruined by our poor choices or individual errors as opposed to good opposition defending. There is no continuity in the team at the moment so, even against average defences, we never put them under real pressure to force enough errors.

I'm not really sure where the problem lies. Is it that the players just aren't good enough or is it that the quality of training and coaching/style of play is the issue?

Young players such as Dembele and Jaiyesimi making the wrong decisions much of the time is understandable but when you've got seasoned professionals such as Collins, Davies, Clarke and Vernon doing the same, you've got a real problem. The stupid nature of some of the errors is the most frustrating thing - ignoring obvious passes, messing up easy passes, poor control for no reason and the like.

The surprise is that Slade's style relies on simple things being done correctly, but that is far from what is occurring here. Our only chances tend to come from individual skill, set pieces or opposition errors. Surely we should be creating more chances with the overall style of play?

Dare I say it, but the reason Summerfield has been one of our best players of late is because he is doing the simple stuff correctly. Gets the ball, passes it in quickly. Wins a challenge, moves the ball on to a teammate. OK, today he gave it away on a couple of occasions but generally he's been one of the few players (apart from the defenders) who are doing the basics consistently. Ditto for Berrett who has offered a lot more than Rose did today for most of the season.

Yes, Summerfield tries to up the tempo but Hooper and Vernon are slow to react and fail to battle for possession. When DJ gets it to feet he links play well but he and Dembele need others to support. A little bit of Jack Lester about DJ's game. JT tried to suggest to RS that DJ could have played inside when subs where made but RS waffled his way out of it. If he keeps to his system we are doomed.