Yet another very disappointing away performance. Caught cold with a sideways pass from a free kick that just about every Town fan could see was going to happen but which not one of the players was alert enough to see.  A good response then ensured that there was no repeat of the disastrous opening half hour against Crewe but going forward never got to grips with a strong wind meaning that Dyson was forced to chase lost causes.
After a decent start Osbourne and Jones faded badly and there were some heart stoppingly bad moments of defending with the usually unflappable Collins in particular guilty of hacked clearances. Macca blameless for the goal nevertheless added to the defensive insecurity with poorly directed punches. Bolarinwa impressed with some very direct running in the first half particularly only to let himself and the team down with a truly woeful end product. Morecambe had two disallowed and hit the woodwork twice or we could easily have been looking at another hammering. All afternoon Town couldn't get to grips with Ellison.
The final 20 minutes was characterised by what looked like a lack of any real effort-something I never expected to see to be honest. The first shot was clocked up after about 83 minutes and was met with ironic cheers.
MOM Mills who put in a decent shift-getting foward and trying to make things happen..

Just back - but not on the bus.

Pretty much agree with Barralad's assessment.

Mills my m.o.m. also, and his combination with Tombola was encouraging first half (both of these players are an asset)

Town controlled the first half - after waking up 2 minutes too late.

Having said that, Morecambe could let us do this, having the lead and always seemed to snuff us out when it mattered.

At the end of the day, Town hardly created any goal scoring chances - Andrew put a volley just over the bar near the end.

Whereas, Town's goal was leading a charmed life with Morecambe's counter attacking thrusts near the end of the match.

I left the ground at the end of the match feeling underwhelmed.

Curry house in Lancaster between trains.
Don't mind losing anytime as long as everyone gives 100% but today we didn't get that.
Feeling a little cheated.

Both MB and PH have changed this side so much and brought in so many new players that I feel, although the new guys are better technically than what we had before, they maybe just don't 'get it' yet. They are merely going through the motions which will get you the occasional 3 points but they aren't quite giving 100% for the club and fans and really are prepared to put their bodies on the line, I am sure it will come together eventually but for now it's just not happening

I thought we were ok and marginally the better side, albeit with scant end-product, in the first half.

Second half was not good as Morecambe were far more effective on the counter attack and we offered nothing cohesive going forward.

Dyson was poor as a 'target man' all game, everything bounced off him, whether on the ground or in the air. Mills was very effective down the right, which afforded Bolorinwa many dangerous positions and I don't recall him creating a thing with a single one of them.

Nowhere near as bad as we were at Stevenage (and I presume, Crewe) so whilst it is a poor result with worryingly little creativity, I don't think it merited comparison with either of those games.

I think Morecambe played very well, closed everything down superbly and afforded us very little comfortable time on the ball.

Quoted from PPMariner

I thought we were ok and marginally the better side, albeit with scant end-product, in the first half.

Second half was not good as Morecambe were far more effective on the counter attack and we offered nothing cohesive going forward.

Dyson was poor as a 'target man' all game, everything bounced off him, whether on the ground or in the air. Mills was very effective down the right, which afforded Bolorinwa many dangerous positions and I don't recall him creating a thing with a single one of them.

Nowhere near as bad as we were at Stevenage (and I presume, Crewe) so whilst it is a poor result with worryingly little creativity, I don't think it merited comparison with either of those games.

I think Morecambe played very well, closed everything down superbly and afforded us very little comfortable time on the ball.

Good point re Morecambe. Their game plan was clear to see and they stuck with it.  They certainly handled the wind better-loads more short passes more accurately delivered.

Must admit - I thought Morecambe's goal came from Pearson having to concede a corner (from Morecambe's first attack) - and the corner ball was played to Molyneux in the left back position, who hit an inswinging left footer (about 25 yards), which managed to evade all of the players stood in the penalty area and went in just inside the right hand post. Thought that it was a bit unlucky not to hit someone. But Town still had 88 + 3 more minutes to score - but they didn't.  

Shocking performance. Morecambe were first to every ball, closed us down and pressured our back four into a few mad moments. Our only real outlet was down the right between Mills and Bolarinwa but even then it was often one of them standing still passing to the other who was standing still. No movement, no pace, no real attempt by the whole team to open Morecambe up and stretch their defence around. Struggling to think of a MOM apart from maybe Pearson but even he wasn't solid.

I'll give McKeown the benefit of the doubt for the goal as the shot did fly through a crowded goalmouth.

Better on Tuesday please

Awful start where we switched off from the corner allowing a free shot which Mills almost stopped with his head but it still went in.
Not seen us give the ball away so many times and get caught in possession.  If you do that, you rarely win matches.  Tom beat his man first half and had the pace over him, but we never got it to him for a 1v1 after that.
Fifteen mins before Gunning went off, I was wanting Dis to replace him to hold on to the ball better in midfield.  Players were poor today against a side no better than us really.  Poor decision making on numerous occasions.
Seen us worse this season so let's move on to Tues for what looks like a tough game.
Mills MoM by a country mile today.

One step forward, two steps back yet again after last week.

Another poor away performance and you always give yourself a mountain to climb when you concede after two minutes. Had plenty of possession but never looked like scoring.

The table is starting to tell a truer picture now, as a lower mid-table side is exactly what we are right now.

Quoted from AndyGTFC

One step forward, two steps back yet again after last week.

Another poor away performance and you always give yourself a mountain to climb when you concede after two minutes. Had plenty of possession but never looked like scoring.

The table is starting to tell a truer picture now, as a lower mid-table side is exactly what we are right now.

Two steps back ?

UTM

I was amazed to see that no-one closed the short corner down, I couldn't tell in the stands and from the replay if it was Bolly's man to close down or someone in the box should have come out to get the block. However it was scandalous defending for their first goal, and yet another set piece!

I did think however after the goal, we had some good movement and started to have some promising possession, however the final ball in the box was lacking, especially when you've got 2 six footers looking to run onto the crosses, the delivery was terrible.

Mills my MOM by a country mile, he was the only real bright spark down the right trying to get forward as much as possible. He also didn't look out of place from the defensive side of the game.

I was disappointed with Gunning in that holding role, think Comley is quicker and more athletic there. I counted 5 passes that were within 10 yards of him and every occasion he turned over possession too easy, and in that part of the pitch you are pretty much inviting pressure straight away.

There were also too many times where we would attack them down the right hand side but then strangely hold the ball up when we've got the forward momentum. It gave them time to regroup and get men behind the ball. Why we didn't get balls in the box sooner was beyond me, and that dame long hoof punt in the channels was getting on my nerves 2nd half because Dyson and Jones were chasing shadows lost causes all game.

I was disappointed with some of our fans baying for blood after the FT whistle near the advertising boards. As poor as the performance was we've lost our main 20 goal + striker, we've got a lot of new faces (usually we'd have a pre season to gel) these new lads are young, from a lower league and are all relatively new to each other so we need that bedding in time. I think the expectation for consistency (2, 3 back to back wins) is slightly beyond us at the moment. However I reckon come the start of next season, this crop will know each other better, will be wiser to league football and the manager will start to raise the standards.

I just thought the widespread anger at FT was a bit OTT given the current situation.

Final point, how is it fair a ref should only allow 3 minutes of added time when they time wasted to the point of blatant cheating. There were 5/6 subs made as well as an eternity to take throw ins and corners etc. On the 3rd minute one of our players was fouled on the edge of the box, but the ref blew for FT instead of giving a free kick and took the easy option. That summed the day up really!

Quoted from GTFC_85

I was amazed to see that no-one closed the short corner down, I couldn't tell in the stands and from the replay if it was Bolly's man to close down or someone in the box should have come out to get the block. However it was scandalous defending for their first goal, and yet another set piece!

I did think however after the goal, we had some good movement and started to have some promising possession, however the final ball in the box was lacking, especially when you've got 2 six footers looking to run onto the crosses, the delivery was terrible.

Mills my MOM by a country mile, he was the only real bright spark down the right trying to get forward as much as possible. He also didn't look out of place from the defensive side of the game.

I was disappointed with Gunning in that holding role, think Comley is quicker and more athletic there. I counted 5 passes that were within 10 yards of him and every occasion he turned over possession too easy, and in that part of the pitch you are pretty much inviting pressure straight away.

There were also too many times where we would attack them down the right hand side but then strangely hold the ball up when we've got the forward momentum. It gave them time to regroup and get men behind the ball. Why we didn't get balls in the box sooner was beyond me, and that dame long hoof punt in the channels was getting on my nerves 2nd half because Dyson and Jones were chasing shadows lost causes all game.

I was disappointed with some of our fans baying for blood after the FT whistle near the advertising boards. As poor as the performance was we've lost our main 20 goal + striker, we've got a lot of new faces (usually we'd have a pre season to gel) these new lads are young, from a lower league and are all relatively new to each other so we need that bedding in time. I think the expectation for consistency (2, 3 back to back wins) is slightly beyond us at the moment. However I reckon come the start of next season, this crop will know each other better, will be wiser to league football and the manager will start to raise the standards.

I just thought the widespread anger at FT was a bit OTT given the current situation.

Final point, how is it fair a ref should only allow 3 minutes of added time when they time wasted to the point of blatant cheating. There were 5/6 subs made as well as an eternity to take throw ins and corners etc. On the 3rd minute one of our players was fouled on the edge of the box, but the ref blew for FT instead of giving a free kick and took the easy option. That summed the day up really!

I didn't go Saturday well done to everyone who made the trip. So I am not really in a great position to comment too much about this particular game but can I make a couple of observations on what is a good post?

Gunning - Is clearly IMHO unfit and carrying too much weight for a professional footballer at this level, I am disappointed and a bit perplexed why he is being selected ahead of fitter options.

Omar leaving - There was always a good chance this would happen in Jan so finding a replacement prior to his departure should have been higher on this list before we signed lots of midfielders and a player from Scottish tin pot

Bedding in time - Your right with that without a doubt. Some feel though that we should not be going through a "mid season pre season" and just adding a few players (including Omar's replacement) to what Marcus inherited would have been sensible before wholesale change in the next pre season, remember we are paying ticket prices, travel, food etc... for competitive league football not "development" games. Plus looking at the amount of deals up/loans there is a danger we may need to do it all again post June 30th,

I agree though fans are p1ssed off when we lose and should not allow emotion to become hostile I can understand why some people get frustrated.  

Couple of home wins at "The BP" will no doubt act as a remedy.

UTM!

I agree with the above, nut given that we are pretty much safe for next year in our first season back, if it proves that next season we are formidable following our bedding in period this season then surely this is a better way to move forward?

I do take your point though that it's not cheap as a fan to follow town and especially after such a dismal display.

I guess I'm just trying to be positive and enjoy league football after such a long time away from it

Quoted from GTFC_85

I agree with the above, nut given that we are pretty much safe for next year in our first season back, if it proves that next season we are formidable following our bedding in period this season then surely this is a better way to move forward?

I do take your point though that it's not cheap as a fan to follow town and especially after such a dismal display.

I guess I'm just trying to be positive and enjoy league football after such a long time away from it

I guess all this change is a shock to the system after numerous years of what at best can be described as "organic growth" we feel a long way away from where we need to be but like yourself I a still pretty optimistic overall.

Sorry if this sounds like a pop at a previous regime but, in all honesty, I'd far rather us have a plan of bringing in talented footballers who can be improved rather than a plan of 'lump it to Monkhouse'.

Of course every fan wants us to win every game but our current form is typical of a team whose manager left mid-season. If MB fvcks up, he'll fall on his sword but we're only 1 month into a new squad, we look safe enough and we now have a squad with potential to improve.

We've got no divine right to win and judging by some on here, they'd rather we be winning at Boreham Wood than playing league football again.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Sorry if this sounds like a pop at a previous regime but, in all honesty, I'd far rather us have a plan of bringing in talented footballers who can be improved rather than a plan of 'lump it to Monkhouse'.

Totally agree. At least we seem to be adopting a more modern approach to football. It makes me cringe to think about the Newell era. It seems like MB is building a proper structure in the club which I believe we've lacked for years

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Sorry if this sounds like a pop at a previous regime but, in all honesty, I'd far rather us have a plan of bringing in talented footballers who can be improved rather than a plan of 'lump it to Monkhouse'.

Of course every fan wants us to win every game but our current form is typical of a team whose manager left mid-season. If MB fvcks up, he'll fall on his sword but we're only 1 month into a new squad, we look safe enough and we now have a squad with potential to improve.

We've got no divine right to win and judging by some on here, they'd rather we be winning at Boreham Wood than playing league football again.

When we won at Borehamwood we weren't that impressive TBH, Marcus has added talent weather its talent that can perform week in week out in the FL only time will tell, but first impressions are the likes of Osborne & Jones will do well..............So  no need to get Monkey out of semi retirement just yet!    

Quoted from HertsGTFC

I didn't go Saturday well done to everyone who made the trip. So I am not really in a great position to comment too much about this particular game but can I make a couple of observations on what is a good post?

Gunning - Is clearly IMHO unfit and carrying too much weight for a professional footballer at this level, I am disappointed and a bit perplexed why he is being selected ahead of fitter options.

Omar leaving - There was always a good chance this would happen in Jan so finding a replacement prior to his departure should have been higher on this list before we signed lots of midfielders and a player from Scottish tin pot

Bedding in time - Your right with that without a doubt. Some feel though that we should not be going through a "mid season pre season" and just adding a few players (including Omar's replacement) to what Marcus inherited would have been sensible before wholesale change in the next pre season, remember we are paying ticket prices, travel, food etc... for competitive league football not "development" games. Plus looking at the amount of deals up/loans there is a danger we may need to do it all again post June 30th,

I agree though fans are p1ssed off when we lose and should not allow emotion to become hostile I can understand why some people get frustrated.  

Couple of home wins at "The BP" will no doubt act as a remedy.

UTM!

Every manager has his favourites, Tuesday will tell a tale IMO

Completely accepting of the fact that we've got a relatively new manager and made widespread changes to the squad in January, but can't help but feel that expecting our players to do basics of the sport isn't too much to ask. No movement from the forward 2, and very little support from the midfield in terms of going forward. We gave possession away far too easily on Saturday, and it's clear that we're not going to succeed with the long ball. Nobody up front is good enough in the air, and none of our players are anywhere near the 2nd ball.