Didnt turn up till the 90th minute.

2 pieces of poor defending gave our goals away, smith having a rare very off day. We did the hard work getting back into the game, despite swindon being the better side.

2nd half we were helped by the red, but didnt capitilise. Didnt seem to go for it until it was too late. 3 big chances at the end, think pepple should have scored, his header was weak and at the keeper. But really if im honest, i dont think we deserved anything.

Impressed with swindon, Less impressed with some of our play, home form becoming frustrating. Efete, smith, clifton all had off days. JMD and Khan looked okay, jmd making a difference. But just didnt do enough for me as a team until it was too late

Strange one. First 60-70mins very impressed with Swindon, proper footballing side. After the sending off it was shithousery and terrible hoofs to noone from them. We didn't play terrible, we simply got beaten by the better team. On another day one of those many chances at the end goes in and we get a point.
Tough to pick a motm today if I'm completely honest. Probably Clifton

At the moment we look like an average mid table team. We have played 3 games against teams in the top half (2 of them at home) and picked up 1 point our wins have come against teams in 15th,18th,21st and 23rd. Lets hope Khan and McAtee get fully fit or mediocrity it will be. :-/

Fairly ugly to watch.
Struggle to pick anyone who had a good game .
Need to change shape and personnel if we are to win at home

Quoted from Madeleymariner

At the moment we look like an average mid table team. We have played 3 games against teams in the top half (2 of them at home) and picked up 1 point our wins have come against teams in 15th,18th,21st and 23rd. Lets hope Khan and McAtee get fully fit or mediocrity it will be. :-/

First season back in the league... Newish owners.. bigger crowds.. I'll take mid table this season.

Beaten by a better team but, let’s be honest, we were poor pretty much from 1-11 today. We should have had at least a point however and Tuesday can’t come quickly enough. MoM Khan for me as he lifted us after he came on.

Yes two poor goals the second of which was dreadful. Both our full backs struggled today as did a few others.

Thought JMD made a very positive impact he did much more in his 20 odd minutes than Richardson and Kiernan. Think he should really be starting now.

Overall a fairly even game, Swindon didn't outclass us, nor did we do enough to win the game. 3 mistakes led to the goals. Clifton MotM for me.

Onto the next match...

Quoted from lukeo

First season back in the league... Newish owners.. bigger crowds.. I'll take mid table this season.

So will I, didn't really expect much more

I know this will come across as sticking the knife in as soon as we lose a game, but today's performance doesn't really surprise me. Apart from Newport and Northampton, I'm not sure we've played that well in many games and today we came up against a very good team who exposed us. I also think our defensive record has flattered us somewhat, we certainly give chances away.

But I think today highlighted what will always be the problem for a Hurst team: lack of goals. It wasn't until Swindon sat back late on that we actually challenged them, and that was by lumping it.

Efete must not believe his luck that Cropper is currently injured

The people who red crossed my post saying we are mid table average really believe we can get to the playoffs this season watching us struggle to score more than one goal a game!

We didn't get into the game until the second half when Harry was moved into the center circle where we were getting hammered.
I will say the same as I did last home game, our right hand side is dross.
Thought Taylor, Clifton and Waterfall had good games and was impressed with Kahn my mom.
Smith had a proper off day but he can't be great all the time.
Hunt has really disappointed me since he's been back, loved him when he was with us before but he's been not very good and was bad today.
Nevermind on to the next game UTM

Quoted from TAGG

We didn't get into the game until the second half when Harry was moved into the center circle where we were getting hammered.
I will say the same as I did last home game, our right hand side is dross.
Thought Taylor, Clifton and Waterfall had good games and was impressed with Kahn my mom.
Smith had a proper off day but he can't be great all the time.
Hunt has really disappointed me since he's been back, loved him when he was with us before but he's been not very good and was bad today.
Nevermind on to the next game UTM

Harsh on Hunt. Thought Holohan had a shocker.

Swindon are a good side and they deserved the three points. They'll be in the play-offs I think.

As for us, a rare defensive mistake cost us the game while we were run ragged in the first half. I don't think the shape is working, especially at home, with Richardson and Taylor isolated from Holohan and Hunt who were too deep as a result of Swindon's effective press. This allowed their midfield, particularly Khan, to dictate play. Smith had a day to forget as he made several mistakes, one leading to a goal, and then squandered two great chances at the end. He can be forgiven considering how good he has been, hopefully he bounces back quickly.

I also think both full backs are struggling. Efete seems to have lost his mojo in attack; he can't seem to take a player on, constantly checking and playing short, but at least he was solid defensively today. Glennon looks like he's a yard off the pace and has been torn apart by some good wingers in the last couple of weeks. Maybe he needs a rest?

The most disappointing aspect of today was our inability to create much with a man advantage. There's no real method to our approach play: as soon as a team sits deep we have very few ideas. Even when we get into a good position we lack the control and composure to make the right decision quickly. Maguire-Drew is easily our most creative and composed player, I wish he could start. I understand why he doesn't, but we have to try something different at home.

A frustrating day, but nothing to depressed about. We've lost twice so far to two very good sides and we're still comfortably midtable. Khan, JMD and Orsi looked promising when they came on and we've still got Morris to come back.

A special mention to Taylor who seems to finding his feet in front of goal; a lovely finish for the equaliser.

Quoted from TAGG

We didn't get into the game until the second half when Harry was moved into the center circle where we were getting hammered.
I will say the same as I did last home game, our right hand side is dross.
Thought Taylor, Clifton and Waterfall had good games and was impressed with Kahn my mom.
Smith had a proper off day but he can't be great all the time.
Hunt has really disappointed me since he's been back, loved him when he was with us before but he's been not very good and was bad today.
Nevermind on to the next game UTM

Hunt has started twice since he came back, was good against Colchester so what you’re saying is he played badly today?

Quoted from pontoonlew

Efete must not believe his luck that Cropper is currently injured

I think dropping him would actually do him a favour at the moment.

Quoted from Abdul19

I think dropping him would actually do him a favour at the moment.

I’d love to know who’s throwing the red x’s at both your comment and mine, there can’t be people watching these games thinking Efete has been anything other than garbage this season?

Quoted from pontoonlew

Hunt has started twice since he came back, was good against Colchester so what you’re saying is he played badly today?

Ye saying I have been disappointed with both his games.

Quoted from MarinerDevil

a rare defensive mistake cost us the game while we were run ragged in the first half.

I don't think defensive mistakes have been that rare, it's just we've been quite lucky not to be punished yet.

I like Smith but there's no denying he gets caught out a fair bit, obviously today's was quite bad. I also don't think Glennon is great defensively (makes up for it going forward) and it was obvious Swindon had highlighted that left side of defense as a weakness, their diagonal balls were destroying us in the first half.

Efete been comfortably our worst first team player so far this season. Cropper needs a go when fit

At the starting lineup I could see an argument for keeping it the same, but had some doubts, I feel that a manager should be able to rotate a squad especially in attack without worrying the whole team dynamic will collapse as a result. It is what it is today, ive let out my frustration in regards to a player who looks quality every time I see him play. Gotta be able to utilise a whole squad though, especially if you were to manage a club at championship level  ;)

We still look like a work in progress, which is understandable.

Swindon were a good side but we still made things easy for them with a rare off day for the defence.

Think there is more to come from us when all the new players are integrated into the side and we definitely miss Morris.

Should really have taken a point but the big chances fell to the wrong players and I can't say the they didn't deserve the 3 points over 90 mins.


We never really took advantage of the sending off and the weakest part of the team is in the final third. Was hoping Orsi would get a chance or two today but he didn't get into the game. JMD makes things happen and for me needs to be fitted into the team somehow

Got what we deserved. Move on and go again Tuesday. 8)

We were second best esp 1st half our midfield lost the battle and their right sided players got the better of Glennon .

Not sure what Kiernan adds to the team, JMD surely has to have a start on Tuesday.

Think we have had a decent start to the season tho being 10th with a game in hand, would be nice to get a win at home tho..

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Harsh on Hunt. Thought Holohan had a shocker.

Ye not to good.
Hunt and Holohan can't play together.
Drop one of them and stick Harry in there.

Wouldnt say Efete has been “ garbage” as you put it lew. He just looks a man devoid of any confidence to me. His attacking threat has just gone, today he never once looked like beating his man

Thought we lacked urgency all over the pitch. Swindon are a big side and easily out muscled us. Refs seem to have it in for Taylor, he gives away free kicks which are nothing, yet allows centre halves to manhandle him.

Well that was a reality check.

Had we won a lot (myself included) would no doubt be speculating about us being able to sneak an automatic promotion place this season, let alone the play offs. It's still very early doors, so who knows.

But may be it's no bad thing for us fans to bounce back down to earth with a thump after our amazing results on the road of late.

I thought Swindon were good - but not great.

We weren't at our best today with some under par performances.

Most worrying for me was Efete who looks shot of confidence. The number of times he looked like he was going to bomb on only to check then play the ball back was telling.

Kiernan never really threatened them and Hunt was the hunted rather than the hunter today.

As others have already pointed out, today also highlighted our lack of a natural born goal scorer up top.

I'd like to see Amos, Orsi and JMD all start the next game, as unlikely as that is.

Disappointing day at the office but had one of those efforts at the end flown in I'd have been happy with a point.

Onwards. UTM!

Swindon were faster than us, far more accurate in their passing and had sussed that Glennon was slower than their winger, and Efete looks like he is both carrying a knock and lacking confidence because of the knock.

Smith seemed put out by both wingers having free runs.

Glennon perhaps lucky to stay on with a couple of rash tackles?

Too many longer forward passes going astray while there's sent forwards towards goal.

Eventually JMD got some accuracy into late attacks, but no finishers able to.put the ball away.

A game to forget really, couldn't make the extra man pay, and they did everything right to block Town's efforts late on.

Not promotion standard on that showing - work to be done !!

The last time we got promoted from the NL I think we all had that nagging doubt that we could easily end up back there under the previous owner . And it happened. I was almost reconciled to it happening,, we just sunk without a whimper .
But this time I don’t feel that . We’re going to be ok this year and can see us growing into the club we all want . Maybe not world beaters but ill be happy bouncing up and down between L1-L2 . I’m not overly ambitious but as long as GTFC is healthy I’m happy 👍👍

We never turned up in the first half and only upped our game in the last 10/15 mins of the second half. Smith, Kiernan, Glennon and Holohan were all very poor in the first half and could all have been replaced.

The transformation with the subs in the second half managed to stop the rot and it wasn't till the end of the game when they got their act together. Swindon were down to 10 men with 30 minutes to play and we failed to take any advantage. In fact, a few times it looked like Town had 10 men!

MoM was Khan who staked a starting place in the next game. Clifton did ok as did Hunt but Efte did no better than Sousa, his end product was poor and defending wasn't brilliant. Swindon were above average but I can't see them in the automatic promotion spots nor us on this dire performance.

So onwards and, hopefully upwards, on Tuesday.

UTM

Quoted from pontoonlew

Hunt has started twice since he came back, was good against Colchester so what you’re saying is he played badly today?

Tbh looked to me like Holohan going missing far too often left him with too much to do. Not sure why anybody could think Hunt played badly today when he was trying to make things happen but was also having to defend a lot, he looked out on his feet by the end of it. I'm not sure Holohan knew where he should be playing or what his role was.

Swindon were big and strong at the back, cynical but able to play a bit in midfield and with some pace out wide. The first time I've seen us struggle so much defending set pieces as we just kept missing the ball which led to their opener. Both of our full-backs had poor games defensively and it was frankly bizarre how often they almost got in behind us with a simple diagonal ball over the top. We just didn't try to close them down or stop them passing in the first half but it took an almighty misjudgement from Smith for them to score again.

One of the biggest issues in the first half was that we were virtually playing with 10 men as Richardson simply wasn't getting involved - he barely touched the ball for the first 30 minutes and he just doesn't have a clue how to do any defending. We looked much more solid after making the changes at half-time and Khan showed some nice touches. Very positive with the ball and found a pass as often as not.

Unfortunately, we lost our heads for most of the game after the red card. Too much slow passing across the back, the midfield just piling into the box so there was a big gap between defence and the forwards most of the time. How not to play against ten men, fundamentally. That said, we should have scored the equaliser. Enough good chances that one had to be taken and one or two of the efforts blocked from close range should have been forced in. Absolute madness right at the death as Crocombe was attempting to punt a goal kick forward, into a stiff breeze whilst half of our players were up near their box. Needless to say, it just gifted them possession.

I agree that we're just not playing well enough at home at the moment. I'm hopeful that things will get better now some of the injured players are coming back with Khan especially looking as though he can contribute.

Well, one to forget and move on!

Today was one of those off days that come along every few weeks, Swindon were the better team all game and their passing in the first half was quick and accurate. Town’s defence today was poor for whatever reason. During the first half Clifton lost his footing 3 times which says he had the wrong studs or the pitch had too much water on it. Richardson was a big disappointment today and rightly subbed but Taylor held the ball well but had little support. Very scrappy 2nd half and as soon as Swindon went down to 10 men you knew it would be a struggle.

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

The last time we got promoted from the NL I think we all had that nagging doubt that we could easily end up back there under the previous owner . And it happened. I was almost reconciled to it happening,, we just sunk without a whimper .
But this time I don’t feel that . We’re going to be ok this year and can see us growing into the club we all want . Maybe not world beaters but ill be happy bouncing up and down between L1-L2 . I’m not overly ambitious but as long as GTFC is healthy I’m happy 👍👍

Agree with you. Lovely stuff. 😁

Another thought. Richardson can’t play the McAtee role - he is what he is, a lad playing a man’s game.

Always strange how supporters at the same game see things differently. Swindon were obviously a decent side with good passing and movement but despite that had to rely on us pretty much gifting them both goals and other than that hardly recall Max having to make a save.

Amazed some had Clifton as MOM as it was certainly not his best game and on a couple of occasions wasted a decent opportunity to create something and if he is to play than he should be more central which would also make our central midfield more compact and give us a better opportunity to take control of this area of the pitch. His energy would also allow him to get forward and help press the opposition back.

The forward threat is not helped by Kiernan who to me offers less threat than Sousa as he doesn’t attack his full back as much, if at all, and his end product be it a cross or shot is no better than Sousa. Equally in the two home matches I’ve seen Richardson play he doesn’t yet look ready for L2 football and whilst I acknowledge that’s one of the reasons he’s here currently I would be resting him.

As for Efete I see nothing wrong with him defensively and the only time he was really caught out today were from a quality cross field fifty yard pass so don’t blame him for that. I noticed in the first half a reluctance to really bomb forwards like he did last year and I’m wondering if he still has a mental problem worrying about his hamstring? That said he put over one really excellent cross in each half and also should probably have gone for goal first half when he tried to lay off a header for Taylor.

Overall a very average performance but I would agree with those who would like to see JMD and Khan start on Tuesday but we must get someone closer to Taylor. I might also give Maher a run instead of Smith not necessarily because he had a bad game but he’s still very young and sitting out a game or two, like he did last year May do him the world of good.

Too many players struggled today.

Holohan was poor and couldn't get into it. Richardson for all his effort was a complete passenger, he looks to have ability but is maybe trying too hard.

I love Smith but he's had a shocker for the 2nd and missed two absolute sitters, the first one is criminal after Pepple's equally awful miss.

Glennon got a roasting today as well, he was lucky not to be the 1 sent off for me, he was in with both feet just as much as the other lad.

Didn't deserve anything today, but should be sat here with at least another point. Maybe need to go two up top at home, Pepple is a shocking finisher but would be a right nuisance alongside Taylor.

Quoted from mimma

Thought we lacked urgency all over the pitch. Swindon are a big side and easily out muscled us. Refs seem to have it in for Taylor, he gives away free kicks which are nothing, yet allows centre halves to manhandle him.

With Green and Morris out of the side particularly having been replaced with Hunt, we’re less physical and smaller. This manifests itself in being ‘bullied’ or ‘overrun’ in midfield and in our diminishing threat from set pieces.

Beaten by a better team end of. Stronger quicker more organised more fluid....alot of posts saying we were poor...or was that they were just better ?

Positives....Hurst switched it up at half time which improved the balance of the game

Negatives....took us nearly twenty minutes to get going and register a chance against the ten men.

Last year they were pushing for League 1 and we were non league.....not too dispondent with that perspective on it.

Also the atmosphere was flipping excrement again.

Green, Khan, JMD and either Pepple or Orsi need to start Tuesday.

It disappoints me to say, like many of the discerning supporters that enjoy watching good football, that I really enjoyed watching Swindon play football and control the game in the first half.

They kept the ball well, moved and passed the ball well, and looked like a team that will be real contenders this season.

I’d have to say also, that I fully appreciated their second half antics with 10 men, when they payed it exactly how I’d want Town to play it in that exact situation too. Professional approach to wasting time, disrupting the ebb and flow of the game, to prevent us gaining any momentum for most of the first half.

Town we’re not at it today, even though we should have forced an equaliser on more than one occasion. Their keeper did very well didn’t he, and I guess that was their GK coach that went to him at full time to congratulate him in the goal area.

I think we will see changes on Tuesday. Khan to start for me, maybe Cropper too (assuming he’s fit). I think we might see as many as four - five changes

We will be fine though this season and I’m still feeling highly positive about our prospects

Awim away, awim away
Awim away, Awim away
We’re the Grimsby, the Mighty Grimsby!
We only win away!

Tuesday go to a back 3 Maher, Waterfall, Smith
That takes out Efete and Glennon who have been under par and gives us more options in midfield.

Quoted from DaleH

It disappoints me to say, like many of the discerning supporters that enjoy watching good football, that I really enjoyed watching Swindon play football and control the game in the first half.

They kept the ball well, moved and passed the ball well, and looked like a team that will be real contenders this season.

I’d have to say also, that I fully appreciated their second half antics with 10 men, when they payed it exactly how I’d want Town to play it in that exact situation too. Professional approach to wasting time, disrupting the ebb and flow of the game, to prevent us gaining any momentum for most of the first half.

Town we’re not at it today, even though we should have forced an equaliser on more than one occasion. Their keeper did very well didn’t he, and I guess that was their GK coach that went to him at full time to congratulate him in the goal area.

I think we will see changes on Tuesday. Khan to start for me, maybe Cropper too (assuming he’s fit). I think we might see as many as four - five changes

We will be fine though this season and I’m still feeling highly positive about our prospects

Steve Mildenhall is their goalie coach, Gavin Gunning also on their coaching staff.

Quoted from TAGG

Tuesday go to a back 3 Maher, Waterfall, Smith
That takes out Efete and Glennon who have been under par and gives us more options in midfield.

You then need wing backs!

People say we didn’t really get at them after the red, for the 15 mins or so immediately after, hardly any football was played. They managed it perfectly enable by a ref who only dealt with it when it became so embarrassingly obvious that he had no choice.
Once we did get going, we probably should have got something out of it. Other games we have, today was maybe one too far.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

You then need wing backs!

I'm sure we have then in the squad.

Quoted from DaleH

It disappoints me to say, like many of the discerning supporters that enjoy watching good football, that I really enjoyed watching Swindon play football and control the game in the first half.

They kept the ball well, moved and passed the ball well, and looked like a team that will be real contenders this season.

I’d have to say also, that I fully appreciated their second half antics with 10 men, when they payed it exactly how I’d want Town to play it in that exact situation too. Professional approach to wasting time, disrupting the ebb and flow of the game, to prevent us gaining any momentum for most of the first half.

Town we’re not at it today, even though we should have forced an equaliser on more than one occasion. Their keeper did very well didn’t he, and I guess that was their GK coach that went to him at full time to congratulate him in the goal area.

I think we will see changes on Tuesday. Khan to start for me, maybe Cropper too (assuming he’s fit). I think we might see as many as four - five changes

We will be fine though this season and I’m still feeling highly positive about our prospects

Sorry but you are bigging up Swindon far to much they looked vurlnerable at the back and could be got at when we attacked which we didn’t do until late in the game Upper mid table to lower play off at best . No better then Northampton. Our problems at home are our system and approach not the opposition .

Quoted from TAGG

I'm sure we have then in the squad.

Efete & Glennon? 😂

For me Clifton  and Keirnan together as wide players doesn’t work both selected primarily for their work rate and tracking back rather then creative abilities. That combined with one up front is not a formula to win home games

Quoted from HerveJosse

For me Clifton  and Keirnan together as wide players doesn’t work both selected primarily for their work rate and tracking back rather then creative abilities. That combined with one up front is not a formula to win home games

This in bucket loads, it’s part of the reason we’re good away but it’s also part of the reason we’re so poor at home. A balance is needed otherwise teams will relish coming here, knowing they’ll not be on the back foot.

Grumble grumble. What are we doing being in the top half of League 2? It’s not good enough

Quoted from chaos33

Grumble grumble. What are we doing being in the top half of League 2? It’s not good enough

We are talking about the hom form and set up it is possible to have alternative approaches home and away.

A match where most fans have the same broad comments.  We do need to freshen up the team for Tuesday.  The good news is that we have decent players to come over in.

Some criticism of Hunt.  He came more into it in the second half with some neat forward passes.

Effete attacked in the first half. Instead of getting an early cross in he would stop and pass back.  The odd cross went straight to the keeper.  Same approach in the 2nd half but any crosses over hit.  He needs a rest when Cropper  fit.

Swindon managed the game better than us today in different ways either side of the sending off, they all seemed to want the ball be comfortable in possession and retained it reasonably well too.

Until just before the equaliser we seemed to lack belief and IMHO right throughout the game had poor concentration and application which manifested itself in some poor passing and a lack of quality when it mattered.

There are some differing opinions on here about individual players but collectively we just didn’t seem to get started and allowed Swindon’s “savvy” attempts to disrupt any kind of momentum to stop us gaining any foothold in the game.

So I’m not sure calling out individuals will add anything as I think the current squad are honest enough to know that today wasn’t good enough and the excellent attendance deserved better.

We need to pass the ball better especially in midfield, we have some decent offensive players but if we win the ball it must go to someone in the same colours who must look after it like a new born baby.

So to close, we’re a work in progress at this level but I do think we have more in the squad than todays display illustrated.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Swindon managed the game better than us today in different ways either side of the sending off, they all seemed to want the ball be comfortable in possession and retained it reasonably well too.

Until just before the equaliser we seemed to lack belief and IMHO right throughout the game had poor concentration and application which manifested itself in some poor passing and a lack of quality when it mattered.

There are some differing opinions on here about individual players but collectively we just didn’t seem to get started and allowed Swindon’s “savvy” attempts to disrupt any kind of momentum to stop us gaining any foothold in the game.

So I’m not sure calling out individuals will add anything as I think the current squad are honest enough to know that today wasn’t good enough and the excellent attendance deserved better.

We need to pass the ball better especially in midfield, we have some decent offensive players but if we win the ball it must go to someone in the same colours who must look after it like a new born baby.

So to close, we’re a work in progress at this level but I do think we have more in the squad than todays display illustrated.

Like you say, those that underperformed today will be well aware of that and we will be, hopefully, much better on Tuesday. Slightly worried that we’ve only really performed in one out of the four home league games so far. Is that because we’re a bit too predictable?

For all the ticket sales, attendances are nothing like what are expected. Loads of spare seats today.

By the way, Happy Birthday to the gaffer tomorrow.

Quoted from chaos33

Grumble grumble. What are we doing being in the top half of League 2? It’s not good enough

100% this to be fair, had my moan about not playing jmd but cooled down now, listened to hursts post match interview, think hes put a team together while hes not had everyone available, results have been decent so hes given everyone starting a fair crack, but sounds like he felt the same way as us and I feel pretty confident therell be a couple of changes next game. End of the day he has to answer to the players not us so at least he can say he gave some players a fair chance

Quoted from chaos33

Grumble grumble. What are we doing being in the top half of League 2? It’s not good enough

It’s a thread about todays game against Swindon in which we lost.

You’re welcome to set up a thread about the season so far in which everyone will probably say it’s been pretty good.

Swindon are a good side, that much is obvious. They pop the ball about and move as well as anyone we’ve seen this season.

Second half we came out and gave it more of a go but still lacked the attacking cohesiveness to really affect the game. We are great at the back and I’m so pleased with how things have gone so far this season, but we’re not attacking teams well. We go forward at times but it all seems a bit like we are lacking a plan for what we’re trying to do.

Smith was tormented today in a way we haven’t seen in his time yet at Grimsby but we can forgive him for that one. Efete isn’t rubbish but he looks like he’s seriously lacking confidence right now.

We have the luxury of a fairly strong squad now, so I think it’s time to look at a few players. We definitely don’t need to rip things up, but I think the midfield three could be tweaked a little. I like Hunt and thought he was ok today but he is the only player we have in the middle who is capable of playing at the tempo Swindon played at today. He gets on the ball and can find passes early - could we push him forward a touch and get a Green as an enforcer behind him? I don’t know. Richardson definitely has ability but I feel like we could be using him in a better combination.

Anyway, not worth any knee jerk reactions again today. We came up against a good side, had a decent go of it second half without being great but ultimately came up short. We are a work in progress as we all know. I’m looking forward to seeing if we learn and adapt on Tuesday. UTM.

Possibly in the minority here but I didn’t think Town, or the game, were too bad. Frustrating in the circumstances, but still some positives to be taken for me.

Swindon are an excellent side and I think they will be right up there come the end of the season. They’re the kind of team that would have blown us away in previous League Two seasons.

The major frustration, other than our inability to equalise against 10 men, was that both goals were preventable. The error that led to the second was exactly the situation you’d back Andy Smith to deal with every time but, for once, he did not. First time I’ve seen him look out of sorts today - he’ll learn from it I’m sure.

This may be divisive, but JMD needs to be starting games. We are currently without our best and most creative player in McAtee and as such lack guile in the attacking third. If we’re honest, there was an element of fortune to our equaliser; a deflected shot from Clifton that never really looked on which fell to Taylor who in fairness finished brilliantly.

In the absence of McAtee JMD looks to be the only one capable of doing the unpredictable. He may not cover the yards of other players but he adds another dimension. He needs to be playing home games at the very least.

Difficult to say from my vantage point in the lower Findus but it seemed like we had more than enough chances to snaffle something from the game, in the surprisingly generous 7 minutes’ added time alone. It wasn’t to be.

Balance is needed though. I think this looks a strong League Two, as strong as I can remember it, and if you need a benchmark the incredibly impressive Stockport who romped to the National League title last season have taken 7 fewer points than us having played a game extra.

An opportunity to right this afternoon’s wrongs on Tuesday night. A win puts us right back on the cusp of the playoffs, a little under quarter of the season in. An important game on many levels really; we don’t want this home form thing to become a ‘thing’.

Disappointing today, but not a disaster. UTM.

We gave them too much respect and time in the first especially down our right hand side with them doubling up on Efete. 2 poor goals to concede and Swindon dominated. Second half we started with purpose and with Khan on the left looked a different propersition. The sending off probably went against us as Swindon time wasted, worked the ref and defended in numbers but in reality we had 2 great chances to equalise and at the end of the game their manager holds up the keepers arm to there fans to salute his performance.
Waterfall, Smith, hunt, Holohan and Kiernan having an off day but khan showing promise when he came on and Clifton and Glennon gave everything.
No alarm bells to ring as Swindon promotion favourites and we go again on Tuesday
UTM

Quoted from MarinerDevil

Swindon are a good side and they deserved the three points. They'll be in the play-offs I think.

As for us, a rare defensive mistake cost us the game while we were run ragged in the first half. I don't think the shape is working, especially at home, with Richardson and Taylor isolated from Holohan and Hunt who were too deep as a result of Swindon's effective press. This allowed their midfield, particularly Khan, to dictate play. Smith had a day to forget as he made several mistakes, one leading to a goal, and then squandered two great chances at the end. He can be forgiven considering how good he has been, hopefully he bounces back quickly.

I also think both full backs are struggling. Efete seems to have lost his mojo in attack; he can't seem to take a player on, constantly checking and playing short, but at least he was solid defensively today. Glennon looks like he's a yard off the pace and has been torn apart by some good wingers in the last couple of weeks. Maybe he needs a rest?

The most disappointing aspect of today was our inability to create much with a man advantage. There's no real method to our approach play: as soon as a team sits deep we have very few ideas. Even when we get into a good position we lack the control and composure to make the right decision quickly. Maguire-Drew is easily our most creative and composed player, I wish he could start. I understand why he doesn't, but we have to try something different at home.

A frustrating day, but nothing to depressed about. We've lost twice so far to two very good sides and we're still comfortably midtable. Khan, JMD and Orsi looked promising when they came on and we've still got Morris to come back.

A special mention to Taylor who seems to finding his feet in front of goal; a lovely finish for the equaliser.

Efete solid defensively .Really he went missing at the back post for the first goal .Got caught wrong side quite a few times .IMO he was awful

Quoted from Hagrid

Wouldnt say Efete has been “ garbage” as you put it lew. He just looks a man devoid of any confidence to me. His attacking threat has just gone, today he never once looked like beating his man

Exactly.  At one point yesterday he had space to travel but just stopped and thus ended the break.  His rushed header was also woeful, which is probably down to confidence as he had time to chest it and get a shot off.  Stiil, it's easy to say from the comfort of my armchair

Having watched the Hurst post-match interview he is clearly disappointed with some of the team for not putting in good performances. I think we may see changes on Tuesday as JT inferred some had more than an off day than just Saturday, which in Hurst's typical fashion, suggested it was something he may have to look at.

So we will have to wait and see.

I don’t think we were that bad. I think Swindon being a good team just made us look poor.
Saying that, there were a lot of poor performances. I would certainly like to see Cropper get a go when he’s back fit, if nothing just to give Efete a break for a few games. As Poojah said, I think JMD has to start now. We’ve shown clearly that we couldn’t break down 10 men, and Swindon looked comfortable until he came on.
My last point, we just looked so slow. It’s easy to say from the stands, but there were so many occasions when a player was in acres of space, only for us to wait 2 or 3 seconds for their players to get back in position to cover. Also look as though we need to move a lot more to try split the defence which I think could be a reason we’re not really troubling the opposition.

That loss has been on the cards, if we're honest with ourselves the last few home performances have been below par although we've managed to scrap out drawers, yesterday those performances came back to bite us.
Swindon moved the ball nicely, mainly side to side but they kept possession well, we missed Green/Morris yesterday as for me we didn't have any bite in the middle of the park.
Smith - off day, plenty in the forgiveness bank though.
Holohan - Not at his best.
Clifton - Grafted as usual but pretty ineffective.
Taylor - MOTM to me, but without someone running off him, a la Macatee, he becomes less effective and his hold up play, flick ons are wasted.
Let's hope, not only for a win, but an improved performance on Tuesday.

I think, on reflection we just weren’t at the races today. We weren’t as bad as some are making out but it wasn’t good enough and Hurst said the same.

Too many had off day, which is gonna happen, guess it’s just annoying it was at home. That said, the game should probably have been a draw, it wasn’t, that’s unfortunate but we love to fight another day.

Swindon made the league 2 playoffs last year and were consistent throughout the season, we were in the conference. The fact we more than competed shows how far we’ve come.

I expect changes on Tuesday, I’d imagine Kiernan gone and possibly Holohan…Hurst mkll is ruthless, more so than mkl so we’ve nothing to worry about.

Quoted from aldi_01

I think, on reflection we just weren’t at the races today. We weren’t as bad as some are making out but it wasn’t good enough and Hurst said the same.

Too many had off day, which is gonna happen, guess it’s just annoying it was at home. That said, the game should probably have been a draw, it wasn’t, that’s unfortunate but we love to fight another day.

Swindon made the league 2 playoffs last year and were consistent throughout the season, we were in the conference. The fact we more than competed shows how far we’ve come.

I expect changes on Tuesday, I’d imagine Kiernan gone and possibly Holohan…Hurst mkll is ruthless, more so than mkl so we’ve nothing to worry about.

I do wonder just how ruthless Hurst will be. Waterfall and Smith have been superb all season but with the latter having something of an off day yesterday, how much of a drop in levels can you afford before someone with the obvious quality of Maher gets a sniff of the shirt?

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Always strange how supporters at the same game see things differently. Swindon were obviously a decent side with good passing and movement but despite that had to rely on us pretty much gifting them both goals and other than that hardly recall Max having to make a save.

Amazed some had Clifton as MOM as it was certainly not his best game and on a couple of occasions wasted a decent opportunity to create something and if he is to play than he should be more central which would also make our central midfield more compact and give us a better opportunity to take control of this area of the pitch. His energy would also allow him to get forward and help press the opposition back.

The forward threat is not helped by Kiernan who to me offers less threat than Sousa as he doesn’t attack his full back as much, if at all, and his end product be it a cross or shot is no better than Sousa. Equally in the two home matches I’ve seen Richardson play he doesn’t yet look ready for L2 football and whilst I acknowledge that’s one of the reasons he’s here currently I would be resting him.

As for Efete I see nothing wrong with him defensively and the only time he was really caught out today were from a quality cross field fifty yard pass so don’t blame him for that. I noticed in the first half a reluctance to really bomb forwards like he did last year and I’m wondering if he still has a mental problem worrying about his hamstring? That said he put over one really excellent cross in each half and also should probably have gone for goal first half when he tried to lay off a header for Taylor.

Overall a very average performance but I would agree with those who would like to see JMD and Khan start on Tuesday but we must get someone closer to Taylor. I might also give Maher a run instead of Smith not necessarily because he had a bad game but he’s still very young and sitting out a game or two, like he did last year May do him the world of good.

Agree re Kiernan, I said at the time of Sousa's release, that whilst I was a little bit surprised, I could see why he was let go.  We seem to have signed a clone in Kiernan though  ??)

On the plus side, with Khan back in action, I expect him to take Kiernan's place in the side in the coming weeks as he gets fitter, hes shown glimpses of what hes about in the hour he's played so far.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Too many players struggled today.

Holohan was poor and couldn't get into it. Richardson for all his effort was a complete passenger, he looks to have ability but is maybe trying too hard.

I love Smith but he's had a shocker for the 2nd and missed two absolute sitters, the first one is criminal after Pepple's equally awful miss.

Glennon got a roasting today as well, he was lucky not to be the 1 sent off for me, he was in with both feet just as much as the other lad.

Didn't deserve anything today, but should be sat here with at least another point. Maybe need to go two up top at home, Pepple is a shocking finisher but would be a right nuisance alongside Taylor.

I too thought Glennon was gone when  the ref ran over and immediately took out his cards.  

Quoted from Lost in Lincoln

I too thought Glennon was gone when  the ref ran over and immediately took out his cards.  

I started to berate the ref then realised he was showing the card to their player 🤣

Glennon jumped in a bit, I think, but got the ball which meant their No. 23 got him. It was his 4th or 5th bookable offence of the game (he pulled breaking players back twice in the first half without receiving any punishment), so I don't think he can feel too hard done by.

First time in a long time I have been frustrated with GTFC performance
Soft goals conceded
Appalling misses at the end
But main issue is final third and not taking enough care of the ball
Final pass - over-running ball - poor crosses

With such a strong bench PH can shake it up quickly - it might be a tad unfair on a few but I do feel our recent starting XI is the 'hard-working' one which is OK and served us well away from home but any team needs some craft at any level, especially at home when you need to be on the front foot

I expect 3/4 changes Tuesday - Maher could start (seems very harsh on Smith - who has been superb - but Maher is quality and Smith might need a rest); Richardson and Holohan could make way; I'd like to see two wide men (Khan and JMD) and Clifton alongside Hunt although Harry's passing is not his strong point

PH seems to prefer 433 or 4312 so be interesting to see what he does

I also think Efete is fortunate Cropper is injured - Efete control and distribution way off the level needed

Feel sorry for Efete, i wonder what's gone wrong? TBH if he doesn't get his act together i can see PH  bringing in another RB in Jan.IMHO cropper isn't at the level we will need and RB is one fo the easier positions to fill

Quoted from devs

First time in a long time I have been frustrated with GTFC performance
Soft goals conceded
Appalling misses at the end
But main issue is final third and not taking enough care of the ball
Final pass - over-running ball - poor crosses

With such a strong bench PH can shake it up quickly - it might be a tad unfair on a few but I do feel our recent starting XI is the 'hard-working' one which is OK and served us well away from home but any team needs some craft at any level, especially at home when you need to be on the front foot

I expect 3/4 changes Tuesday - Maher could start (seems very harsh on Smith - who has been superb - but Maher is quality and Smith might need a rest); Richardson and Holohan could make way; I'd like to see two wide men (Khan and JMD) and Clifton alongside Hunt although Harry's passing is not his strong point

PH seems to prefer 433 or 4312 so be interesting to see what he does

I also think Efete is fortunate Cropper is injured - Efete control and distribution way off the level needed

I would be tempted to go with the following on Tuesday night, fitness permitting.


There’s certainly an argument that it’s harsh on Smith to be dropped on the basis of 1 dodgy performance, but you have to ask how else Maher is going to get in otherwise? If you’ve got 3 centre halves of such quality and only two starting berths, I think you have to be setting extremely high standards, which Smith fell slightly below yesterday.

We’re not creating enough in open play which in turn is giving the opposition the confidence to come at us in numbers; that front line looks more capable of doing more with our attacking possession than we have in recent home games. Whilst Richardson clearly has quality I think he’s still getting to grips with the physicality of League Two and isn’t involved enough in games for my liking.

Be interesting to see what Hurst does, assuming he’s still here of course.

Quoted from Norseman

Efete solid defensively .Really he went missing at the back post for the first goal .Got caught wrong side quite a few times .IMO he was awful

I agree, I don't think Efete is as good as a defender as some make out. He had a tendency to ball watch and I think his positioning is questionable at times. A previous poster mentioned how he was only beaten by a brilliant though ball but if his positioning had been correct then he wouldn't have been beaten in the first place. His strength is when he goes forward but when he doesn't do that then our right hand side is weakened. I personally prefer Cropper as a defender and his throw IMO makes up for his weakness in an attacking situation.

We didn’t really threaten enough to get anything until the last five mins, barring a somewhat fortuitous equaliser. We didn’t move the ball nearly quickly enough and then they obviously tried to frustrate us once they went down to 10 men, as everyone does. The frustrating this is, when we did occasionally go forward and put them under pressure they looked vulnerable. Didn’t help that their keeper seemed to have the annual worldie that keepers get once a season in the last 10 mins, although Smudge and Bim have to bury those chances, you can’t miss them when sides are so deep and compact.

Michee is getting unfair stick. He hasn’t been great but he hasn’t been the disaster that some are making him out to have been, he’s lacking a bit of confidence going forward but didn’t actually put in a couple of really nasty balls yesterday, his final ball is way better than Keirnan who was rightly hooked at HT yesterday.

Smith had his worst game for us as a centre half, he made a mess of their second and generally didn’t look half as assured as he normally does. If that carries on, he’ll be out of the team as Maher will be breathing down his neck. Glennon also struggled more than usual, although I doubt he’ll have to do that much defensively again very often this season.

They were, on the ball, everything we should strive to be. They were all comfortable on it, they all always wanted it and were able to shift it quickly and in tight areas. The reality Harry Clifton and Gav Holohan are never going to be able to do that, they have other attributes but composure in possession and an ability to see the pitch and move the ball quickly just aren’t their games. There’s probably some case for dropping Holohan who I think has been poor for 2-3 weeks now.

I like Richardson, he’s happy running at opposition defenders, I wouldn’t say he needs to toughen up either, it’s just the ref gave him nothing all game. Khan looked lively when he came on but we didn’t get the ball to him nearly enough. I hope Taylor’s injury isn’t bad, we’ll have to change our system if he’s injured. He’s integral.

Onto Tuesday, I think there’s half a chance of a number of changes. I expect Green to come back in, maybe Orsi as well. They’ve only lost once all season, it’s another tough game but we really do need to start getting some points at home sooner rather than later.

Some interesting points/views..re yesterday think you have to give Swindon a fair bit of credit, they looked good first half and controlled the game from the off..their forward was a nuisance, their number 24 was excellent on the right in occupying Glennon, and Gladwin and the number 10 were decent too. Khan was mopping up everything in front of their back line, and did all the horrible stuff to stop us. That said..they didn’t batter us..we were organised, and despite being over run early kept in the game, got an equaliser and if we’d have gone in 1-1 at half time it may have been different..unfortunately Smith made a big error on a bad day for him and it wasn’t to be. We were helped by the sending off, but didn’t really move the ball quick enough to stretch them. Final few mins could and should have got an equaliser but to be fair you’d have to say Swindon probably deserved it.

Off day by a few on our side..but it’s still alright, we’re 10th, and looking comfortable, arguably have more to come IF we can work out how to play at home/set up.

Decisions for Tuesday? Some valid points onSmith/Maher..the back two have been excellent but he had a bad day yesterday..Maher was excellent in midweek..comes in? Or do you put it as an off day for Smith and give him the chance to put it right? Glennon has been excellent all season, met his match yesterday though, Swindon did their homework. He will have to stop those reckless challenges..got another booking..could have been more but for a fraction of a second.he does tend to fly in..in the puddle at Carlisle game when everyone laughed, but he got away with one there..and again in the last home game before yesterday in front of lower Smiths. Part of his make up/competitiveness I guess so Idoubt you’d want to stop it in another way..Hurst alluded to some being ‘too nice’..Efete is a really frustrating watch..so many attributes, so much potential..but what’s happened? He seems stuck in between being drilled in a defensive mode, doesn’t utilise his assets, and when does go forward it isn’t committed..and inevitably stops and cuts back. Confidence? Instruction? Both?

Holohan had a bad game yesterday, and Hunt still finding his feet, working out how to play together. Sometimes wonder if playing out from the back leaves us a bit stretched, in that the link between defence/midfield close, but then there’s nothing much of an option as Taylor isolated often. It’s not an easy puzzle to solve, PH has always been one for being organised from the back - nothing wrong with that at all, it’s just how we link play. Kiernan isn’t good enough on evidence thus far, tries hard and can’t question that but we do need a bit more. JMD obviously has the most ability to create, deliver a ball, and pop up with a goal or two..it’s again how we cope without the ball..when he plays it puts more emphasis on Efete defensively. Clifton does a job as always, but again isn’t a natural wide man. So are we hampering ourselves in that department in terms of creating for our forwards? Could we try playing Richardson or Orsi differently..in respect of being on the shoulders of defender rather than behind Taylor? But again doing that leaves questions of the middle and behind. Morris might work with Hunt, but do you play Hunt deep, so links with defensive to offer option with ball or do you play Morris as the workhorse, a la their Khan yesterday, and let Hunt have a free role? Do you try 3 in the middle? As said earlier it’s not an easy puzzle to solve..and PH has plenty of options..but despite the ramblings I’ve just typed out - were in a good position, with an excellent manager to work them out. And I’m sure he will.

Hurst was talking recently about looking at players being loaned out to NL clubs in the next 2 weeks or so.  JMD has been mentioned by some fans.

I hope not.  He has come back into the reckoning for the first team.  We have missed his quality crosses, making goals and scoring the winner in the Promotion Final.  

He has the knack cl being in the right place at the right time.  Hurst does not like him not tracking back.  I did not go last Tuesday but he did track back more.  TAA only jogs back sometimes at Liverpool and he is a FB.  Klopp appreciates his forward play, which offsets defensive weaknesses and responsibilities.

I hope that Hurst can take the same overall view to JMD.  If not a starter, he is usually an effective subs who creates things.  

Quoted from rancido

I agree, I don't think Efete is as good as a defender as some make out. He had a tendency to ball watch and I think his positioning is questionable at times. A previous poster mentioned how he was only beaten by a brilliant though ball but if his positioning had been correct then he wouldn't have been beaten in the first place. His strength is when he goes forward but when he doesn't do that then our right hand side is weakened. I personally prefer Cropper as a defender and his throw IMO makes up for his weakness in an attacking situation.

Not sure why Efete is getting such harsh criticism. He's not been great, but not terrible either. Glennon has been roasted in 3 games this season and seems to avoid being the subject of criticism because he put some good deliveries in early on, although his impact on that front has dropped too.

Quoted from pen penfras

Not sure why Efete is getting such harsh criticism. He's not been great, but not terrible either. Glennon has been roasted in 3 games this season and seems to avoid being the subject of criticism because he put some good deliveries in early on, although his impact on that front has dropped too.

Agreed. Glennon looks good going forward but not the best defensively. Perhaps another reason PH likes Clifton on that side.

Glennon looks a tad slow to me. Maybe he needs time to get up to match speed  and fitness but he seems to make a lot of last ditch tackles.

I also think the midfield needs a shake up. Kiernan just doesn't create anything, and I can see why Hartlepool let Holohan go once they got back into the EFL. It's a very hard-working midfield, but not very creative. When their winger got around the back of us, he laid the goal on a plate for the arriving player. Kiernan got around the back of their defence 2 or 3 times and the final cross/shot left a lot to be desired.

I think that once Morris is back and Green is up to speed, Holohan will struggle to get in the starting 11, given that Hunt looks to be a starter if fit. There's then JMD, Khan and Wearne, any of whom could play in the Kiernan slot.

May also be time to give Smith a breather and get Maher on the pitch.

I think there has to be some changes for Tuesday, because we are just not that threatening, especially as the home team.

One thing about Swindon 1st half. They had wingers who hugged the touchlines which provided ready-made outlets for defenders to clear their lines but who also provided the 'geometry' for some terrific long diagonals into space. Town had nothing to compare and always looked too narrow, focussing balls into the middle and losing possession amongst the congestion. For what it's worth, I also think that Kiernan undermines Efete as the former has the habit of running into traffic too easily and exposing the space in front of the latter. Town were much better on the left when Khan arrived at half time and on the right when JMD came on. Efete seemed to have more space to bomb down the right thereafter though he still struggled to deliver a killer cross. Whilst Swindon looked much more accomplished 1st half, we gave away 2 soft goals, the 2nd an absolute howler from Smith. It's still a game we shouldn't have lost with a flurry of chances in the dying minutes. I hope a fit Khan now gets his chance and I'm also in the JMD camp as he adds just that bit of true quality to create decisive opportunities.

Quoted from pen penfras

Not sure why Efete is getting such harsh criticism. He's not been great, but not terrible either. Glennon has been roasted in 3 games this season and seems to avoid being the subject of criticism because he put some good deliveries in early on, although his impact on that front has dropped too.

I don't think my criticism is harsh, just my assessment of his performance at this match and other games this season. I'm sure with some encouragement and instruction from the coaching staff then Efete could regain the form he showed when he first joined us. As regards Glennon then he could also try to regain the performances he had when he first joined us on loan. Surely, as posters on this message board, we are allowed constructive criticism of a player?

JMD needs to figure more on Tuesday.

Quoted from ginnywings

Glennon looks a tad slow to me. Maybe he needs time to get up to match speed  and fitness but he seems to make a lot of last ditch tackles.

I also think the midfield needs a shake up. Kiernan just doesn't create anything, and I can see why Hartlepool let Holohan go once they got back into the EFL. It's a very hard-working midfield, but not very creative. When their winger got around the back of us, he laid the goal on a plate for the arriving player. Kiernan got around the back of their defence 2 or 3 times and the final cross/shot left a lot to be desired.

I think that once Morris is back and Green is up to speed, Holohan will struggle to get in the starting 11, given that Hunt looks to be a starter if fit. There's then JMD, Khan and Wearne, any of whom could play in the Kiernan slot.

May also be time to give Smith a breather and get Maher on the pitch.

I think there has to be some changes for Tuesday, because we are just not that threatening, especially as the home team.

Well they had players arriving in the box, we never do.

Also forgot about Wearne

Quoted from rancido

I don't think my criticism is harsh, just my assessment of his performance at this match and other games this season. I'm sure with some encouragement and instruction from the coaching staff then Efete could regain the form he showed when he first joined us. As regards Glennon then he could also try to regain the performances he had when he first joined us on loan. Surely, as posters on this message board, we are allowed constructive criticism of a player?

Just think you’re being honest. Efete and Holohan look like they’re possibly not up to top half of League 2. I dislike playing players out of position with a vengeance but I’d be tempted to play Harry at RB or even RWB if we decide to play three centre backs. With the midfield we’ve got, three at the back would accommodate Khan, Hunt and either Morris or Green as the sitting player or number 4 as people like to describe it.

Quoted from Mariner_09

We didn’t really threaten enough to get anything until the last five mins, barring a somewhat fortuitous equaliser. We didn’t move the ball nearly quickly enough and then they obviously tried to frustrate us once they went down to 10 men, as everyone does. The frustrating this is, when we did occasionally go forward and put them under pressure they looked vulnerable. Didn’t help that their keeper seemed to have the annual worldie that keepers get once a season in the last 10 mins, although Smudge and Bim have to bury those chances, you can’t miss them when sides are so deep and compact.

Michee is getting unfair stick. He hasn’t been great but he hasn’t been the disaster that some are making him out to have been, he’s lacking a bit of confidence going forward but didn’t actually put in a couple of really nasty balls yesterday, his final ball is way better than Keirnan who was rightly hooked at HT yesterday.

Smith had his worst game for us as a centre half, he made a mess of their second and generally didn’t look half as assured as he normally does. If that carries on, he’ll be out of the team as Maher will be breathing down his neck. Glennon also struggled more than usual, although I doubt he’ll have to do that much defensively again very often this season.

They were, on the ball, everything we should strive to be. They were all comfortable on it, they all always wanted it and were able to shift it quickly and in tight areas. The reality Harry Clifton and Gav Holohan are never going to be able to do that, they have other attributes but composure in possession and an ability to see the pitch and move the ball quickly just aren’t their games. There’s probably some case for dropping Holohan who I think has been poor for 2-3 weeks now.

I like Richardson, he’s happy running at opposition defenders, I wouldn’t say he needs to toughen up either, it’s just the ref gave him nothing all game. Khan looked lively when he came on but we didn’t get the ball to him nearly enough. I hope Taylor’s injury isn’t bad, we’ll have to change our system if he’s injured. He’s integral.

Onto Tuesday, I think there’s half a chance of a number of changes. I expect Green to come back in, maybe Orsi as well. They’ve only lost once all season, it’s another tough game but we really do need to start getting some points at home sooner rather than later.

I would struggle to name a player who had a really good game.

With regard to Efete,  to me he looks better going forward than defending and on Saturday he was in La La Land for their first, I thought Clifton had one of his poorer games, not sure if I'm that big a fan of Holohan, gives too many passes away for me.

I think we are still looking for our best midfield formation.

Quoted from Poojah

I would be tempted to go with the following on Tuesday night, fitness permitting.

Crocombe
Efete / Waterfall / Maher / Glennon
Holohan / Hunt / Clifton
JMD / Taylor / Khan

There’s certainly an argument that it’s harsh on Smith to be dropped on the basis of 1 dodgy performance, but you have to ask how else Maher is going to get in otherwise? If you’ve got 3 centre halves of such quality and only two starting berths, I think you have to be setting extremely high standards, which Smith fell slightly below yesterday.

We’re not creating enough in open play which in turn is giving the opposition the confidence to come at us in numbers; that front line looks more capable of doing more with our attacking possession than we have in recent home games. Whilst Richardson clearly has quality I think he’s still getting to grips with the physicality of League Two and isn’t involved enough in games for my liking.

Be interesting to see what Hurst does, assuming he’s still here of course.

Team looks spot on apart from I'd maybe swap Holohan for Green. Gives us someone to sit in front of the back for if necessary. Also think Holohan may need a rest, as he wasn't at the races on Saturday

Quoted from TheultimateMariner

Team looks spot on apart from I'd maybe swap Holohan for Green. Gives us someone to sit in front of the back for if necessary. Also think Holohan may need a rest, as he wasn't at the races on Saturday

I think Green is injured, or at least he has been and wasn’t on the bench on Saturday. That holding role is also potential in for a Maher, but I’d be surprised to see him starting there when we have three fit bonafide midfielders.

I’m also keen to see us a little more on the front foot at home. It’s a bit of a lazy thing to say in some respects - of course I’d prefer to see Town attacking than the opposition, but I think our slightly toothless performances at BP have given teams the confidence to have a go at us.

We need to be taking the initiative of Tuesday night.

Quoted from Poojah

I think Green is injured, or at least he has been and wasn’t on the bench on Saturday. That holding role is also potential in for a Maher, but I’d be surprised to see him starting there when we have three fit bonafide midfielders.

I’m also keen to see us a little more on the front foot at home. It’s a bit of a lazy thing to say in some respects - of course I’d prefer to see Town attacking than the opposition, but I think our slightly toothless performances at BP have given teams the confidence to have a go at us.

We need to be taking the initiative of Tuesday night.

He was on the bench saturday

Quoted from Hagrid

He was on the bench saturday

Well I’ll be talking shíte then won’t I. In that case, perhaps his potential inclusion on Tuesday could help offset a more creative / less industrious front line.

Going radical here but…..

Crocombe

Maher
Waterfall
Smith

Clifton
Hunt
Green
Khan
Glennon

Taylor
Simmonds

Bit late to the thread but a few observations:

- we do need to adjust our approach at home slightly. As Lew and someone else (apologies I forget who it was) point out, Kiernan and Clifton as the two wide players are both "runners/grafters" but don't have the technical ability to help us unlock teams. One of them (at least) needs to be sacrificed in most home games for someone like JMD or Wearne who have a bit more craft.

- I'm reluctant to keep posting this as I wouldn't want to form a witch-hunt, but Kiernan needs replacing. Doesn't offer anything other than working hard to get up and down the pitch. We'd be better off with Sousa in my opinion.

- Efete is low on confidence. I don't agree that he's playing shockingly bad though. He's just low on confidence when he's in the attacking half. I do think it would help him having JMD in front of him, as JMD is someone who he can link up and combine with. They linked up several times on Saturday, more so than he and Kiernan/Richardson did. Often Efete gets upfield but doesn't have his winger offering support and is reluctant to cross with only Taylor in the box, but JMD would show for him and want the ball off him all the time.

- Richardson has got some ability but he's not in games enough at all. He's showed flashes of really good play but in my opinion isn't getting on the ball enough to be able to have enough of an impact on games. Would like to see Simmonds get a go from the start at some point as he looks like he may be able to stamp his authority on a game a bit more. Richardson is currently playing in the same position McAtee played last season in that same system, and while I don't expect him to be as good as McAtee straight away, we've got to work out ways to get him on the ball as much as McAtee would be if he were playing. Can't help but think playing off the left might suit him, or help him, as he might see more of the ball out of that central area.

I really dont think we need wholesale changes, for as good as Swindon were they didn't really cut us open much. What they did do was move the ball around quickly and that led to us being pulled around a little, stretching and somewhat rushing when we eventually regained possession. I think that accounts for some of the wayward passing from Holohan, Clifton and Hunt.

I do think we need tweaking, I agree with the points on Maher,  bringing him in will support the drive for continued high standards. JMD is also a must start for me, with the impressive Khan if fit enough.

Bit harsh on Kieran to imply that he was part of the Efete conundrum. In the first half , Efete, yet again, failed to keep a high tempo to attack or press on for a corner when the space was there. The mere presence of a Swindon shirt made him check back regardless of any runs made by his team mates. The entire Upper Youngs were willing him on to the final third but he was effectively playing as a Swindon defender.
Only when we are trailing does he feel he has the licence to overlap. His whole demeanour at BP is that of a haunted man. Is he feeling threatened by Cropper’s signing? I like him as a defender on the whole as he is good in the air and we are generally the smaller less physical team.
If he can’t adjust then I think Cropper should replace him or perhaps Maher/ Clifton?

Richardson may be better coming off the bench...for what i've seen of him so far he looks like he's very tidy in possession but he's either easily outmuscled or just not in the right positions because i honestly felt like he barely touched the ball on Sat.

Efete....deffo didn't have the best game, but comes into the firing line because for some reason he was our main attacking outlet. We seemed hell bent on all of our play coming down that right side and it was obvious he wasn't having much joy. Not sure why so much of our attacking laid on the shoulders of our right back.

All in all...it was a drab game, we looked devoid of ideas until the end, but agreed they didn't exactly carve us open much at all.

I preferred having 3 in midfield like we started the season, but i think to carry on playing that we perhaps needed to sign another (possibly younger) Taylor. Not a criticism of Taylor as i really like him, but he can't play every game.  

Quoted from Mariner_09

With Green and Morris out of the side particularly having been replaced with Hunt, we’re less physical and smaller. This manifests itself in being ‘bullied’ or ‘overrun’ in midfield and in our diminishing threat from set pieces.

I think this sums up quite nicely our biggest problem on Saturday.  We've looked at our best when we've bossed the midfield, we simply didn't do that against Swindon.  

Khan was very good until he was sent off, he was Chesterfield's best player by a mile when we beat them in March and I was surprised when he was subbed.  Less surprised when he got a move to a higher level this summer.

Without the physicality of Morris and Green I'm not sure going to a 2-man midfield really suits us.  I know second half we changed to more of a 4-5-1/4-3-3 but it felt like the damage was already done.

I actually like the look of Richardson but I'm unsure as to what role he best suits.  It feels a bit like we're trying to give him that McAtee role but he doesn't know how to play it.  He's fairly quick, got a low centre of gravity and has the ability to run at people.  Rather than expecting him to do those bits of magic that McAtee produces in a free role, I think he'd be better served operating in and around Taylor.  Certainly closer to him than he was on Saturday anyway.

That said, a return to a 3 in the middle will suit us better in my eyes.  We don't only lack a bit of physicality without Green and Morris in there but the energy too.  I'd like to see Clifton in there on Tuesday with Hunt and Holohan, then Otis Khan and maybe even JMD pressing high and wide.  The only issue is that without Morris and Green we may lack a natural sitter, unless Hunt can do the role he did 12 months ago.  

Kiernan unfortunately is petering out at a quite alarming rate after a promising start.  Definitely showing why Walsall were prepared to loan him out to a side in the same division.    

Otherwise it was a case of too many stinkers, but this isn't the first time we've said this after a home game.  Smith probably produced his worst game in a Town shirt, compounded by two absolute shocking misses in front of goal.  Both fullbacks look off the boil and would benefit from a rest.  I know Cropper is back soon but was Amos' injured at the weekend?  

I always feel it's best to have a game straight away after a stinker, so tomorrow couldn't come sooner.  As we enter the darker and colder months, the home crowd need a performance to give him encouragement.  It's not a crisis, far from it, but there was enough grumblings on the way out to raise an eyebrow of concern.  I know we've got 6,000 season tickets sold and that's money in the bank regardless of how we play.  But we want all of those to be entertained and enthused when they come to games, to the point they're prepared to renew in 9 months time.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Going radical here but…..

Crocombe

Maher
Waterfall
Smith

Clifton
Hunt
Green
Khan
Glennon

Taylor
Simmonds

Is that Clifton and Glennon as wingbacks with Khan operating slightly ahead of Hunt and Green?

If so, I like the idea of that especially in the midfield.  My only worry would be how effective Khan can be in that central role when we've only seen two halves of him in wide positions.  Even last week I said I couldn't see a deviation from a back four because of how effective it has been.  Part of that, was the ability of our fullbacks to influence the game from deep.  That hasn't happened for a bit which arguably negates the need for a back four.

Pretty obvious why we lost the game. Smith had a stinker and create their second goal for them. The first goal wasn’t much better regarding our defence sleeping. All this over analysing the team where other than the goals they didn’t penetrate us very often and Crocombe had very little to do. We had our chances but didn’t take them, on another day those chances would have fallen just right. Not much of a change needed for me on Tuesday night. UTM!

Regarding physicality in midfield, we did a little better with Clifton in the middle in the second half, but we just couldn't get near to tackling their massive No. 7 in the middle a lot of the time. He was decent in possession and used his body so well, we rarely got into a position where we could get a foot in. You don't get many 6'3" midfielders...

Who is this Cropper that everyone's talking about? Can't be the one we played last season. That one is ok defensively, not as quick as Efete, not as good in the air as Efete, can't beat a man, is not a good passer or crosser of the ball but has a long throw. Solid enough, but we certainly haven't got a Trent waiting in the wings. Efete's ceiling of ability is far higher than Cropper's but his confidence is low. For what it's worth, he wasn't even our worst full back on Tuesday, and with Smith's performance he was pushing Waterfall for being our best defender, although that was a low bar. He did check out a couple of times but we had no one in the box or just Taylor with four or five Swindon back. In the first half we were struggling for any possession, so instead of going on a fanciful run and eventually giving the ball away with a cross to no one, he probably did the right thing by settling the game down for us. He definitely looked better second half with JMD down his side, whereas Kiernan is a workhorse who flatters to deceive. And it was Efete that put in two extremely good crosses near the end, one that we nearly got an equaliser from. If you think long throw ins are the answer then great, but if you think a confident Michee Efete is far better than Cropper could ever be, then be a little fairer in your analysis. Reading this thread it seems to me that he's being singled out when over the past couple of games there have been several in a Town shirt that have given far worse performances than him, midfield and advanced wide areas especially. Green, Maher and Khan are going to play larger roles in our starting eleven going forward as are McAtee and Morris and that's going to help one or two others that are under par at the moment as our starting eleven becomes stronger and more like PH envisioned it as he put the squad together..

Quoted from oochiad

Pretty obvious why we lost the game. Smith had a stinker and create their second goal for them. The first goal wasn’t much better regarding our defence sleeping. All this over analysing the team where other than the goals they didn’t penetrate us very often and Crocombe had very little to do. We had our chances but didn’t take them, on another day those chances would have fallen just right. Not much of a change needed for me on Tuesday night. UTM!

Not an outrageous take on the game by any means, my only issue with it is that it slightly overlooks the fact that we've not really taken the initiative in any of our home league games so far. You can put Swindon down as a bad day at the office, we need to become more of a threat ourselves at BP.

I believe we have the makings of a squad easily capable of making the play-offs this season but we're not going to do that if we routinely fail to win our home matches. I do think we might see the most drastic overhaul of our line-up so far tomorrow night.

Quoted from oochiad

Pretty obvious why we lost the game. Smith had a stinker and create their second goal for them. The first goal wasn’t much better regarding our defence sleeping. All this over analysing the team where other than the goals they didn’t penetrate us very often and Crocombe had very little to do. We had our chances but didn’t take them, on another day those chances would have fallen just right. Not much of a change needed for me on Tuesday night. UTM!

It’s not just one game though we haven’t won a league game at home this season and there is a clear pattern that  needs a shake up. Second home game in 4 days is the ideal time to do it. If it doesn’t work we are not losing a lot up because we are not winning at home anyway.

With our excellent away form (apart from the opening day) it's strange to think that we haven't won a league game at home this year yet.

We do need to rectify this very soon, tomorrow hopefully, or the longer it goes on the tighter that monkey is going to hold on to our backs!

Quoted from Bigdog

Who is this Cropper that everyone's talking about? Can't be the one we played last season. That one is ok defensively, not as quick as Efete, not as good in the air as Efete, can't beat a man, is not a good passer or crosser of the ball but has a long throw. Solid enough, but we certainly haven't got a Trent waiting in the wings. Efete's ceiling of ability is far higher than Cropper's but his confidence is low. For what it's worth, he wasn't even our worst full back on Tuesday, and with Smith's performance he was pushing Waterfall for being our best defender, although that was a low bar. He did check out a couple of times but we had no one in the box or just Taylor with four or five Swindon back. In the first half we were struggling for any possession, so instead of going on a fanciful run and eventually giving the ball away with a cross to no one, he probably did the right thing by settling the game down for us. He definitely looked better second half with JMD down his side, whereas Kiernan is a workhorse who flatters to deceive. And it was Efete that put in two extremely good crosses near the end, one that we nearly got an equaliser from. If you think long throw ins are the answer then great, but if you think a confident Michee Efete is far better than Cropper could ever be, then be a little fairer in your analysis. Reading this thread it seems to me that he's being singled out when over the past couple of games there have been several in a Town shirt that have given far worse performances than him, midfield and advanced wide areas especially. Green, Maher and Khan are going to play larger roles in our starting eleven going forward as are McAtee and Morris and that's going to help one or two others that are under par at the moment as our starting eleven becomes stronger and more like PH envisioned it as he put the squad together..

good coz he cant defend for excrement

I think Kiernan spends too much time occupying the same space as Efete. He's so keen to run back and do his defensive duties that they end up too close together; a problem that doesn't arise with JMD, who I think works better with Efete.

Of course, JMD won't track back as much as Kiernan, which is presumably why Kiernan gets the nod, but for me it's a failed experiment and needs changing, especially at home. I feel Efete is athletic enough to make up for the defensive shortcomings of JMD, a player who just makes things happen.

We may be a bit more vulnerable with JMD in the side, but we will be more threatening also. If Kiernan was producing, then no argument for having him in the side, but he isn't scoring or making goals. His end product just isn't there, whereas on Saturday, despite JMD not getting into the game much, he stretched their defence 2 or 3 times, brought a full length save out of the keeper and did one of those shoulder drops and changes of direction that completely threw their defenders.

I think PH sounded like he had lost a bit of patience judging by his post match interview and I expect there will be a shake up. I hope so anyway.

Quoted from Bigdog

Who is this Cropper that everyone's talking about? Can't be the one we played last season. That one is ok defensively, not as quick as Efete, not as good in the air as Efete, can't beat a man, is not a good passer or crosser of the ball but has a long throw. Solid enough, but we certainly haven't got a Trent waiting in the wings. Efete's ceiling of ability is far higher than Cropper's but his confidence is low. For what it's worth, he wasn't even our worst full back on Tuesday, and with Smith's performance he was pushing Waterfall for being our best defender, although that was a low bar. He did check out a couple of times but we had no one in the box or just Taylor with four or five Swindon back. In the first half we were struggling for any possession, so instead of going on a fanciful run and eventually giving the ball away with a cross to no one, he probably did the right thing by settling the game down for us. He definitely looked better second half with JMD down his side, whereas Kiernan is a workhorse who flatters to deceive. And it was Efete that put in two extremely good crosses near the end, one that we nearly got an equaliser from. If you think long throw ins are the answer then great, but if you think a confident Michee Efete is far better than Cropper could ever be, then be a little fairer in your analysis. Reading this thread it seems to me that he's being singled out when over the past couple of games there have been several in a Town shirt that have given far worse performances than him, midfield and advanced wide areas especially. Green, Maher and Khan are going to play larger roles in our starting eleven going forward as are McAtee and Morris and that's going to help one or two others that are under par at the moment as our starting eleven becomes stronger and more like PH envisioned it as he put the squad together..

I think the concern for me is that of the attributes that Efete brings to the game, the ones that you state as making him a better option than Cropper, are ones that he isn't displaying at the moment.  

I think it's easy to pigeonhole Cropper as just having a long-throw, he's actually a fairly decent and solid defender to boot. He might not bomb on like Efete but I'd be quite confident that when you look at deliveries into the box that cause problems, he absolutely cake walks it.  Cropper's deliveries largely come from his throw, Efete's come from his pace getting him to the touch-line.  I'm not concerned with which attribute leads to the delivery if I'm honest, more the quality and frequency.


I think Efete will benefit from a break rather than a complete axing from the side.   But at the minute he's playing within himself and that's not helping anyone, least of all himself.  

Quoted from ginnywings

I think Kiernan spends too much time occupying the same space as Efete. He's so keen to run back and do his defensive duties that they end up too close together; a problem that doesn't arise with JMD, who I think works better with Efete.

Of course, JMD won't track back as much as Kiernan, which is presumably why Kiernan gets the nod, but for me it's a failed experiment and needs changing, especially at home. I feel Efete is athletic enough to make up for the defensive shortcomings of JMD, a player who just makes things happen.

We may be a bit more vulnerable with JMD in the side, but we will be more threatening also. If Kiernan was producing, then no argument for having him in the side, but he isn't scoring or making goals. His end product just isn't there, whereas on Saturday, despite JMD not getting into the game much, he stretched their defence 2 or 3 times, brought a full length save out of the keeper and did one of those shoulder drops and changes of direction that completely threw their defenders.

I think PH sounded like he had lost a bit of patience judging by his post match interview and I expect there will be a shake up. I hope so anyway.

Good points that both you and BigDog make regards a potential bad combo of Kiernan and Efete.  

I've always remained cautious regards JMD as he simply doesn't do enough for me and I can see why Hurst has a lack of trust in him.  But that right flank has looked urine poor in recent games, something has to change.  Be it JMD, Wearne or Khan, all 3 look more likely to cut inside and give Efete that space to run into.  I just think he'll be a better player with a couple of games of.

I think Cropper is injured anyway, so I expect Efete to start, and it will be interesting to see how he performs with a different player in front of him, if PH decides to give Kiernan the hook that is. He took him off on Saturday and we were better, so I expect there's a good chance that there will be a change of personnel.

Might have misheard it or even dreamt it, but I thought I heard Hurst say Cropper was back in training and close to a return?

But yeah, I'll be very surprised if Kiernan starts tomorrow night.  

I don’t think anyone is confusing Cropper with Dani Alves, but he’s steady at worst defensively and has a long throw that causes havoc and creates goals… which is more than Efete is offering right now. No doubt if the two were both on form I’d go for Efete, but he looks lost right now. He will come good again though I’m sure of it.

Can’t see us scrapping the 4231 tomorrow but I would like to see Taylor with a proper partner from minute one. Taylor and Pepple/Orsi then maybe swap Kiernan for Khan or JMD. I’m certain we can win tomorrow if we just give it a go and get players in attacking areas. I appreciate our style and we get results for the most part, but let’s really get at a team at home for a change, please.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Might have misheard it or even dreamt it, but I thought I heard Hurst say Cropper was back in training and close to a return?

Hurst said today that Cropper will be back in training on Thursday.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Is that Clifton and Glennon as wingbacks with Khan operating slightly ahead of Hunt and Green?

If so, I like the idea of that especially in the midfield.  My only worry would be how effective Khan can be in that central role when we've only seen two halves of him in wide positions.  Even last week I said I couldn't see a deviation from a back four because of how effective it has been.  Part of that, was the ability of our fullbacks to influence the game from deep.  That hasn't happened for a bit which arguably negates the need for a back four.

That’s exactly what I was thinking. Khan at the front of the three could still get into the wide areas turning into a 3-4-3 when we go forward.

Quoted from Bigdog

Who is this Cropper that everyone's talking about? Can't be the one we played last season. That one is ok defensively, not as quick as Efete, not as good in the air as Efete, can't beat a man, is not a good passer or crosser of the ball but has a long throw. Solid enough, but we certainly haven't got a Trent waiting in the wings. Efete's ceiling of ability is far higher than Cropper's but his confidence is low. For what it's worth, he wasn't even our worst full back on Tuesday, and with Smith's performance he was pushing Waterfall for being our best defender, although that was a low bar. He did check out a couple of times but we had no one in the box or just Taylor with four or five Swindon back. In the first half we were struggling for any possession, so instead of going on a fanciful run and eventually giving the ball away with a cross to no one, he probably did the right thing by settling the game down for us. He definitely looked better second half with JMD down his side, whereas Kiernan is a workhorse who flatters to deceive. And it was Efete that put in two extremely good crosses near the end, one that we nearly got an equaliser from. If you think long throw ins are the answer then great, but if you think a confident Michee Efete is far better than Cropper could ever be, then be a little fairer in your analysis. Reading this thread it seems to me that he's being singled out when over the past couple of games there have been several in a Town shirt that have given far worse performances than him, midfield and advanced wide areas especially. Green, Maher and Khan are going to play larger roles in our starting eleven going forward as are McAtee and Morris and that's going to help one or two others that are under par at the moment as our starting eleven becomes stronger and more like PH envisioned it as he put the squad together..

It’s the same Cropper who played a massive part in our successful play off campaign (and quite a few games before that too).

One of his throws is worth 90 mins of Efetes current threat going forward and it’s not like he’s miles behind him defensively.

Quoted from pontoonlew

It’s the same Cropper who played a massive part in our successful play off campaign (and quite a few games before that too).

One of his throws is worth 90 mins of Efetes current threat going forward and it’s not like he’s miles behind him defensively.

We are not going to have much threat unless we get more players in the box when crosses do come in. Efete put in an excellent cross in the first half which for some reason Clifton didn’t appear to go for and the only other player in the penalty area was Taylor. Probably explains why we are scoring so few goals.

Be interesting watching how Carlisle approach tomorrow nights game as in the abandoned fixture I noticed they left three men upfield when we had a corner which is a very unusual and bold approach.