Just back

To the car...

Actually really enjoyed the first half. Played brilliant and would have been a few goals up if not for the post and a few brilliant saves by Forde.

Second half wasn't as good, but didn't expect it to be kicking against the wind. Shame we couldn't get the goal we deserved.

Overall the performance was decent and that's now only 1 defeat in 10 so no idea what the boos were about.

Quoted from Mikoo

To the car...

Actually really enjoyed the first half. Played brilliant and would have been a few goals up if not for the post and a few brilliant saves by Forde.

Second half wasn't as good, but didn't expect it to be kicking against the wind. Shame we couldn't get the goal we deserved.

Overall the performance was decent and that's now only 1 defeat in 10 so no idea what the boos were about.

Welcome to The Fishy Russell.

Quick summery...

Created a few chances but denied by some good saves and some bad luck. Second half was dire playing into the wind.

Can’t for the life of me work Out why Slade won’t be adventurous in the last 10 mins and have DJ and Dembele both on instead of the slow and anonymous Woolford. Also why take off a striker who can score a goal out of nothing.

Ps. Who on earth decided that having that band in the corner of the pontoon was a good idea? Killed any atmosphere there might have been and seemed to play random songs at random times. We’re not in South America... awful

Absolute boring to watch under slade, the only injection we have is dembele. I know its another point on the board but on an interesting level its crap. My opinion, I aren't a sit on the fencer like some, just getting fed up with these performances week in week out.

Well all would have loved a win but a point is a point and it's better than none. Onto the next one, unbeaten run intact.

UTM

I don’t mind a draw when it adds to an impressive unbeaten run. Again, there were chances for either team to steal the points, however don’t let this detract from a good team performance where both goalkeepers were on point. Key player for us today IMO was Summerfield.

Looking around today’s results it’s good to see Luton are hitting a rough patch, maybe not as unbeatable as we thought. And with Exeter up next we’ll see how we fare against a promotion chasing team.

Sparatic moments of good football. Should of scored in the first half when we were the better team. Summerfield and Dembele once again star players.

Second half boring hoofball into the wind. No real creativity. Number of individual errors and bonkers subs.

Slade out unti things change. What a waste of money.

We played well in the first half and was unlucky not to get a couple of goals.
Second half was boring to watch probably ruined by the wind .
If you think our strikers are bad then you wouldn't wants Cambridges , they'd have never have scored in a month of Sunday's.

Who’d want to manage town eh?

It was better than the Crawley game but that's not difficult. Made some good chances, didn't take them but as One Love says, it's just boring. Cambridge could have easily passed for a Rugby team, such was their physical bulk. Their No9 is a beast but had good control and was almost impossible to shake off the ball.

Thought Summerfield was very good but Davies was excellent and my MOM, just for his goal line clearance alone.

No goals, no atmosphere and not much to get excited about for me. Yeah, we were ok in patches but i'm just getting fed up with watching two teams of massive blokes cancelling each other out. Without a Reddy type, the game we play is always going to be goal shy.

Never even got to sing happy birthday.

We seem To be harder to beat were missing Osbourne in the middle to create stuff out of nothing and a real poacher in the box. We had a few chances second half with scrambles in the box and the shot from dembele from a tight angle that a striker should be following up. Another game unbeaten utm

It certainly wasn't a terrible game today but that last bit where we're more worried about keeping what we've got rather than going for the win will only cost us points in the long run.

The booing wasn't warranted today but it's born out of frustration at that more than anything.

A goal in the first half hour when we were on top would have been significant and would have been a deserved lead. Their keeper kept the in it at that stage. Second half was closer and both teams had chances Macca made 2 good serves to keep it a 0-0. I was sorry to see our most likely scorers sitting on the bench having been subbed. They were non too happily either. DJ on for Woolford for me all day Hooper and Vernon too similar and unlikely to score. Summerfield put in another great performance. 90 mins of real effort breaking up play and trying to get us on the front foot, well done Luke. I think Slade was thinking about how not to lose the game with 15 still to play.

First 15 was okay with some good football at times but from then on it was utter dog excrement from both teams.
I cant stand Slade and his football. I would hate to be a front man playing this type of football.
The service they get is non-existent.
The gap between the midfielder and the front men is massive.
There is no attacking intent under Slade.

McKewon - Did well in that breeze. Some good saves second half

Davies - My MOM.
Good defending and tired to play a positive game.

Collins - Clarke - very sold against there big number 9

Dixon - very consistent, a mistake with every touch. We must have a better left back in the youths than him.

Summerfield - Berrett - did what Slade said defend and dont support the front men.

Woolford- in one word SLUG

Dembeli - ran his socks off and gave his all but (will get slaughtered for this ) very little end product.

Vernon - Jones -fantastic effort from Jones that hit the post but apart from that feel sorry for them because they get no support what so ever.

Slade - mark 1 boring
Slade mark 2 - even more boring

Less than 4k Town at BP today. Carry on like this it will be less than 3.

In summary it was dog excrement
UTM

Was it a lot better when we were getting players sent off and leaking goals?
Slade seems to have rejuvenated summerfield and berritt. We have a solid back five and have two key players out
We could just spark in January when Ozzie and Asante get back into the side and dembele fully adjusts to league footy
Personally I would take one defeat in ten any time and hope for more attractive stuff when our full team is available

Quoted from SheepGTFC

Well all would have loved a win but a point is a point and it's better than none. Onto the next one, unbeaten run intact.

UTM

Dear oh dear

First half was pretty decent as we played some neat football on the deck. Jones showed great tenacity to get in the effort that hit the post and Cambridge were yet another team who couldn't handle an "in full flow" Dembele. Summerfield was at the heart of everything that we did but credit also due to Berrett.
The second half was as bad as the first half was good. The wind played havoc with Macca's kicking but surely at some point he has to realise and either make allowances or try something different. Davis was everywhere and his goal line clearance was remarkable.
Once Jones and Dembele departed it was impossible to see where a winner was coming from. Hooper showed a lack of real application and D.J. just couldn't get into the game.
The booing in the Pontoon that greeted both substitutions was something I hadn't heard for a very long time and involved a lot of fans. I think it is because there is no-one on the bench who you look at and think they have it in them to change the game.

Quoted from TAGG

First 15 was okay with some good football at times but from then on it was utter dog excrement from both teams.
I cant stand Slade and his football. I would hate to be a front man playing this type of football.
The service they get is non-existent.
The gap between the midfielder and the front men is massive.
There is no attacking intent under Slade.

McKewon - Did well in that breeze. Some good saves second half

Davies - My MOM.
Good defending and tired to play a positive game.

Collins - Clarke - very sold against there big number 9

Dixon - very consistent, a mistake with every touch. We must have a better left back in the youths than him.

Summerfield - Berrett - did what Slade said defend and dont support the front men.

Woolford- in one word SLUG

Dembeli - ran his socks off and gave his all but (will get slaughtered for this ) very little end product.

Vernon - Jones -fantastic effort from Jones that hit the post but apart from that feel sorry for them because they get no support what so ever.

Slade - mark 1 boring
Slade mark 2 - even more boring

Less than 4k Town at BP today. Carry on like this it will be less than 3.

In summary it was dog excrement
UTM

We were saying that today. Best demonstrated by the fact that even Dembele with his pace is expected to defend set pieces. We leave nobody "up" so the ball is cleared but inevitably is put back into the danger area.

The booing I feel was directed at Slade for taking off his top scorer and his most threatening player off in like for like substitutions rather than changing it up a bit and going for a win.

I didn’t think we were that bad in the first half when we had the wind but these results are going to cost us in a footballing sense and financially too. Cambridge set out their stall very early on today and didn’t look interested in anything other than avoiding defeat. If we’re not at least trying to win games like today’s then the floating supporters aren’t going to come back.

Summerfield AGAIN was our man of the match in my opinion. Maybe it’s time for some of the fanbase to see him as a good player rather than the backhanded “good game for him” type comments?

The samba band added a good bit of ironic comedy to proceedings.

Lastly: the attendance was a bit suspect to me. 4100 with approx 210 away? Looked more away fans than that to me! Maybe not many more but are we covering up for drops in the home gate?

Apart from the first 25/30 mins where we looked brighter and sharper i thought the game was an awful spectacle.

Wind was a big factor admittedly but why on earth when its this windy do professional footballers persist in pointless high balls that just come back ?  Slade may wish us to try and turn the opposition round but in those conditions, 2nd half,  the ball couldnt travel that far.....surely as a footballer on the pitch you can realise it doesnt work so why not just play it to fkin feet ??

Woolford ??? Major hindrance to any attack IMO. Our left side is non existent going forward.

Summers and Bez ....good today but they are also limited in what they can offer going forward, this again limits our attacking threat.  

Vernon tries , won a few aerial challenges today and held up play but with no midfield running beyond there is little for him to do but go backwards.

Jones, clearly getting frustrated with the service he is getting which is effecting his game.  

The subs....not suprised by Jones as i thought he wasnt really offering anything at that point  ...Hooper, again very little service to him but he just projects a lazy demeanour which doesnt help his cause with the fans who seem to have him as boo boy target.
DJ on for Dembele.....good to see DJ on but not for Dembele, Woolford surely should have come off.

Finally.....whoever decided to put that drum outfit in the Pontoon wants shooting.

Quoted from moosey_club

Apart from the first 25/30 mins where we looked brighter and sharper i thought the game was an awful spectacle.

Wind was a big factor admittedly but why on earth when its this windy do professional footballers persist in pointless high balls that just come back ?  Slade may wish us to try and turn the opposition round but in those conditions, 2nd half,  the ball couldnt travel that far.....surely as a footballer on the pitch you can realise it doesnt work so why not just play it to fkin feet ??

Woolford ??? Major hindrance to any attack IMO. Our left side is non existent going forward.

Summers and Bez ....good today but they are also limited in what they can offer going forward, this again limits our attacking threat.  

Vernon tries , won a few aerial challenges today and held up play but with no midfield running beyond there is little for him to do but go backwards.

Jones, clearly getting frustrated with the service he is getting which is effecting his game.  

The subs....not suprised by Jones as i thought he wasnt really offering anything at that point  ...Hooper, again very little service to him but he just projects a lazy demeanour which doesnt help his cause with the fans who seem to have him as boo boy target.
DJ on for Dembele.....good to see DJ on but not for Dembele, Woolford surely should have come off.

Finally.....whoever decided to put that drum outfit in the Pontoon wants shooting.

Yeah, he got about ten minutes including injury time. What's the point?

Should have been on sooner and had a go at them. We just cannot pin back a team, which is shameful at home, especially when they are as average as Cambridge were.

Berrett, Davies & Summerfield all pretty good, Macca my MOM for two really good saves. Woolford & Dixon were woeful and Hooper should try running for a ball rather than throw his arms around - hence the boos when he replaces Jones. Interesting that Matt didn't make the bench today.

As already mentioned a decent first half when we had three decent efforts, their keeper denying us on two occasions, and Jones unlucky to hit the post. Having said that, they posed an attacking threat, missing a sitter in the six-yard box. Second half we huffed and puffed without really creating anything apart from Dembele's shot across goal, that was crying out for a finisher to bury it. They had several chances with McKeown denying them, together with a couple of goal line clearances. The wind didn't help, and whilst we're on an unbeaten run, Slades tactics and personnel won't change. However, it was a better performance than previous home games, and nobody can deny the players efforts today. Standout performer once again was Demebele who has to beat two or three men every time, with little support. Good games also from Summerfield, McKeown and Davies.

Cambridge, on the whole aren't a bad counter-attacking side, and on another day it could have been 3-3.  At the moment we are where we are, a solid mid-table side, that is lacking a couple of creative players together with a finisher. However, sterner tests will come with the likes of Exeter...UTM

To be fair, you're always going to struggle against a wind like that in the second half. We defended quite well when they started to chuck it into the box but the fact is that they were bigger and stronger than us so it was always going to be a struggle. A couple of good saves from Macca though those chances seemed to come to them too easily (admittedly, the one at the death came from a hacked clearance which fell directly to their only player in space and he put a good ball through for Akinfenwa's mini-me).

Some good stuff played by us at times in the first half which was surprising as it's often almost impossible to play decent football in strong, swirling winds, but we don't get enough numbers into the box and the starting eleven is completely lacking in any real pace . Still, a pity we didn't manage to put one of our chances in.

The booing for the subs was ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as the substantial numbers of people (I hesitate to call them fans) streaming out with more than five minutes left to play and the game goalless. Utter pillocks, as we could quite easily have nicked a winner.

We're a bang average mid-table 4th division team at the moment (as we were last season but for Bogle's goals) and it doesn't seem to me that some people have realised this yet.

Clearly CAMB are set up to play physical stuff up front with man mountain players  looking for set pieces and long hoofs with the wind at their backs our defence held on admirably with Macca making two lovely saves.

First half we played some nice stuff and deserved to be at least one up. The wind played a big part making it hard to clear the halfway line kicking towards the ponny end for both sides.

Not sure anything Slade did would have helped us against that wind hence why the booing was uncalled for.

Fair result Dembele,Summerfield and Clarke were easily our best players.

For them the big man mountain up front was a real handful and in full flow almost unstoppable.

Quoted from Maringer

To be fair, you're always going to struggle against a wind like that in the second half. We defended quite well when they started to chuck it into the box but the fact is that they were bigger and stronger than us so it was always going to be a struggle. A couple of good saves from Macca though those chances seemed to come to them too easily (admittedly, the one at the death came from a hacked clearance which fell directly to their only player in space and he put a good ball through for Akinfenwa's mini-me).

Some good stuff played by us at times in the first half which was surprising as it's often almost impossible to play decent football in strong, swirling winds, but we don't get enough numbers into the box and the starting eleven is completely lacking in any real pace . Still, a pity we didn't manage to put one of our chances in.

The booing for the subs was ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as the substantial numbers of people (I hesitate to call them fans) streaming out with more than five minutes left to play and the game goalless. Utter pillocks, as we could quite easily have nicked a winner.

We're a bang average mid-table 4th division team at the moment (as we were last season but for Bogle's goals) and it doesn't seem to me that some people have realised this yet.

Not of you play it on the deck more and pass the ball instead of hoofing it into the wind. Yes I do understand sometimes you have to hoof it, but if you're agaibst the wind like that take back control and play it on the deck.

Quoted from Maringer

The booing for the subs was ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as the substantial numbers of people (I hesitate to call them fans) streaming out with more than five minutes left to play and the game goalless. Utter pillocks, as we could quite easily have nicked a winner.

We're a bang average mid-table 4th division team at the moment (as we were last season but for Bogle's goals) and it doesn't seem to me that some people have realised this yet.

Dont forget that people want excitement, entertainment for their  £18-20. Also we were supposed to a team pushing for promotion this season and the current side just doesnt look to have the guile that is needed to regularly win games, not lose that often , but wins are also needed.

Cambridge came to spoil and not lose the game...as a club with ambitions of promotion we should be doing all we can to turn them over and there wasnt enough match winning options out there to do that today.

Quoted from moosey_club

Dont forget that people want excitement, entertainment for their  £18-20. Also we were supposed to a team pushing for promotion this season and the current side just doesnt look to have the guile that is needed to regularly win games, not lose that often , but wins are also needed.

Cambridge came to spoil and not lose the game...as a club with ambitions of promotion we should be doing all we can to turn them over and there wasnt enough match winning options out there to do that today.

Especially when Slade took two of them off.

Defences were todays winners in those conditions especially Town, we`ve still have no threat up front and a point was well won because it seemed that neither team were going to score, the subs were silly and ill timed

i agree with what most have put on here,really enjoyed the first half,some good football and should have scored a couple but for bad luck and some great goalkeeping,second half was dire because of the wind,but overall a point is a point.
p.s the band in the top of the pontoon ruined the game for me,who booked them,who gave them there playlist,please never agian

Well for what it's worth, here's my view.
First 25 mins Town played neat football, almost scoring on at least three occasions.
Cambridge defended in depth with ten men behind the ball and slowed the game down at every opportunity.
All of Town's players played a part.
The next 15 mins saw Town allowing Cambridge into the game, they supported the lone striker more and started to create chances. Now I think this may be a tactic as we defended deeper and deeper giving away free kicks on the edge of the area, but to hoping to bring Cambridge into our half so we hit them on the counter.
Summerfield was supporting the attack early on but then defended deeper as well.
I felt we were waiting for half time in the end. Cambridge thought they'd get a goal.
Second half started as to set the pattern of play for Town, knock the ball back and a big hoof into the wind only to see the ball hold up in the wind and come straight back.
Once their No 2 was booked we needed pace to run at him, Woolford was not your man with pace. DJ should have been on as soon as that player went in the book.
So the two substitutions came, first the player most likely to score from either team went off, that I couldn't understand then the equally baffling substitution of Dembele left me open mouthed. It should have been Woodford and Vernon.
Hooper was worse than both Vernon and Woolford. DJ should have been on earlier.
We almost threw the game away, their best effort was the Summerfield header.
My man of the match was Summerfield. Davies and Macca worth a mention as well.
I didn't and don't boo my team, I didn't boo Slade either. Thought the booing was for Slade and his substitutions.
Many supporters left when Dembele was hooked.
The one time I've ever felt like booing a player was R, Brodie at Wembley. He went the next day. See he's just been shown the door by Solihull

Quoted from TAGG

Less than 4k Town at BP today. Carry on like this it will be less than 3.

UTM

Hate to say this, but over 8k at Lincoln!

BP - A "Fortress"?

Played alright in spells and  we were unlucky to not score.
Slade let himself down by being to conservative with his changes, needs to be more adventurous. Justified taking Dembele off by saying DJ had been great in training, which is fine but why give him 8 minutes in the place of your biggest threat.

Hooper needs a rocket up his bottom, ducked out of a couple of challenges when he came on.

Ball went out a lot there were 23 corners. They wasted as much time as they could in the first half when we had the wind. We did really well defensively not to concede and some of their long throws were difficult to deal with. Our focus is clearly not to lose which is why we keep drawing as we don't have the firepower to score enough goals.

The news from Cambridge is they are pleased with the result

Slade wants Blundell Park to be a fortress. Well, going by the last 3 games, it is, 0-0,0-0,0-0, boring me to bits. Were supposed to take the game to them, and attack. No excitement,clueless at times, the odd few bits of good play, but never got me off me seat. I sometimes wonder where the next goal is going to come from. Don't think its ever going to happen with Slade in charge. Another big failure in choosing a manager(s). The only good thing is another point for safety,but its getting really dire watching 90 minutes of nothing. A few good moves today but I don't think its enough value for money.My opinion,just saying.

Enjoyed some of the football in the first half.
Summerfield and Davies men of the match and Macca had a good game. Solid defence.
Dixon was woeful, Hooper, Woolford marginally better.
I know some people criticise Dembele for the lack of end product, but to be honest when he gets hold of the ball I remember watching football CAN be an enjoyable pastime.

I guess its horses for courses. Some will kind of enjoy Slades approach to football, very few risks, predictable, safe. Points are gained, and few are lost. But it’s not for me. Yes, I was one of those booing. Not the players and I guess not even for Slade (Because Slade is just being Slade). I was booing because the passion I have felt for so long has withered away. I loved the anticipation of the match ahead, watching the video's, reading the reports, listening to the interviews, dreaming about higher leagues and new stadiums. But now I just feel numb to it all and for that I feel anger towards the person at the top.
The band in the pontoon, the half time cabaret act just epitomizes the desperation of a board trying to "create" an atmosphere, trying to "create" some kind of entertainment for the paying customer. Its amateurish and totally misses the mark. We are actually on a decent run with a respectable league position. But when a fair few fans feel the need to boo each substitution, to verbally express that Slade doesn’t know what he's doing, despite that run of form, there is something desperately, desperately wrong at GTFC!

Quoted from heppy88

Enjoyed some of the football in the first half.
Summerfield and Davies men of the match and Macca had a good game. Solid defence.
Dixon was woeful, Hooper, Woolford marginally better.
I know some people criticise Dembele for the lack of end product, but to be honest when he gets hold of the ball I remember watching football CAN be an enjoyable pastime.

I guess its horses for courses. Some will kind of enjoy Slades approach to football, very few risks, predictable, safe. Points are gained, and few are lost. But it’s not for me. Yes, I was one of those booing. Not the players and I guess not even for Slade (Because Slade is just being Slade). I was booing because the passion I have felt for so long has withered away. I loved the anticipation of the match ahead, watching the video's, reading the reports, listening to the interviews, dreaming about higher leagues and new stadiums. But now I just feel numb to it all and for that I feel anger towards the person at the top.
The band in the pontoon, the half time cabaret act just epitomizes the desperation of a board trying to "create" an atmosphere, trying to "create" some kind of entertainment for the paying customer. Its amateurish and totally misses the mark. We are actually on a decent run with a respectable league position. But when a fair few fans feel the need to boo each substitution, to verbally express that Slade doesn’t know what he's doing, despite that run of form, there is something desperately, desperately wrong at GTFC!

Couldn't agree more. And why did Davey B have to be accompanied around the pitch?

Plenty of excitement in spells today.My heart was in my mouth during that period of corners in the second half. We nearly always seem to fade in the second half and when Slade makes his usual strange substitutions it inevitably gets worse. It's all very well shoring up the defence but the way we play at home would fool anybody into thinking we were the away team.

I suppose we could just 0-0 our way to safety. Keeps the wolf from the door but absolutely tedious as hell.
Still trying to take a balanced view. Yes it's a decent run. Yes the league position is ok, but Jeez, you're a long time dead. Have we got any imagination? Any real ambition? Can't we adapt to the conditions and pass it when there's a swirling wind? It's not that f@cking difficult.

Is there any point in turning up to witness pretty much nothing? Nothing that is exciting or artful or skilful?!

Would most fans feel that going for a win but losing would be better than a draw ?

Just asking.

Dunno Pete. I'd expect a mixed bag of results but with us playing some football and attacking teams, especially at home.

Slade deserved to be booed, taking off your top scorer and the only player who looked like scoring for in my opinion the laziest no.9 I have seen in over 50 years and leaving Vernon on who wouldn't have scored if he was still on the pitch on his own. No wonder Jones looked drunk off.

Also taking off Town's most exciting player who had 2 shots at goal and one great run to the byline before putting in a very good cross while leaving on Woolford who did frig all no wonder the fans chanted "you don't know what you are doing"

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Couldn't agree more. And why did Davey B have to be accompanied around the pitch?

Possibly because JF got the frame thing on approval just in case Dave didn't like it, if purchases are damaged you can't get a refund....... joking apart it was great to see and well deserved.

Anyway enough of that on to the game, well I guess we are not losing and the basis of any half decent team is the defence and the ability to keep clean sheets, when you want to build a side you build from the back.

Until Jones created his first chance from nothing I thought I was watching a game in slow motion as neither side started with any intensity. The conditions did not help but in the first half I thought it was an open game which Town edged as we tested their keeper a  little more than recent weeks once we decided that in general football is played on the ground by passing the ball to a player in the same colour shirt and not punting it long and hoping for the best.

Really disappointed with the 2nd half as we lacked any real team cohesion and composure on the ball. We appear to get into decent space and take the wrong option far too often these days we look long when we should go short and we try a complicated pass when the easy pass will do. All that said some real heroics off the line from Davis and Collins a well as a couple of good saves from Macca ensure Town got a draw from a game they didn't deserve to lose but the type of one where we will have to do much better up front to win.

Despite the result being frustrating I thought all the players tried hard,

Macca - Really good game and his saves in the 2nd half kept us in the game.
Davies - Good game, worked hard and used his experience on a number of occasions.
Dixon - He's clearly trying hard but If I did not know how old he was I would think he was a rookie with his positional play
Clarke - Has been better but needs to take some credit for his part in a clean sheet
Collins - A warrior performance, really good game once he got to grips with their number 9
Berret - Decent but needs to shoot when he gets a sight of goal
Summerfield - Unrecognisable from the player who went out on loan to Macclesfield, at time he looked like the only one who wanted to pass the ball forward and his work rate and desire makes a real difference.
Woolford - If we are going t get any value from his ability we need an energetic full back who can overlap to play with him.
Dembelle - Great attitude and is getting stronger game by game, possibly the only Town player other than Jones that would have scored today.
Jones - Felt sorry for him when he came off and if Slade thinks replacing him with Hooper as he said on RH "changing the dynamic" he needs his head testing.
Vernon - Not a great day for him but I guess if people keep pumping balls up to you on a windy day then you getting really poor service to work with.

The subs, Cardwell should have come on for Vernon and not Hooper for Jones. it was too late fro DJ to make any impact and he should have replaced Woolford 15 mins earlier.

So how do we turn draws into wins? Amongst other things

- Keep the "none shall pass" defending going
- Get Osborne fit and in mid field with Summerfield for a bit.
- Give Woolford a FB partner who can overlap, Mills at LB?
- Or re the above start DJ instead of Woolford for a bit
- Take the ball into the box rather than trying to cross it to the invisible man.
- Give Cradwell some game time even if he doesn't start.
- Many say we need a pacey CB though I don't disagree some pace from FB is a bigger priority IMHO as our attacking threat out wide is in reality pretty average  
- Get a "fox in the box" striker in Jan

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY KEEP THE BLOODY BALL ON THE GROUND!



I know I'll get slaughtered but I actually believe that we are improving and if we can stay tight at the back some of these draws will turn into wins............eventually!

UTM!  
                    

      

If we’d tried hard to win a game but lost late on to a goal on the break I wouldn’t say I was happy to lose it but I’d feel a bit more optimistic about going to the next game. Tonight I feel like the game could have been won had we tried something different. Cambridge were happy with what they got and become the latest in a long line of teams over a few seasons to come to BP for a point and get one.

OK it's bloody boring to saw the least but a long unbeaten run of mostly draws does keep us just behind play-off places for if and when we do find the key to producing the wins.

Dembele looked as if he had sustained an injury - appeared to be holding his thigh when he came off - perhaps that is the reason he was subbed?

We just ain't that good. Doesn't mean we are that bad either.

It could have been a Hurst team playing in the conference this afternoon. There are more similarities between the two managers than some will accept. A lot of the same critism can be aim at both men (long balls, favourite players, odd subs, poor home form, dodgy rh interviews, irritation of supporters ).

Really enjoyed the first half, great going forward and solid defensively. Second half against the wind yet we tried the long ball? Don't get why. Also bemused (but didn't boo) at the two subs made. The 2 players who can make things happen taken off when Woolford looked shattered. Overall a point was fair as they dominated 2nd half, just wish we'd buried a couple 1st half. UTM

3rd 0-0 in a row at home but not quite groundhog day as there were a few chances today.

We could've had a few. Jones hitting the post and then another shot after cutting back inside. Vernon header forcing a save. 2nd half not a lot but Dembele flashed the ball wide after going round the keeper leaving a difficult angle.

But it wasn't all Town. Cambridge should've scored first half when their lad scuffed his shot and dragged it wide from dead centre of the goal. And 2nd half McKeown made 2 good saves low down, to add to the 2 we cleared off the line within 10 seconds of each other.

In my opinion the standard and the tactics at the moment are poor. Despite us having these few chances, they're not much to show for 90 minutes of football, where generally the game wasn't a great spectacle. We have a chance but then don't do anything else for another 20 minutes. We don't back it up with any periods of sustained pressure. Teams dont have any spells in a game when they're pinned in their own half against us.

Crazy crazy subs today from Slade. Jones wasn't particularly having a fantastic afternoon but he's our only finisher. Vernon, aside from his header 1st half, didn't offer anything and is as likely to not score again this season as he is to score again this season.
Dembele, again, his decision-making and end product wasn't always there but at 0-0 I'd leave him on as he might make something happen. Meanwhile Woolford on the other wing gets a full 90 again despite offering very little.(I do accept he'd offer more if we had more movement in the team and had spells of possession).

Summerfield was my MOM. Intercepted balls, won tackles, passed with a purpose, passed forwards and saw passes early. One great cushion volley pass to Dembele when the ball came at him from high up and he had to open his body up to direct it to Dembele.

Davies was also good. Defended well, won free-kicks (just about our only player who knows how to draw a foul or even make it look like you've been fouled), and put 2/3 great crosses in during the first half from open play.

McKeown, despite his poor kicking, deserves positive mention for his vital saves today.

Sadly that was about it. Collins and Clarke were ok but both sloppy at times too. Berrett and Vernon offered nothing. Woolford and Dixon aren't terrible players but suffer from being paired with each other down our left. Much like Gregor Robertson and Monkhouse, too one-paced as a partnership. Either would be better with a more athletic player on that side with them.

The unbeaten run is all well and good but it's the points return from these games that should be the overriding judge of success. And we've only actually won 2 in the last 8.

Good point about the Dixon/Woolford axis on our left. Dixon did fine today, has been part of a defence unbeaten in quite a number of games and one which has kept four clean sheets from the past six games. Despite this, some have singled him out as being terrible!

He's no world beater, but he's capable enough. Woolford a little disappointing after a decent start after he joined - not good, not terrible.

If one of these two players had a bit of pace, we might see a bit more from our left. Not sure that Jaiyesimi has enough to be a regular and win Woolford's place, however. He's shown the odd flash (in his limited time), but has also done very in some sub appearances, however short they may be.

Slade seems to be happy with his first team but to get wins he must use his more exciting younger players at least give them a decent time on the pitch.

Jones is our only recognised goal scorer he almost scored again but for the upright he is the one that shows real directness and hunger for the goal FFS leave him on.

Get D.J. on for Woolford as first swap then Matt/Cardwell or Tombola for Vernon but give them a good half hour if things are not happening up front.

Quoted from Tommy

3rd 0-0 in a row at home but not quite groundhog day as there were a few chances today.

We could've had a few. Jones hitting the post and then another shot after cutting back inside. Vernon header forcing a save. 2nd half not a lot but Dembele flashed the ball wide after going round the keeper leaving a difficult angle.

But it wasn't all Town. Cambridge should've scored first half when their lad scuffed his shot and dragged it wide from dead centre of the goal. And 2nd half McKeown made 2 good saves low down, to add to the 2 we cleared off the line within 10 seconds of each other.

In my opinion the standard and the tactics at the moment are poor. Despite us having these few chances, they're not much to show for 90 minutes of football, where generally the game wasn't a great spectacle. We have a chance but then don't do anything else for another 20 minutes. We don't back it up with any periods of sustained pressure. Teams dont have any spells in a game when they're pinned in their own half against us.

Crazy crazy subs today from Slade. Jones wasn't particularly having a fantastic afternoon but he's our only finisher. Vernon, aside from his header 1st half, didn't offer anything and is as likely to not score again this season as he is to score again this season.
Dembele, again, his decision-making and end product wasn't always there but at 0-0 I'd leave him on as he might make something happen. Meanwhile Woolford on the other wing gets a full 90 again despite offering very little.(I do accept he'd offer more if we had more movement in the team and had spells of possession).

Summerfield was my MOM. Intercepted balls, won tackles, passed with a purpose, passed forwards and saw passes early. One great cushion volley pass to Dembele when the ball came at him from high up and he had to open his body up to direct it to Dembele.

Davies was also good. Defended well, won free-kicks (just about our only player who knows how to draw a foul or even make it look like you've been fouled), and put 2/3 great crosses in during the first half from open play.

McKeown, despite his poor kicking, deserves positive mention for his vital saves today.

Sadly that was about it. Collins and Clarke were ok but both sloppy at times too. Berrett and Vernon offered nothing. Woolford and Dixon aren't terrible players but suffer from being paired with each other down our left. Much like Gregor Robertson and Monkhouse, too one-paced as a partnership. Either would be better with a more athletic player on that side with them.

The unbeaten run is all well and good but it's the points return from these games that should be the overriding judge of success. And we've only actually won 2 in the last 8.

Good assessment Tommy it is very noticeable that the defence and Summerfield both look to the right flank and dembele to go forward the left flank is weak mainly on pace.

Dixon is producing some good work but Woolford does not have the pace to cause problems and as to cut back a more exciting player on this flank would balance our side up and give us more directness.

The most frustrating thing is we DO HAVE SUCH PLAYERS WARMING THE BENCH UP.

Doesn't it say something when everyone on here agrees that the subs he chose where wrong and the fact a lot of the ground booed them.

We have too many steady players. Woodford and berrett are prime examples, always playing simple balls leaving the creative burden on a few players. Apart from Summerfield, dembele and jones, we have no attacking intent within the side. The problem is, it's these players that are the ones getting subbed. I'm praying slade puts Osbourne in the team ahead of berrett when he's back to fitness, and it would be nice to see Tom or dj given at least half an hour to prove their worth.

Bang on Mrs Doyle. There have been some good signs in the reserve and cup performances.
How could JT and Mr. Buckley so misread the crowd reaction to the baffling subs? They and Matt Dean tried to turn the phone in into PC virtue signalling about not booing your team. Did they not here the chant of 'you don't know what your doing' from all sides? Clearly aimed at management.
Sam Jones has great potential but he is not gelling with Vernon. Time to try Cardwell or DJ as a partner. Rigidly sticking with the same shape and line up will not convert draws into wins.

Quoted from Mariner93er

We have too many steady players. Woodford and berrett are prime examples, always playing simple balls leaving the creative burden on a few players. Apart from Summerfield, dembele and jones, we have no attacking intent within the side. The problem is, it's these players that are the ones getting subbed. I'm praying slade puts Osbourne in the team ahead of berrett when he's back to fitness, and it would be nice to see Tom or dj given at least half an hour to prove their worth.

Our level of ball retention yesterday was almost entirely down to Berrett breaking play up and making simple passes. If you play 442 you've got to have a player doing the dirty work - what we are lacking is pace down the sides, particularly the left.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Our level of ball retention yesterday was almost entirely down to Berrett breaking play up and making simple passes. If you play 442 you've got to have a player doing the dirty work - what we are lacking is pace down the sides, particularly the left.

You can count on one hand the times he's given the ball away. He's been excellent this season and it makes a change for our problems not to be in centre mid. I can't think of a team that have overrun us in midfield this season.

I've come to the conclusion that League 2 football is all about being strong, organised and physical almost to the total exclusion of skill and ability. People are rightly critical of Town but the oppo don't seem any better, sometimes worse. It's just seems everyone is playing percentage football with little risk.

I could take a home defeat here and there if we were genuinely going all out to win, but the mentality of the management is we will take a point rather than lose as opposed to going all out for 3 points at BP.

Summerfield was the outstanding footballer on either side yesterday btw

Yes agree the difference with both Berrett and Summerfield has been the biggest surprise this season and Slade should be given credit for this

Quoted from headingly_mariner

You can count on one hand the times he's given the ball away. He's been excellent this season and it makes a change for our problems not to be in centre mid. I can't think of a team that have overrun us in midfield this season.

Football teams at all levels need a player that does what Berrett is doing for us. Fernandinho at City being a very good example. If I could criticise him yesterday, it's that he sometimes could be a bit braver at getting a shot away.

Just to add to the anti Woolford comments, I noticed he was "blowing" during the pre-match warm up. He is a clever footballer but not fit. DJ should be given more time in the team on the left.

Sorry, I cannot agree with supposed supporters chanting “You don’t know what you’re doing” against your own team/ manager whilst the game is going on. If Hooper or DJ had won the game, what would we have said then? Complain afterward.

Yes, I didn’t agree with the subs, but I’m not the manager. I felt the atmosphere in the Upper late in the second half was white toxic and unpleasant. Too many “fans” that are quiet as mice when we’re playing okay, but really vociferous when things aren’t going so well. In fact seem to relish that we’re not playing well so the can shout abuse at anyone and anything.

Made me think, that although I’ve got my season ticket, much more of that atmosphere, rather than the football on show will drain any enjoyment for me and make me think twice about going.

Probably get slagged for this, but that’s my take.

I think Cloudy's assessment is spot on. There just isn't any flair in League 2 at all; not yet anyway. I'm yet to see a side that look fluid and dangerous but they may be yet to come to BP. It's all about being fit and organised and hard to break down, with a safety first attitude and it is completely, mind numbingly dull. I have never been more bored with football than i am right now.

Those that say others should be given a chance are living more in hope than expectation. Is Tombola really going to make a difference, or Cardwell, who has virtually zero experience? Most fans think the answer is to change everything, but in reality, unless the players brought in are a marked improvement on what you already have, then it's usually more of the same. Tombola is not a marked improvement on what we have i don't think. If he was, he would be playing, because despite all the protestations that the management don't know what they are doing, they do actually know more than we do.

While we are not losing, the team is going to stay virtually unchanged. The only hope for me for this season is that we can inject a bit more creativity as we go along. Hopefully, some players yet to play will spice the team up a bit. I'm thinking Osborne and Asante etc, and possibly some new faces in January. My hope is that Slade and Wilko are building something worth having in the long run, because when all is said and done, they have not been here that long.

Hope is all we have as footy fans.

I just think we lack pace going forward. I really line Jones and if we had Dembele out wide and someone upfront with Jones with some pace we'd see a big improvement going forward. Every game I've seen (only 4 this season) each time I've felt we've needed just 1 more player going forward with some pace. We seem a  good team to counter but just haven't got that extra bit of pace upfront. I really enjoyed the 1st half yesterday, second half was tough with the wind but the centre backs must stop hoofing it into the wind because it clearly isn't going to work.

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Sorry, I cannot agree with supposed supporters chanting “You don’t know what you’re doing” against your own team/ manager whilst the game is going on. If Hooper or DJ had won the game, what would we have said then? Complain afterward.

Yes, I didn’t agree with the subs, but I’m not the manager. I felt the atmosphere in the Upper late in the second half was white toxic and unpleasant. Too many “fans” that are quiet as mice when we’re playing okay, but really vociferous when things aren’t going so well. In fact seem to relish that we’re not playing well so the can shout abuse at anyone and anything.

Made me think, that although I’ve got my season ticket, much more of that atmosphere, rather than the football on show will drain any enjoyment for me and make me think twice about going.

Probably get slagged for this, but that’s my take.

I doubt you'll be slagged off, it's an honest opinion put in a fair way and we all witness the so-called 'fans' you mention.

. The main issue is this.." If Hooper or DJ had won the game,"

I'm not sure just how many more weeks/months/years my sanity can take of mulling over multiple 'ifs' from almost every game. Slade deserves credit for making a team that is hard to beat. But with the halfway stage of the season rolling in he has to figure out why we're firing blanks, no matter what permutation of the various attacking options he goes for.

Also tend to agree that to date we have not seen a "good" away team when it comes to quality and most games are following a very similar pattern and speaking to Lincoln fans in the pub last night this is reiterated by their experiences. Interestingly their last two home games ended 0-0 and their Opponents Crawley & Cambridge & like us Lincoln lack a goalscorer.

This being the case I just feel it strengthens the argument to try and play a different style particularly as we do not have a centre forward who is particularly physical or good in the air. There guy yesterday although not a great finisher was certainly a handful & created space a plenty for team mates.

Back to town and IMO when the game is like yesterday, and the previous 3 home matches, why not change the style & play the game on the floor with perhaps Cardwell or Hooper, who seems better with that type of approach, mining Jones.

I accept Tombola is not a world beater but just feel he has something to offer as an impact sub with 20-30 minutes remaining, him on the right with Dembele or DJ on left with Cardwell/Hooper & jones may give us some real pace and a chance to get at the opposition. Get them turning & drag centre halves away from centre of field where they dominate the aerial battles. On those odd occasions we did that yesterday Cambridge were all over the place and appeared to lack any confidence or composure. Trouble is we only play in this way on a rare number of occasions each match.

Hopefully, Osbourne may return wide left instead of Woodford and give us that bit extra going forward as he can certainly beat his man.

Defence are Ok but the fact that they do need to sit deep is probably the major factor in us having to play so many long balls and that Dembele does most of his dribbling around the half way line.

Certainly, not that easy on the eye at present. As for comment re atmosphere in Upper Findus I sit around 44 and other than boos for subs and odd one at the end heard nothing to suggest a toxic atmosphere more a resignation that nothing has changed for the better entertainment wise since the season started.

Give Woolford a FB with a bit of pace and you’ll se a difference, he’s a clever player who needs an energetic partner who can get into space quickly.

Going forward though when Osborne is fit Do we consider a shift to 4-3-3?

                            Macca
             Davis Clarke Collins Dixon
             Summerfield Osborn Berret
                  Dembele Jones DJ

Though the above might not be the 11 we would go with I am not convinced with the current squad 4-4-2 is working that well in terms of creating shots on goal. I personally would like to see Bolarinwa involved somewhere as he is the only on with real pace

I think the booing etc is way too premature.

We're a damn sight better than we were earlier on in the season and I'd rather wait to see how January pans out. I'm sure Slade knows he needs a forward. I'm also sure that the 'improvements' we've made don't feel like that right now but we've gone from relegation material to within a sniff of playoffs over the past 10 games. We've turned losses into draws, its still not pretty but it's better.

If we can now start to turn some of those draws into wins then who knows, but booing the team can only have a negative impact on an improving side.

Although both Berrett and Summerfield have been much improved this season, I'm still not sure we have the physicality to play a central three in midfield without more defensive support out wide. Especially when you consider we've got no pace at all in defence.

It's a bit of a conundrum for us at the moment - where are we going to put Osbourne in the current line-up once he returns from injury? I don't think Slade will drop Woolford as he seems to prefer to trust the experienced players. Perhaps we'll see Osbourne coming on as a sub for one of the wide players with 20-odd minutes to go, though this would mean effectively playing him out of position whilst leaving wingers on the bench.

We've made ourselves difficult to beat with the current 4-4-2, but do we have players in the squad to become more of a threat up front with this formation? Not so sure.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Give Woolford a FB with a bit of pace and you’ll se a difference, he’s a clever player who needs an energetic partner who can get into space quickly.

Going forward though when Osborne is fit Do we consider a shift to 4-3-3?

                            Macca
             Davis Clarke Collins Dixon
             Summerfield Osborn Berret
                  Dembele Jones DJ

Though the above might not be the 11 we would go with I am not convinced with the current squad 4-4-2 is working that well in terms of creating shots on goal. I personally would like to see Bolarinwa involved somewhere as he is the only on with real pace

Apart from his goal at Accrington in all the games I have seen him play I don't think he is any more clever than any of the other players we have and looks totally unfit to me.

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Sorry, I cannot agree with supposed supporters chanting “You don’t know what you’re doing” against your own team/ manager whilst the game is going on. If Hooper or DJ had won the game, what would we have said then? Complain afterward.

Yes, I didn’t agree with the subs, but I’m not the manager. I felt the atmosphere in the Upper late in the second half was white toxic and unpleasant. Too many “fans” that are quiet as mice when we’re playing okay, but really vociferous when things aren’t going so well. In fact seem to relish that we’re not playing well so the can shout abuse at anyone and anything.

Made me think, that although I’ve got my season ticket, much more of that atmosphere, rather than the football on show will drain any enjoyment for me and make me think twice about going.

Probably get slagged for this, but that’s my take.

If my 6 numbers had come up last night I would be nearly £6 million richer.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Apart from his goal at Accrington in all the games I have seen him play I don't think he is any more clever than any of the other players we have and looks totally unfit to me.

By his own admission when he signed he was pretty unfit due to the lack of a pre season. You can do all you like in the week but the best way to get fit is to play a run of full matches. Reminds me of when Clements signed for his first half a dozen games he looked light weight once he got a good level of fitness he started to run games.

BTW Where are all these proven “clever” left sided attackers we have been hiding?

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Sorry, I cannot agree with supposed supporters chanting “You don’t know what you’re doing” against your own team/ manager whilst the game is going on. If Hooper or DJ had won the game, what would we have said then? Complain afterward.

Yes, I didn’t agree with the subs, but I’m not the manager. I felt the atmosphere in the Upper late in the second half was white toxic and unpleasant. Too many “fans” that are quiet as mice when we’re playing okay, but really vociferous when things aren’t going so well. In fact seem to relish that we’re not playing well so the can shout abuse at anyone and anything.

Made me think, that although I’ve got my season ticket, much more of that atmosphere, rather than the football on show will drain any enjoyment for me and make me think twice about going.

Probably get slagged for this, but that’s my take.

Whats with the "fans" ?

Do you mean if they don't think/act like you their not proper fans??

They aren’t supporting the team are they if they are forever booing and moaning about everything anybody associated with the club does.

I think the current GTFC starting XI is very solid, 100% grafters, play for the shirt, trying their guts out and we are getting everything from nearly all of the players.
That only take you so far though
What we lack is a spark in and around the box; a lot more creativity; and (dare I say it) an Amond type goal poacher

IMO there isn't a lot wrong and most clubs I've seen this season are a virtual carbon copy of us - honest, hardworking but lack potency

Take Summerfield and Berret - they are playing really well at the moment and in many ways can't be expected to give us any more. They are limited in certain areas (like most L2 players) and are they a midfield partnership that will see us near the top of the league?

4 clean sheets in last six games and only 1 defeat in 9/10?? (can't remember) says there is a lot of positives but of course a lack of goals is the killer

Not easy to solve on our limited budget

Osborne will hopefully give us an edge - but I'm not sure where he will fit in (even though I'd pick him all day long) cos Russ will be looking at his current midfield and thinking they are dong fine. What I'm saying is that I'm not sure RS will pick him

Goalscorer? God knows!

Quoted from Maringer

Good point about the Dixon/Woolford axis on our left. Dixon did fine today, has been part of a defence unbeaten in quite a number of games and one which has kept four clean sheets from the past six games. Despite this, some have singled him out as being terrible!

He's no world beater, but he's capable enough. Woolford a little disappointing after a decent start after he joined - not good, not terrible.

If one of these two players had a bit of pace, we might see a bit more from our left. Not sure that Jaiyesimi has enough to be a regular and win Woolford's place, however. He's shown the odd flash (in his limited time), but has also done very in some sub appearances, however short they may be.

You can always be relied upon to defend the left eh Maringer..

Quoted from Mariner_09

They aren’t supporting the team are they if they are forever booing and moaning about everything anybody associated with the club does.

They are supporting the team because their arses are on the seats not at home ratteling some excrement of their keyboard.
You dont make the decision weather they are "fans" just because they let their feeling known.
I flipping hate Slades football and dont want him anywhere near our club but I didn't boo or chant when he made stupid substitutions but any one who paid their money can say what they want.
Last time I looked we had a free country.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

By his own admission when he signed he was pretty unfit due to the lack of a pre season. You can do all you like in the week but the best way to get fit is to play a run of full matches. Reminds me of when Clements signed for his first half a dozen games he looked light weight once he got a good level of fitness he started to run games.

BTW Where are all these proven “clever” left sided attackers we have been hiding?

So if he isn't fit why hasn't he been sent out on loan as other have?

Quoted from Mariner_09

They aren’t supporting the team are they if they are forever booing and moaning about everything anybody associated with the club does.

I assume most have paid to get in.

Quoted from arryarryarry

So if he isn't fit why hasn't he been sent out on loan as other have?

Not sure TBH but I suspect it's a number of reasons one being that prior to his arrival nobody had nailed the LW/LMF position as Sam Kelly flattered to deceive and at this stage in his career you would not expect to sign a player with that level of experience and then loan him straight out.  

Well for what it's worth I reckon Slade is starting to get things right , he's steadied a ship that was leaking goals under Bignot , we seemed to be getting Walloped 4 or 5 every other week under him and that was the reason he was sacked.
Given that we're not even half way though his first season in charge he has already made us hard to beat.
Now we need to take it that step further and turn these draws into wins , were not for off the play offs and I reckon when we've got a fully fit squad plus a couple more singings in the new year we might be in with a shout.

Now anyone that knows me will know I'm no happy clapper , in fact I wanted rid of Hurst and Bignot and often made my views heard.
I've just got a good feeling about Slade even if the football is boring to watch or be happy if we was in the play offs watching it

Yesterday reinforced my belief that Slade will not get us out of this league. His signings in the summer , apart from Dembele, are just mediocre  and certainly not the kind of players to build upon for a promotion winning team. The left side is weak with Woolford just a waste of a signing and Dixon often getting caught out of position. A better team than Cambridge would have sussed out our weak left side early in the game and worked on it. We need a better mid-fielder alongside Summerfield, who has really come on over the last six games. Berrett isn't dynamic enough and I would rather see Rose playing as a screen in front of the back four. The fact that Slade didn't try to bolster the mid-field instead of subbing strikers like for like demonstrates to me that he thinks the mid-field is ok which IMO it isn't. We need to create more chances through mid-field and the goals will come.

Quoted from rancido

Yesterday reinforced my belief that Slade will not get us out of this league. His signings in the summer , apart from Dembele, are just mediocre  and certainly not the kind of players to build upon for a promotion winning team. The left side is weak with Woolford just a waste of a signing and Dixon often getting caught out of position. A better team than Cambridge would have sussed out our weak left side early in the game and worked on it. We need a better mid-fielder alongside Summerfield, who has really come on over the last six games. Berrett isn't dynamic enough and I would rather see Rose playing as a screen in front of the back four. The fact that Slade didn't try to bolster the mid-field instead of subbing strikers like for like demonstrates to me that he thinks the mid-field is ok which IMO it isn't. We need to create more chances through mid-field and the goals will come.

Our weaknesses are the left side and lack of a striker - the central midfield are doing fine, show me a holding screen midfielder in L2 that's playing any better than Berrett is at present. It's the least of our problems.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Our weaknesses are the left side and lack of a striker - the central midfield are doing fine, show me a holding screen midfielder in L2 that's playing any better than Berrett is at present. It's the least of our problems.

Well we will agree to differ on this as I think Rose shows more potential than Berrett.

Quoted from rancido

Well we will agree to differ on this as I think Rose shows more potential than Berrett.

As an attacking threat, yes, but not as a holding midfielder?

I wish we had just one better than Rose or Berrett. That would improve us a notch. I think all 3 have done well at times, especially Berrett and Summerfield lately, but they are pretty average and quite alike in many respects. How many goals have they got between them this season? 1 maybe? Assists? Not many.

I know Slade likes his stats - hopefully he's working on this. I think you need some form of threat from centre mid, and a much wider range of attributes/types. We've got three hard working, tackling players who are decent at passing and good positionally. Where's the runner, the clever ball player, the one who can beat a man with skill, the one who can arrive late in the box, or split a defence ?(fair play to Summerfield at Vale and Dembele at Chesterfield.)

Pretty similar situation up front where we are lacking a quality player, even though we've got 5 forwards, and the left side, which is absolutely average at best, with no alternative at left back. Limited is probably more accurate. Little to no attacking threat at all from that side.

We seem destined to be a functional, unexciting and unadventurous team, if solid, until January. It'll keep us safe most probably, which is good, but boy will it be tedious.

Like the Vader quote below, I will keep the faith and hope that the glaringly obvious shortcomings in the squad are addressed in January and then we can muster some sort of attempt on the play offs.

Back from my weekend in Lincs. Fish n Chips excellent as always, BP, well nice to clap for Dave Boylen a hero of mine.
First half an improvement on last 3 games but too many poor descisions in final 3rd and virtuaslly no real goal threat. Issue is centre mids sit so deep that we never have more than 3 players, often only 1 in or around the box if the ball comes ie. 3 of the 4  wingers and strikers in total. 2nd half  Meh! a couple of attacks but as no support for strikers resulted in nothing then 40 mins of hoof into the air and lucky not to concede. Why not play it on the deck or at least if playing the percentage game direct low balls between the CB and Defs to run onto, oh wait forgot that wont work as he took the only striker with any pace at all off and replaced him with JJ, brilliant.  Then our other only attacking threat removed leaving a pl;ayer that was knackered before half time on. We were defending deep so why not get our quickest players out there for the last 20 mins tyo counter attack. To quote Slade he wanted to change the dynamic, Hooper wouldn't be dynamic even if you shoved a cattle prod up his @rse.

Disappointed with the clubs pre match stuff, we had presentations to the youths, Dave B etc. then a dance routine in the corner, why not get it on the big screen so people at the other side/end of the pitch can see it as it happens.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

You can count on one hand the times he's given the ball away. He's been excellent this season and it makes a change for our problems not to be in centre mid. I can't think of a team that have overrun us in midfield this season.

yet can you say either of those have overrun the opposition or torn them a new one either ?

They are both playing to their limit at the moment IMO but neither presents a threat to the opposition...Summerfield has played one key pass all season when he put Dembele through.....cant recall another one yet he has played 13 games ??
They are both playing well currently but just not offering enough on the attack side of things.

Quoted from Madeleymariner

Back from my weekend in Lincs. Fish n Chips excellent as always, BP, well nice to clap for Dave Boylen a hero of mine.
First half an improvement on last 3 games but too many poor descisions in final 3rd and virtuaslly no real goal threat. Issue is centre mids sit so deep that we never have more than 3 players, often only 1 in or around the box if the ball comes ie. 3 of the 4  wingers and strikers in total. 2nd half  Meh! a couple of attacks but as no support for strikers resulted in nothing then 40 mins of hoof into the air and lucky not to concede. Why not play it on the deck or at least if playing the percentage game direct low balls between the CB and Defs to run onto, oh wait forgot that wont work as he took the only striker with any pace at all off and replaced him with JJ, brilliant.  Then our other only attacking threat removed leaving a pl;ayer that was knackered before half time on. We were defending deep so why not get our quickest players out there for the last 20 mins tyo counter attack. To quote Slade he wanted to change the dynamic, Hooper wouldn't be dynamic even if you shoved a cattle prod up his @rse.

Disappointed with the clubs pre match stuff, we had presentations to the youths, Dave B etc. then a dance routine in the corner, why not get it on the big screen so people at the other side/end of the pitch can see it as it happens.

I don't really know why you bother going.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Our level of ball retention yesterday was almost entirely down to Berrett breaking play up and making simple passes. If you play 442 you've got to have a player doing the dirty work - what we are lacking is pace down the sides, particularly the left.

Ball retention?

We very rarely kept the ball longer than 3 passes before losing it or knocking it out for a throw-in.

You're clearly a fan of Berrett Codger so I accept we'll have differing opinions, but I thought Summerfield won the ball (tackles and interceptions) much more than Berrett as well as being brighter in possession. I recognise there are times to play simple and retail the ball but if we're to get out of this rut of 0-0's at home we need quicker, more incisive and more inventive passes.

Quoted from pontoonlew

I think the booing etc is way too premature.

We're a damn sight better than we were earlier on in the season and I'd rather wait to see how January pans out. I'm sure Slade knows he needs a forward. I'm also sure that the 'improvements' we've made don't feel like that right now but we've gone from relegation material to within a sniff of playoffs over the past 10 games. We've turned losses into draws, its still not pretty but it's better.

If we can now start to turn some of those draws into wins then who knows, but booing the team can only have a negative impact on an improving side.

We've got 6 strikers already.

And a near 30-man squad.

Quoted from Tommy

Ball retention?

We very rarely kept the ball longer than 3 passes before losing it or knocking it out for a throw-in.

You're clearly a fan of Berrett Codger so I accept we'll have differing opinions, but I thought Summerfield won the ball (tackles and interceptions) much more than Berrett as well as being brighter in possession. I recognise there are times to play simple and retail the ball but if we're to get out of this rut of 0-0's at home we need quicker, more incisive and more inventive passes.

I do like Berrett and I like Summerfield too. Where we were sat yesterday, some hadn't seen either for a while and couldn't believe how effective they were in the first half. If you looked at how Cambridge set up, they had 3 up against our 2 in central midfield and we rarely lost the ball. What some look out for is the devastating pass or through ball which Summerfield or Osborne can deliver but without a Berrett or a McAlister you might not have the ball in the first place.