Just back

Agree with Ginnywings basically.
Poor. Doubly disappointing to lose to a smaller club who have made a better team with better players than us on what is almost certainly a smaller budget.

Our only hope for progress this season is to get rid of a few and bring in 2 or 3 in January.
Poor showing.

Funny old game never goes the way you'd think does it. I was confident we could get a result today. Particularly when I saw the starting line-up.

1st half was very slow-paced. Ball spent a lot of time out of play and the ballboys don't retrieve it unless it lands at their stools (do we have kids that are too young to do this).

We had a couple of moves where a better decision in the final third would've created a good chance. DJ took too long to try and get his shot off early on after cutting inside the box from the left (similar to Dembele in that they both need to learn when to pull the trigger - it'll come). Another time Dembele didn't see the pass out to DJ on the left that would've left him 1v1 with a good run at goal with just 1 defender who may have got across. Another time Mills had a great chance to gallop towards goal but his touch was dreadful. And a couple of long-rangers from Summerfield and Jones which didn't go far wide.

Accrington had initially looked like they wanted to play out from the back from goal kicks - CB's split, full backs higher and on touchlines, Scott Brown in a deep no.4 position. But as the half wore on it looked more like that was just a ploy to draw us out and open the pitch up higher up. We kind of pressed high to stop them playing it short but if they really wanted to play it out they could've done, or they would've shown some rotation of movement to get someone on the ball. Anyway, they had a nippy right winger and Jackson both with good movement, and at times they knocked it about well. They could've probably had a couple 1st half with more composed finishing.

2nd half we just got worse as it went on. Never got Dembele or DJ into the game and everything was just too predictable. Accrington probably sensed we were there for the taking and started attacking with a bit more purpose, their no.7 (who I was quite impressed with) and Jackson caused us problems, not just with their pace but the intelligent movement. They knew when to play it simple but they had movement off the ball to be able to play quick one-touch/two-touch football.

Their pen looked like one of those where the player sees the defender's tackle coming and just waits for it before going down. Looked like he was almost on the way down before the tackle reached him, but no major complaints.

2nd goal was a great header but Mills must have been asleep to not be aware of what was around him.

3rd goal Kayden Jackson showed fantastic pace and a good finish at the end. Didn't see that from him when he was here.

Don't get the feeling our side can react to something going against them. When we go a goal down or we lose a lead like we did on Tuesday, it just feels like heads go and there's no on-pitch leader to put a rocket up everyone's backside. You see Summerfield trying to jee everyone up but nothing from the rest.

What I find striking is how we have two of the most promising young wingers in the division, both with skill, trickery and pace, yet we barely get them in the game. These 2 lads are our most/only creative threats but we barely get them involved in games to the point where they've got the ball at their feet facing the opposition goal in the final third.

Mills had a shocker today, seemed unable to control simple balls and body shape not right for 2nd goal meaning he didn't see goalscorer steaming in to beat him to the header.

That was arguably our strongest XI most would agree, so where do we go from here?

Our goalkeeper had a very good kick on him but once the game was out of reach he had a couple of dodgy moments and dropped a couple of crosses. He made a couple of half decent saves though.

Doesn't get much worst than this, absolutely shocking performance... started ok first 10 mins when DJ had a good run, but took too long to get his shot off, then gradually got worse as the half went on when they had a couple of golden opportunities towards the end of the half. Second half they could see we were there for the taking, Jones was just strolling around, and our forward play was very predictable and pedestrian. No surprise when they scored, and after that it was one-way traffic. Nobody came out with any credit today and Sladey needs to jettison Osborne in via a helicopter, because after all the hard work, with the tough away games we've had, it has all amounted to nothing. No creative midfielder apart from Dembele, no strikers, and not a decent left-back amongst 30 players, it's absolutely disgraceful....things need a drastic turnaround within the next month, before we have nothing to play for...UTM

Continue like this and we will witness a train crash at Crewe again. Bignot was derided for strange selections and formations but changes have to be made to both sooner or later. Matt and Jones are not clicking and appear disillusioned. Experienced senior players are not leading.
There are many painfully accurate assessments in this thread some of which which lay some blame at the players feet but the overwhelming culpability is on the coaching staff, especially how inflexibly they respond to going a goal down.
Sorry to be so repetitive, but if Cardwell had more minutes under his belt up to now, he could have been a starter today.  Jones is clearly unhappy but he has to start. If he is mardy with the ref the tactics, or switches off, yank him off after 20 min. Whatever it takes to get to 50 points!
Even though it was like being in a library today I could hear very few calls between players. Has there been a fall out?

Today was poor and to be honest I felt even more short changed with the lack of response from the players when we went 1 - 0 down only Summers, Matt and Davis appeared to be trying after that.

To be fair a lot of people are talking about Slade ball and Hoof ball but at times today you could see we tried to get it down and play but far too often out pass was wrong or the execution was poor. We also got into some decent positions in and around the box but looked completely clueless when it came to the important thing, an attempt on goal, too many touches far too often.

At half time I was a bit worried as we had not looked like scoring in reality and they had missed a couple of sitters. Both sides spent the game "winning" cheap free kicks and that came to a head with the penalty which by the reaction of the Town payers was soft but a foul. For the 2nd I have not got a scooby what Mills was doing and just wonder if Killip was a bit taller would he have saved it, didn't see the 3rd as I was indisposed.

So concerned about the response from the players when we went behind but also from the bench in that we currently have anyone who can come on and change a game out on loan and Slade did not appear to do much different when we went behind.

In the car on the way home we got talking about the squad and it's size the fallout from PH & MB and the fact that the wage bill may be holding us back but actually today Killip, Davis, Clarke, Collins, Rose, Demblle, DJ and Mat where all signed or re-signed by Slade which is a concern that they can't produce better and he can't give them a game plan to beat teams.

This squad needs a re-boot whether it's from returning loanees and/or one or two new faces at least one of whom needs to be a clever striker who can finish.          

was more like a funeral in the upper findus today,, during the game all you could hear was folk chatting about how there xmas was... mind there was a few nice ships going up and down river  to break the boardom  up a bit

  Jones is clearly unhappy but he has to start. If he is mardy with the ref the tactics, or switches off, yank him off after 20 min.

Don't think that is in Slade's job description.

I think as many people have said, from a fans perspective it is almost past the angry phase and in to the disillusioned and resigned to mediocrity stage, the “meh” phase

Give or take one or two discussion points (and the enforced change of keeper) I said in the Upper Findus before kick off that the selection was decent, bearing in mind the personnel currently in the building.
We huffed and puffed, but until Hooper brought a save from the keeper late on I don’t think we’d had one shot on target.
After their first goal our whole team lost what little shape, idea, and fight they started with, and to me that is the unforgivable thing

Well, I did say 'whatever it takes' !