Just back

First game since the Colchester win for me today and I was pleased to come away with Town securing the three points. Really pleased for Akheem, hopefully the start of many. Love finishes like that when it's lashed in with real venom.

However, let's not paper over the cracks. We were very poor. So were Crawley. The quality on show was awful with far more basic errors being made than I can remember from many other games. Like others, I was surprised at Cardwell starting and he was clearly not match sharp. He did a job for us last season but he needs time to bed in before he's fully fit. Even then, he's lacking in quality. The chance he missed is the sort a striker really should be taking but I have doubts if he'll ever score many, if any at all.

The defence did okay but Collins is a shadow of the player he once was. There was one attack in the second half where Crawley were breaking at pace and instead of trying to hold some sort of defensive shape, Collins made a beeline for our area, playing their winger onside and allowing them to advance far up the pitch quickly. Fortunately they had Palmer up front who has all the finesse of a sledgehammer so they didn't score but we've seen plenty of times where similar has happened and we've been punished. His legs are gone, put him out to pasture. As for the backpass to Macca, that was just unbelievably shite. Fox looked a little short of sharpness but that will come. Hendrie impressed, I like him.

The midfield worked hard but there was little quality or attacking intent. We still don't have a proper winger. Vernam is good on the ball but he's wasted out wide, it's not his natural position. I thought Pringle was fairly anonymous for most of the game. Hessenthaler and Clifton worked hard but there many basic errors such as playing the ball behind a man instead of into his run. Clifton is a great prospect but I think some on here over-egg his ability. He will come on though, I do like him but I was surprised so many seemed to think he was man of the match from what was a bang average performance from him. The lack of movement in the middle and the lack of speed in thought and execution, particularly first half, made us very easy to defend against. We have no width for much of the game because we have no natural wide players and the lack of people showing for feet or moving to create space for others to fill means we ended up just knocking it long more often than not. This would be fine if we had the players to make the most of this but we don't.

Today highlighted to me what a poor job in squad building Jolley did this summer. We've got no natural wide players. We've got a limited selection of full backs. We've got too many players who aren't quite out and out strikers but aren't really midfielders either. We still don't really have a striker able to mix it with the brutes in this division if we are forced to go long. And as has been the case with Town for as long as I can remember, we still have a really slow team. I said at the start of the season that he'd got his recruitment all wrong to play a certain formation (3-5-2) and I stand by this (no wingbacks, relatively immobile central defenders). He then quickly panicked and dropped that idea but due to his lack of foresight and lack of proper wingers (poor squad building again), we can't fully play any formation fully effectively.This isn't a call for him to go. There have been some good things this season. I'm pleased we've got a young squad and that at times we've played some good football so I'm not calling for him to go. My hope is that we recruit a couple of wingers and inject some pace into the team in January. I don't think we'll go down but without some reinforcements to add where we're lacking, it could be a close run thing again.

Oh and the ref was an absolute joke today. Onwards and upwards.

Quoted from mariner91

First game since the Colchester win for me today and I was pleased to come away with Town securing the three points. Really pleased for Akheem, hopefully the start of many. Love finishes like that when it's lashed in with real venom.

However, let's not paper over the cracks. We were very poor. So were Crawley. The quality on show was awful with far more basic errors being made than I can remember from many other games. Like others, I was surprised at Cardwell starting and he was clearly not match sharp. He did a job for us last season but he needs time to bed in before he's fully fit. Even then, he's lacking in quality. The chance he missed is the sort a striker really should be taking but I have doubts if he'll ever score many, if any at all.

The defence did okay but Collins is a shadow of the player he once was. There was one attack in the second half where Crawley were breaking at pace and instead of trying to hold some sort of defensive shape, Collins made a beeline for our area, playing their winger onside and allowing them to advance far up the pitch quickly. Fortunately they had Palmer up front who has all the finesse of a sledgehammer so they didn't score but we've seen plenty of times where similar has happened and we've been punished. His legs are gone, put him out to pasture. As for the backpass to Macca, that was just unbelievably shite. Fox looked a little short of sharpness but that will come. Hendrie impressed, I like him.

The midfield worked hard but there was little quality or attacking intent. We still don't have a proper winger. Vernam is good on the ball but he's wasted out wide, it's not his natural position. I thought Pringle was fairly anonymous for most of the game. Hessenthaler and Clifton worked hard but there many basic errors such as playing the ball behind a man instead of into his run. Clifton is a great prospect but I think some on here over-egg his ability. He will come on though, I do like him but I was surprised so many seemed to think he was man of the match from what was a bang average performance from him. The lack of movement in the middle and the lack of speed in thought and execution, particularly first half, made us very easy to defend against. We have no width for much of the game because we have no natural wide players and the lack of people showing for feet or moving to create space for others to fill means we ended up just knocking it long more often than not. This would be fine if we had the players to make the most of this but we don't.

Today highlighted to me what a poor job in squad building Jolley did this summer. We've got no natural wide players. We've got a limited selection of full backs. We've got too many players who aren't quite out and out strikers but aren't really midfielders either. We still don't really have a striker able to mix it with the brutes in this division if we are forced to go long. And has been the case with Town for as long as I can remember, we still have a really slow team. I said at the start of the season that he'd got his recruitment all wrong to play a certain formation (3-5-2) and I stand by this (no wingbacks, relatively immobile central defenders). He then quickly panicked and dropped that idea but due to his lack of foresight and lack of proper wingers (poor squad building again), we can't fully play any formation fully effectively.This isn't a call for him to go. There have been some good things this season. I'm pleased we've got a young squad and that at times we've played some good football so I'm not calling for him to go. My hope is that we recruit a couple of wingers and inject some pace into the team in January. I don't think we'll go down but without some reinforcements to add where we're lacking, it could be a close run thing again.

Oh and the ref was an absolute joke today. Onwards and upwards.

Although your assessment won't be too popular after a win, it is refreshingly honest and a relatively fair appraisal of a poor performance and the shortcomings in our squad...

Quoted from mariner91

First game since the Colchester win for me today and I was pleased to come away with Town securing the three points. Really pleased for Akheem, hopefully the start of many. Love finishes like that when it's lashed in with real venom.

However, let's not paper over the cracks. We were very poor. So were Crawley. The quality on show was awful with far more basic errors being made than I can remember from many other games. Like others, I was surprised at Cardwell starting and he was clearly not match sharp. He did a job for us last season but he needs time to bed in before he's fully fit. Even then, he's lacking in quality. The chance he missed is the sort a striker really should be taking but I have doubts if he'll ever score many, if any at all.

The defence did okay but Collins is a shadow of the player he once was. There was one attack in the second half where Crawley were breaking at pace and instead of trying to hold some sort of defensive shape, Collins made a beeline for our area, playing their winger onside and allowing them to advance far up the pitch quickly. Fortunately they had Palmer up front who has all the finesse of a sledgehammer so they didn't score but we've seen plenty of times where similar has happened and we've been punished. His legs are gone, put him out to pasture. As for the backpass to Macca, that was just unbelievably shite. Fox looked a little short of sharpness but that will come. Hendrie impressed, I like him.

The midfield worked hard but there was little quality or attacking intent. We still don't have a proper winger. Vernam is good on the ball but he's wasted out wide, it's not his natural position. I thought Pringle was fairly anonymous for most of the game. Hessenthaler and Clifton worked hard but there many basic errors such as playing the ball behind a man instead of into his run. Clifton is a great prospect but I think some on here over-egg his ability. He will come on though, I do like him but I was surprised so many seemed to think he was man of the match from what was a bang average performance from him. The lack of movement in the middle and the lack of speed in thought and execution, particularly first half, made us very easy to defend against. We have no width for much of the game because we have no natural wide players and the lack of people showing for feet or moving to create space for others to fill means we ended up just knocking it long more often than not. This would be fine if we had the players to make the most of this but we don't.

Today highlighted to me what a poor job in squad building Jolley did this summer. We've got no natural wide players. We've got a limited selection of full backs. We've got too many players who aren't quite out and out strikers but aren't really midfielders either. We still don't really have a striker able to mix it with the brutes in this division if we are forced to go long. And as has been the case with Town for as long as I can remember, we still have a really slow team. I said at the start of the season that he'd got his recruitment all wrong to play a certain formation (3-5-2) and I stand by this (no wingbacks, relatively immobile central defenders). He then quickly panicked and dropped that idea but due to his lack of foresight and lack of proper wingers (poor squad building again), we can't fully play any formation fully effectively.This isn't a call for him to go. There have been some good things this season. I'm pleased we've got a young squad and that at times we've played some good football so I'm not calling for him to go. My hope is that we recruit a couple of wingers and inject some pace into the team in January. I don't think we'll go down but without some reinforcements to add where we're lacking, it could be a close run thing again.

Oh and the ref was an absolute joke today. Onwards and upwards.

I think his hands are tied regards some players. Dixon played at centre back Tuesday night but is overlooked today for a half fit Fox and Famewo, a centre back, has been preferred other weeks. I imagine he is on a good contract and if he isn't gone in January, I am sure he will be at the end of the season.

Hendrie was a great find and we need to keep him past January. It would be great if we could find someone similar for the left side too. Embleton makes us tick and we need to do everything to ensure he stays past January too.

I would like to see an out and out winger come in who can beat a man and deliver a mean cross. To meet these crosses and allow Thomas to do what he does best, we need a big striker.

Quoted from Bigdog

Although your assessment won't be too popular after a win, it is refreshingly honest and a relatively fair appraisal of a poor performance and the shortcomings in our squad...

I third your second !

If we can get within 8 or 9 points of those play offs by January...  

Quoted from mariner91

First game since the Colchester win for me today and I was pleased to come away with Town securing the three points. Really pleased for Akheem, hopefully the start of many. Love finishes like that when it's lashed in with real venom.

However, let's not paper over the cracks. We were very poor. So were Crawley. The quality on show was awful with far more basic errors being made than I can remember from many other games. Like others, I was surprised at Cardwell starting and he was clearly not match sharp. He did a job for us last season but he needs time to bed in before he's fully fit. Even then, he's lacking in quality. The chance he missed is the sort a striker really should be taking but I have doubts if he'll ever score many, if any at all.

The defence did okay but Collins is a shadow of the player he once was. There was one attack in the second half where Crawley were breaking at pace and instead of trying to hold some sort of defensive shape, Collins made a beeline for our area, playing their winger onside and allowing them to advance far up the pitch quickly. Fortunately they had Palmer up front who has all the finesse of a sledgehammer so they didn't score but we've seen plenty of times where similar has happened and we've been punished. His legs are gone, put him out to pasture. As for the backpass to Macca, that was just unbelievably shite. Fox looked a little short of sharpness but that will come. Hendrie impressed, I like him.

The midfield worked hard but there was little quality or attacking intent. We still don't have a proper winger. Vernam is good on the ball but he's wasted out wide, it's not his natural position. I thought Pringle was fairly anonymous for most of the game. Hessenthaler and Clifton worked hard but there many basic errors such as playing the ball behind a man instead of into his run. Clifton is a great prospect but I think some on here over-egg his ability. He will come on though, I do like him but I was surprised so many seemed to think he was man of the match from what was a bang average performance from him. The lack of movement in the middle and the lack of speed in thought and execution, particularly first half, made us very easy to defend against. We have no width for much of the game because we have no natural wide players and the lack of people showing for feet or moving to create space for others to fill means we ended up just knocking it long more often than not. This would be fine if we had the players to make the most of this but we don't.

Today highlighted to me what a poor job in squad building Jolley did this summer. We've got no natural wide players. We've got a limited selection of full backs. We've got too many players who aren't quite out and out strikers but aren't really midfielders either. We still don't really have a striker able to mix it with the brutes in this division if we are forced to go long. And as has been the case with Town for as long as I can remember, we still have a really slow team. I said at the start of the season that he'd got his recruitment all wrong to play a certain formation (3-5-2) and I stand by this (no wingbacks, relatively immobile central defenders). He then quickly panicked and dropped that idea but due to his lack of foresight and lack of proper wingers (poor squad building again), we can't fully play any formation fully effectively.This isn't a call for him to go. There have been some good things this season. I'm pleased we've got a young squad and that at times we've played some good football so I'm not calling for him to go. My hope is that we recruit a couple of wingers and inject some pace into the team in January. I don't think we'll go down but without some reinforcements to add where we're lacking, it could be a close run thing again.

Oh and the ref was an absolute joke today. Onwards and upwards.

I'm not sure how much of this can be down to Jolley. He clearly had a plan but didn't have the financial clout that others had. I'm sure he planned to have a more mobile John Welsh (too slow) and I'm sure he planned to have a more dynamic front man (Lee Angol), so long as we keep winning ugly, we'll be OK and he can have another couple of windows to build something better.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I'm not sure how much of this can be down to Jolley. He clearly had a plan but didn't have the financial clout that others had. I'm sure he planned to have a more mobile John Welsh (too slow) and I'm sure he planned to have a more dynamic front man (Lee Angol), so long as we keep winning ugly, we'll be OK and he can have another couple of windows to build something better.

I see what you're saying but even with a poor budget he could have signed at least one recognised wide midfielder. He didn't, nobody but Jolley can take the blame for that. He is also to blame for trying to implement 3-5-2 with a squad (largely of his signings) unsuited to playing it.

People are forgetting that MJ is new to managing in the EPL and doesn't really know many people around or what the league is like, he's learning as he does the job. I can sympathise with him in some sense as, although on a much more amateur scale I've taken over a team where I only knew around 4 or 5 llaywrs and moved them into a league I've never been in before. It takes time to adapt and assess the situation. Funnily enough I also started the season out 352 and quickly reverted back to 433 when I realised that actually that suited my squad the best.
Like others have said, he will need time. I wish it was an easy fix and he would just get straight on it but it doesn't work like that unfortunately. Aslong as we don't get relegated or get into more debt then he deserves a season to settle in.

Quoted from mariner91

I see what you're saying but even with a poor budget he could have signed at least one recognised wide midfielder. He didn't, nobody but Jolley can take the blame for that. He is also to blame for trying to implement 3-5-2 with a squad (largely of his signings) unsuited to playing it.

Maybe he thought that he could make 3-5-2 work with the personnel he had at his disposal - I don't know but I can't remember a game at home since maybe Lincoln where we have not had a back 4.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I appreciate your reasons for not going so often, but the fans that go every week have been remarkably patient. A few utterances from those around you won't do any harm, will it? At a lot of other grounds, the team would have received non-stop stick for the shockingly inept first-half display in particular.

I am afraid when you sit 20th in League 2 after many years of failure you will not get a crowd not showing their frustrations. I must say I thought the attendance was fantastic - we had many games in the Championship with fewer home fans than that.

For what it's worth I think too many fans expect a lot from 2nd division football possibly due to seeing so much higher level football on tv. We are a league 2 club with league 2 players and W.I.P.