Just Back

Only positive is we got a point. And the games over

2 poor sides, with us poorer. Got the early goal though Pyke again, didnt build on it at all, dont think we had another shot on target for the rest of the game?

Gifted Sutton an equaliser with our customary defensive and goalkeeping errors.

2nd half we were absolutely excrement, could have and should have lost but for poor finishing, and a great save from Cartwright.

That was a very worrying performance, We missed Danny Rose but no excuses. New man has a huge job on his hands

Some really poor performances notably from Maher (again), Mullarkey (again) and Holohan. Make no mistake about it, we’re in a relegation fight.

I thought Mullarkey had a better game than most of his teammates.

Quoted from Spurn boy

I thought Mullarkey had a better game than most of his teammates.

He was decent mate

Quoted from Spurn boy

I thought Mullarkey had a better game than most of his teammates.

His crossing was awful and he kept on being skinned by Coley.

Quoted from davmariner

Some really poor performances notably from Maher (again), Mullarkey (again) and Holohan. Make no mistake about it, we’re in a relegation fight.

Mullarkey was excellent first half and his cross for the goal was fantastic. Second half was woeful, we were crying out for some quality and moved the ball far too slowly.

If pressed for MoM, I think I would go with Gnahoua.

Awful.... there were players out there today who just did not seem interested...  the club maybe on a sound footing but the squad has some serious issues.. forget the remarks of playing sound football but losing, that was neither sound and we should have lost against what was a very poor opposition... worrying times ahead for town

excrement performance but not going to go all doom and gloom we've got a new manager coming in and a transfer window yet if its still like this end of feb then panic

It was pretty bad, don’t think anyone can really come out with any credibility. They are terrible just big but their height stilll didn’t cause us problems, but we never caused them problems.

New manager watching that must think what a job I have on my hands.

All the tactical talk  - SP and BD certainly came across well at the Forum and have done a decent job post PH - counts for nought if players can’t  control the ball and pass the ball. Decision making and execution was woeful today with our midfield poor in the extreme.
Neither Holohan nor Andrews were anything like and Conteh showed why Green’s inclusion recently has been a bit of a plus. Conteh seemed to epitomize PH’s problems by going backwards or at best sideways at every opportunity.
We clearly missed Rose with Wilson showing that he either scores or does very little, although I thought Pyke and Gnuhoua were decent.
Mullarkey had one of his better games, even if the bar is a bit low, while Glennon slipped back to past failings. Not heavily involved and his dead ball delivery, especially corners, was poor.
Waterfall did OK, but Maher is a wee bit of an enigma. more than capable at his best but prone to mistakes. And the goal yet again, came right down the middle.
Don’t know what Cartwright was doing for their goal; he just went down so early and seemed to guess on the shot.
Thought subs might have helped earlier - especially Clifton’s energy, Hunt’s ability to pick a pass, Khan going at defenders, Green keeping it simple and getting stuck in and maybe Elisa dribbling and shooting before two of them did come on.
However, Sutton could and should have won, based on their clear cut chances, so thankful for a point at the end. But it’s not the best given their bottom placing and one po8nt away all season prior to today’s game.
The table is still very tight and a couple of wins could clearly change things very quickly. But where these are going to come from and how they’ll be achieved is another story. We certainllyhave some ability in the side/squad and SP and BD have shown some positivity even if it wasn’t particularly noticeable today. Maybe the new guy can give us the jolt we need, recognizing how difficult it must be for the interim co-managers under the present circumstances.
UTM

Positives- 5 unbeaten, taken 5 points from 9, which isn't great, but better than we have been doing. We also didn't let Sutton or FGR gain any ground on us, so could be worse, but could be a lot better.

Negatives- Where do I begin? Today again, we looked like the away side from about 30 minutes onward, with the opposition pressuring us more and more as the game went on, the ball coming back constantly and us not being able to fashion and decent moves or any sustained pressure as a home side should.

Poor control, poor passing, poor choices, terrible throw ins and lax play giving the ball back to them constantly. I really don't get how other teams seem to be able to keep the ball and make simple passes to each other, yet it seems beyond our capability. Holohan was the main culprit today, but the others weren't much better.

Only one side deserved to win that game, and but for a bad miss and a great save from Cartwright, it would have been Sutton. Twice we were carved open down the centre in the second half again, but fortunately they blew their chances. Cartwright really shouldn't have had the chance to save the header from Smith, but we got out of gaol.

If you look at the stats on the BBC website, it appears that we were the better of the 2 sides, but in reality, all our possession was in our back third, and most of theirs was too.

We need someone to come in and drill the players for hours and hours on pass and move until it becomes second nature.

Quoted from Hagrid

Only positive is we got a point. And the games over

2 poor sides, with us poorer. Got the early goal though Pyke again, didnt build on it at all, dont think we had another shot on target for the rest of the game?

Gifted Sutton an equaliser with our customary defensive and goalkeeping errors.

2nd half we were absolutely excrement, could have and should have lost but for poor finishing, and a great save from Cartwright.

That was a very worrying performance, We missed Danny Rose but no excuses. New man has a huge job on his hands

To be honest I think Hagrid has hit the nail on the head there. We're in desperate need of a new manager, and possibly in need of about 4 or 5 players if not more

Physicality and pace were lacking. Played OK first half but too timid at 1-0 up. Holohan Arthur Mullarky linked up well first half but all looked anonymous second half.
With their height they are always going to cause issues so suprised that their goal didn't come from that.
Poor not to see the first half out and second half never got started. Subs .....i thought they helped stem the Sutton momentum but didn't really give us the overall advantage..then players ran out of steam.
Some green shoots, throw ins quicker first half, half decent crosses coming in, channel running to get their defence turned but ultimately we don't have the pace and power to compete with Sutton one v one.

I honestly don't think we, as a club, are in as bad a state as many do.

Yes, it was horrendous in the second half. There was a complete lack of bravery from our midfielders to get on the ball and do something. Which led to playing long balls against a team of giants.
That is down to bad habits and lack of cojones to stay on the ball. Nobody wanted to be the player who played us into trouble so they just hoofed it.

If/when we appoint a new manager, we do have the players in the squad able to play decent football, as the first 10 mins showed.

We are missing someone who, when we are coming under pressure, can get on the ball and calm everyone down.

Hopefully the new manager can find that in the squad and it'll be onwards and upwards.

Have a great night ladies and gentleman.

Well that was a shocker with very few redeeming features. Great shame we didn't get the second just before their equaliser as that would have made a massive difference. Think it was Wilson who virtually passed it to their keeper, we then give the ball away in midfield and it's 1-1
Our passing is very very average but there's so little movement it makes it easier for the opposing defender to get a foot in. Gav was very guilty today and it was a shock when he stayed on, unless Andrews was injured.
Second half looked like only one team was likely to get a winner and it wasn't us. The new manager has a big job galvanising this squad into an effective team
Always finish on a positive, so thought both fullbacks were ok, and although Pyke often looks a bit clumsy he was in the right place and also did some good work

The problem with Conteh, is that if the players in front of him aren't making the runs he becomes a bit of a liability in there. He's exceptional at reading the game and winning the ball. I don't know why on earth we are persisiting with him at the 6, we don't have the personnel to do it. We aren't intelligent enough, he's on a completely different wave length half the time. Get him in the 8 with Greeny behind him and Harry/Gav alongside them. We dropped our standards massively today and seemed to expect to walk over them. We was walking about on the pitch and there was 0 intensity. I think Khan needs to be a mainstay in the team, he's direct and gets at his full back. We was far far too predictable today.

Hard to remember many where I’ve been more frustrated than that watching it.

Players running into each other, getting in the way of through balls and a complete inability from almost everyone to string one simple pass together.

I love Holohan but he was absolutely abysmal, got into good positions to do something on 5 or 6 occasions and ended up looking like a competition winner every single time.

The only positive I can take from that is that I reckon we’d have lost that 6 weeks ago, as it happens we’ve got a point from it and remain unbeaten.

The new manager has to be in this week, you could tell me until you’re blue in the face that the process takes time but this has gone on far too long. There’s a saying in the recruitment industry - ‘time kills deals’ and this particular process is killing any chance we have of finally kick starting our season.

Quoted from Boonsy

Awful.... there were players out there today who just did not seem interested...  the club maybe on a sound footing but the squad has some serious issues.. forget the remarks of playing sound football but losing, that was neither sound and we should have lost against what was a very poor opposition... worrying times ahead for town

Sound mate

We need a new goalkeeper.

Fortunately Cartwright is on loan.

Mularky played ok I thought. He had some good runs but nobody seemed to want the ball, so he just ran into a dead end.

Thought we were decent first 30 minutes, without been amazing. Really needed that second but didn’t get it and conceded at an awful time.

Second half, absolutely woeful! That’s pretty much it to be honest. Slow, poor quality and ran out of ideas.

Hard to pick any decent performances but think Mullarkey had one of his better games and Pyke on the scorsheet again.  

On the whole though, over the  5 games, I think it’s clear Shaun and Ben have improved us somewhat. 5 unbeaten and other than today a clear improvement going forwards. Lots still to do, absolutely no doubt about that, and hopefully the new man can come in and get us going.

Personally think we sort the defensive issues out we will be more than ok. We have three strikers that will score goals.

Quoted from ginnywings

Positives- 5 unbeaten, taken 5 points from 9, which isn't great, but better than we have been doing. We also didn't let Sutton or FGR gain any ground on us, so could be worse, but could be a lot better.

Negatives- Where do I begin? Today again, we looked like the away side from about 30 minutes onward, with the opposition pressuring us more and more as the game went on, the ball coming back constantly and us not being able to fashion and decent moves or any sustained pressure as a home side should.

Poor control, poor passing, poor choices, terrible throw ins and lax play giving the ball back to them constantly. I really don't get how other teams seem to be able to keep the ball and make simple passes to each other, yet it seems beyond our capability. Holohan was the main culprit today, but the others weren't much better.

Only one side deserved to win that game, and but for a bad miss and a great save from Cartwright, it would have been Sutton. Twice we were carved open down the centre in the second half again, but fortunately they blew their chances. Cartwright really shouldn't have had the chance to save the header from Smith, but we got out of gaol.

If you look at the stats on the BBC website, it appears that we were the better of the 2 sides, but in reality, all our possession was in our back third, and most of theirs was too.

We need someone to come in and drill the players for hours and hours on pass and move until it becomes second nature.

This.
It’s hard not to to make a sweeping judgement that none of these players are good enough, but on today’s showing, and all too often, many of them look way below par, and I’m angry about it.

  Sean and Benji ( being nice here) had all week to prepare for this game and although it wasn't a life or death game they fu**ed it right up.

At times we went into playing Hurst Ball, Now I suppose after years of play that genre of football it's difficult to change but F**k Me they couldn't even play basic football.

You could see the equaliser was coming as the half wore on.

Lets get the new man in ASAP. I hope I'm wrong, but saturday will see the end of the FA run and Oxford will draw Man Utd.

We play over 60's walking football. There is zero pace or urgency in the team.

I cannot believe Hurst would have put together such a disjointed and often lacklustre squad had he been in sole charge of recruitment.  He has put together far superior squads without being "helped" by data analysts and the recruitment chap.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

We play over 60's walking football. There is zero pace or urgency in the team.

I cannot believe Hurst would have put together such a disjointed and often lacklustre squad had he been in sole charge of recruitment.  He has put together far superior squads without being "helped" by data analysts and the recruitment chap.

Jesus Christ this again!!

Very disappointing. I hope a new manager get something out of this team as some of them need a right rollicking after that performance.

A new manager and some better payers in Jan or we’re toast , simply not good enough pretty much throughout

An absolute stinker for Shaun and Benji to finish on (at home at least). Not sure I can agree with Davies saying that the speculation has affected the team. You’d think they’d play up if that was the case. The only positive I can take from it is that we didn’t lose. Onwards.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

We play over 60's walking football. There is zero pace or urgency in the team.

I cannot believe Hurst would have put together such a disjointed and often lacklustre squad had he been in sole charge of recruitment.  He has put together far superior squads without being "helped" by data analysts and the recruitment chap.

rubbish of course he was in charge of recruitment

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

We play over 60's walking football. There is zero pace or urgency in the team.

I cannot believe Hurst would have put together such a disjointed and often lacklustre squad had he been in sole charge of recruitment.  He has put together far superior squads without being "helped" by data analysts and the recruitment chap.

F**s sake, get a grip. You’re obsessed. Are you ok?

Quoted from chaos33

F**s sake, get a grip. You’re obsessed. Are you ok?

Here we go.

I was left thinking that the type of 4-3-3 we're currently playing (with these players, at least), isn't going to win us too many points. Yes, most of the players were in terrible form and I can't recall a game where I've seen so many hopelessly scuffed attempts at clearances or simple passes, but the general shape was just full of holes today. Sutton had so much space out wide at times that, if they could cross, they'd have created dozens of chances. I can barely remember us blocking a ball into the box all afternoon.

The weakness of the squad up top was very clear today as well. Wilson can't lead the line - he's not strong enough and not clever enough to win the fouls that Rose does. He was being manhandled all game, but I don't remember a defender being penalised once for any of them and, in fact, he gave away a few himself. We couldn't bring a striker on to try and mix things up, because we simply don't have another in the squad! For them, Angol proved a handful when he replaced their No. 40 who was, himself a handful.

It was disheartening to see us unable to effectively cope with their big No. 9, even with Waterfall in the team. The guy was massive and knew what he was doing, but it was luck that he didn't get a brace. I suppose you could say it was a good save from that header, but the guy was completely unmarked.

I'm very relieved that we got a point today, which isn't what you want to be saying after a somewhat fortunate draw against the league's bottom team!

Quoted from chaos33

F**s sake, get a grip. You’re obsessed. Are you ok?

Of course I'm OK. I am discussing why Hurst assembled such a disjointed squad despite having all the help from various backroom staff. Have you an opinion on it?

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Of course I'm OK. I am discussing why Hurst assembled such a disjointed squad despite having all the help from various backroom staff. Have you an opinion on it?

This.

It’s almost 3 hours since the end of this game and I’m still pretty piste off about the performance as much as the result, we played very much like Hursty was still in charge which after the recent performances was disappointing, Sutton got more confident as the game went on as they realised we were poor. Team selection was wrong from the start although I thought Waterfalls inclusion was justified and he had a decent game. The substitution’s didn’t have any effect as both Clifton and Khan struggled to get involved and generally it was a poor team performance and we were lucky to get a point as Sutton missed 2 good chances to score in the 2nd half. I want to blame someone for today’s poor performance but I don’t know who, players management or owners.

I'm not going to go over how terrible we were, except to agree that the new manager needs to hit the ground running or we are toast. You could see their goal coming a mile off.

In a brighter note; what on earth did their number 4's parents feed him? He was flipping huge.

How can so many of them lose the ability to pass accurately  run round the pitch at a higher pace and not trip over each other when chances occur?

Do we actually practice corners and can't Glennon hit the ball further than near post every time?

Boring, slow, predictable, and so easy to defend so not great.

Waste of time centre halves going up time after time with no chance of receiving the ball.

Not a good watch after the 30 minute mark to the final whistle.

An in form Danny Rose would possibly have had a field day against their defenders with the amount of crosses that DID make it across goal.

No doubting we were lucky not to get beat and were pretty woeful for most of the game. Somehow the match even worse than some of the games last season.

It is odd though how it's virtually unanimously agreed that the players are terrible and we are in desperate trouble. After the morecambe game supposedly the players were good enough and top half and playoffs were being mentioned. Talk about from one extreme to another. Definitely somewhere in between I would say.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Of course I'm OK. I am discussing why Hurst assembled such a disjointed squad despite having all the help from various backroom staff. Have you an opinion on it?

Of course I do. It’s your obsession with analysis and data and it’s use in the modern game that is odd. You’re absolutely wound up by it as a concept. I dont get it.

Pretty much everything has beer said but a big factor in our poor performances is the fact that our midfield players simply don’t show for, or even want, the ball passed to them and the only player with any sort of vision on the ball is Glennon who regularly switches play and hits some quality balls.

Waterfall did very well in very difficult circumstances and for me Mullarkey had one of his better games. Conteh started well but appeared to lose confidence with his passing and just kept laying it backwards. Gav takes up some absolutely sublime positions but is totally incapable of making anything of these and is not fit enough to get back quickly when the ball is lost.

Pyke scored but to me never looks interested, shows no passion, no physical aggression or drive and seems a totally unHurst like player I’m baffled by his signing. Arthur did ok in the first half but god knows where he was supposed to be playing when Khan came on and it was crying out for Green and Hunt to get on and try and influence some change.

Very disappointing performance and one that causes concern given two games against the bottom two has produced two points and our inability to beat teams in and around the relegation zone has cost us dearly before.

To be fair to Shaun & Ben I thought the shape was right what let us down today was the so called professional footballers who currently have the inability to pass the ball, work hard to find space when we have it and push themselves to win it back when we don’t.

I know AP said that if we need some in some will have to go out, a few of the current squad might want to get Crofty round to value their house or check when they’ve got a break in their tenancy agreements.

Good chance the next two games to get Green in front of back four and Conteh playing further forward, were wasting him back there.

Once again we seem to have built a squad that lacks pace. One or two individuals might have it in their locker but we simply don’t play in a way that allows them to use it. Everything is so static.

You could see the frustration in our back line when they had possession under no pressure - they were looking for a pass but no one showed.

My biggest frustration was how immobile we were in the centre. Conteh and Gav would have the ball at their feet, while they were looking for a pass they ignored the 20 yards of space they had right in front of them. No one drove into that space all game. No one drew players to them, or committed them, to create pockets of space elsewhere.

No one had the pace of the confidence to drive forward. Everyone looked scared to lose possession. Understandable in the circumstances but we have to be braver than this.

And jeez, our set piece deliveries once again were just píss poor. I like Glennon but each of his corners landed on the head of the guy at the near post every time. When we played it short that time, we messed it up.

Absolute basics not being executed today. So frustrating when we’ve shown fight and bravery in previous games. Today it all disappeared and we were back to Accrington/Colcheser levels.

Quoted from chaos33

Of course I do. It’s your obsession with analysis and data and it’s use in the modern game that is odd. You’re absolutely wound up by it as a concept. I dont get it.

What gives you that impression?😄

I just feel it is a nonsense. Take today - look at the stats and you would get the wrong impression. We had far more possession and more shots on target. So what? What does it prove? Anybody at the game could see they were the better team; possession is immaterial as they don't play a possession based game but were better at what they do.

Football is too nuanced to be reduced to numbers, apart from the result and league table  which tells you all you need to know. Maybes, couldbes and nearlies don't count.

Player data is equally ridiculous. Our centre backs probably have the best completed pass stats because they keep passing it between each other. What's the point? I understand the footballing reasons for it but reduce that to data and it is irrelevant.

Then you  get the absolutely ludicrous stats that say don't worry about being 4th bottom of league 2, because some daft stats show that you had more throw ins in the final third, you had more corners or whatever. None of it matters.

My final point is ALL data is retrospective so has no bearing whatsoever on what happens in future games. The opposition is different,  the weather is different,  the tactics might be different,  the venue might be different,  the team might be different thereby altering the dynamics and ad infinitum.

It is a modern phenomenon which has embedded itself in the game but if we are to improve our season we need a manager who can set us up right, players who can be coached into a style of play they are comfortable with and drilled week in week out.

I'm in a minority of one, which I am comfortable with. Others have different views and talk about marginal gains and such and good luck to them if they believe it.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

What gives you that impression?😄

I just feel it is a nonsense. Take today - look at the stats and you would get the wrong impression. We had far more possession and more shots on target. So what? What does it prove? Anybody at the game could see they were the better team; possession is immaterial as they don't play a possession based game but were better at what they do.

Football is too nuanced to be reduced to numbers, apart from the result and league table  which tells you all you need to know. Maybes, couldbes and nearlies don't count.

Player data is equally ridiculous. Our centre backs probably have the best completed pass stats because they keep passing it between each other. What's the point?

Then you  get the absolutely ludicrous stats that say don't worry about being 4th bottom of league 2, because some daft stats show that you had more throw ins in the final third, you had more corners or whatever. None of it matters.

My final point is ALL data is retrospective so has no bearing whatsoever on what happens in future games. The opposition is different,  the weather is different,  the tactics might be different,  the venue might be different,  the team might be different thereby altering the dynamics and ad infinitum.

It is a modern phenomenon which has embedded itself in the game but if we are to improve our season we need a manager who can set us up right, players who can be coached into a style of play they are comfortable with and drilled week in week out.

I'm in a minority of one, which I am comfortable with. Others have different views and talk about marginal gains and such and good luck to them if they believe it.

I’m all for marginal gains but the data has to augment the talent and coaching. What I’m watching is professional footballers failing to do the basics, particularly movement off the ball, making the most of space and creating space for others. It’s not difficult.

Back in a very wet Whitby.

We lack quality.   The performance was well summed up above.

Hard to believe we beat 5 teams from higher divisions in the FAC. And won impressively at County and Wrexham.

They had 3 good chances to score in the 2nd half. They did enough to deserve 3 points.

Our crosses and corners could not beat the first defender.

We rarely troubled a reserve keeper for the bottom team in the league.

Some absolute clowns on here.

Says it all when a 33year old Luke Waterfall, who many would have argued is in his final season with us, comfortably looks as good as the other two.
We didn't spend in the summer and this is the result. Same will happen next season.

Quoted from nightrider

Says it all when a 33year old Luke Waterfall, who many would have argued is in his final season with us, comfortably looks as good as the other two.
We didn't spend in the summer and this is the result. Same will happen next season.

I’m one who thought Luke was done but on the basis of today I may have been wrong, though Sutton aren’t that good he played well.

Quoted from nightrider

Says it all when a 33year old Luke Waterfall, who many would have argued is in his final season with us, comfortably looks as good as the other two.
We didn't spend in the summer and this is the result. Same will happen next season.

We did spend in the summer, some of those signings aren't in the best of form at the minute.

I was a little disappointed with the lineup yesterday in all honesty. It felt like a backwards step dropping Green. It’s a no-brainer who is the better player out of Green and Conteh but results on the pitch aren’t backing it up. I thought we should have stuck with him anchoring Holohan and Andrews.

I was pleased to see Wilson start through the middle with Pyke wide where I think he’s been more effective. It quickly became evident though that Wilson needs a partner closer to him and I don’t think he can spearhead a three man attack in the way that Rose can, which is no criticism - it just doesn’t seem to be his game. Sutton had two up top and I was hoping to see S and B roll the dice and match them as the game went on but unfortunately it never happened.

Really disappointing after the Morecambe game.

Quoted from quebec38

I was a little disappointed with the lineup yesterday in all honesty. It felt like a backwards step dropping Green. It’s a no-brainer who is the better player out of Green and Conteh but results on the pitch aren’t backing it up. I thought we should have stuck with him anchoring Holohan and Andrews.

All of our midfielders have had their best performances this season when they’ve either been on the bench or not in the squad at all.

Green played a major role in both of Forest Green’s goals.

Quoted from quebec38

I was a little disappointed with the lineup yesterday in all honesty. It felt like a backwards step dropping Green. It’s a no-brainer who is the better player out of Green and Conteh but results on the pitch aren’t backing it up. I thought we should have stuck with him anchoring Holohan and Andrews.

I was pleased to see Wilson start through the middle with Pyke wide where I think he’s been more effective. It quickly became evident though that Wilson needs a partner closer to him and I don’t think he can spearhead a three man attack in the way that Rose can, which is no criticism - it just doesn’t seem to be his game. Sutton had two up top and I was hoping to see S and B roll the dice and match them as the game went on but unfortunately it never happened.

Really disappointing after the Morecambe game.

Sorry but if Green is the answer to our problems then we're truly copulated.

Ennui. That sums up yesterday’s experience. But we will be there next game. Hoping.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

What gives you that impression?😄

I just feel it is a nonsense. Take today - look at the stats and you would get the wrong impression. We had far more possession and more shots on target. So what? What does it prove? Anybody at the game could see they were the better team; possession is immaterial as they don't play a possession based game but were better at what they do.

Football is too nuanced to be reduced to numbers, apart from the result and league table  which tells you all you need to know. Maybes, couldbes and nearlies don't count.

Player data is equally ridiculous. Our centre backs probably have the best completed pass stats because they keep passing it between each other. What's the point? I understand the footballing reasons for it but reduce that to data and it is irrelevant.

Then you  get the absolutely ludicrous stats that say don't worry about being 4th bottom of league 2, because some daft stats show that you had more throw ins in the final third, you had more corners or whatever. None of it matters.

My final point is ALL data is retrospective so has no bearing whatsoever on what happens in future games. The opposition is different,  the weather is different,  the tactics might be different,  the venue might be different,  the team might be different thereby altering the dynamics and ad infinitum.

It is a modern phenomenon which has embedded itself in the game but if we are to improve our season we need a manager who can set us up right, players who can be coached into a style of play they are comfortable with and drilled week in week out.

I'm in a minority of one, which I am comfortable with. Others have different views and talk about marginal gains and such and good luck to them if they believe it.

So I absolutely believe in your right to your opinion, and I have one question for you.

If using stats is so bad, how come Premier League teams and other EFL teams are using them?

Quoted from 123614

So I absolutely believe in your right to your opinion, and I have one question for you.

If using stats is so bad, how come Premier League teams and other EFL teams are using them?

Because if they don’t spend some their tv money on this they would have to pay the likes Rashford £400k a week instead of £350k and that might be considered an even bigger waste of money

Don't believe that for a minute!

Quoted from quebec38

I was a little disappointed with the lineup yesterday in all honesty. It felt like a backwards step dropping Green. It’s a no-brainer who is the better player out of Green and Conteh but results on the pitch aren’t backing it up. I thought we should have stuck with him anchoring Holohan and Andrews.

I was pleased to see Wilson start through the middle with Pyke wide where I think he’s been more effective. It quickly became evident though that Wilson needs a partner closer to him and I don’t think he can spearhead a three man attack in the way that Rose can, which is no criticism - it just doesn’t seem to be his game. Sutton had two up top and I was hoping to see S and B roll the dice and match them as the game went on but unfortunately it never happened.

Really disappointing after the Morecambe game.

I was the same, Sutton are physical, I thought not dirty, but big and strong. I was expecting to see Green in there above Andrews/Holohan.
Holohan was really poor and I would have replaced him earlier than they did.
Effete is good in a tough physical match and unless injured would have figured for me
I like Wilson but he cannot lead the line and I thought this failed although we were not blessed with much choice. Maher is off it at the moment and I see central defence as our weakest part.
In short I did not like the team selection at all and we were out fought by a very limited Sutton team. We certainly have the look of a relegation team and this new manager needs a couple of new faces in to fix this defence, utm

Quoted from 123614

So I absolutely believe in your right to your opinion, and I have one question for you.

If using stats is so bad, how come Premier League teams and other EFL teams are using them?

It's a very fair question. I suppose they genuinely think it gives them a competitive edge, no matter how small, but of course that leads to a whole host of questions in itself as most analysts will come to different conclusions (often wrong) and like everyone else have different expertise in their field. I rather fancy that just like managers they will come in range of the good the bad and the ugly.

The teams doing well will have well balanced squads,  a good manager and a way of playing that suits them with data analysis a long way back. We have none of those things so a data led approach will get you precisely nowhere.

Missed Rodgers and Green.

We have no pacey No 10 to harass and chase so teams have time to play out with no threat.

Basics of good accurate passing and running not strolling are 2 definite needs, whoever is picked in the 18 of the squad.

Quoted from acko338

Missed Rodgers and Green.

We have no pacey No 10 to harass and chase so teams have time to play out with no threat.

Basics of good accurate passing and running not strolling are 2 definite needs, whoever is picked in the 18 of the squad.

Missed Rodgers? Though Maher was bang average again I thought Waterfall played well.

I don’t see how you can claim we missed Rogers. He played well in the first 6 matches, but has been poor in the last 6. Our defence has been found wanting for weeks, and I was pleased to see Waterfall in for Rogers. Hopefully some time out of the team will allow Rogers to return to his early season form.

For me, Conteh plays far too deep, leaving us lacking mobility, pressing and forward balls in the middle of the park. Unless you can get him a further ten yards up the pitch, i think it leaves us without enough options in the middle. Whilst he’s a very slight figure, i would have had Hunt on for Conteh, rather than Clifton on for Andrews for the final 20 minutes, with the instruction to Hunt to play further up the pitch, giving us more forward options.

On Mullarkey, I think Efete gives us more. Mullarkey made a great cross for our goal, but I don’t think he’s better at either defending, or attacking than Efete.

I’d like to see Hunt and Clifton start on Tuesday, with holohan and Andrews dropped. I think Conteh is capable of far more than we’re seeing too, but Tuesday is the time to step up or be dropped for Green again (despite green’s mistakes against fgr).

I’d be tempted to pair waterfall or Maher with Green in defence as a curveball - I believe some of his best performances at Halifax were in defence.

I’d still like to see Amos back and Glennon in an advanced role, but that might only work in a 4-4-2.

In essence - god knows what formation and selection will get us winning games again!

Dons have hit form. I’m concerned that whatever line up is selected on Tuesday we are in for a pasting.

Quoted from Hagrid

Only positive is we got a point. And the games over

2 poor sides, with us poorer. Got the early goal though Pyke again, didnt build on it at all, dont think we had another shot on target for the rest of the game?

Gifted Sutton an equaliser with our customary defensive and goalkeeping errors.

2nd half we were absolutely excrement, could have and should have lost but for poor finishing, and a great save from Cartwright.

That was a very worrying performance, We missed Danny Rose but no excuses. New man has a huge job on his hands

We don't need a "new man" these two are doing fine , just need more time , as would a " new man" .If these two had started the season with the
same point per game ratio we would be close to a playoff position now.

Quoted from ancientmariner54

We don't need a "new man" these two are doing fine , just need more time , as would a " new man" .If these two had started the season with the
same point per game ratio we would be close to a playoff position now.

I'm now convinced that you are married to either Shaun or Ben.