Crocombe

I noticed in todays GET match report that a slight criticism was made as regards Crocombes being " slightly uncomfortable when coming for crosses"! Considering Macca never would have attempted to come out for any uncontested crosses I found this very unfair.

The Altringham reserve goalkeeper has been called into the New Zealand squad so Crocombe can’t be far away from that

Quoted from HerveJosse

The Altringham reserve goalkeeper has been called into the New Zealand squad so Crocombe can’t be far away from that

Who are Altringham?  

Quoted from rancido

I noticed in todays GET match report that a slight criticism was made as regards Crocombes being " slightly uncomfortable when coming for crosses"! Considering Macca never would have attempted to come out for any uncontested crosses I found this very unfair.

I actually think he commands his box quite well and offers good distribution. He could have played a key role in a goal as his quick kick sent McAtee down the right wing on Saturday.

Quoted from Les Brechin

Who are Altringham?  

Eleventh tier Pendantry Northern Section

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I actually think he commands his box quite well and offers good distribution. He could have played a key role in a goal as his quick kick sent McAtee down the right wing on Saturday.

Short of that poor parry against Halifax and a moment of nervousness when a cross hit the bar against Chesterfield he’s looked quite good to me.

As it stands, short of injury, suspension or a sentimental last hurrah, it’s hard to see Macca playing again for us.

Absolute load of rubbish. Leaving his line to collect high balls has probably been his most notable quality displayed in his time so far.

Quoted from Poojah

Short of that poor party against Halifax and a moment of nervousness when a cross hit the bar against Chesterfield he’s looked quite good to me.

As it stands, short of injury, suspension or a sentimental last hurrah, it’s hard to see Macca playing again for us.

He's a 5th Division keeper so he's not going to be perfect but, brushing sentiment to one side, I do think he's an improvement on McKeown.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

He's a 5th Division keeper so he's not going to be perfect but, brushing sentiment to one side, I do think he's an improvement on McKeown.

nevertheless holding a party against the division leaders is a bad idea........

He’s doing a good job thus far.

Probably hesitant due to the wind. Ball was moving about a bit.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I actually think he commands his box quite well and offers good distribution. He could have played a key role in a goal as his quick kick sent McAtee down the right wing on Saturday.

He did sort of set up the goal, I think that was the pass that set off the series of corners from which we eventually scored (could be wrong though). It was an excellent ball and in both speed of thought and quality of delivery something that would not be coming from Macca who is very slow in his distribution (obviously he has good other qualities)

I’ve noticed that one or two in the media have jumped at the opportunity to have a dig at Crocombe. Likewise a few posters on here, but they have been quickly slapped down in most cases. I think Max has done very well. A key factor may be his height (nearly 6ft 5ins I believe). Even a couple of inches can make all the difference in getting to the high balls.

Quoted from joe56

I’ve noticed that one or two in the media have jumped at the opportunity to have a dig at Crocombe. Likewise a few posters on here, but they have been quickly slapped down in most cases. I think Max has done very well. A key factor may be his height (nearly 6ft 5ins I believe). Even a couple of inches can make all the difference in getting to the high balls.

Indeed it can  

I thought about rephrasing that final sentence before posting, but then thought ‘surely not’ … Just shows how wrong you can be 🤣

Quoted from joe56

I’ve noticed that one or two in the media have jumped at the opportunity to have a dig at Crocombe. Likewise a few posters on here, but they have been quickly slapped down in most cases. I think Max has done very well. A key factor may be his height (nearly 6ft 5ins I believe). Even a couple of inches can make all the difference in getting to the high balls.

that and gazelle like qualities!

He’s better at commanding his area but not as good as Macca in shot stopping, their kicking is equal. But Macca keeps more clean sheets!

His kicking is a lot better than McKeown as is his command of the area. Probably not as good a shot-stopper (though his goal has hardly been peppered in recent games). I don't think he did anything wrong against Wealdstone, that I can recall.

I think, as we're aiming to be on the front foot more in this division if we're going to reach the play-off, the kicking is a lot more important than it was back when we were in a relegation dogfight.

Quoted from Maringer

His kicking is a lot better than McKeown as is his command of the area. Probably not as good a shot-stopper (though his goal has hardly been peppered in recent games). I don't think he did anything wrong against Wealdstone, that I can recall.

I think, as we're aiming to be on the front foot more in this division if we're going to reach the play-off, the kicking is a lot more important than it was back when we were in a relegation dogfight.

No, I didn’t spot him running 50 yards away from goal, passing to Amos who lost the ball and unable to get back to prevent the goal either! His kicking was awful at times, at least 4 balls straight into the stands! BTW, I actually like him in goal because he commands is area and I feel less anxious during set pieces.

Quoted from Tinymariner

He’s better at commanding his area but not as good as Macca in shot stopping, their kicking is equal. But Macca keeps more clean sheets!

From what I've seen his shot stopping is equal to Macca, superb double save against Bromley, quick reaction save against Woking.
His speed of thought is fantastic, you can see he's looking to use the ball as soon as he's got his hands on it, sometimes the players aren't quite ready for him, the pass to Macatee on Saturday was sublime.
All in all I honestly believe he's an overall improvement on Macca.
One thing I won't do this time around is slate Mckeown, he's been a fantastic servant to the club, even some of his howlers just add to the respect I have for him but it's time for him to go to pastures new, enjoy his testimonial year then follow his PE teaching dream and play part time..

Quoted from Tinymariner

No, I didn’t spot him running 50 yards away from goal, passing to Amos who lost the ball and unable to get back to prevent the goal either! His kicking was awful at times, at least 4 balls straight into the stands! BTW, I actually like him in goal because he commands is area and I feel less anxious during set pieces.

He accurately passed the ball to Amos, in plenty of space with as much time as he wanted to turn and pick a pass. Unfortunately, Amos decided to pass it straight to their forward. Absolutely no fault of Crocombe and I find it odd that anyone thinks it was.

As for his general kicking at the weekend, did you notice how their keeper managed to kick it straight out into touch quite a lot of times in the first half as well. It was a touch windy.

He looks a much more confident kicker (and can knock it another 10 or 20 yards further than McKeown most of the time as well), but it is still at the 5th tier level. There are going to be mistakes but I didn't see any the other day.

Crocombe is a decent conference keeper, nothing more; nothing less. Perhaps the criticism comes from a place where fans feel a sense of allegiance to Macca, who knows.

If we’re blaming the keeper for their goal at the weekend then people weren’t watching the same game as me…

Quoted from aldi_01

Crocombe is a decent conference keeper, nothing more; nothing less. Perhaps the criticism comes from a place where fans feel a sense of allegiance to Macca, who knows.

If we’re blaming the keeper for their goal at the weekend then people weren’t watching the same game as me…

I like Crocombe in goal but he certainly shares responsibility for their goal.

Good evening Mr McKeown.

Quoted from Tinymariner

No, I didn’t spot him running 50 yards away from goal, passing to Amos who lost the ball and unable to get back to prevent the goal either! His kicking was awful at times, at least 4 balls straight into the stands! BTW, I actually like him in goal because he commands is area and I feel less anxious during set pieces.

Well if he ran 50 yards away from his goal he was either in the centre circle or near me in the Upper Youngs Stand!

Crocombes is,without doubt, better with his feet than macca. To be fair macca has made great strides with that compared to how he was 10 years ago, he admitted he had to adapt as the game has changed so much. But he was coming from a very low bar, even after his improved ability with the ball at his feet you would still say it was a weak part of his game.

Crocombe isn't amazing with his feet but he is noticeably better. I like macca but this season and last he has been in poorer form than we are used to it has to be said. Overall crocombe is better than the current out of form macca.

Crocomb wasn't kicking into the stands as some on here are implying.  The strong wind was gusting making it nyon impossible to judge. Same when he was trying to judge crosses in the wind. I thought he did very well in those conditions.

Quoted from HerveJosse

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I'll bite, surely you did that on purpose 😉

Just talking about keepers accidentally kicking the ball into touch.

This happens quite a lot, wind or no wind as players congregate to one touchline when a goal kick is taken.

What is the rationale for that?

Would it be better for the players to be spread out more along the front line to stretch their defence which would mean if we do win the header we have players ready to take advantage.   The keeper wouldn't need to kick so close to the touchline then would he?

There must be a footballing reason why so many teams do it.

The touchline kicking comes from the school of Monkhouse !!

That was McKeown's only target for a season - hard to shake off, probably ??

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Just talking about keepers accidentally kicking the ball into touch.

This happens quite a lot, wind or no wind as players congregate to one touchline when a goal kick is taken.

What is the rationale for that?

Would it be better for the players to be spread out more along the front line to stretch their defence which would mean if we do win the header we have players ready to take advantage.   The keeper wouldn't need to kick so close to the touchline then would he?

There must be a footballing reason why so many teams do it.

Never done any coaching courses myself, but I suspect it's all about keeping things compact (us shape) and reducing the risk of being left wide open following a mis-kick or a deflection. When it's windy, it's understandable that a kick is generally going to go to one side of the pitch, but I do agree that it would seem to be a good idea to have a player hanging out wide on the opposite wing on the off-chance the ball comes their way. Would also keep the opposition defence honest as well. If they want to make an error, let them.

McKeown's kicking has never been his strongest asset, but it seems to me that he's lost 10 yards distance over the past year or two. I only watched a few matches on TV last season so not sure if it was the case back then as well, but it is something I mentioned to my Dad near the start of this season.

Quoted from Maringer

Never done any coaching courses myself, but I suspect it's all about keeping things compact (us shape) and reducing the risk of being left wide open following a mis-kick or a deflection. When it's windy, it's understandable that a kick is generally going to go to one side of the pitch, but I do agree that it would seem to be a good idea to have a player hanging out wide on the opposite wing on the off-chance the ball comes their way. Would also keep the opposition defence honest as well. If they want to make an error, let them.

A friend of mine asked a manager of another club this exact question. His answer was: percentages.

I can see the logic in it but what is to stop a player peeling off at the last minute and launching it down the opposite flank every now and then?

It's the same reason teams keep 11 men back at corners but it frustrates the hell out of me. We saw against Wrexham at home what leaving a man up can do when Max scored the third. It was the same on Saturday, Wealdstone had 2 late free kicks just inside our half and sent the keeper up. Someone offered a short option so there were still 2 Wealdstone players well away from the box yet we had nobody near them meaning the ball came straight back.

Crocombe looks a vast improvement on McKeown.

I like McKeown and he's rightly viewed very highly by the fanbase. But his game has slowly deteriorated in recent years.  His kicking and command of his area have always been a weakness and if we're honest, ones he's never really managed to improve significantly on.  At the level we've been at though, he's proved to a fine 'keeper.  In recent seasons his outstanding attribute, his reflexes and shot stopping haven't been as good in my opinion.  He's become suspect to getting beat by easy shots.  Last season, in the main, was a disaster for him - summed up with the lack of concentration when he kicked one in his own net.

Crocombe is better at commanding his area and distributing the ball, both in terms of the speed of it and the accuracy.  He might not be as good as peak McKeown on shot stopping but I'd say he's definitely equal to him at the minute, if not better.

Any blame on him for the goal is absolutely hilarious.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

He's a 5th Division keeper so he's not going to be perfect but, brushing sentiment to one side, I do think he's an improvement on McKeown.

GTFC is 5th Division. When we move up (optimist to the end) we will be 4th Division and require a 4th Divison squad.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

A friend of mine asked a manager of another club this exact question. His answer was: percentages.

I can see the logic in it but what is to stop a player peeling off at the last minute and launching it down the opposite flank every now and then?

It's the same reason teams keep 11 men back at corners but it frustrates the hell out of me. We saw against Wrexham at home what leaving a man up can do when Max scored the third. It was the same on Saturday, Wealdstone had 2 late free kicks just inside our half and sent the keeper up. Someone offered a short option so there were still 2 Wealdstone players well away from the box yet we had nobody near them meaning the ball came straight back.

I think you are right about percentages, but it is very frustrating how coaching teams and managers just cannot get their heads together to come up with a more innovative approach. It just seems a case of we have always done that so why change?

There is absolutely no space when the goal kick is contested at or near the touchline as every player congregates there, so even if you win the header what good will it do? Keeping players more spread out must surely mean their defence has a lot more to worry about especially with a fired-up MacAtee on their case.

I suppose this is why playing out from the back is now much more in vogue instead of launching every goal kick towards the touchline - it gives you more chance of exploiting gaps as you build up the play.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Crocombe looks a vast improvement on McKeown.

I like McKeown and he's rightly viewed very highly by the fanbase. But his game has slowly deteriorated in recent years.  His kicking and command of his area have always been a weakness and if we're honest, ones he's never really managed to improve significantly on.  At the level we've been at though, he's proved to a fine 'keeper.  In recent seasons his outstanding attribute, his reflexes and shot stopping haven't been as good in my opinion.  He's become suspect to getting beat by easy shots.  Last season, in the main, was a disaster for him - summed up with the lack of concentration when he kicked one in his own net.

Crocombe is better at commanding his area and distributing the ball, both in terms of the speed of it and the accuracy.  He might not be as good as peak McKeown on shot stopping but I'd say he's definitely equal to him at the minute, if not better.

Any blame on him for the goal is absolutely hilarious.

I quite agree, at McKeown's best, he was like a cat, and could stop 1 or 2 shots in quick succession on the line.  However, he doesn't command the box at all. Crocombe, who is 2.5 inches taller, puts himself about the box a bit more and snuffs out, or puts opposition off potential goals. It's obvious PH prefers him so it says it all.

Quoted from GrimPol

I quite agree, at McKeown's best, he was like a cat, and could stop 1 or 2 shots in quick succession on the line.  However, he doesn't command the box at all. Crocombe, who is 2.5 inches taller, puts himself about the box a bit more and snuffs out, or puts opposition off potential goals. It's obvious PH prefers him so it says it all.

I fully agree, I won’t even begin to criticise Clifton! Imagine the outcry on here.

Once the team, especially the back four, get used to Crocombe consistently coming out for high balls at set pieces then the more they can allow for this and protect him. It must be very frustrating for a defender being unsure whether the keeper will come out for a high ball.

Personally don’t think there’s much between the two
Keepers at all… moving  forward then yes , we need to phase Macca out eventually and even look to improve on Crocombe