Just back

Pretty dreadful for 93 minutes, lots of endeavour but ultimately karma for Woking’s cynical time wasting and feigning injury which might have given us an extra minute of injury time.

On individuals, decent debut for Callum Jones, defence untroubled MoM to Abrahams who looked eager all game and didn’t let his head drop when things didn’t go his way.

I agree Abraham's definitely MOM

Abrahams or Pearson MoM. Not impressed with Jones (though he's probably still learning his teammates' names!) and our midfielders were collectively our worst players today.

We'll need to see a lot more from Jones if Raikhy is out for good.

Very nice to nick a late win at BP for a change, especially after freezing my nuts off and enduring such a dreadful 2nd half performance. Can't believe the wind pretty much died away at half-time after battling our way through the first half.

I’ll be defrosting until Tuesday I think. Didn’t deserve to draw - better finishing we’d have been more comfortable - but great to get that last minute winner for a second time past them this season. Table certainly looks better than it did. Let’s keep the run going until May.

We did enough to win a couple of games, and had the early chance gone in it would have been plain sailing.

There are no easy games as other teams have found to their cost today, but we stuck with it and got a deserved late winner which could be very important indeed. Results are more important than performances at this stage, as I already know we have it in us to play really well.

Special mention to Abraham who pleasantly surprised me, and I thought Jones had a very good debut considering his lack of preparation - he looked a proper footballer to me and you can see how he has been playing on loan in league 1.

Quoted from Maringer

Abrahams or Pearson MoM. Not impressed with Jones (though he's probably still learning his teammates' names!) and our midfielders were collectively our worst players today.

We'll need to see a lot more from Jones if Raikhy is out for good.

Very nice to nick a late win at BP for a change, especially after freezing my nuts off and enduring such a dreadful 2nd half performance. Can't believe the wind pretty much died away at half-time after battling our way through the first half.

Think that’s pretty unfair on Jones who’s probably still learning his team mates names. Most of the fans in the Main Stand still are judging by some comments today.

Bloody cold one!

Off days for many, with Sousa clifton and Mcatee in particular. Dont know what game the sponsors were watching!

Woking didnt look like a side in such poor form, i thought they were organised and came set up for a point

If we take the chances in the first half its a different gane, delighted for Manny to get the late winner.

Abrahams my MOM, thought he worked extremely hard and with others dropping points, what a vital 3 for us.


What is a shame is i feel Just Back thread would be busier if we’d drawn 0-0

Thought Jones had an okay game but definitely not the sort of day that would suit any ball playing midfielder. 18 games in League One this seasons suggests there’s a decent footballer in there.


UTM

Awful conditions today. Having did that I thought we created some great chances and only their keeper kept it at 0-0. Great work from Abrahams today, thought he was very good.

I’m gonna throw my opinion in early on Jones. I think he’ll be the best of the loan Centre mids we’ve had this season. Physically he looks like a man and strikes me as an intelligent and talented player.

Quoted from GhostDan

Thought Jones had an okay, definitely not the sort of day that would suit any ball playing midfielder. 18 games in League One this seasons suggests there’s a decent footballer in there.


UTM

Busy, hard working, tidy, looked to go forward rather than sideways or back, didn’t mind a tackle and prepare to tell others what to do
Given our vulnerability in central midfield, not a bad way to plug a gap imho

Jones was decent, and wasn’t frightened to tell people what to do. Is he better that Rhaiky? Dunno but poor illegitimate has only been here less than 48 hours…

excrement game, good win. End.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Think that’s pretty unfair on Jones who’s probably still learning his team mates names. Most of the fans in the Main Stand still are judging by some comments today.

Well, yes. I even said Jones probably doesn't know his teammates names yet.

I do wonder why do many think he looked decent today as he didn't offer any more than his other midfield teammates, who were similarly poor. I'm sure he'll improve but there were a few midfielders on the pitch today who were more involved than he was, including Burgess (who himself wasn't great). The others were in middle for Woking who picked up about 90% of possession whenever the ball went loose.

Quoted from Maringer

Well, yes. I even said Jones probably doesn't know his teammates names yet.

I do wonder why do many think he looked decent today as he didn't offer any more than his other midfield teammates, who were similarly poor. I'm sure he'll improve but there were a few midfielders on the pitch today who were more involved than he was, including Burgess (who himself wasn't great). The others were in middle for Woking who picked up about 90% of possession whenever the ball went loose.

In common with Hunt and Raikhy, he looked to move the ball forward. I’m well aware that the moaners don’t like us to lose the ball but I’d rather see us lose it trying to make a difference than lose it passing sideways.
Several were well off it today, given that, Jones was pretty decent in the main.

Business end of the season and 3 points when some of those above us dropped points.  That really is all that matters today and for the rest of the season...another 7...8 or 9 of those and I will be happy

Squad is now looking paper thin though , Sousa , arguably our best ball carrier was busy but ineffective....look at the bench and the only viable option was the one Hurst made ...it paid off.

Not many players out there today that you would expect to see causing the opposition one on one problems....the last 15 mins felt like an inevitable snooze to a 0-0 but a deserved winner did appear.  

Plenty were quick to judge our recent signings previous scoring record.....well he has now played probably 45 mins and scored 1 goal and earned us 3 points....Great start.

Woking have never been on my radar until this week...treated with total indifference up until I read some of their comments on their boards....now.....over the moon we beat them again in the same late manner as at their place.....nothing like a last minute sickener to spoil a long journey home to the heavenly sumptuous leafy suburbs they come from.....arrogant cnts....hope there are roadworks.

Utm

Quoted from Maringer

Well, yes. I even said Jones probably doesn't know his teammates names yet.

I do wonder why do many think he looked decent today as he didn't offer any more than his other midfield teammates, who were similarly poor. I'm sure he'll improve but there were a few midfielders on the pitch today who were more involved than he was, including Burgess (who himself wasn't great). The others were in middle for Woking who picked up about 90% of possession whenever the ball went loose.

90% of possession picked up?!?! Not sure even Rodri and Kante would have done that.

I thought they grew into the game. They are still very young and regular games and training could see a good partnership develop by the time we have reached Wembley....

Thought Woking looked alright until they decided to shithouse it in the last 15. Knocking it around the corner flag with 11 minutes + added time left is absolutely asking for it, and they got what they deserved. Not sure what happened to the ref, started the game waving any argy bargy away then towards the end decided he'd blow for every single fart in the wind.

Still freezing, knackered from shivering, but well worth it in the end. Agree with others comments about Abrahams, definitely my MoM today. I do love it when 5000 town fans spend 5 minutes simultaneously screaming 'Just put in the box!' then when Tristan finally 'twatted' it in there, we get the winner  

How Jones' performance can be seen as anything but positive is genuinely beyond me, but we all interpret stuff differently. I genuinely thought he had a good game, strong lad with quality on and off the ball.

Massive 3 points today as it turns out. UTM

Got the win which was all that mattered in the end but we were nowhere near good enough in midfield today. Hopefully they can put that right though as they gel and get more time together in training but it looked like there were too many similar players in the centre. We are limited though due to injuries so kind of to be expected.

Woking should be ashamed of themselves with that second half performance. They aren’t in any danger of going down so why was a single point worth so much to them? The odd time they had a go they knocked the ball about quite well so it was sad that they resorted to the antics they did. Luckily they got exactly what they deserved and it was great to see almost all 11 of them on their knees on the floor after the ball had crossed the line. Referee a disappointment as well for letting them get away with it.

Abrahams was my MOTM today. Thought he was great tbh. Really pleasing performance from him.

2 points gained on those above anyway! Also above Bromley which is nice after their cup final at BP a few weeks back.

Woking scared me during the first half , they played the ball to feet which we didn’t. 2nd half just passed me by as my iPhone needs fingerprint recognition and my fingers were so cold I couldn’t access my phone to check other scores. I thought Jones picked up as the game went on but we only threatened when we kept the ball on the deck which resulted in the cross that we scored from. Mcatee run his socks off again but putting his foot in during a challenge for the ball is dangerous and resulted in a booking but 3 points from that performance was a good return.

It was an exact reply of the game at there place.
They set up to be hard to break down and did that very well.
We got them in the end.
3 great points, move on to the next game.
Well done to all the lads that pulled on the shirt today.
UTM
On to the next game  

Very moderate game with very little quality. Nevertheless what’s not to enjoy about the 94th minute winner, loved it.
Their players look dejected which just added to the enjoyment. The next three games are very tough and we will need to improve dramatically but these three Points are massive. I think we would’ve smashed them if we have taken an earlier chance, whoever tried to put the rebound in after the ball hit the post in the first half should’ve shown a bit more conviction for me. There were too many 6 out of 10 performances today but three points is three points and it turned what would’ve been a very moderate afternoon into a very enjoyable one

Apart from the atrocious conditions that was a bit reminiscent of the away fixture, Woking decent in an even first half, second half they dropped off and played for a point, Town probably better overall and the game decided by a very late winner as Town didn’t jack it in.

I was well pleased with the late winner as I’d got myself set up for a right good moan on the drive home as we passed the ball pretty badly and lacked tempo, but we got 3 points which is all that matters now TBH.

Some stuff that got me thinking, though not really tested today I think Waterfall and Pearson are starting to look really solid and communicate well especially with the vocal Crocombe.

Abrahams clearly has pace, talent and craft for this level, how good would it be if we started next season with him & McAtee?

Sousa needs to play on the right with. Efete as the latter can overlap and cut in and despite his inability to finish his dinner Sousa will find him.

Overall it’s looking promising just at the right time but though we’re playing teams below us this next week feels really important.

UTM!  

The way the game was panning out I thought they were going to be the ones who ended up with the ball in the net but great to dish out a bit of karma for their time wasting antics.

I thought we looked sloppy at times and struggled with their physicality until Dieseruvwe came on. Abrahams played well but Dieseruvwe gave their big lad at the back something to think about. Hull are 13 points off the relegation spots so we could do with them absolutely imploding and then they won't give Jones a few games. I think he's going to be a great asset for however long we have him for.

Most posters has been quick to criticise the performance of  the new  lad Jones straight into a new a new team who I thought had a good game and always looked to move the ball forward with pace
Harry Clifton probably looked off the pace today which I can honestly say I haven’t had to say all season
The issue today was again not about the play but about putting away chances put away those chances and we would definitely be sitting in a play off place now.

Oh....and.....I am not a fan of players over reacting and feigning injury just to get the opposition player booked.
....




But when Macatee went down and stayed down just until the ref got his got book out then promptly got up and ran off was comedy gold.

Quoted from MistertGtfc

Most posters has been quick to criticise the performance of  the new  lad Jones straight into a new a new team who I thought had a good game and always looked to move the ball forward with pace
Harry Clifton probably looked off the pace today which I can honestly say I haven’t had to say all season
The issue today was again not about the play but about putting away chances put away those chances and we would definitely be sitting in a play off place now.

“Most posters” is more like 1 or 2 but fair enough

I apologise new to the forum but as a team it wasn’t a bad performance it was just another one of of those days

Quoted from MistertGtfc

I apologise new to the forum but as a team it wasn’t a bad performance it was just another one of of those days

Eh? Another ‘one of those days’ when we score a winner in the 94th minute!

Quoted from moosey_club

Oh....and.....I am not a fan of players over reacting and feigning injury just to get the opposition player booked.
....




But when Macatee went down and stayed down just until the ref got his got book out then promptly got up and ran off was comedy gold.

We do need a bit more sh1thousery IMHO 😂

Was there a power cut at BP - my heated seat wasn't working - still haven't thawed out -  think I've got frostbite

But when Macatee went down and stayed down just until the ref got his got book out then promptly got up and ran off was comedy gold. [/quote]

What happened was he saw Dave Moore coming towards him

Shocking conditions yesterday i was freezing but warmed up when winner went in , we was better team by far , on to southend hotel booked hope we can get 4/500 even though i appreciate it a long old slog midweek utm

I must say the highlights made us look a lot better than you lot make it sound!

Came here to say the same thing. Burgess looked decent to me from the highlights too, good passing and a fair bit of play went through him.

Quoted from BeijingMariner

I must say the highlights made us look a lot better than you lot make it sound!

The clue is in the word ‘highlights’

Had we not scored there would have been a few (undeserved) boos. But it was a poor game in poor conditions.
But 3 very welcome and overall deserved points.

UTM

Not the best performance and the conditions didnt help.

But we kept going to the end and got our reward.

Abrahams looked very lively. Was my MOM. Defence looked solid with Pearson outstanding.

I thought Jones looked decent, especially with his lack pf preparation. Wanted. the ball , kept it moving,  tried to go forward. I dont think i was watching the same game according to some of the comments aimed at him. McAtee his usual busy self.

Clifton and especially Sousa below par. But a vital win albeit an ugly one i dont care.

I do wonder if Burgess and Jones will work as a pair. Perhaps a bit lightweight. When Fox is fit he perhaps come back in.

I wouldn't say we have recaptured the form we showed at the start of the season. We still look a bit laboured at times but at least we seem to have got over that wretched run that saw us plummet down the table. We are back in the hunt for the play-offs at least so plenty to play for. We will need to improve further i feel to firstly get into the play offs and certainly to make any progress.

Some big games coming up starting with Southend.

Was neither a great performance nor a game, but you can probably blame the conditions for both of those.  They were truly dreadful.  First half especially you could see the wind just ruining any attempt to play football.

Usually agree with a lot of Maringer's posts but I think he's well off in regards Jones.  I thought he had a very decent debut, regardless of his lack of time with his team-mates.  He and Burgess are both very tidy and look to play it on the deck at pace.  Very, very difficult to assess on one performance but they did look a bit too similar as a pairing though.  Felt that it was lacking one of them wanting to really drive forward with it.  Perhaps that comes with more understanding but it's looking like that could be the pairing for a bit with current injuries etc.  

Up top I thought Abrahams looked a different animal compared to the player who started his first few games on the wing.   If that's the benchmark for his performances, Taylor may well struggle to get back in.  The attacking midfield 3 of McAtee, Sousa and Clifton all looked below par for me.  Sousa slowed it down too much, again, for my liking.  He's fast becoming the biggest frustration we've had for a while.  Absolutely everything in his locker apart from that end product.  That said, the moment he discovers it we've absolutely no chance of holding onto him.  Clifton has been excellent all season so you can almost forgive his performance, just one of those days were nothing comes off.  

This may prove unpopular regards McAtee but he's as much of an asset as he is a hinderance at times.  I get it that he's the talisman and you shouldn't suffocate a creative talent etc.  But if our game is going to go through him as much as it does, he can't just wander about looking for the ball all the time.  Yes, he can drift a little and he can see where pockets of play might be opening up. The problem is that he can spend 30 minutes doing this.  That then leaves a bloody massive gap between attack and midfield, in the absence of a central midfielder who bombs on and/or a wideman who stretches play it makes us quite ineffective.  As with Sousa though, I guess if he was perfect he wouldn't be here.

The return of Maguire-Drew will be huge as he a) drifts inside b) stretches play and c) carries the ball forward.  Since his injury we've not really done any of those 3 things and it's largely why I think we're quite predictable in our attack.

Great celebrations at the end and absolutely fantastic to see the Woking players drop in defeat after their time wasting and play acting all game.  

Another win and whilst it may have gone under the radar a little bit we're on a decent run of late, to the point we're joint top of the form table (https://thefishy.co.uk/formtable.php?table=5).  

Quoted from diehardmariner

Great celebrations at the end and absolutely fantastic to see the Woking players drop in defeat after their time wasting and play acting all game.

It felt like I was watching a cup game when they dropped to their knees. I thought their 17 was a good player and they took him off early as they looked to grind out the draw. We had more than enough chances but they had a couple of good chances too; especially the one that hit the side netting towards the end. Late winners are great for morale though.

On Saturday I didn't think Abrahams had a great game but on reflection he was never going to win any long balls against 6ft8 Diarra. First half in particular, nobody was within 5 yards of their defenders when we punted it up. The highlights show that he did play well though.

Burgess and Jones are similar but I do think we saw enough to suggest they can have a decent partnership once they get to understand each others game better. My only worry is that Jones is here for an initial month and Hull are 13 points clear of the drop zone so we might get another month out of him but I think they will want to play him once they are mathematically safe.

Suppose it could work the other way for us.  The sooner Hull secure safety, the higher their hopes for next season will be and with that a view to kicking on with better signings under their new ownership.

Jones, on the other hand, will continue to get games here rather when games matter rather the odd five minutes in a dead rubber type fixture.  I have to confess I've no idea how highly rated he is over the bridge.  

Quoted from Civvy at last

The clue is in the word ‘highlights’

Well, yes, understood But I have seen loads of 'highlights' with a lot less decent play in than those. But yeah, I take your point and am aware highlights can be deceptive. Having said that, some promising movement in the team and I agree with Sam GY that Burgess looked pretty useful, again, I wasn't there but the highlights gave the impression he contributed well

Quoted from diehardmariner

Suppose it could work the other way for us.  The sooner Hull secure safety, the higher their hopes for next season will be and with that a view to kicking on with better signings under their new ownership.

Jones, on the other hand, will continue to get games here rather when games matter rather the odd five minutes in a dead rubber type fixture.  I have to confess I've no idea how highly rated he is over the bridge.  

Jones has played 18 League One games for Morecambe this season. He was recalled in January and played 2 games for Hull meaning he couldn't go on loan anywhere else in the EFL. Now that the window is closed too, his only option for regular football is at this level or in the U23s so it does look like a coup for us. Peterborough look like going down and are now managed by Grant McCann who I assume played him for Hull this season. At 20 years old and with proven League One ability, he fits the Peterborough business model so I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there in the summer. A few more Championship appearances would probably push that fee up a little bit. Based on his debut, I hope we can keep him here. He has the potential of a Wembley promotion on his CV at 20 if he stays here.

Quoted from BeijingMariner

Well, yes, understood But I have seen loads of 'highlights' with a lot less decent play in than those. But yeah, I take your point and am aware highlights can be deceptive. Having said that, some promising movement in the team and I agree with Sam GY that Burgess looked pretty useful, again, I wasn't there but the highlights gave the impression he contributed well

Take my word for it we played well. Should have been 3 or 4 and some of our football often in terrible conditions (which seems to be every week) for football is a joy to watch.

If we could get into the playoffs nobody would fancy meeting us.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Jones has played 18 League One games for Morecambe this season. He was recalled in January and played 2 games for Hull meaning he couldn't go on loan anywhere else in the EFL. Now that the window is closed too, his only option for regular football is at this level or in the U23s so it does look like a coup for us. Peterborough look like going down and are now managed by Grant McCann who I assume played him for Hull this season. At 20 years old and with proven League One ability, he fits the Peterborough business model so I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there in the summer. A few more Championship appearances would probably push that fee up a little bit. Based on his debut, I hope we can keep him here. He has the potential of a Wembley promotion on his CV at 20 if he stays here.

nothing like going wildly over the top

Quoted from Hagrid

nothing like going wildly over the top

In what way have I gone over the top?

He's played in 20 league games for teams that are at least 2 levels above us this season which suggests he is a coup.
He's 20 years old, hungry for first team football and fits the Peterborough mould of buying them young with a view to turning a profit. Peterborough are now managed by the manager who recalled and brought him on as a last minute sub in January. Shota Arveladze also brought him on as a late sub in January.

His debut was decent and the only other alternative option in midfield is Giles Coke. Whilst we are in the play-off hunt, there is always that prospect of a Wembley appearance in June. I don't think I'm going over the top when I say that a Wembley appearance is a big deal for a professional footballer.

Jones reminded me of an Elliott Embleton type. Liked to get on the ball and rarely gave it away. What he has different though (with a slight frame) is he liked to get stuck in. Think his first touch of the game he clattered a sliding tackle out for a throw.
Think he will improve with more training, getting to know his teammates and more match fitness and I hope we can keep him until the end of the season.

On the game I felt we were deserved winners though should have had a goal or 2 up in the first half to make it more comfortable.

Still 3 points and a step closer to the play off hunt

Quoted from jamesgtfc

In what way have I gone over the top?

He's played in 20 league games for teams that are at least 2 levels above us this season which suggests he is a coup.
He's 20 years old, hungry for first team football and fits the Peterborough mould of buying them young with a view to turning a profit. Peterborough are now managed by the manager who recalled and brought him on as a last minute sub in January. Shota Arveladze also brought him on as a late sub in January.

His debut was decent and the only other alternative option in midfield is Giles Coke. Whilst we are in the play-off hunt, there is always that prospect of a Wembley appearance in June. I don't think I'm going over the top when I say that a Wembley appearance is a big deal for a professional footballer.

proven league 1 ability... 20 games.

Darren Mansaram Played 20+ games in the Championship.

Quoted from Hagrid

proven league 1 ability... 20 games.

Darren Mansaram Played 20+ games in the Championship.

When he got recalled by Hull, he had played in 18 out of 35 league and cup games for League One Morecambe.

The circumstances behind Jones' 20 games this season and Darren Mansaram in 2002-03 are completely different. Did the signings of Alex Hunt and Ryley Towler earlier in the season disappoint you by any chance?