| How many on here went to the game today? 20:43 - Aug 28 with 2996 views | Keaneish |
There’s a lot of chat but not much commentary on the events on the pitch. Can anyone provide any valuable insight into why we’ve abysmally failed to hold on to a commanding lead at home to a minnow? Did Cook and the mgmt fail or did individual players? It’s one or the other… |  |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:46 - Aug 28 with 2651 views | saffers12 |
I went
Basic poor marking at the back, Evans and Harper will not work as a pair
Poor substitutions made
keeper looks totally lost
Did predict Coulson would be class and he was
I thought I was going to cry when they scored |  | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:53 - Aug 28 with 2603 views | bluelagos |
19k+ in attendance so guess quite a few.
I thougt PC bringing on Donancian worked well. Keeper ballsed up, it happens. |  |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:54 - Aug 28 with 2594 views | Keaneish |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:46 - Aug 28 by saffers12 |
I went
Basic poor marking at the back, Evans and Harper will not work as a pair
Poor substitutions made
keeper looks totally lost
Did predict Coulson would be class and he was
I thought I was going to cry when they scored |
Was it bad positional shape among the back four which lead to their goals or just bad Individual marking? I haven’t seen the goals yet.
I’ve been unsure about Hladky but thought he took the pressure off us with some good catches against MK Dons, was that not the case today?
What was Evans like? More like his Morecambe performance or absent like his Cheltenham one? I have concerns about these two too. 5 games in now, they should have formed a partnership - 5 games is usually the benchmark - I haven’t seen signs they have, yet. | |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:54 - Aug 28 with 2590 views | Cuffy81 |
I went
We are so mentally weak and we have minimal game management - Evans looks lost at times as a captain.
First half we rushed it and tried to force it, giving the ball away.
Second half we looked more in control and patient even before the goals
Conceding so quickly after going 2-0 up just killed us, we looked scared after then, we also tired very quickly.
Replacing Burns with Aluko was a poor choice, Carroll would have provided more control in midfield
Equaliser where to begin, unmarked at the far post followed by a flapping keeper who looks like a rabbit in the headlights
Worst thing was not one of our players looked shocked or surprised - just resigned |  | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:54 - Aug 28 with 2586 views | dominiciawful |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:53 - Aug 28 by bluelagos |
19k+ in attendance so guess quite a few.
I thougt PC bringing on Donancian worked well. Keeper ballsed up, it happens. |
Donacien did everything he had to do just fine. Hladky has to be dropped. |  |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:57 - Aug 28 with 2560 views | bluelagos |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:54 - Aug 28 by Keaneish |
Was it bad positional shape among the back four which lead to their goals or just bad Individual marking? I haven’t seen the goals yet.
I’ve been unsure about Hladky but thought he took the pressure off us with some good catches against MK Dons, was that not the case today?
What was Evans like? More like his Morecambe performance or absent like his Cheltenham one? I have concerns about these two too. 5 games in now, they should have formed a partnership - 5 games is usually the benchmark - I haven’t seen signs they have, yet. |
Bankter posted a link / thread. Though the camera angle saves the blushes of Hladky for the equaliser. | |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:00 - Aug 28 with 2533 views | thebooks |
We only connect and play well in bits; although when we do we look pretty good — way better than a team like Wimbledon. The rest of the time it’s pretty boring Lambertball. The manager is responsible for instilling the confidence/energy/technique to keep this up over prolonged periods, rather than 5-10m bursts, although I get that this could be more a gelling thing.
Where Cook fails tactically, I think, is in his inflexibility. It’s always a rigid 4-2-3-1. Today I think Piggot — who was good — would have benefited from someone playing a lot closer to him as it was a physical game.
Harper started well today, but faded a lot. He’s important because he can take the ball from the back 4, hold on to it, turn and then move it forward. Without that we revert to shifting it around aimlessly. For whatever reason, he was quite error prone today.
The fullbacks are pinned to the sidelines. This works well as we can switch the ball easily to keep attacks going. Again, Harper is particularly good at this, Woolfenden as well.
So there are some good tactical things going on, but like I say, it doesn’t really vary. Both goals were at the other end, but they looked due to poor marking, which I guess is a training thing.
Overall there are individual errors, which must be frustrating for Cook, but that’s not all that’s going on. I personally feel we should have had enough in the squad to simply overcome teams like Wimbledon and Morecambe (who after all have had a more disruptive pre-season than us). We also seem a little mechanical, and easy to predict. |  | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:15 - Aug 28 with 2468 views | WickhamsLeftBoot |
I have no issues with Evans as a player, but as a captain, he's not a strong minded as the likes of Holland, Magilton and De Vos. After going 2-0 up, it's bleedingly obvious that a big commanding voice is needed to settle the excitement, especially after two quick goals.
You simply cannot expect 16 new players to instantly play like they've been with each other for years, but we looked better today, some strong partnerships forming, but with each game that we play, the excuse of 'players needing time to gel' won't be as easily accepted.
I'm not sure how many chances Hladky will get but that's at least twice now that we've conceded from him parrying the ball. I'm hopeful that once Edmundson is 100% that he comes in and forms a strong partnership with Burgess who, once again, looked brilliant today, some crucial tackles and not easily pushed off the ball.
I've always been one to give the manager time and those calling for Cook's head really are pathetic and deluded but naturally, questions will be asked of Cook if we're still around the same place at the end of September. |  | | |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:24 - Aug 28 with 2393 views | Keaneish |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:54 - Aug 28 by Cuffy81 |
I went
We are so mentally weak and we have minimal game management - Evans looks lost at times as a captain.
First half we rushed it and tried to force it, giving the ball away.
Second half we looked more in control and patient even before the goals
Conceding so quickly after going 2-0 up just killed us, we looked scared after then, we also tired very quickly.
Replacing Burns with Aluko was a poor choice, Carroll would have provided more control in midfield
Equaliser where to begin, unmarked at the far post followed by a flapping keeper who looks like a rabbit in the headlights
Worst thing was not one of our players looked shocked or surprised - just resigned |
This is my biggest fear confirmed. I was following the stats and could see from the thin data coming through that we were letting them back in which said to either tactical naivety or mental fragility. To be this frail mentally so early in the season is alarming. Norwood is a miss in this respect.
If we’re that resigned already - this could be a long season; it already feels like a long week until
Wycombe even if it goes ahead! | |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:27 - Aug 28 with 2378 views | borge |
I thought it was better at times than it has been and felt things are starting to come together. However, we still can't perform consistently throughout the course of a game, which is something we also suffered from under Lambert.
I also think Piggott needed someone alongside him. Edwards was great, Burns was pretty good and Fraser wasn't bad, but we failed to get them on the ball enough.
Just like under Lambert, our speed of thought and movement is too slow. I expected it to be much quicker and it needs to be if we are to open teams up.
Hladky was poor. The defence should share some of the blame, but you expect the keeper to do far better for both goals.
Coulson looked poor in his first game but today he was immense. Evans and Harper we're off form.
Not sure why KVY was taken off, but he wasn't happy about it. He doesn't look great defensively this season, but is still unquestionably better than donacien.
We were better than Wimbledon, but I'm fairness to them they played some great football and have some good individuals. I felt their substitutions made a difference - ours did too, but not a positive one. | | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:33 - Aug 28 with 2309 views | Keaneish |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:00 - Aug 28 by thebooks |
We only connect and play well in bits; although when we do we look pretty good — way better than a team like Wimbledon. The rest of the time it’s pretty boring Lambertball. The manager is responsible for instilling the confidence/energy/technique to keep this up over prolonged periods, rather than 5-10m bursts, although I get that this could be more a gelling thing.
Where Cook fails tactically, I think, is in his inflexibility. It’s always a rigid 4-2-3-1. Today I think Piggot — who was good — would have benefited from someone playing a lot closer to him as it was a physical game.
Harper started well today, but faded a lot. He’s important because he can take the ball from the back 4, hold on to it, turn and then move it forward. Without that we revert to shifting it around aimlessly. For whatever reason, he was quite error prone today.
The fullbacks are pinned to the sidelines. This works well as we can switch the ball easily to keep attacks going. Again, Harper is particularly good at this, Woolfenden as well.
So there are some good tactical things going on, but like I say, it doesn’t really vary. Both goals were at the other end, but they looked due to poor marking, which I guess is a training thing.
Overall there are individual errors, which must be frustrating for Cook, but that’s not all that’s going on. I personally feel we should have had enough in the squad to simply overcome teams like Wimbledon and Morecambe (who after all have had a more disruptive pre-season than us). We also seem a little mechanical, and easy to predict. |
I thought we’d have looked to switch the 4231 to a 424 at times, at least, that’s what I though pre-season when Norwood and Piggot were partnering each other. Did Fraser do much today and did Piggot look better with Fraser behind him? The balance here is key for me, along with stamping out the litany of basic mistakes.
We know Cook doesn’t like to change it too much so I’ll assume Harper and Evans are in there for the foreseeable. Adding Carroll would mean Fraser drops out and I can’t see that happening. Are Edmunson and Carroll that additional strength and nouse we need? Can’t really comment yet but if Hladky was shaken today, it matters little!
It’ll be an interesting look at the window between now and Tuesday. | |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:44 - Aug 28 with 2251 views | Keaneish |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:46 - Aug 28 by saffers12 |
I went
Basic poor marking at the back, Evans and Harper will not work as a pair
Poor substitutions made
keeper looks totally lost
Did predict Coulson would be class and he was
I thought I was going to cry when they scored |
Just watched the goals back. 7 defenders versus 4 attackers for their equaliser should be bread and butter. Aluko and Harper stood their to make 9 just marking thin air allowing runners a free head - schoolboy stuff. Very worrying. Same as Burton’s build up that lead to their penalty - plenty of bodies to deal with it, shape is OK just brain gutless defending. | |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:55 - Aug 28 with 2183 views | 3_5_2 |
I went (been to them all at home)
We were ok, nothing great, scored a penalty and a great 2nd, crowd up for it here we go.
Conceded a cheap foul, poor marking and 2-1 and that was pretty much it. Our game plan disappeared and we were losing our way. Subs didn’t help, Aluko was a
Mistake, why not Carroll? We looked nervous and when the 6 minutes of injury time appeared you could see it coming. Lack of game management and yet another crap goal.
Burns and Coulsen the pick for me. KVY getting there. Piggot clearly not a 9 who wins much in the air but did more as the game progressed with his link up play.
Edwards needs to see more of the ball
Not convinced Hladky any better than Holy, get another (better) in
Bit by bit, Cook is losing the fans and his talk is cheap. Players have to do the basics and every game they have failed. [Post edited 28 Aug 2021 21:58]
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 22:08 - Aug 28 with 2111 views | Meadowlark |
When we were clearly the better team in the first half we did not take advantage. Our crossing was poor and our finishing non-existant.
When we went 2-0 up we sat back and did not try to dominate and put the game out of sight. Time wasting often comes back to bite you too.
Again we were weak in midfield and we need a holding player at the back to add a bit of steel. Tom Carroll last week filled that role towards the end but he did not feature today.
Their goals were kinda the same as last week's. One, a soft free-kick given away in a dangerous position and the other a bad mistake, this time by the keeper. But we're again inviting pressure by making the wrong decisions, giving the ball away and giving the opposition too much space and time.
Our distribution from the back is appalling, but that didn't contribute to the result, it is just frustrating as hell. Although we have pace upfront the approach play is too tentative at times and too often the ball comes back to the keeper/defence who don't want to hoof it but don't really know what the alternative is, and they are getting no help from the midfield.
I have seen all our league games this season so far and today's opposition were not very good - we really should have beaten them by a handful of goals. The fact that we didn't is a bit worrying.
We are playing much better football generally, than in recent seasons, but the idea is to score more goals than the opposition and that we cannot do at present.
And Edwards didn't seem to want to play today. Drifted in and out. |  | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 22:10 - Aug 28 with 2098 views | Meadowlark |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:54 - Aug 28 by Cuffy81 |
I went
We are so mentally weak and we have minimal game management - Evans looks lost at times as a captain.
First half we rushed it and tried to force it, giving the ball away.
Second half we looked more in control and patient even before the goals
Conceding so quickly after going 2-0 up just killed us, we looked scared after then, we also tired very quickly.
Replacing Burns with Aluko was a poor choice, Carroll would have provided more control in midfield
Equaliser where to begin, unmarked at the far post followed by a flapping keeper who looks like a rabbit in the headlights
Worst thing was not one of our players looked shocked or surprised - just resigned |
That's what I was trying to say. but you said it much more concisely! | | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 22:18 - Aug 28 with 2053 views | pointofblue |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 22:08 - Aug 28 by Meadowlark |
When we were clearly the better team in the first half we did not take advantage. Our crossing was poor and our finishing non-existant.
When we went 2-0 up we sat back and did not try to dominate and put the game out of sight. Time wasting often comes back to bite you too.
Again we were weak in midfield and we need a holding player at the back to add a bit of steel. Tom Carroll last week filled that role towards the end but he did not feature today.
Their goals were kinda the same as last week's. One, a soft free-kick given away in a dangerous position and the other a bad mistake, this time by the keeper. But we're again inviting pressure by making the wrong decisions, giving the ball away and giving the opposition too much space and time.
Our distribution from the back is appalling, but that didn't contribute to the result, it is just frustrating as hell. Although we have pace upfront the approach play is too tentative at times and too often the ball comes back to the keeper/defence who don't want to hoof it but don't really know what the alternative is, and they are getting no help from the midfield.
I have seen all our league games this season so far and today's opposition were not very good - we really should have beaten them by a handful of goals. The fact that we didn't is a bit worrying.
We are playing much better football generally, than in recent seasons, but the idea is to score more goals than the opposition and that we cannot do at present.
And Edwards didn't seem to want to play today. Drifted in and out. |
I thought some of the distribution from the back was decent, espeically the full backs plus Woolfenden's cross field passes. But they never had the option to switch it to the middle to give us another dimension. We had to go wide or long because we couldn't play through the centre. That, in turn, made us very easy to tactically negate the threat. | |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 22:21 - Aug 28 with 2038 views | jayessess |
I went. I thought we shaded the first half, but without really controlling the game. We came out and grabbed control of it for the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, scored a couple of times. We've conceded, once again from very little. Then I thought we just decided to shut up shop, made very little attempt to get a 3rd, even engaged in a bit of time wasting and few aimless punts into the corners. No idea why, Wimbledon weren't any great shakes, but we let them have possession and territory. Again, they've got a corner from a speculative long shot and our goalkeeper's inexplicable shovelled a tame header out to their player.
Cook's right that we're getting heavily punished for every error, but we've also let 3 games against likely relegation candidates turn into "fine margins" games because we've lacked the ability to grab control of the ball for long periods. Make no mistake, other big teams will just roll through Cheltenham, Morecambe and Wimbledon with no trouble at all. |  |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 22:41 - Aug 28 with 1992 views | Scuzzer |
I believe the season so far is not directly down to the coaching staff...well mostly. We have suffered from individual errors killing us.
Our new keeper is of major concern to me for he is culpable for a few of the goals that have cost us. Hoping Holy will return for a run.
Our crossing today was dreadful...nothing less and nothing more. Our corner kicks never seemed to get past the first defender.
We just cant defend set pieces...two more today with shambolic defending leading to their goals.
Our two centre midfielders only function for the first half before rapidly tiring.
Positives... Coulson. He was great today. Edward's is good little player.
Burns...good enough with a great finish for his goal.
Another good crowd 19000.
Bars are getting their act together...but what has happened to the concourse screens? Not working ìn the SBR yet this season which is a right pain as there is oddly squat data bandwidth to my phone down there...couldnt even text! |  |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 22:41 - Aug 28 with 1991 views | Ryorry |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:15 - Aug 28 by WickhamsLeftBoot |
I have no issues with Evans as a player, but as a captain, he's not a strong minded as the likes of Holland, Magilton and De Vos. After going 2-0 up, it's bleedingly obvious that a big commanding voice is needed to settle the excitement, especially after two quick goals.
You simply cannot expect 16 new players to instantly play like they've been with each other for years, but we looked better today, some strong partnerships forming, but with each game that we play, the excuse of 'players needing time to gel' won't be as easily accepted.
I'm not sure how many chances Hladky will get but that's at least twice now that we've conceded from him parrying the ball. I'm hopeful that once Edmundson is 100% that he comes in and forms a strong partnership with Burgess who, once again, looked brilliant today, some crucial tackles and not easily pushed off the ball.
I've always been one to give the manager time and those calling for Cook's head really are pathetic and deluded but naturally, questions will be asked of Cook if we're still around the same place at the end of September. |
I didn't go, & have only seen the brief highlights from Sky sports, so this is just a basic question - looked like there was bright sunlight slanting in when we conceded - could it have been in Hladky's eyes? |  |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 23:08 - Aug 28 with 1911 views | pointofblue |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 21:15 - Aug 28 by WickhamsLeftBoot |
I have no issues with Evans as a player, but as a captain, he's not a strong minded as the likes of Holland, Magilton and De Vos. After going 2-0 up, it's bleedingly obvious that a big commanding voice is needed to settle the excitement, especially after two quick goals.
You simply cannot expect 16 new players to instantly play like they've been with each other for years, but we looked better today, some strong partnerships forming, but with each game that we play, the excuse of 'players needing time to gel' won't be as easily accepted.
I'm not sure how many chances Hladky will get but that's at least twice now that we've conceded from him parrying the ball. I'm hopeful that once Edmundson is 100% that he comes in and forms a strong partnership with Burgess who, once again, looked brilliant today, some crucial tackles and not easily pushed off the ball.
I've always been one to give the manager time and those calling for Cook's head really are pathetic and deluded but naturally, questions will be asked of Cook if we're still around the same place at the end of September. |
So the plan is to rely on a centre back who has played a handful of Championship games and barely anything else at this level or higher? Great.
Maybe the issue is deeper than the "Woolfenden is sh1t" line. | |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 08:48 - Aug 29 with 1659 views | Meadowlark |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 22:41 - Aug 28 by Ryorry |
I didn't go, & have only seen the brief highlights from Sky sports, so this is just a basic question - looked like there was bright sunlight slanting in when we conceded - could it have been in Hladky's eyes? |
Yes. From the corner-kick all the defenders (and others) were shielding their eyes. But once the ball was in the box that was not really a problem. In fact the killer header came from the opposite direction
The keeper just failed to hold the ball.
He has not filled me with confidence and I think I agree with Mick Mills on the radio after the game that on current evidence he is no better than Holy. | | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 10:06 - Aug 29 with 1511 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 08:48 - Aug 29 by Meadowlark |
Yes. From the corner-kick all the defenders (and others) were shielding their eyes. But once the ball was in the box that was not really a problem. In fact the killer header came from the opposite direction
The keeper just failed to hold the ball.
He has not filled me with confidence and I think I agree with Mick Mills on the radio after the game that on current evidence he is no better than Holy. |
Last week he tried to hold the ball, was worried about colliding with the post, fell awkwardly on it and spilled it in. This week he decides to parry instead. So last week's error has cost us 4 points.
It's a confidence thing, I believe. How long do you give him to find his confidence and form? How many regulation saves is he allowed to muff, costing us points?
Too many and it's just as much Cook's job on the line as his.
Bonne made a shocking error, that cost us points, but strikers can atone for it (and he has) by scoring goals. Keepers never have that same luxury, even if they pull off blinding saves- it takes more than a couple of saves to atone for a bad error and rebuild the confidence and trust of fans (and team mates, and the manager?) | | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 10:22 - Aug 29 with 1484 views | Darth_Koont |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 20:54 - Aug 28 by Keaneish |
Was it bad positional shape among the back four which lead to their goals or just bad Individual marking? I haven’t seen the goals yet.
I’ve been unsure about Hladky but thought he took the pressure off us with some good catches against MK Dons, was that not the case today?
What was Evans like? More like his Morecambe performance or absent like his Cheltenham one? I have concerns about these two too. 5 games in now, they should have formed a partnership - 5 games is usually the benchmark - I haven’t seen signs they have, yet. |
Defending in the box and the keeper needing to hold on to that header were the individual mistakes we needed to avoid.
But I would say overall and throughout the game we did little to neutralise Wimbledon. Mainly because we’re eager to get forward but we lost out and lost possession too often in the middle third. I think that’s where we don’t really keep the pressure up on the opposition and why Wimbledon probably felt there was always a decent chance even at 2-0 down.
That wasn’t just down to Harper and Evans either. The fullbacks also lost the ball a little too often when pushing up, as did Fraser, Edwards and Burns when dropping back and it gave Wimbledon a threat they didn’t really have to earn. |  |
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| How many on here went to the game today? on 10:48 - Aug 29 with 1450 views | Meadowlark |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 10:22 - Aug 29 by Darth_Koont |
Defending in the box and the keeper needing to hold on to that header were the individual mistakes we needed to avoid.
But I would say overall and throughout the game we did little to neutralise Wimbledon. Mainly because we’re eager to get forward but we lost out and lost possession too often in the middle third. I think that’s where we don’t really keep the pressure up on the opposition and why Wimbledon probably felt there was always a decent chance even at 2-0 down.
That wasn’t just down to Harper and Evans either. The fullbacks also lost the ball a little too often when pushing up, as did Fraser, Edwards and Burns when dropping back and it gave Wimbledon a threat they didn’t really have to earn. |
Yes. Carroll did the job at the back of the midfield for the last 20 minutes last week. I think he should start, to give some defensive capability and organisation to our midfield.
We are being outrun in the middle and giving our opponents too much space and time. | | | |
| How many on here went to the game today? on 10:56 - Aug 29 with 1419 views | gazzer1999 |
I went as usual and lets not gloss over it the Wombles were worth a point. We are just as poor as last season just different players, patches look ok the rest well its been done to death. I think he really needs a proper good coach and not mates in the backroom or if he is stubborn like Mick well we all know the answer.
Maybe we all thought it was the players, perhaps just perhaps we pick the wrong ones just like the managers. He was everyones choice before, however there is only so much people will tolerate before change is demanded. |  | | |
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