Thetownend.com

Feels like fucking ages since I started one of these! So used to having a Tuesday game nowadays!


Still, I don't see why we can't win.

Crewe was the first ever thread I started so I don't see why we can't repeat the scoreline.
3-0 Town.
Holmes getting off the mark for us too. (again)

COYR.

Here he is :)

1-3 for me, no reason, its just a guess. I will guess Benson 1, Ritchie 1 and Rooney 1 also.

I will be radioless this afternoon so won't have a clue what is going on until I get home after the match.

1-1 draw - Flint to come on as sub and score a header from a last minute corner to rescua a point.

Wouldn't matter too much if we lost, bring them closer to the Pox, but reckon we will win 2-1, just so long as the lads don't try saving themselves for next weekend!

COYR

1-1, and that would be a good result.


Can't see them playing at Wembley if they take it easy.

Got a bad feeling about this. 2-1 defeat.

That lad Powell looks a handful but confident that we can carry on the run,so going for 3-1 with Connell being super sub again COYR

look, nobody knows what the score will be, all this is just conjecture

A 2-0 defeat - that's worse than usual ???

I'm going for my usual 2-0 win. Benson, Holmes.

Indeed, anyone stupid enough to even think about taking it easy won't play at Wembley.

It should read 2-1 NMH

Going for a tight 0-1, Crewe have done us a few favours and are getting good results

Doh! Will change it immediately!!! What was I thinking?

bad feeling 0-1 loss

2-1 narrow win

1-1 draw and Paolo gushing with praise about Nick Powell with the tiny hope of getting him on board for next season.

Looking at other fixtures today i think we need to win this.

2-2. Just can't see us winning today.

I think we will lose today.

Crewe 1-0 Swindon

The team has had a few days rest so should be fresh and looking to impress the manager in order to secure a place in the team for next week.  2-1 Swindon COYR

2-1 defeat.

Really not confident today

Score draw.

Is that a pools panel prediction?

Not a good feeling for this one but need to win today.

Hardest game to predict for a while.....it should be a game we win but I dont think we will. A draw 1-1.

2 - 1 town.  Benson and Holmes

Was pretty confident before I started reading this! Still think we'll win. Crewe might be getting results but so were Cheltenham, Southend etc. 3-1 win and no injuries before Wembley.

Catastrophic (sp) news. This is only my third away game of the season and when I tell you the other two was Cheltenham and Burton, well, you can see the best we can hope for is a slim defeat.
On the up, I'm taking my partner who has never seen us lose so all is not lost.

1-0 Swindon

Here's our match preview http://thewashbag.com/2012/03/16/match-preview-swindon-at-crewe-alexandra/

0-1 defeat.

Been to to Crewe on two occasions, each time we were going for promotion, each time we came away with the three points.  Don't see any reason for that to change today, going to be a tough game, edge it by the odd goal I think.  Tuesday's game is already looking like it will be the big one!

Finally an away game close to uni!

2-0 defeat though.

I hope the players don't have one eye on Wembley and not go 100% into this with the right attitude, maybe pulling out of tackles when they would normally go into them wholeheartedly.

I also worry about this attitude on Tuesday against Torquay, if we aren't 100% up for it and have eyes on next weekend then we will get beat, by both these teams. That is not what Paolo will expect at all and he won't take kindly to it but the players are humans and it is natural to maybe do this.

I hope I am wrong and we go there and play our normal game and beat them but I do have a nagging feeling today and it will return again on Tuesday too.

That said.......IF we win today and win on Tuesday then we will almost be promoted before Wembley, that would be fucking brilliant.

I guess its just my old nerves and pessimism about Swindon Town FC returning a little when I may be well off the mark.

1-0 to the town, Own goal, Paolo to dedicate the victory to Claudio's nan

Will take a draw from this but think we will win 2-1 with Benson and Ritchie rediscovering his form after the arrival of Holmes

All the stats suggests a draw, but they don't take into account the "Di Canio" factor, so Town will sneak a win by the odd goal. :clap:

I think Ritchie's form has still been good, but because others are performing so well too it means he stands out less.

3-1 Town

Benson with a perfect hat-trick

I usually copy JJ, so will do so again and hope to be wrong, again!

Most managers in this league are double or even triple mark him, which makes it very hard from him to find the space he was finding earlier on in the season.

Will be a very tough game, would be very happy with a draw but can see us losing.

Out in London today, so will be relying on the TEF for updates...

I keep thinking before every game at the moment, this one isn't easy, a bad run could be round the corner, it could all go wrong.  But I guess thats just being a town fan.  

Crewe will be much better than us in every department.  But we will win 2 - 1.

Cue every other fan declaring that we are not the best team in the league, we're just lucky and its ok because we're going bust.  

The opposition fans who are rather fond of the EDL will try to take the moral high ground because PDC is a fascist and those who aren't politically mental, just football mental, will decide that moving in the technical area is a crime and we should be ashamed of supporting our team because one of our players questioned the referee about the yellow card given to one of their players for a knee high machete attack.

Just another day then.

Hard one to call today, both on form so it's 1-1 for me.  Dont think we need to be worried  about the commitment from our players due to the final next week, Paolo won't let them get away with anything less than 100%.

It's just occurred to me that I am, inadvertently, dressed all in red.

This means we will win.

3 defeats in all competitions since the end of September. Why am I not feeling more confident?

Crewe are on a good run and we are still a bit weak at the back.

To be honest, I reckon the players want that league winners medal more so than a JPT winners medal.

I know you dont get to play at Wembley in L2 but I dont think Di Canio will let them get distracted.

Close match. 2-1 to Town. Richie then Ferris getting the winner in stoppage time.  :D :D :D

Would this be the love child of Ferry and Caddis??

Will he get a day off afterwards?

We'll be singing... Perfect by Fairground Attraction  :)

Impossible, Ferris has the day off

1-1

Long may that continue!

Flint starts!

BBC Wilts reporting Flint starting.

As is Tehoue. Risser in midfield in place of Smith. Kennedy back in.

Good news

Connell?

Twitter confirms!

Town: Foderingham; McCormack (capt), Flint, Devera, Kennedy; Ritchie, Ferry, Risser, Rooney; Benson, Tehoue

Holmes on the bench?

EDIT....  yes he is!

Interesting to see Tehoue start, lets see if he warrants a start ahead of Connell, Bodin and Murray

#stfc subs: Cibocchi, Cox, Connell, Holmes, Murray



That is a very strong bench!

Subs: Holmes, Connell, Murray, Cibocci, Cox

Tis a strong bench indeed.

That's a very big team, expecting a physical game?

Looks that way.

Bodin not in the squad either, looks as though PDC is opting for physical strength.

It is about our biggest physical team we could put out, with the exception of Kennedy.

I didn't think Crewe were a team of luggers and hoofers, I guess Paolo has his tactics worked out fully and must know what to expect.

We do need to keep an eye on Nick Powell who is going to be a classy player in a few years, 46 games and 10 goals already at the age of 17, and in the England youth team.

Its me who needs the day off! I've just crawled out of a fuel tank on a ship in a shitty Chinese shipyard and me minds all pickled and confused.

I still wish he'd put Phil Smith on the bench - one day we're going to get caught out

Big strong team that is. Crewe are a young team maybe he wants us to bully them a bit

Just pinch their pocket money and give them a Chinese burn

someone - not sure who - is quite capable in goal apparently hence the lack of a goalkeeper on the bench

It's Risser we believe.

Still think apart from Benson, our weak link is the forward line.

Yeah, heard that - but if Wes gets injured or sent off in the first 10 minutes who would you rather see replacing him - Risser or Smith

I always thought it was McCormack, he seems to be cover for every other position...

Facebook is full of morons decrying Tehoue as the worst striker ever on 20 minutes evidence. Some people don't deserve access to keyboards.

Pic from Gary Rose on twitter has Cibo down as (GK).

Update: except now I can't find it... Anyone else see it?

they have a point



/ducks for cover

https://p.twimg.com/AoMfZJyCEAAUoll.jpg

crewe's starting XI are numbered 1-11 nearly! that's a rarity

Ah it wasn't Rose... Official STFC lot instead.

http://t.co/dMalCxZV

there is an even bigger mistake on that teamsheet. They have Steve Phillips down as a goalkeeper too

Does anyone have a login for STFC Player I can use please? My Radio literally just stopped working, wont pick up any stations!

Final Score on BBC HD with the sound down and STFC player on my laptop, all set for the afternoon.

COME ONNNN YOUUUU REDDDD

Going to be a real tough game today, Gresty Road (sorry the Alexandra Staidum) is always a tough ground to go to and get a result.

No railway/train puns today please.

Will you go off the rails if there are?

Win today and were well on track for winning the league.  ;)

Which reds will go steaming in?

 :doh:

Southend 1-0 up already

Southend 1 up at Hereford already.

Love days like this, none of their beloved PL, so they have to give more coverage else where

Chesterfield go 1 up at Franchise

Torquay winning

Torquay 1-0 up. 

Won't be an easy game today, Crewe are in form.  A win would be bloody marvellous, but I've got a feeling points will be dropped today.

Gas 1-0 up

Pretty boring start it seems.

For anyone who was wondering why we needed Holmes just take a look at this thread. Not one mention that Devita is not even in the squad today.

I feel for Raffa to be honest. Like Connell, he has done alright when he's played.

Plymouth beating Shrews !

De Vita did well for us at the beginning of the year, but we wont need him in league one. Hope he gets a decent club in the summer

Shrews 1 down

I'd take a draw today, this is a tough task

snoooze

Connell to come on and get the winner

Green Armeeeeee 1-0 up to Shrews!

We've not really got going yet, have we.

Fuck sake.

bollocks.

Fucking hell

Balls

And there's the opener...

It's been coming. Strange line-up which isn't working at the moment.

Sign him up

Hopefully this will wake the players up

 :doh:

your fault!

Shiiiiiiiit

Steve Claridge heard a story that Chelsea have made a £5million bid for Nick Powell...

I very much doubt that.

crawley losing

Crawley loosing.

Arsenal and Spurs are apparently lining up a bid of over £2 million for him in the summer.

First time I've heard Ritchie mentioned

creepies loosing

let's outbid them then

Get Holmes and Connell on.

Southend 2 up

2-0 to Southend.

Elliot Benyon scores.

Benyon scores.

Oh for fucks sake. Can see this being a battering now.

2-0 to Torquay

Only got a goal difference of 21 over them now!

We don't seem to be putting anything together going forwards. Change of approach needed perhaps?

I predict we will be seeing Mr Connell & Mr Holmes pretty soon.

Maybe at H/t if not soon after.

0 shots so far

Looks like swindon will be wrecking my treble then.  :badmood:

We've sounded absolutely crap.  Although it won't be the end of the world if we drop points today, we don't really want to lose 2 away games on the trot.

A few crosses going in finally...

Gills beating Cheltenham 1-0

creepy have equalised

Pushed the pox out of the playoffs.

Every cloud.

I predict Tehoue will not start against Torquay!

And now Oxford have scored, so go back above them

H/T

we've sounded shite.

Corrected for you. Although to be fair, sounds like everybody's been poor. 0 shots is not all the strikers' fault.

Didn't the Crewe manager say during the week that Benson was our main threat? I think PDC went with Tehoue to give them something else to think about and to try and free up Benson... hasn't seemed to have worked though!

We rarely play well for 90 mins.

Second half turnaround is very possible. I'd be more concerned if we'd battered them for 45 and went in at 0-0.

I stand by a narrow 2-1 for us

Holmes and Murray warming up out on the field and look the most likely candidates to come on #stfc

Says official twitter.


Rooney & Tehoue to come off?

God there are some idiots that love to text in when things are not going our way.  Some people need to take a look at themselves, and where we are this season.  Winds me up.  Most of them are not even there.

It will be disappointing if Murray comes on yet again in front of Connell.

Interesting to see Murray might come on. Pretty sure 99% of Town fans would rather see Connell...

a bit like people slating players but not at games on here then?

Get the boy Holmes on!

Holmes coming on..

Holmes for Rooney/.

Homles for Rooney

:nod:

Yep

Let's see if we can create something with Holmes on. No good having a big lump and a clinical finisher in the box if you don't get the ball to them!

Come Homles

First shot, by Holmes. Over the bar.

I thought he had a caravan?

Pox 2 up

Attendance: 4,641 (638 Town fans)

Doesn't sound like its happening today, though Holmes seems to have livened us a bit.

Pikeys 2 up over Num

Sounds like we're waking up a little bit. Just need to get Connell on  :)

I can hear some Town fans! Hurrah!

Port vale 2-1 up

Southend 3-1 up

Crawley losing 2-1 against 9 man Port Vale

creepy behind again

Just saw that Nick Powell is only 17?!

Are we playing any better?

Sounds like we're getting slightly on top now..

Come on Town, we need a goal

Sounds like we are more in it this half.  Holmes has made a difference

Does anyone else have the sound of someone riffling cards every couple of minutes on Player? Not the first game it's happened. What is it?

Devera just wide from a Holmes free kick. Need to just crank up the pressure a little.

It's the text update thingy on the right of the latest scores.You can mute it.

2-0

Balls.
2-0

Game over 2-0

Oh bollocks

FFS.  That's it.  Game Over.  Should have changed the forward line Paolo!

FFS: Alan Connell not Murray Paolo.

Murray on, Kennedy off. 3-4-3. Might as well. Goal difference is good enough..

Thanks.  ;)

Balls.  >:(

I'm not sure how Alan Connell would stop us conceding folks.

He (and Kennedy) seem to have improved massively in the eyes of the fans in their spells out of the team.

Because no team has ever come back from 2 down with 20 minutes to go. Ever.

Murray on for Kennedy.

Fuck it.

Does make Tuesday a really big game now, Torquay could get to within a point of us IF they won, and we wouldn't have a league game for 10 days. :eek:

Our goal difference is taking a battering

Why Murray? Connell has proved he can score and turn games around, Murray is..........not as good

Good to see PDC going for it

not very often.

No, but we couldn't come back from 2-0 against 10 men in 70 mins a couple of weeks ago so the chances today are probably quite slim

Wilko Risser scores for Aldershot against Bradford.

Torquay are looking dangerous again especially if we lose today.

Burton 1-2 Turkey.

Murray misses a sitter.

Yeah, but if we beat them on Tuesday, we'll be 7 points ahead of them again, with a game in hand.

(Oh, and Burton have pulled one back, 2-1 now)

Fucks sake Murray

Murray one on one and straight at the keeper. This is why nodoby wanted Murray on.

Did we sign the wrong Risser?

Bugger we are only 4 points clear. shit!

QED

Don't disagree, but I just can't see it happening today on the basis of the game so far.  It's sounded very much like the second half against Oxford, a lot of huff and puff, but nothing at the end.

Totally pissed off with the Connell situation now!

Not the end of the world if results stay as they are. Both Cheltenham and Shrews dropping points as well.

Oh dear, the lucky hat is no longer lucky.

Indeed that is true.

Crawley 2-2

Corner. Come on Town!

And lingy and taylor will be no mugs when they come to us .

Crewe seem to be sitting back a little bit, we're building up pressure.

But it just sound like it isn't happening.

Ferry hits the bar!

Ferry hits the bar! Corner...

Ferry hit the bar, last ditch defending out for a corner.

Damanit.

Benson hits the bar again!

Benson hits the bar!!

when it's not your day, it's not your day

FUCKING CUNTING BAR !!!

Benson hits the bar.

Damanit.

Just not our day is it! Write this game off and beat Torquay on Tuesday. We can't win em all.

Hit the bar twice in a minute. Come on Town!

Connell our top scorer, he must be really fucked off

we'll get a goal in a minute well hope we do anyway.

We're a team of Alky's.

And Connell is certain type of player. Maybe he's not suited to this type of game?

Tehoué heads wide :(

he's no different to murray

He's a far better finisher based on what I've seen.

Cox coming on.

He's very different SY, read the washbag article on him (Connell)

Tehoué played through, keeper gets there. Crewe counter... The game has officially come to life! Shame it took us going 2 down to make it happen.

Cox on for Risser.

Cox->
<-Risser

Tehoue misses again...

Tehoué puts it over with Holmes waiting to tap it in. Oh dear.

Just looked at the Championship scores, and Reading are now top

How many chances has Tehoue had now?  

Rotherham have got one back against Pox

Went out we sounded poor, came back 2-0 down, have we been that bad or have Crewe been that good?

Cheltenham getting gubbed at home by the pikeys 0-3

Still I'm now looking forward to drowning my sorrows tonight :pint:

Has Pericard changed his name to Tehoué?

Torquay 3-1 up

But their fans said its between them & Shrewsbury for the title, how can this be?

More damaging to our title aspirations rather than our promotion hopes

creepies winning

Crawley 3-2 up. Alexander again

Yep. 8 points ahead of Shrews (4th) as it stands.

Exactly what just ran through my mind.  I really fail to see what he's added to the team and can probably count himself lucky to get the full 90 minutes.

Oh, he's just missed again!

Jamie Vardy adds to his goal tally and price tag

Sounds as though we are now battering them

Tuesday becomes a massive game now! Hope the crowds turn out

I think that's a good way of looking at it. Still an 8 point gap to 4th as it stands. Another positive it keeps the heat on Oxford too.

Gary Alexander has finally given Crawley the winner against 9 man Port Vale.

Shit, West ham have just conceded to Leeds, their form concerns me.

Torquay 4-1 up

Me too

Tuesday is a massive game now. Toquay will fancy their chances against us.

Fatty Lambert gets another Hat Trick

Will gladly take a draw on Tuesday to keep the gap. A defeat would be slightly worrying, especially if we don't play well.

He may be fat but at least he can score!!

West ham level

Come on Hereford, Rotherham.

Are you his mum?

Phew, West Ham equalise

This reminds me of the Oxford game - we could play all night and not score.

Oxford Win

We've been lucky in recent weeks regarding other results but Tuesaday is a must not lose game even more so now.

Sounds like Holmes has made a huge difference since coming on - created plenty of chances and had one or two shots himself. May well start on Tuesday.

We need to win really. Dont want the rest of the pack creeping up on us.

Cheltenham Lose

Balls

Very True, if we did we could be off the top of the league by the time we play at Wembley.

Full Time.

That was a bit shit.

Swindon Lose, Pah

booooooo!

Some Cracking games Tuesday

Us v Torquay
Shrews v Cheltenham
Southend v Aldershot
Gillingham v Crawley

Jamie Vardy scores again.  Machine

So what did you do wrong?

Fuck

Really pissed off

Only 4 points clear? Not good enough. We should be 7 points clear at least.

How could we lose a football match. We should be winning every game. Even away to a form team challenging for the playoffs, we should be beating all of them.

We would definitely have won if Connell was playing.

Four points from Torquay and Rovers would be good.

Beat Torquay on tuesday and we got atleast 6 points clear at the top with a game in hand, still in a brilliant position.

Keep calm, the road is long

Disappointing to have conceded twice again for the second consecutive away game.

I hope Caddis is back for Tuesday.  Ritchie's performance has suffered in his absence.

Perhaps we need a new thread starter for away matches  :)

I'm glad you have got the hang of this at last ;)

I've been saying for weeks that I can't see us losing two games on the bounce, Tuesday is going to really test that theory.

Too OTT, too obvious for the bite IMO.  Must do better.

A draw would be a good result too. Even if we lose, we could come into the Rovers game a point off the top with 2 in hand.

Truth is we have been playing less consistently in games recently, in fits and starts. We have still been picking up wins. The patchy form has affected nearly every team at the top too, with most picking up fewer points than us.

Basically disappointing day, but not the end of the world.

At least Crewe will put some pressure on the Pox along with the Pikeys.

Every cloud and all that.

I will be glad to get Wembley out of the way so we can get on with getting out of this poxy league once and for all tbh.

A loss to Torquay would not be as bad as people are making out. We would still be a point ahead with a game in hand, things would still very much be in our hands.

this + caddis back + get Rovers game out the way as well.

I'm going to watch the rugby and attempt to get myself a shitty St Paddys day hat.

That'l take my mind off the defeat.

Feel pissed off but the league table still looks good. We can take it out on Torquay Tuesday night.

The reason we've not been as good recently is because of the disruption to the back line in my opinion. We really need some proper cover at right back.

Still well on course for automatic promotion though. Of course I want us to be champions but if we have a blip we just need to make sure we avoid the playoff lottery.

True, but we would have 10 days before our next league game & everyone else would have played (at least once) before we play Rovers.

As you say even if that were the case we would still be in a good position, but you can never tell how it would affect the squad psychologically. I guess that would be down to Paolo.

Still if we beat Torquay on Tuesday it won’t matter at all :)

Spot on. We have missed McCormack in the centre

Agree about the defence(even if i think connell should be playing)
Will be a bit disapointed if we dont win the league after getting where we have.

Baz on the text is a fucking twat.

I can't bring myself to listen to the brain dead mongs that txt in when we haven't won.

Agree with that.

Wondered if we'd be better of with Devera at right back and Alan Mc in the centre. Hopefully its not an issue for too much longer.

Didn't they say that Caddis COULD be back on Tuesday but is certain to return in time for Wembley.

Hopefully Caddis is back on Tuesday.

If that is the case it will be interesting to see who plays in the middle.

What did Di Canio just say about Kennedy?

PDC on now. Basically the players aren't working hard enough. Think they are better than they are and he would change 9 players if possible!

I thought he said it was his mistake to play Kennedy.

Sounds familiar!

I think they said possibly Tuesday but on track for Wembley. But I don't think its certain.

Haha, the players are stupid and silly now

We (Ritchie) miss him badly.

"We were crap" PDC.

He just called Caddis "crucial" JJ. I think we all agree.

Apparently Ritchie failed to acknowledge the fans after the game and ran straight off down the tunnel in what appeared to be a huff.

eh?? Anything happen between him and fans/PDC?

PDC "at this moment I am the worst manager in the world"

PDC:
- Took long time to get going
- Dont want to talk about last 25 mins when hit cross bar twice and had chances
- Team at top of league should have started better than that rather than just looking good when there was nothing to play for
- Now up to PDC to motivate the players
- Needs to be careful as he doesnt want to lose what they have built this season
- Singled out Benson as being the only one who seemed committed
- Thought Kennedy didnt seize his chance
- Has to be less kind and more straight
- Today we deserved to lose
- Going to give them a roasting
- Tehoue not a natural goalscorer but is a physical presence
- Maybe shouldnt have made 3 changes for today
- Talked about arrogant players that he has to change their attitude
- Knew that Crewe play good football. Should have been prepared for them starting quickly
- 'Straight away we were crap'
- Players didn't listen to what they were told
- Caddis is crucial. He was going to play Thompson but he was injured. Had been thinking about Connell coming in too...(but I couldnt work out what he said next)
- Will decide whether to bring in other loanees in the week
- If we carry on like this we will not end up in the top 3
- Looked like we were at the beginning of the season. PDC has to work out why
- Will watch game back tonight, which is important when you play 'crap like this'. Main players played absolutely rubbish!

Not sure but apparently there was booing again from Town fans at the final whistle.....madness.

I think he said Connell and corrected himself to McCormack. He was talking about bringing him back into the middle as he isn't a right back.


Very disappointing.

Have we as a fan base become so arrogant that we think we just need to turn up and we will win. Crewe are a decent team and we were on their patch. Always going to be difficult.

Have I missed something?  Wasn't the purpose of bringing in another striker to supposedly ease the burden on Benson and score some goals?  Or maybe PDC has now realised that Tehoue is not going to do that hence the comment?  

It truly does feel like another Pericard.

I wish Shaun Hodgetts had asked PDC why Connell didn't feature.

Why do we have Tehoue?

I havent read back through all of this thread but ...... Connell??????

I agree with people who says Connell misses a lot of chances .... But he is a much better option than Tehoue or Murray!

Disappointed to have listened to that....

It was tough and it seemed we didnt get going at all.

Crewe sat back a bit and then we pissed all over them but it was all too little too late.

Fuck the day out in Wembley....lets get promotion thats priority.

I reckon PC will tear them a new arse and they will be fired up for Torquay...

Fingers crossed....

If Ritchie did indeed throw a bit of a strop then its time to play Rooney wide right and holmes wide left, maybe that will give Ritchie the kick up the bum he needs to kick start his season a bit.

The last few games he has not been himself by the sound of it, and yes he does miss Caddis behind him but he hasn't really been playing that well for several games before Caddis got injured.

Don't understand this at all

Why would anyone boo? Every team loses a game every now and again. It wont help matters.

Does Connell miss alot of chances? I must be watching something different as he doesn't squander chances more than other forwards at the club imo.
I agree with joteddyreds post above and was going to say something similar.

because they're cunts, this is the 2nd loss of 2012, we're still top, it could be worse we be pompey fans

No one should panic.  Oxford served as a kick up the arse, and so should this.  PDC should (and, no doubt, will) be telling the players this evening that the Torquay game is now an audition for Wembley.  No one should take their place in the starting line up for granted.

As for Connell, I would have to echo the comments by joteddyred & others.  It's not often I'll gripe at a decision of PDC's because, on the whole, he seems to get it right.  But Connell's lack of subs appearances baffles me.  He has shown his worth as an impact sub time & again...so why not today when we really needed it?  I don't want to be too down on Téhoué because he's hardly had enough chances to settle in just yet - and he could come good in time.  But Connell already has come good.

Yes, he does

Can't remember the specifics and I haven't been keeping notes on it, but I do remember him missing enough that it prompted the commentary team to have a discussion about it. They were wondering if it was perhaps down to confidence. The last game he played in (I think) he missed a sitter and was subbed shortly after. He really does miss a lot of chances.

Away at Wimbledon he scored one but should have had at least 3 (his words after the game)

Apart from that game, no. He is no more wasteful than our other strikers.

Stop inverted wingers, teams sussed it out.

Team for Tues:
Fods, Devera, Flint, Macca, Cibbo, Rooney, Smith, Ferry, Holmes, Benson, Bodin/Connell

Ritchie needs a kick up the arse IMO

Gary Rose just tweeted about the 'great support' so he obviously didn't notice anything untoward.

I have to say that I do think he misses at least his fair share, 2 examples that I remember are away at Exeter he was awful and possibly the worst outfield player for us and missed 2 absolute sitters, away at Leicester also he had 4 shots and didn't hit the target too.

Obviously these will not be recognised as valid by those that do like him but people asked for examples and there are 2 such examples, I can only comment on games I have seen him play in really all us distance fans can say is that whenever the commentary team mention his name it does seem that he has missed a chance, or occassionally scored it.

His fitness SHOULD be up to scratch now considering we are 30+ games into the season, yes he has scored some vital goals for us but I personally dont think his shots per goal ratio is anywhere near as good as Benson or near the ratio that is needed.

That said i do think he could be a good player for us if he can start to convert his chances and get himself some confidence.

I'd go further and say it is an issue that is nothing to do with Téhoué whatsoever. The issue was there way before that.

Can't say he's missed many sitters when I've seen him play, which to be fair is only every home game and only a couple away - maybe away is a factor. I've seen defender render him ineffective, but thats not the same thing.

No doubt someone will see this as a reaction to the defeat, a <insert player that doesn't play> would have won us the game. It isn't, he may well not have. The issue has irked me for a while but its easier to say after a defeat :)

Several of my friends have txt me and said some of our fans booed them off at half time and a few also booed at the end of the game.

This is fucking pathetic and these "fans" don't deserve a winning team, or to have Paolo in charge.

In the main most of our travelling support is awesome but there are always a handful that will never be happy no matter what result.

Perhaps listening to the commentary rather than going to the matches gives a different perspective and allows us to note and remember different things. The commentators have mentioned numerous times that he has spurned chances that he should be putting away, including the last match he played in.

I'm not trying to suggest he is our worst striker, not at all. I feel he is a better player than Murray and possibly Tehoue (too soon to tell), but a player like Murray will add a different dimension to the attack so I can understand why PDC would prefer Murray at times (although I'd prefer he played Bodin in that role). Horses for course, and all that jazz.

But Connell really does spurn a lot of opportunities. Either that or the commentators are making it up

I like Connell,but then again i liked Kerrouche.
Fact is the manager sees things his way and while you are flying at the top of the league with a game in hand then the truth is the manager has the trump card regarding that argument.

As for a FEW fans booing get over it,all clubs have a minority.....they are booing the performance they have paid good money for today...not booing the season.
If we were shit today then fans have a right to voice there opinions in my opinion,that said i would never boo my team and certainly not at half time.

I'm not disputing that Connell has missed chances,he has. But i don't think he squanders chances more than the other forwards we have. And i certainly don't think he should be sat on his arse week after week whatever the result. I don't think there is a fitness issue,just Di canio doesn't rate him.

Deffo think the defence is a bigger worry at the moment though.

Murray seems to be far worse at missing chances. But he offers something different to Connell.

Personally, I'd have Billy playing alongside Benson as he sounds the perfect foil for him. Plus it'll aid his development.

Has Flint been back in training yet?

?

He played today

has a player died in the spurs bolton game

sky sports news says that fabrice muamba collapsed on the pitch

had cpr on the pitch

really puts things into perspective

Crewe were a good side and putting it into perspective, we were never going to go through until May without a couple of slip ups. It's how we bounce back from these that will show what we're made of. If we do, we'll be up, no problem.

They snuffed us out, doubled up on Ritchie and Rooney, and we didn't get going at all until the second goal went in. In the first half - we weren't particularly quick with our play and at times there were too many aimless balls down the channel - partly due to Crewe pressing us well. Ferry/Risser were generally anonymous for the most part in the midfield, Tehoue didn't look that committed whilst Rooney/Ritchie were ineffective.

Their goal came from a cut back from the by-line and no-one picking up the loose man coming in from the edge of the box. Good finish, poor marking. Should've dealt with it alot better. But to be fair they could've been 2-3 up at half time.

Second half, Holmes looked dangerous and put in some good crosses, Murray coming on (despite a fair few singing for Connell - which is another debate by looks of things) did well I thought but should've scored when they played him in. He tried and failed awfully to lob Phillips. We got the ball wide, sooner and managed to get more success. But their goal came from something similar from the first half, unmarked lad coming in from midfield and taking a touch before scoring. After that, for the last 25mins we battered them, Tehoue missed a one on one disappointingly/good save and we hit the woodwork a couple of times. Wasn't our day going forward.

Overall, I expected days like today. Crewe played good football and Powell is/will be a very good player in the future whilst Westwood in the midfield ran it for them for the first 65 mins. But we need to up our game for Torquay, with some changes I hope.

There were some boo's at half time not a huge amount but enough although I'm not surprised, we have some absolute mongs. Guy behind me all game moaned and moaned about this that and the other contradicting himself on more than one occasion. We don't have a divine right to beat Crewe away unfortunately, things won't go our way like today and the mong fans need to realise that. From my point of view, they can either support the team/11 out on the field or fuck off.

Thanks for that,always nice to hear a report from someone who went.

Didn't follow game too closely today.  Can you tell?

Just my two penny worth regarding Connell from what I have seen this season, live games and the cup run on the TV. He's not an out and out goal scorer by any means, he's often in the right place at the right time but as others have stated he misses a few.
It's his general link up play that impresses me, he holds the ball up well with his back to goal, bringing the wingers into play with intelligent balls out wide and back into midfield, plus the fact he'll wade in with a few goals and lets not lose sight of the fact he's our top goal scorer.

Just don't understand it

Spot on mate

We know and they know that they can turn it on at any time. We just needed to do it from kick off rather than going two goals down first.

Thanks cib.

Ardiles - Flint has been training for 10 days apparently.

Also should point out I have nothing against Murray, he has good movement.

Whats his bowel's got to do with it ;D

You can't play for fifteen minutes in a match and expect to get anything from it.
We havn't played well since gaining top spot but today I felt Crewe battled more and despite hitting the bar a couple of times always thought we weren't going to score.

As one of the few on this forum that goes to the vast majority of away games I feel obliged to comment.

I do wish that one or two of you would refrain from adversely commenting about games that you have only listened to on the radio or, worse still, followed on the internet.

I was not aware of one single boo against any of our players from our fans. Its true that Ritchie didn't walk over to our section of the stand but considering that he was only standing approx 20 yards from the tunnel when the whistle blew I don't think it was the end of the world. Remember we had lost and if truth be told the volume of support wasn't fantastic.

Before anyone gets to carried away, in my opinion, Tehoue had a more than reasonable last 25/30 minutes as did the whole team. Would Alan Connel have scored if he had come on-doubtful. The issue was that for the 3rd of the last 4 games we were outnumbered in midfield by a team playing 5 and one up front. It was only when Kennedy was replaced and we went 3 at the back that we improved. Personally I thought that Murray in midfield/"the hole" was going to be a mistake but actually thought that he played well and would advocate that he plays in a similar postion, behind Benson for Tuesday. 3 points will be fantastic for the championship, however, 1 will suffice.

Keep the faith Keyboard Warriors

- McCormack at right back robs us of our best centre back and I thought that was notable today. We missed his mobility and reading of the play against a team with good link-up play. Devera and Flint don't seem to ever make a good pairing.
- Thought Risser was the wrong choice today. Reckoned beforehand J Smith would play as his ability to break up the play and hustle would have stopped Crewe's passing. Risser couldn't match Crewe's pace in midfield.
- Wonder whether PDC sees Connell as a lesser version of Benson and wants a partnership that offers different types of problem for opposition defenders? Can see what PDC is looking for in Tehoue as he gave us power and strength but he really should have scored at least once today.
- Lee Holmes' ability was evident. Good signing.
- Crewe pressed us well in the first half. The game reminded me of Torquay on Boxing Day in that the opposition got amongst us from the whistle and denied us from getting going. Then having got a lead they were able to withhold a string of second half attacks.
- Crewe are a good footballing side. Can see why there is plenty of hype about Nick Powell.
- Disappointing performance from Kennedy. Did not link up with either winger and very ordinary distribution.
- Murray is lightning quick with good movement but his finishing is currently very poor.

Good away day to Crewe I reckon.

Having gone to the game I can confirm that there was no booing at the final whistle, a few grunts at half time but certainly no boos!

On the game, Crewe looked a decent side and played some very good football at times. They played triangles round Risser and Ferry, constantly breaking through our midfield line giving them time and space to pick a pass. Certainely missed Smith's robust tackling and energy against a side that like us have a lot of energy.

Missed Caddis bigtime! Ritchie looked a wee bit lost without him, every time he cut inside he hesitated as though he was waiting for McCormack to overlap where Caddis usually would. Could have done with McCormack in the cntre and possibly Devera at right back, the defence looked very unorganised today which is unlike us. So with Caddis potentially back come tuesday we should be ok.

Ritchie and Rooney were equally as ineffective, possibly because of the 'inverse wingers' thing. Most likely because Crewe had done their homework and neither reveived proper support from Ferry, or the fullbacks playing behind them. We looked more dangerous when Holmes came on... He attacked with purpose and pace unlike Ritchie or Rooney had. Whipped in some great balls with both his left and right foot. Would probably be right that Holmes and Rooney start the next game on their natural feer (dependent on wether Caddis is back)

Despite the majority of town fans shouting 'he's rubbish' and whatnot at Tehoue, I thought he wasnt that bad. Put plenty of work in, won a few balls in the air. However, he should have netted his one on one and I, like most wanted Connell to come. I really think it would have made a difference.

Di Canio's comments are about right IMO. We cant continue to play like that and think we're worthy of winning the league, it must be better. On Ritchie, Ritchie gave the fans a sarcastic thumbs up during the first half when there were a few groans after he gave the ball away, at the end of the game all of the players came over to clap. With all of them clapped back including Tehoue and Risser who bore the brunt of most of the criticism. Although I have to say, I didnt see Ritchie at the end of the game. I doubt it's any more than frustration from getting beat more than anything else.

Hopefully back to a more familiar team selection on tuesday and a more familiar result! League must be the priority and we cannot let Wembley get in the way of our promotion charge! Anywho onwards, upwards, COYR's ect ect!

If I was Matt Ritchie I would feel pretty unappreciated by Town fans. Rightly got player of the season and you very rarely hear his name sung, whilst Cibocchi, McCormack, Kerrouche, Connell, Rooney et al do. A bit like Simon Cox when he was with us...

Didn't see anything at full time but Ritchie definitely gave a disapproving look towards the section of the crowd where a few were booing at half time as he left the field.

And he had every right to.

I thought Tehoue worked hard in all fairness and was put in the deep end a bit especially with a tough away game. Though I thought he took the one chance sort of one on one with the keeper too softly.

Ritchie was good first half and holmes was better second. I think we missed caddis overlapping on the right as it's this movement that gives ritchie more time and space to create chances or such therefore if macca is gonna play right back he needs to get down the line a bit more.

Not to be to disheartened from today though, chances and all that. Take a draw on tuesday steady the ship a little. Remember still got the game in hand over aldershot!

Its an unfortunate sign of the times the booing. But its not just us.

Was listening to 5-live and a caller was talking about a few Charlton fans that were having a pop at the manager and players because they lost a couple and drew one. They are still 9 points clear.

Well I'm pleased to hear we have a game in hand over Aldershot.That will come in very..errrr..handy.. 8)

Absolutely woeful for the first 65 minutes, much better in the last 25. Holmes changed the game for us as Crewe sat back and soaked up our pressure, but we could've played for another 90 minutes and not score - it was just one of those days.

Crewe are a very, very good team and deserved the win. If they play like that every week, they should make the play-offs. Much better than the likes of Crawley and Oxford.

And Tehoue is absolute gash.

haha i meant the game in hand being aldershot... you know what i meant!!

Can't be bothered to trawl through the thread... but I'll drop my two pence worth in from today...

Alan Mac did well at RB, but we'll look so much more balanced with Caddis back. Ritchie doesn't look the same player without him out there with him.

Kennedy was poor.

Tehoue worked hard, but he must have some dirt on di Canio to be playing ahead of Connell, Bodin or Kerrouche.

Murray ran around a lot without really doing much.

Holmes looked like Ritche used to when he was good (Teehee!).

Benson played well, would have bagged a few times on another day. Impressive display.

Bar 7, or whatever it's called, smelled of poo. Other pub was a good 'un, result aside it was an enjoyable day out, seem a decent bunch.

I have a little sympathy with those vocally complaining about the performance. It was an expensive day, factoring in travel, etc (especially those coming from Swindon area), also Wembley next week, season tickets up for renewal etc... and at times the lads simply didn't want it as much as Crewe - which is the minimum we can expect from them. Lots of folk just seemed a bit miffed that we only really started playing in the last 20 mins. Complaints were at the performance on the day, not the season as a whole - most comments would have been made in the heat of the moment - frustration at spending a fair wedge of cash and coming away with bugger all, and the prospect of a lengthy trek home with that horrible losing feeling.

Crewe did well, nullified our threats, especially in the first half, we simply didn't seem to have a plan B.

Inverted wingers need to be shelved... Holmes ripped them a new one by going on the outside and crossing.

Just my thoughts, like.

As others have said, I didn't hear any booing either, maybe just a few groans of discontent.

As for Tehouhe, he was largely poor. He didn't seem to read the game, found himself out of position numerous times and didn't gel with Benson at all. Admittedly, second half his battling qualities and resilience stood out immensely. A striker and goalscorer he certainly aint.

Lee Holmes. I got a bit worried when he warmed up at half time wearing a yellow top. He's a gem. Such strength, pace and skill. All but one of his 15 crosses were executed perfectly. Why oh why did'nt PdC give Ritchie a rest, allowing Holmes and Rooney to perform their trickery.

Not the end of the world!  Luckily we can afford the occasional slip up as long as it stays that way.
Crewe were a very decent team and no disaster to have lost today. 
Most of the comments from those that went to the game have been spot-on.
For 2/3rds of the game we were as poor as I've seen this season but the last part we created enough chances and but for some lucky breaks and for some more clinical finishing we could have come away with at least a point.
I was wondering whether some of the players are starting to get complacent - for most of the game the effort just wasn't there as it has been for most games - I was almost thinking we had a flashback to last season at times.

How we have missed Caddis!  Ritchie is so much less effective without him and I think that the central defence is less confident without Macca.

I thought Kennedy did reasonably well today and wouldn't have singled him out for criticism.

Risser played a few decent balls but really did nothing much to impress and a partner for Ferry seems to me the biggest priority for team strengthening.

Rooney did nothing that I can recall whilst on the pitch and I fully agree that it was right to sub him.  Ritchie without Caddis and 2 player on him (one to cover byline crosses and one to cover cutbacks inside) was fairly ineffective.

Holmes was a revelation.  How many quality crosses did he put over? He will be a great asset of we can sign him for next season.

Tehoue tried hard all game and by the end I was feeling so sorry for him - nothing was going for him.  He looked absolutely knackered but was still giving his all.  I would have thought PdC would give him a rest and bring on Connell.

Murray looked decent in the deeper role but missed his obligatory 1 on 1 yet again! Some things are constant.

Finally, I didn't hear any booing whatsoever and most fans stayed after the final whistle to applaud Paolo and the team.

Foderingham - Standard, could do nothing about the goals and didn't have much else to do

The defensive line looked disjointed, would have been better with Devera at right back would have been better. Kennedy was poor and Flint looked tired and may have been brought back too soon. McCormack did ok but really needs to be in the centre.

Midfield, Risser played fairly decent other than a few stray balls. Ferry was average, him and Risser really don't seem to click. Ritchie looked disinterested and was largely anonymous. Rooney was also below par and deserved to be brought off. Holmes was absolutely class, would play him ahead of Ritchie vs Torquay, signing him on a permanent is a must!

Murray was largely ineffective and missed yet another one on one, Benson played quite well but seemed to have no support.

Tehoue, quite simply is one of the worst professional football players I have ever seen. Runs around like a blue ass fly but does absolutely nothing and has absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever other than the fact that he tries hard. People comparing him to Vincent Pericard but I would it's more like having Dossevi back. Missed sitter after sitter. Yes some of them were blocked/defected, but he should have already burried them.

Obligatory shite referee with ridiculous decisions, nothing massive but just baffling and very inconsistent, even had the cheek to give the fans the thumbs up at sarcastic applause for a correct decision...that's not an excuse though as he was no different than any other ref that we've had at this level, just completely incompetent at an embarrassing level.

Not bothered about the result today...far more important things to worry about imo
Onwards to tuesday and next sunday

Im a bit baffled about some of the comments today.

Most who went say that Rooney deserved to be subbed - which I agree with.

Then there are suggestions that Holmes and Rooney should start on Tuesday, when Ritchie, despite not having a brilliant game, supplied 10 or so quality crosses in the first half and did even better in the 2nd half, didn't get subbed and is missing his trusted playing partner to link up with.

Why the fuck would Rooney start ahead of Ritchie on Tuesday, other than PDC wanting to rest him for Wembley, then?

Agree we missed Caddis again and that PDC should of played Devera at RB and AMAC at CB. No coincidence that we ship goals when AMAC is missing at CB.

Flint looked rusty. He'll get better.

As PDC said, Kennedy missed his chance today. Very dissapointing performance which will cost him his place at Wembley. I may be wide of the mark, but he's got the swagger of a premiership player who thinks he's made it. Maybe time for PDC to remind him where he's come from.

Tehoue worked hard but had Pericarditis: missing good chances and sometimes being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which was frustrating the fuck out of the crowd and led to the frustrated moans which got worse the more it happened.

Holmes looked good and hit some quality crosses which had them on the back foot. His arrival really puts both Rooney and Ritchie under pressure - which is needed and should make them sharper.

Was definately a mong-fest today. Never seen or heard so many STFC retards out in so many numbers at an away game as I saw today.

Cunts sat behind me slated just about every player, at full volume, throughout the whole fucking match.

Now I know what its like to have tinitusssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Not sure if its been mentioned on here already but according to Wiki Crewe's squad are all English other than one scottish player.  Cannot be too common these days.

i think oxfords was near the same when they played us in august

Whats the betting Powell is on Di Canio's summer wishlist??

why do people keep saying"it puts things into perspective"-everybody knows that tragic events are always just round the corner,it should never be out of perspective.Town fans like any other will forget "perspective"on tuesday night.

I think that would be only in a dream.  I would expect the top Premier League clubs to be looking at him.

Oh Paolo, why are you so grumpy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17432968

I saw that and wondered where it came from.