Thetownend.com

Not started one of these in a while.

Everyone bang up for today then?

2 - 1 Town.

 Think the paucity of quality on show Friday has scared folk off..

 Cov's away form is dodgy, we're getting key injuries and not convincing at home  :hmmm:   no idea about tonight.

 

1-1

Would take a draw tonight to be honest.

Hadn't noticed we were playing to be honest....

They must be due a win over us soon surely. Maybe tonight will be there time?

Tough game. How we deal with Jones will be key. Him v Matt Taylor and Robertson could be horrible.

2 wins and 2 draws in the last 4 meetings at the CG.

They haven't beaten us home or away since 2001 in the FA Cup when they were still in the Premiership, they haven't beaten us in a league game since 1964.

Thats 6 wins and 4 draws since 2001, they are due a win over us it seems as they treat us as a bit of a bogey team of late.

Shame its a Tuesday as they normally bring a couple of thousand, tonight it will be 600 max.

We have the same record w5 d1 l3 but they have 5 goals superior GD and sit one place above us in 6th place.

I will be happy with a draw.

Can Knoyle play LB (assuming fit enough?)

Goddard must be close to being available now.

I think it'll be 1-1 tonight. They will take the lead through Ducky Nazon and we'll equalise through a Norris Pen.

Is Hussey definately ruled out for tonight?

Another back to back home game scenario. Need to be looking at 4 points this time as opposed to 0 last time.

I see a draw tonight. Jones against a makeshift or old left back frightens me to be honest.

2-2

Tom Smith can play LB can't he? Presuming he is still here.

We've won 3 of the last 4 games and I've been at the pub for each of these games. I'm going to the pub again this evening so odds-on for a win.

No idea on score, but surely we're due an evening match win?

We won a couple last season v Rochdale and Gills, there were regulars wandering around the pub post match with glazed expressions of incredulity etched on their faces... it was the Saturday games which were more of a problem, oh and any cup game in midweek.

Put my bet on for us to lose so hopefully we will be OK, seems to be working fairly well this year, if it continues to work I might launch a crowdfunder....  ;)

Ya can't have you cake and eat it twice?  ;)

Taylor in at LB otherwise unchanged.

Knoyle and Preston on the bench.

Basically the side that finished the last match. I think DF will see how Robbo & Taylor get on. Prob bring Knoyle on for last 30mins (as discussed other day) and similarly with Preston. However, may bring Preston on earlier if Robbo is struggling. If Taylors delivery game is on then we could sneak this.

Slightly off topic, I can hear the Cardiff fans signing from my bedroom. Only about 500 yards from their ground. Did think about going as a neutral but I have revision, homework and an exam on Thursday to concentrate on.

Indeed, no point changing a winning side (how it finished anyway).

Have they got musical pens ?

We are under the cosh.

should be 3.0 down and down to 10 men,,,,,

Biamou so close to a penalty/Robertson sending off.

Get in Norris totally against the run of play.

Get in!!!!!!

1-0 Norris on the half volley

1-0 Cardiff by the sound of it.

bollox

1-1 Jones

Can't say the goal from them hasn't been coming.

2-0 Cardiff

Are you lost? Try http://www.ccmb.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?5-Main-Cardiff-City-Messageboard

That was poor

I don't quite know how to describe that!

It was dire and compelling all at the same time.  It's like being back in the 80's.  One of the more end to end games of the season thus far and it looks like we have no hope in hell of preventing their forwards, but somehow have on the whole.  Equally we look threatening, without any real quality being on display.  It's 100mph shitness.

We are a fucking shit football team. This is going to be a miserable season, no matter how many games we have or will win

Well.... ok on the counter attack but calamitous at the back. Absolutely no pace back there in the back 4 and that centre back partnership just doesn't work. I'm not sure I rate Lancashire but Robertson dearly me, think Preston will get his chance sooner rather than later.

Robertson is fucking awful

Not sure how we went in front to be honest.  We could have been 2-0 down at that point.

Our defence was always going to be breached though, far too slow at the back. Robertson is an accident waiting to happen.  What was that silly header when Vigoroux had shouted for the ball?

First time we've been pegged back this season after going in front.

Thought we had some nice link up play going forward tbh...

Chris Robertson, good grief.

Robertson is either really solid or really terrible, theres no middle ground, often he is an accident waiting to happen, tonight is one of those times.

On another day he'd have cost us 2 penalties.  Terrible.

He needs to be hooked before its too late

Our defence is frighteningly bad.

We are in L2, L2 is shit, teams aren't in L2 unless they are shit, we are shit, but a win is a win in my book, even if we play shit and win I want to win I want to get out of this league and if we score goals and are still shit then so be it.

I don't recall us being anywhere near this shit the last two times we were here

The passing of time often rewrites history

Overall standard of the league would have been more or less the same we were just little bit more exciting

Dunne you bellend

My word thats not good.

Sending off and goal in 3 mins.

Dunne's cost us.  Twat.

What was the red for?

That is that then

Harry Smith comes on, 10 minutes to open his account and nick an equaliser

Shoved one of their players in the face.

Fucking twat another 3 points lost at home :badmood:

Tosser

Norris is infuriating to watch, I know he's scored again but he makes no effort to challenge for any long balls.

There's not one town player with any flair, who gives any excitement when they get the ball. We're a functional football team. And function with flair is fucking shit

Especially when the back line isn't even fucking functional

Fuck.

The officials in this league my word.....

Robertson terrifies me. We got better in the 2nd half and I thought we might have gone on to win until Dunne thought he'd shove their bloke in the face.

Dunne is always a red card waiting to happen.

Dunne and Robertson seem to be liabilities.

Another dreadful spectacle to add to the list.  I agree with the sentiment it didn't seem this bad the last two times we were here, probably just that we are doing our part to join in this time.  Deserved the loss, could have drawn, can't believe either team is in the play off of automatic hunt, seen plenty worse!

How on earth do promoted teams do well in L1?

Aside from Exeter, who equally fuck it up often enough, I haven't seen team possess any real quality, the sort that means you can have spells of control in a game.  Even though we looked like losing throughout that game today, at no point could either team take any sort of foothold, it was just helter skelter.  Nobody had more than a few seconds on the ball, nobody seemed able to think about building pressure.  Get it forward as quick as possible and worry about what happens next when you get there.  They had more upfront so always looked more likely, but it was just every other game we have played this season but faster.

Oh and I still think the play offs is entirely possible.  Forest Green Rovers are in this league for fucks sake.

Its starting to look like Flitcroft has fucked up recruitment wise at the back and centre mid. We've got a fuck load of attacking options but literally no one to create for or at even times pass to them

That's on purpose, hence my play off's statement - we have enough to stifle shitter teams and score against them.

By on purpose I mean load the team with Div 2 has beens who know what to expect week in week out, most of the time they will be enough.  The wages go on the front four who earn us the points.  Over the course of a season we play more FGR's than we do Coventry's and Exeter's.  Every game has been similar, so everything we are doing, including player recruitment is by design.  It will be enough, just not good watching.

To an extent I agree and we have assembled a semi disposable team that can be binned off at the end of the season if we do go up. But it can't be by design to leather the ball the Keshi Andersons head all the time, I just don't think the likes of Robertson especially are the reliable old pros that were expected.

We were woeful at the back, and still I think Coventry would not have beaten us had Dunne not been an utter nobhead.

I remember L2 being better last time, but then we did have a nut-job with a fuck-ton of money at the helm.

I just think a lot is about being solid at the back. We had a well drilled back line that formed the foundation of the team. At the moment they are so hopeless in possession and unpredictable that it seems to give the whole team the jitters.

Just watched the sending-off again. It's pathetic that something that petty gets you sent off. The guy on the floor was wrapped round his legs so he pushed him away. It's nothing.

Oh, and I don't think Beckham deserved to be sent off vs Simeone either.

We only conceded 32 goals last time round. Nearly half way to that already.

That year, after 10 games we were 10th with 15 points. This time we're 1th with 16 points. I think it's far too early to say whether we'll make top 3 but I certainly wouldn't rule it out. Hopefully Knoyle and the new lad will add something to the defence in the coming weeks and give us a bit more of a platform to build on, rather than having a rearguard who panic, hoof and hope. I know we won't see much sexy playing out from the back but occasionally not lumping up to an opposing CB will be a start,

Oh and putting aside the penalties they didn't get, the push on Smith at the end was absolutely stonewall.

 First Cov league win at the CG for 57 years. I doubt any of their fans there tonight will have seen the last one

Oh well, we're not very good, I'm sure there will be plenty more lows this season, maybe even a few highs.

First half completely undone by their movement and pace, lucky not to concede a penalty and s red card in the first few minutes.  Great goal by Norris, dodgy defending for the equaliser.  This defence is a liability, needs sorting as soon as possible.  Second half they had another good shout for a penalty but we gradually got on top, Dunne was playing really well until another moment of madness and I think it eventually costs us the game.  After the sending off we worked up a real head of steam and could easily have got an equaliser, ref denied us a stonewall penalty but our lack of pace, quality and guile eventually got the better of us and we slipped to another home defeat.

We're shit

Tbf, I think both sets of fans will agree the ref was pretty clueless. There was handbags all round and many missed cards against both sides. Then there were cards for both including the red for us which just seemed like it was the refs way of saying he was in control. Really a half decent ref would've spoken to the player and said "look son, do that again and you'll give me no reason not to send you off. Clear? Right shake hands and carry on." He should've spoken to both captains and said "captains, have a word. No more nonsense."

But he didn't because he was piss poor. We were piss poor except when we put it on the ground we actually created a few decent moments. Similarly Cov did also. The game was over once Dunne was off but I honestly think that Cov's No.8 should've gone too.

Yes they had penalty shouts, we had penalty shouts and both teams could've equally grabbed a goal towards the end. Completely dire as we all agree. Bottom line; Dunne's sending off sealed our fate. It's up for debate if it should've been a red or not.

Knoyle for Purkiss, Hussey for Taylor (if fit), Preston for Robertson, Tom Smith for Dunne, McDermott for Gordon & Woolery for Anderson on Saturday. Robertson is a complete & utter liability. Dunne, as others have already commented, is a walking red card. Fwiw I reckon we'd have lost that regardless of his red or not. Harry Smith was excellent when he came on & will be a nuisance at this level if utilized properly.

The ups and downs when we win and lose - such an exaggeration. We're a top 10 team, should be in and around playoffs - might scrape an automatic. Coventry will be up there. No disgrace to lose to them.

The red card seemed to galvanise us and we could have easily come away with a point.

Home form needs to improve drastically or we're going nowhere. 4 points out of 15 in League 2 is pathetic.  The defence and midfield are a real concern.

We definitely had better players in those positions under De Canio and as others have said,  I don't remember the level of football being so consistently shit either.

It was better under Sturrock, too. The football is appalling. Even the teams at the top are shite, with the possible exception of Exeter. Not sure what to make of the whole thing. I guess hope to be top three and get out of this division as soon as possible. But the standard is fucking dire.

Not at the game today, abroad for the next three weeks.
See by the comments I have read we are playing crap football, how could it be any other, the manager brought old pros and plodders.
The front line could be lethal in this division if they had an ounce of creativity behind them.
So, so glad I did not renew my season ticket and have no intention of going again in the near future.

Pretty much agree with all of that !
I actually enjoyed that game tonight, ok we lost, but a pretty exciting end to end game. Both sides attacking play opened up 2 poor defences and resulted in lots of chances being created. The ref was totally crap (again !) and missed several blatant penalties and fouls but penalised plenty for next to nothing. The sending off and then the timing of that screamer of a winner were harsh, and I thought we showed lots of character to bombard them with 10 men for the last 10 mins - we deserved a point out of that !
I don't think 'we were shit !' like some posters on here - if we can inject some pace into the back four (Knoyle and Preston ?) then we'll win a lot more than we lose - should be enough for at least the playoffs !  Come on you Reds !

Haven't read back yet.

Well I came away disappointed but unlike last season, not despondent.

Enjoyed the game and how I wished somebody got their swede on the last cross in....

Cert pen to Coventry when I walked in....Norris might of got one when he was shoved over in the second....honours even.

Some fans from the Arkells are telling me the red was a red..a stamp..the replay might give us a clue but Dunn lost it for sure.

Worldly goal that 15 men wouldn't of stopped.

Just after the sending off I discussed what Flitcroft would do...Stick and stay as we were, bring on Wollery and go long into the corners with pace (what I wanted ref Coventrys weakness) or go big, he went big with Smith and I thought the lad did well when he came on.

Deserved a point methinks but anybody that went tonight would have confidence for a reasonable season and go back.

Great goal by Norris...ran himself into the ground.

See you Saturday.

When we played a bit of football for about 15 mins in the second half, we had Coventry rattled.

That's what we want to see at home and not players playing the ball in the air to someone 6 yards away.

Key points for me...

-Robertson needs dropping if and when possible. Can't deal with any sort of ground attack coming his way. As soon as he's turned round it's almost certain he ain't getting there as he has Alan Reeves type pace, and if he does get there a mistake is likely. Arguably should have had two pens against his name this evening. Arrived as the lad went through on goal so was at ground level and it was a blatant pen. Hate to say it so early but he will prove a liability all season if he plays regularly. Our back line has no pace in general. Praying this Preston lad had more about him.

-Still far too kick and rush in possession. It was way more composed than what I saw v Exeter and Barnet, and none of us want to see the return of passing for passings sake. BUT there needs to be a balance. I see no benefit in forcing passes and generally handing the ball over to the opposition. Get up to the half way line quickly by all means and then play from there. We have some talented wide options, we need to settle down and work the wings far more than we do. We're never going to be a slick passing unit but most of our play appears thoughtless and rushed. Boot the ball forward, team moves up the pitch quickly, possession gets lost and played behind our midfield and defence, we're on the back foot being countered with a back line slower than Neptune orbits the sun.

-Dare i say it. We need to slow down a bit and give ourselves a chance to dominate the game.

-The ref was a cunt. Come to expect it but seriously. How are you letting your lino's 40 yards away make game changing decisions when it's literally happened a few yards in front of you.  Ironically the linesman should have flagged for the penalty/s and somehow didn't see either as a foul.

Think we have enough about us to end up in the Top 7. Just. Cov were decent enough. They'll be up there all season.

Well that was one big slugfest. Poor old Jimmy Hill, how far have Coventry City fallen to play like that. Two teams with all their quality going forward, the rest just shirt tugging, blindside nudging, sly forearm to the back of the head, get it forward to the big CF and pick up the pieces as soon as you can football.

Coventry did it all much better, their front two plus number 8 were just better than ours. They even provoked a reaction that bought a sending off and an advantage. All part of the game plan no doubt.

A long season ahead watching this style of footy but we should have move than enough for most.

oh and a professional footballer who falls over running backwards is also going to make me laugh.

Maybe the standard has been so crap this season but I enjoyed the game last night. Stonewall pen and sending off for Robertson inside 2 minutes. He should have conceded another in the 2nd half. I actually thought Dunn had a good game until the sending off, which I felt was harsh. It was not in the same league as the cowardly potential leg breaker McDermott did. One thing our players do though is put themselves at the mercy of the ref.
Norris goal was a beauty. Their front players had plenty of pace and we are crap against pace. I'd take their no 11 all day long. He ripped us a new one last season and was excellent again tonight, man bun and all. Their first was a defensive shambles. Their second an excellent goal.
Another stonewall penalty on Smith at the death.
Amongst all the dodgy decisions, the yellow for Anderson at the end baffled me. I thought he'd pulled out of the challenge and their player went down like a sack of spuds. Did he connect or was it just a crap decision amongst many.
Worryingly, only 5500 Town fans there.

Watched the game on iFollow. I'd hoped the initial few games came under the 'bedding in' category, but alas it seems this is actually how we'll play.

Fine away from home as all you want is a result but at home it is a dire spectacle. For this level the riches we have attacking wise are being wasted by the defensive hoofball. If that is how Flitcroft wants to play it's strange Harry Smith isn't a regular starter.

Well aware How miserable I sound, but I'm Really struggling to see how people enjoyed that performance last night. Or even how we deserved to get anything out of it

Did we not all know that DF was going to implement hoofball? It's his style.

Last year was tippy tappy, this year ugly. Where's that happy medium?

We knew this season was not going to be a nice spectacle.

I don't think people would mind the hoofball so much if we were doing it right - lump it up to a big man who holds it up and brings the midfield into play. Instead, it just seems to end up with the centre backs. Against FGR for example, a lot of our chances came from winning the ball in midfield, with our back 5 literally just there to stop the other team scoring then boot the ball away.

Sending off was harsh I think, having looked at the highlights.

Robertson is a disaster. Lancashire is just about competent at this level, but Preston will be in the side before long.

I want to see more of Woolery. Is Anderson much better? Not on what I've seen.

If we're not pushing top 3 come Xmas, Flitcroft goes. We've spent enough money, and given him all the control to deliver, and if this goes on, he's simply not.

I said before the season started that I'd happily sacrifice style for effectiveness to get out of this division. I'd have no problem with solid but unspectacular if it did the job. We're missing the solid, though.

I think you're just a grumpy cunt to be honest mate. It seems to happen to the best of us.

For what it's worth, I wasn't there last night but I have enjoyed this season a lot more than last despite our general crapness at home. League Two is shit, everyone knows that, but at least the players look like they actually WANT to win. I stopped going last season purely because it was plainly obvious that no one really cared.

Agree Robertson deserved to be sent off early on, but it wasn't a pen. Clearly outside the area.

Aye that's fair. Last season knocked any blind optimism I had out of me

It all depends on your perspective. I started the season hoping we'd have enough about us to avoid the drop, not get humiliated by FGR and win at Cheltnum. Anything else a bonus.  So far, I'm quietly optimistic that there are sufficient basket cases in Div 4 that we should be OK.  Although surprised that Cov as prime example of a poorly run club are above us.

 Interestingly this is the most goals we've conceded at home in the first 5 games since the Prem  season, we're now on 12, then it was 14.

 Although Malpas matched this in 08/09, and paid with his job in November. Flitters needs to avoid a defeat on Saturday.

I wonder if we would be better with keeping possession playing 2 up front instead of Norris and an other behind him, it seems to go up front too quick from the back.

Coventry looked a decent team that had done their homework on our defense and a lot of times played the little striker between the 2 center backs hanging on the shoulder and many a time he got the run on them.

Are refs generally more inconsistent this season or are the poorer ones just being shoved down to L2 ? in my opinion all refs should be at the same level not some pro refs and some not, why should the premier always get the so called best refs then when they get it wrong get bounced down to the lower league as a punishment.

Last night was Mr Breakspear.... of JSW/Pope fame, along with disallowing a good goal after Glad All Over had been played.

It's a difficult job, and I don't think we went down last year because of referees, any more than Flitters got sacked by Bury, despite having the benefit of Mr Breakspear's largesse last season at the CG.

They make it more difficult than they should do. At this level the linos generally aren't fit enough to keep up with play and the same can be said about a lot of the referees. Quite hard to give decisions when you are still in the other half of the pitch. A lot of the time if they make an iffy decision it impacts their judgement for the rest of the game. Then they lose control of the game and make equally iffy decisions to try and stamp their authority back on the game but in reality they just lose even more control. Last night was a classic example, the push on Smith was a blatant penalty but after turning theirs down he wouldn't give it to level things out.

Then again some are just incompetent and last nights falls firmly into that bracket. I don't understand what the Lino could see that the ref couldn't when he was stood 3 yards away. Personally I think they guessed on the red card incident based on player reactions.

I like Mullin as a player but think he is a central striker and is wasted on the wing, I think Woolery would be a better proposition there, a bit unfair on Mullin but I don't think it is working out for him in the position the manager wants to play him.

A team pushing for the play offs and with the experience we have in our team this season should have seen the game out and at least got a draw. For the life of me don't understand why we signed Robertson and other teams will suss out we have no pace at the back and with our ancient back four others will capitalise on it no doubt. Robertson should have been sent off but yet again an experienced players being a total dick cost us the game by getting sent off. We don't have any technical players in this team and as poor a team as we had last year they would have played keep ball and possibly seen out a draw but this lot are all hoofers and the control the majority have of a ball is shocking. But we have what we have and I think its up in the air where we will finish. we have one more point in the first 10 games than we had with Di Canio as manager but we played better football under him and had better players in my opinion who could play football.
The games we have lost this season have all been our own undoing and losing 4 out of 10 is crap in this crap league but every team will have a bad patch as they all do so hopefully this is ours but if it continues I don't think LP will muck about this season and he will change it because we have to go back straight up and with the home crowds getting lower each week he will start to press the button on DF if things don't improve.
Another shit ref last night for both sides and the level of refs gets worse every season and sometime I don't understand some of their ridiculous decision or non decisions it changes who ever is ref such as pulling in the box.
But any how I think this Saturday if we have a bad result fans will make their feelings known its a must win game and wouldn't be surprised if the guy Preston start this Saturday as he has some pace or maybe Purkiss goes in the middle and Knoyle starts as they have two guys up front who are scoring and unless we resolve our slow pace at the back we could come unstuck again.
I'm getting pissed off now with some of the poor decisions some of our players are making and costing us games and they need to be more professional than they currently are.

Agreed. Bowyer out

I notice that the club have appealed Dunne's red card. Didn't see the incident myself. Any chance he could be banned for more than 3 games for appealing.

IMO that could be a dangerous appeal ending up with a longer ban. After reviewing the incident several times it appears that Dunne kicked out at Doyle as he first went down. Maybe that is what the lino saw and told the ref.