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Author Topic: A vast improvement  (Read 3701 times)
sonicyouth

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« on: Saturday, December 11, 2004, 18:32:35 »

I'm not going to paper over huge gaping holes that a tribe of elephants could fall through, but today was a vast improvement on the past two games in particular. Fair enough, the result wasn't the one we really wanted but we did what we're best at for long periods of the game - we kept the ball on the floor and passed it around, this meant we created quite a few very good chances and with better finishing and some more quality in the final ball we could have won the game. Doncaster were always going to be a team who were capable of causing us problems, especially when playing 3-5-2, as they've got one of the best wingers in the league in McIndoe and they play very wide. This means the wingbacks are completely exposed to both wingers as they have no one ahead of them to bail them out of trouble or support them, as the back three remains rigid and Howard and Igoe simply don't care. However, Garrard did very well today and kept McIndoe quiet and Nicholas and Duke both performed solidly.

There's no doubt in my mind that this performance will have given the lads confidence - even if the comments of some fans around me and the booing at half time doesn't - and if we play as we did today then we should be quite capable of beating Notts County in midweek. As soon as the game started it was quite clear to me that the lads wanted to keep the ball on the ground and create chances by passing the ball about and keeping it simple, presumably Kingy has correctly identified the trend for long-ball in the past few games and has eradicated it which resulted in an improvement in performance, if not in results. It's plainly obvious that we're at our best when we pass the ball as we have players who suit that system perfectly, players who were signed by King in anticipation of playing good football. If it was King's intention to hoof the ball up the pitch for 90 minutes, he'd have gone out and signed a 6ft 4'' striker instead of Christian Roberts. If we take this performance into midweek, get a result in front of the cameras and gain the juicy FA Cup tie against Boro then I'm fairly confident that we'll crack on and get some good results over the festive period.

Overall, it was a fairly even game and the two teams created good chances and defended solidly for most of the game. Needless to say there is still room for improvement but I think we're heading in the right direction again - the responsibility of continuing this falls not only into King's lap, but all of the staff and players at the club - and whilst promotion does seem some way off, we ought to be looking upwards and not downwards as one fan who wrote into the Adver seems to be. This fan somewhat gleefully pointed out the fact we were seven points off the relegation zone, plainly overlooking the fact we're also seven points away from fourth place. We're now eight points off relegation and six points off fourth, which way should we be heading? I think the answer to that question is simple enough.

I thought the changes today were decent enough, King simply doesn't have the options on the bench to improve on what we're fielding so the changes he did made were limited yet effective. I'm not sure why Nicholas was taken off but Duke was superb once he came on and I thought the team performed well overall with the exception of Howard, who was simply terrible and ought to be dropped in favour of Robinson in midweek. On a more positive note, Jenkins did well at centre-back and Garrard looked very solid again and I hope he retains his position in the team for the game against Notts County, playing in front of the cameras at such a young age and so early on in his career will give the lad bucketloads of confidence which is something the players have been lacking lately. Ultimately, key players are still underperforming - Parkin, Howard, Igoe, Evans - but we're showing signs of improving and Roberts was much more reminiscent today of the player we saw when he first signed and Igoe also turned in a very good performance. Once we put some decent form and performances together, the confidence will return and so will the performances of key players. A win in midweek would be a massive confidence boost but let's not overlook the fact it is potentially a very tricky game, the sort of which we enjoy fucking up.

My main concern is the eagerness many fans have to moan at players, management and the board. Someone was even moaning at the ball boy today despite the fact he was waiting for someone to come over and get the ball for the throw-in! It seems as if the majority of fans are over enthusiastic when it comes to slagging players off, even when they're performing well. Duke is a prime example, despite putting in some good performances in the past few games as soon as he miscontrols a ball or misses a tackle the entire crowd groans, yet when he does something well - like set up our goal for example - it's overlooked entirely. The same applies to Hewlett, Igoe and to a lesser extent others as well. I'm a firm believer in the fact that the fans need to be behind the team fully for us to move forward and this simply isn't happening. Fair enough, we all pay to watch the team and it's your right to moan if you want to but what good is it doing? I still think it's absurd that people are calling for King's head, but never mind. Some people are too stubborn and ignorant to accept anything positive and just want something to complain about. The others, well, I don't know what they're on about.

Anyway, a win in midweek is a must for two reasons - confidence and finances. I'm confident.
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DMR

« Reply #1 on: Saturday, December 11, 2004, 18:42:17 »

I'm going to disagree with most of that Youth...

1. Donnie play wide and King went for a 3-5-2. Blame a small squad if you like, but Kingy got it wrong. Ifils departure means a 4-4-2 would have been best suited for us today.

2. Igoe was the architect of nearly all that was good today. I agree that when we get the ball down like we did in the second 45, we are a better side. Igoe was the catalyst of this IMO

3. Supporters are always going to look in the same way your form is. Seeing as we have gone lost 3 of our last 5 league games, and are closer to second bottom place than we are to top, why shouldn't we look down eh?

4. Whats your point about Duke then? If he's going so well then why are you backing Nicholas?

Thats quite picky, and I agree with alot of what you've said about underperformance, confidence and finances. But basically, theres not alot to inspire at the mo
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Johno

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« Reply #2 on: Saturday, December 11, 2004, 20:06:07 »

i could never write that much sonic, as you obviously concentrate on the game more than i do.

i think a draw was a fair result, and the second half was abit more liked we wanted it and had abit of skill in us, but still not good enough.
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sonicyouth

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« Reply #3 on: Saturday, December 11, 2004, 21:08:11 »

Quote from: "dave_m_russell"
1. Donnie play wide and King went for a 3-5-2. Blame a small squad if you like, but Kingy got it wrong. Ifils departure means a 4-4-2 would have been best suited for us today.


How many managers change their tactic to match the away team? It sends out entirely the wrong message.

Quote from: "dave_m_russell"
2. Igoe was the architect of nearly all that was good today. I agree that when we get the ball down like we did in the second 45, we are a better side. Igoe was the catalyst of this IMO


Didn't I say that?

Quote from: "dave_m_russell"
3. Supporters are always going to look in the same way your form is. Seeing as we have gone lost 3 of our last 5 league games, and are closer to second bottom place than we are to top, why shouldn't we look down eh?


Do you honestly believe we will be anywhere near the relegation zone at any point in the remainder of the season? Of course not, which is why we need to look up the table rather than down.

Quote from: "dave_m_russell"
4. Whats your point about Duke then? If he's going so well then why areyou backing Nicholas?


I didn't back Nicholas. He's a good player but Duke is in better form, mainly because he's had a run in the team and Nicho hasn't.
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