Swindon v Brentford Official Matchday Thread

[Fred Elliot]

One very real positive from today was for the first time ever, I actually won something on the half-time draw. Second rather than 1st but 42 quid is 42 quid. Or it would have been if the kids hadn't mugged me for a cut on the somewhat spurious grounds that they bought the ticket (as in actually handed over the pound I gave them)

thats the rules mate


ask any kid

[pauld]

thats the rules mate


ask any kid

That was the mistake I made.

[Fred Elliot]

That was the mistake I made.

should have made Joe sign a disclaimer before handing over the quid

[reeves4england]

A mixed bag today...

Negatives first: What on earth was Rose doing? A terrible mistake, and from Lucas' point of view it's disappointing they scored from such a tight angle. Caddis and Rose were both poor defensively, especially in the first half. Meanwhile, we saw very little from central midfield yet again.

On to the positives: Dossevi did well and I was disappointed to see him go off. However, Ball looked dangerous on the left and Pericard did well up front. If he'd put that chance away he'd have been in for a starting place next week. He hassled the defence constantly and did very well to create the opportunity. It was good to see Kennedy back, hoepfully he can kick on from here. However the biggest positive has to be Morrison. Top class today and fully deserved his MOTM award, as well as getting an assist on the goal.

Overall I'm still holding out hope that things will turn around. If we keep playing like that we'll finish 12th-15th, but if we can cut the errors out and look dangerous for 90 minutes rather than in patches then we can at least start to think about the Play-Offs.

[Nemo]

I remain convinced that if we manage to get an early goal at some point, we're going to absolutely dick someone.

[Simon Pieman]

Up until Rose's mistake Brentford didn't do anything. They actually looked quite panicky and hoofed a lot to clear their lines. After the error they got into the game and it took us a while to compose ourselves.

I thought we were the better team for most of the game. There were spells when Brentford did dominate though and created some good chances.

Overall I think we were better in attack than the last home game, certainly more movement and O'Brien's directness was good. However Prutton was still a bit slow and we did hoof a bit too much at times. Dossevi struggled to bring the ball down and get others into the game so I think Pericard should have possibly come on sooner.

Defensively (whole team not just the back four) we were poor. Looked shakey and lacked confidence. Caddis had a stinker and obviously Rose wasn't good and these were the weak links. Morrison and Cuthbert did look solid however, Morrison in particular made some great tackles and interceptions.

Overall I see progress in some areas and none in others. An experienced leader at the back would not have helped the full backs today.

[Fred Elliot]

Pericard did well up front. If he'd put that chance away he'd have been in for a starting place next week.

and herein lies the problem

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

An interesting game that one. We started really well and you thought we'd go on to win comfortably but we let it slip at the back again with an awful goal to concede. Why Rose didn't just boot it out i'll never know. Even putting it out for a corner would have been better. I thought that for the rest of the first half we went into panic mode. No need for it with so much time left but we rushing things and they weren't clicking. A decent set piece got is a nice goal at just the right time.
Weston missed an absolute sitter for them and our defence at times was all over the place.

Second half was much better from us. Defence looked more solid, we looked carmer and created more chances. Shame we couldn't take one of them and go on to win but it was much more positive from us and at times we looked to attack in a similar vein to last season so that was good to see.

Plenty of positives for me. Morrison the first. Good solid performance from him. Didn't really put a foot wrong all game. Gave us a bit more presence than LJF does in that position. The centre back pairing worked well together. AOB looked as sharp as i've ever seen him in a Town shirt and probably as good as i've ever seen him as well. He caused them no end of problems down the left. If he can stay fit and keep that up he could be a big assest for us this season. Ball looked better on the left today than he did against Brighton. Had a pretty decent game today I think. Prutton and JD seem to be working a little bit better together now......it's coming together slowly I think.

Now for the negatives. Rose. Can he defend? He looked all over the place at times. Silly mistake but he did seem to improve after that. Caddis. His link up play with JP isn't there at all at the moment. He doesn't know when to defend and when to go forward. I guess it will come in time but today I thought he was average in all honesty. Struggled to cope with the presence of Weston on the wing. Get the full backs sorted and get them playing well down the flanks and we're getting there. Last point now and it's the lack of height/presence upfront. Dossevi looks handy but needs the ball played to feet. We lumped it up too much at times with him and Austin unable to do anything. Pericard should have come on sooner IMO. He looked pretty handy....shame that the one time he decided to shoot he should have played Prutton in. Doh.

A draw isn't the end of the world. We're getting there slowly but surely. It was much improved from the Brighton game anyway.

[pauld]

should have made Joe sign a disclaimer before handing over the quid

Joe I'd have been OK with, but it was his younger brother, he's a much sharper operator.

Thought O'Brien did pretty well today (as a random football-related thought strays into my head) or rather did considerably better than he has done before, which may not be the same thing. But if he keeps improving it will be. The combo of him and Rose at the moment is leaving us very exposed on the left. I'm not sure what my point is or if I have one

[reeves4england]

and herein lies the problem

Yes. But it is a predicament which is hard to solve right now. I'm not alone in thinking Pericard should have come on sooner to give us more presence up front, whilst others are complaining that Dossevi went off. And obviously taking St Charles off would be punishable by death. So what does Wilson do? It'd be nice to think we have somebody lined up in the Pericard mould who can actually score goals, but given what we have got it's very difficult to know who should play.

[stfcinbmth]

Thanks for the reports, interesting reading. Lets hope we have a few wins under our belts by the time I come up for the Saints game

@Leefer Hope the beer goggles ain't on yet

Brockenhurst    0    -    0    Blackfield & Langley
Poole Town    2    -    2    Romsey Town
Bournemouth    4    -    2    Alresford Town

[Simon Pieman]

Oh and the gate to Tesco was locked.

Negative: I had to walk round the long way.
Positive: I ended up walking behind a fitty in skin tight leggings.

[sonicyouth]

Prutton is poor, only able to play at his own pace and is wasteful with posession, lethargic and doesn't fucking run at all. Ferry and Douglas worked last season but in the three games I've seen so far, Douglas and Prutton does not work at all.

I don't rate Rose at all and thought Caddis was poor too. Morrison was solid but the problem(s) came down the sides, Rose's error was a total disaster - what had they worked on in training? - and Caddis was getting turned inside out by their number 11. The defense as a unit needs an experienced leader, we seriously miss Greer.

Dossevi will need a little longer to adjust to the physicality of League One, he wants a bit too much time on the ball.

Ball was more of a threat than O'Brien, although constantly cuts inside so doesn't supply much.

We didn't deserve to lose but weren't clinical enough to win. Danny will get the right players in and we'll get a couple of wins under our belt and that'll be that - we'll be well up there. The problems in this team don't run deep and they're not terminal.

[DiV]

...and you went

seriously, fuck off!!

[sonicyouth]

No. I'm a hardcore supporter now.